Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!ogicse!blake!milton!almquist@cis.udel.edu
From: almquist@cis.udel.edu
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Brain/Environment "bottleneck"
Keywords: bottleneck, the next generation
Message-ID: <12691@nigel.udel.EDU>
Date: 2 Mar 90 09:42:06 GMT
References: <2193@milton.acs.washington.edu>
Sender: hlab@milton.acs.washington.edu
Reply-To: Michael Almquist <almquist@ee.udel.edu>
Organization: University of Delaware
Lines: 27
Approved: hitl@hardy.u.washington.edu


In article: jtm@cs.cornell.edu (Jan Thomas Miksovsky) writes:
>If we could directly manipulate the computer with neuron pulses, yeah, 
>sure, we could cruise along at light-speed.  But if we're performing any 
>kind of analytical task, wouldn't we still be limited by the speed of 
>our consciousness "processor"?  We might think something like, "Load up 
>the simulation of the house I'm building," and even if WHAM the 
>simulation appears right away, it's going to take us a second or two to 
>figure how we next want to manipulate the environment.

YES, valid points.  BUT, perhaps by then we shall have an AI/Expert System
friend/co-pilot.  If not a co-pilot then perhaps advanced MACROs.  Instead
of having to say, "Load up the simulation of the house I'm building," we
could instead say "Simulate, House, Earthquake".  YES, poor example BUT,
if you stop to think about it, the next generation might be drastically
different.  What would happen to the thinking processes of this generation?
Would they be modified, simplified, extended, etc?  Perhaps the next generation
will not be limited by our learned limitations (ie. our mental blocks).  They
will not remember the ages of keyboards.  They will begin to develop
drastically different memory structures, fetch/recall routines, etc.  If we are
to directly tap into their brains at an early age (like the future Gibson
wove for us) their mental development, I feel, would become drastically
different from one who doesn't plug-in.  Perhaps this increased stimulation of
the brain MIGHT increase one's total brain usage.  As the saying goes, "we
currently use less than 25% of our brain's total power." 

- Michael Almquist