X-Message-Number: 14922
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 05:54:23 -0500
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: more on brains and computers

Once more, on brains and robots:

While Lee Corbin isn't obviously talking to me, some of what he says
(forgetting that I put most of my points as possibilities rather than
certainties) does intersect with what I said. 

However in my original message I specifically gave some features of
neurons in brains that differed considerably from any computer now 
in existence: changing connectivity and changing numbers of neurons.
If we create machines which have this feature, we will have come
much closer to an ability to make a truly intelligent HUMANLIKE
machine than any attempt with the computers we can now make. Whether
the result is or contains a "computer" may well simply depend on
our definition then as distinct from our definition now; however
the fact that such a device can not only take on different connections
but also add (and yes, subtract) neurons does raise in my mind the
possibility that it would not qualify as a Turing machine. 

		Best wishes and long long life for all,

			Thomas Donaldson

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=14922