X-Message-Number: 15388
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 07:50:41 -0500
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: again

Hi again!

Here we go once more.

Yes, a "brain" in which all N neurons connect to one another will have
N^2 total connections. However I believe that I clearly said that:

1). The presence of a connection is part of a memory, and occurs when
    memory takes place.
2). This implies not that we have all possible connections but that
    we have a subset of those possible. For our individual memories,
    that subset gives our individual memories plus whatever connections
    deal with features common to all human beings ie. emotions, etc.

In this context we should consider the set of possible connections
(which necessarily involves connections which DO NOT exist as well as
those which DO) ... ie. the fact that the total number of possible 
connections is N^2 means nothing at all about what I've said, or the
operation of brains. 

The problem of TIME of course plays a large role in how we came to be
put together as we are: lots of individually weak processors rather
than a few very powerful ones. I brought up this ADDITIONAL issue 
because it was not clear to me before, and still remains unclear,
that human beings could be imitated by Turing machines EVEN IF WE
FORGET TIMING. We make not only connections but new neurons, each
of which is one of those individually weak processors. That does not
look to me like the kind of thing that Turing machines could easily
imitate.

			Best wishes and long long life,

				Thomas Donaldson

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