ins_akaa@jhunix.UUCP (03/28/86)
>> Maybe not, but this only applies to present-day computers. "Some people >> realize that brain cells don't feel emotions any more than toasters do"... >> doesn't mean that a combination of many brain cells cannot, and the same >> could apply to future computers with many times the capability of today's >> computers. >"Some people realize that brain cells don't feel emotions any more than >toasters do"... doesn't mean that a combination of many toasters cannot, and >the same could apply to future toasters with many times the capability of >today's toasters. You are actually quite correct. There's one problem here. Toasters can store perhaps two or three bytes of information. Consider how many toasters would be required to be as complex as a human brain. And as for the future toasters, toasters' primary function is to affect items of a definite physical size (toast). Future toasters with many times the capacity of ours would also be many times the SIZE. This doesn't apply to computers; just because it has 100 times as much memory and goes 100 times as fast doesn't make it 10000 times the size. So I fear that the making of intelligent, emotional toasters may be VERY far into the future. -- Kenneth Arromdee | | BITNET: G46I4701 at JHUVM, INS_AKAA at JHUVMS -|------|- CSNET: ins_akaa@jhunix.CSNET -|------|- ARPA: ins_akaa%jhunix@hopkins.ARPA -|------|- UUCP: {allegra!hopkins, seismo!umcp-cs, ihnp4!whuxcc} -|------|- !jhunix!ins_akaa | |
tainter@ihlpg.UUCP (Tainter) (03/31/86)
> You are actually quite correct. There's one problem here. Toasters can store > perhaps two or three bytes of information. Consider how many toasters > would be required to be as complex as a human brain. > Kenneth Arromdee | | While we are on toasters. Did you know that if you put a slice of bread into a toaster and wait a while a slice of toast will come out?! Where does that toast come from and where does the bread go? --j.a.tainter P.S. Does Helen Keller see it come/go if she is in the toaster alone?