ashley@usage.csd.oz (Ashley Aitken) (09/29/90)
Here is a review of Hameroff's book that I wrote for the Australian Computer Journal. Ultimate Computing Book Review Dec 20 1988 HAMEROFF, S.R. 1987 Ultimate Computing: Biomolecular Consciousness and NanoTechnology Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam 357 DFL 160.00 (Hardback) Ultimate computing is claimed to be the ultimate destiny of both biological and artificial computational systems. This book attempts to follow the co-evolution of biology, in particular that relating to consciousness (more correctly, intelligence), and information processing technology. It suggests that they are both aiming to master the ultimate computing arena, nano-scale (billionth of meter and billionth of second) information processing. In doing this, the book discusses many things, most of them are related (sometimes very tenuously) to the cytoskeleton ( the internal functional structures of a cell). The author's premise is that the cytoskeleton (a nano-scale system) is the cell's information processing system, the location of the cell's intelligence, and hence the fundamental intelligence of the nervous system. The book is rooted in the biological sciences (which seems to be the author's background) but does not lack in the computational or philosophical areas. The main subject matter spans the brain/mind, the origins of life, cytocomputing, anesthesia (seeing the author is an anesthesiologist), and nanotechnology. The author preaches nano-systems with a fervour and has a peculiar fascination (bordering on cult following) for microtubules (tubular cytoskeletal structures). The discussion of nano-scale technologies, especially computing and engineering at an atomic level, is very interesting, although somewhat superficial, and includes Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes, Von Neumann Replicators and Feynman Machines. To say the book is speculative would be an under-statement. It contains a large number of "if"s, "maybe"s and "possible that"s. It may be wise to also read a number of other statements in the book with one of these quantifiers in mind. Unfortunately the drawings seem to lack insight and are rather confusing. In an area where they could have ran with the imagination, this is a pity. Being an inter-disciplinary text there is always the chance that some of the disciplinary jargon may deter those of a different discipline, but without considerable compromise there is no easy way around this and one must grin and bear it. The book does have an excellent and wide ranging review of the philosophy of the brain/mind/computer, and a rather extensive categorized reference section. The book was more enjoyable than I thought it would be at first glance. It has that out-in-space feel but there is a lot of down-to-earth interesting stuff dispersed throughout (proven by the fact that I pencil-marked a considerable portion). The book did seem to falter a bit in the middle with the over-cooked discussion of protein conformational dynamics, but came out of the oven rather well with the latter chapter on nanotechnology. So where does this book fit in ? It is definitely not a textbook or a research monograph. Any book which acknowledges Max Headroom and PC clones cannot be taken too seriously. But the point is, it is not a piece of science fiction (not all the time, anyway), rather it is a reasoned suggestion about where technology, information processing, and intelligence may have come from, and are possibly going to. To me, it most closely resembles a more factual, wide-ranging and well-researched (but still somewhat as soft) "Omni article". Hence, it really belongs on the magazine rack, not the book shelf. But we all read magazines from time to time, and I suggest that you may like to "have some fun!" and read it. The book would appeal directly to anyone with an interest in biological and synthetic intelligence (and to open-minded artificial intelligenciers) and indirectly to those interested in the future of information processing systems who don't mind a speculation every "page" in a while. Ashley Aitken University of New South Wales ashley@spectrum.cs.unsw.oz.au I guess, as the previous article pointed out, and what I pointed to as the mass of speculation, is that there is little evidence for any of Hammeroff's hypotheses. On a lighter note, I hope there never is (any evidence for the hypotheses). I am into brain simulation and it is tough enough at the neural level. I would surely give up the ghost if I needed to go to the cyto-skeleton level to capture intelligence. But then again this is the nano-technology group so, perhaps, I better finish now.