On Wednesday 03 September 2008, Mike Tintner wrote: > I think this is a good important point. I've been groping confusedly > here. It seems to me computation necessarily involves the idea of > using a code (?). But the nervous system seems to me something > capable of functioning without a code - directly being imprinted on > by the world, and directly forming movements, (even if also involving > complex hierarchical processes), without any code. I've been > wondering whether computers couldn't also be designed to function > without a code in somewhat similar fashion. Any thoughts or ideas of > your own?
Hold on there -- the brain most certainly has "a code", if you will remember the gene expression and the general neurophysical nature of it all. I think partly the difference you might be seeing here is how much more complex and grown the brain is in comparison to somewhat fragile circuits and the ecological differences between the WWW and the combined evolutionary history keeping your neurons healthy each day. Anyway, because of the quantified nature of energy in general, the brain must be doing something physical and "operating on a code", or i.e. have an actual nature to it. I would like to see alternatives to this line of reasoning, of course. As for computers that don't have to be executing code all of the time. I've been wondering about machines that could also imitate the biological ability to recover from "errors" and not spontaneously burst into flames when something goes wrong in the Source. Clearly there's something of interest here. - Bryan who has gone 36 hours without sleep. Why am I here? ________________________________________ http://heybryan.org/ Engineers: http://heybryan.org/exp.html irc.freenode.net #hplusroadmap ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=111637683-c8fa51 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
