On 10/12/2012 1:54 PM, Russell Standish wrote:
On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 08:23:33AM -0400, Roger Clough wrote:
Hi Russell Standish
Life cannot survive without making choices,
like where to go next. To avoid an enemy. To get food.
This act of life obviously requires an autonomous choice.
Nobody can make it for you. It can't be pre-programmed.
Free autonomous choice is a description in my view of intelligence.
QED
The algorithm employed by certain bacteria is to travel in a straight
line if nutrient concentration is below a certain threshold, and to
tumble randomly if the nutrient concentration is above a certain
threshold.
Why is this effective? Ballistic motion (straight line case) exhibits
<\Delta x> proportional to<\Delta t> (average position change is
proportional to time), so its a good way to somewhere where resources
are more plentiful. By contrast chaotic motion has<\Delta x>
proportional to<sqrt\Delta t>, which means you stick around longer
and hoover up more of the good stuff.
Is this autonomous? You bet. Is it living? Yes - it's bacteria, although
a robot doing the same thing would not necessarily be living. Is it
intelligent? - nup.
I'd say "a little"; it's smarter than just ballistic motion alone. Intelligent behavior
isn't very well defined and admits of degrees.
Brent
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