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Neurons

Posted by Joseph L. Breeden on Jul 09, 2006; 8:34pm
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Neurons-tp522098.html


The problem is not the number of neurons, it's the architecture. I once
heard a LANL scientist give a talk touting their latest massively
parallel computer. He was actually foolish enough to say that they would
have so much computing power that when they turn it on, they didn't know
what would happen. Maybe it would  become sentient. I almost walked out.

Discussions about the number of neurons tend to be equivalent to saying
that if I could measure the exact chemical content of a human body, pour
it in a vat and stir, maybe I'd get a person. It's absurd, but
analogous. It's just a box of computer chips until someone gets the
right architecture.

To be amazed at what you can do with very few neurons, read this article
in New Scientist about a jumping spider that seems to be able to solve
problems that many mammals cannot.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg19025531.400.html

Just my humble opinion.

Joe


Joseph L Breeden, PhD
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