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From: jiml@dragon.teleride.on.ca (Jim Lai)
Subject: Re: Thought Question
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References: <3dfhkq$gov@news.worldlink.com> <3ec1o8$sno@agate.berkeley.edu> <d-sears1.2.000D2126@uiuc.edu> <3edkgf$mmb@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 17:36:49 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai.alife:1633 comp.ai.philosophy:24311 comp.ai:26224

In article <3edkgf$mmb@agate.berkeley.edu>,
 <jerrybro@uclink2.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>d-sears1@uiuc.edu (D. Searsmith) wrote:
>> In other words if the brain is a computational device
>
>Yes, if.  Here's one of many reasons to doubt this:  Two computers
>can perform the same computation running at different speeds.
>However, if the brain is somehow "slowed down" sufficiently, the
>result will be a decrease in the ability of the brain to perform
>its function.  For example, I wouldn't trust a slowed-down
>brain behind the wheel of a car, or a sped-up brain for that
>matter.

"Slowed down" and "sped up" mean something differently for a brain,
which is operating asynchronously, and a computer, which usually
operates synchronously with the clock.  The computer is effectively
operating on a virtual time, which may be sped up or slowed down
compared to realtime.  The brain is -always- running on realtime, as
is the hardware underlying the computer.  Btw, there are processor
designs being toyed with whose computations are clock speed dependent,
as the optimizing compilers will take into account the varying speeds
of different components of the processor.  A direct hardware analogy
to "slow down" and "speed up" of the brain would probably be to
introduce timing errors in the circuitry.  Of course, the design of the
brain is a lot more fault-tolerant than current computer design.

GrimJim
