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Article 5994 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: harnad@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Stevan Harnad)
Subject: Re: Hypothesis: I am a [sensory] Transducer
Message-ID: <1992Jun1.023730.20079@Princeton.EDU>
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Keywords: computation, transduction
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References: <9597@scott.ed.ac.uk> <1992May31.145204.16357@Princeton.EDU> <1992Jun1.012608.3756@mp.cs.niu.edu>
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1992 02:37:30 GMT
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In article <1992Jun1.012608.3756@mp.cs.niu.edu> rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) writes:

>  Much of my response will be on the theme of what a computer is.  But let
>me start by pointing out that a computer IS a transducer.

Of course I know this, and of course I know that a computation refers
to an implemented computation when it's running on a computer, and that
implementation means transduction of a certain kind. Just substitute
"TTT robot's sensory transducer" for "transducer" and maybe the message
will get through. All the analogies with how you get the data on a
digital or analog disk into a computer are irrelevant. Think only of a
TTT robot getting about in the real world of objects. And when you try
to substitute simulated transducers for its real sense organs, don't
think of getting data from a disk into core, but think of getting the
robot to hear and react as you do to the same sounds you are hearing,
see and react as you do to the same sights you are seeing. The devices
that transduce that real acoustic oscillation and that real EM
radiation are the ones in question. And do not assume that they
immediately crunch it into symbols either -- they could in principle
keep it analog all the way to the effectors (by which I likewise mean
robotic output devices, not the components of a computer). "I am a
[sensory] Transducer" means that I am one of those devices.
-- 
Stevan Harnad  Department of Psychology  Princeton University
harnad@clarity.princeton.edu / harnad@pucc.bitnet / srh@flash.bellcore.com 
harnad@learning.siemens.com / harnad@elbereth.rutgers.edu / (609)-921-7771


