Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy,sci.philosophy.tech
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!news.alpha.net!uwm.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!EU.net!uknet!festival!ainews!smaill
From: smaill@ai.ed.ac.uk (Alan Smaill)
Subject: Re: Penrose's new book
In-Reply-To: rickert@cs.niu.edu's message of 23 Oct 1994 14:57:06 -0500
Message-ID: <SMAILL.94Oct29104006@ossian.ai.ed.ac.uk>
Sender: news@aisb.ed.ac.uk (Network News Administrator)
Organization: DAI, University of Edinburgh
References: <389im1$86u@mp.cs.niu.edu> <1994Oct22.005737.2249@math.ucla.edu>
	<38a67l$g8i@mp.cs.niu.edu> <SMAILL.94Oct23112616@papa.dcs.ed.ac.uk>
	<38ef6i$oq3@mp.cs.niu.edu>
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 10:40:06 GMT
Lines: 18
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai.philosophy:21475 sci.philosophy.tech:16208

In article <38ef6i$oq3@mp.cs.niu.edu> rickert@cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) writes:

   The did Penrose `prove' that human consciousness could not be
   computerized?  Or did he merely `demonstrate' that collective
   mathematical consciousness, presumed to be eternal and presumed not
   to be constrained by physical limitations of planet earth, could not
   be computerized?

He makes the argument in terms of what " "the mathematical community"
is able to ascertain by reason and insight".  He says he believes
that the argument holds for the individual mathematician also, but
that is not the form that his argument takes.

--
Alan Smaill,                       JANET: A.Smaill@uk.ac.ed             
Department of Artificial           ARPA:  A.Smaill%uk.ac.ed@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
       Intelligence,               UUCP:  ...!uknet!ed.ac.uk!A.Smaill
Edinburgh University. 
