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From: embronne@cs.vu.nl (Bronneberg EM)
Subject: Re: Men : Analogical or Digital ?
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Date: Fri, 23 Jun 1995 13:42:51 GMT
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James D. Marco (marcoj@ai.rl.af.mil) wrote:

: Given:Current theories indicate that neurons 'fire' according 
:       to some threshold value. The action of firing is all or 
:       nothing. (Hence, stimulation of a color receptor neuron 
:       is digital, based on photons (digital quanta!) of light 
:       energy.)  
:   
: Then: The human brain is digital at the base level.

I guess it's not quite that simple. Current theories do not state that the
firing of neurons is the only way of transferring information. In fact, there
are indications that some radical (I think it was NO [nitrogen-monoxide])
plays a role in brain-functions. One thing is for sure, cells communicate in
all sorts of ways. Why shouldn't communication between neurons influence
"thinking"?

: NOTE: A digital signal of speed S1 cannot be differentiated into 
:       individual quanta by an instrument capable of detection 
:       at speed S2 where S2<S1. Hence, a sufficiently fast digital 
:       signal will apear to be anolog with all the attributes.  
:    
:       Example:   The needle on an AC voltometer does not drop to 
:                  0 on each pulse of a 60cycle AC line. The 
:                  momentum of the needle/spindle acts as a buffer,
:                  holding the needle steady. (It neither registers
:                  0 nor the highest actual voltage.) 
:                  The smoothing supplied by momentum of the needle
:                  /spindle assembly makes the AC signal seem to be 
:                  analog, clearly, not detecting the movement of any 
:                  one electron of the current passing through the wire.

:      (Just a passing thought . . . ) 

Yeah, me, too.

:                               &;-)           marcoj@ai.rl.af.mil

Greetings from
Miel Bronneberg, embronne@cs.vu.nl
