Re: Neural netss (was Re: death of the mind.)

From: Eray Ozkural exa (erayo_at_bilkent.edu.tr)
Date: 09/23/04 

Date: 22 Sep 2004 18:16:57 -0700

feedbackdroids@yahoo.com (dan michaels) wrote in message news:<8d8494cf.0409220931.77227228@posting.google.com>...
> Hi Eray, let me give you an image to hold in your mind. First, forget
> about all of the metaphysics being discussed on this forum. Think
> about the question ... can the complexity of the brain completely
> account for generation all of the behavioral output and processing of
> all perceptual inputs, storage of memories, consciousness as we know
> it, etc, without recourse to external entities [spirits, ephemeral
> minds, cadres of homunculi, on and on]?
>
> Now think about there being some 100 trillion synapses located in a
> volume roughly the size of your own fist. This is literally a "sea" or
> "cloud" of synapses not unlike the idea of a cloud of electrons in
> some piece of matter. We're assuming of course that action at these
> synapses is fundamental to all mental/brain/behavioral processes. Now,
> if you could describe this mathematically, how would you go about
> doing so?

With discrete computation. The "why" is explained in prior posts. The
power of the continuum (if there is such a thing!) is not needed.
That's just fancy of some eccentric physicists who don't pay attention
to what can be known about matter. I am going to have to repeat
myself, but the brain is Turing-complete, and it is discrete. That is
why. It's not just a practical matter.

Regards, 

--
Eray Ozkural

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