The idea about how the brain operates has been around for centuries and the amount of ideas surrounding it is endless. Some of the ideas that people have proposed are that the brain is meant to cool the blood or the brain is an electrical device (Thiede 2016). Although there are many theories that explain how the human mind works, one in particular is the theory that the human mind is a computer. John von Neumann proposed the idea of the human mind as a computer in 1958 and it became popular from his book about it. The similarities that have been found between humans and computers involve the way that cells and diodes function. Unfortunately, John von Neumann did not complete the idea of the human mind as a computer because he passed away before …show more content…
The nerve impulses change often and go at a fixed speed. It is often described as an electrical disturbance that has about 50 millivolts and lasts for about a millisecond. The vacuum tubes in a computer also have electrical relays that are similar to the one that occurs in the brain. Another feature that both the vacuum tube and nerves have is the thickness of the wall. The volume of the central nervous system and the density of the vacuum tubes are not exact. The last feature that both the vacuum tubes and nerves need is energy. Although, they do not get the energy the same way, both need it to …show more content…
In order for a computer to do the desirable task, it has to receive a code, which is a set of orders that gives details about what needs to be done. The codes are developed and formulated to be able to answer problems the computer is meant to solve. In a human, the codes in a computer are similar to the nerve pulses. In a human, the nerve impulses appear in a specific sequence as well as on a specific axon. It is not a random task, but it is rather structured to make sure the nerve pulses are working
The introduction to the article was interesting, “What has billions of individual pieces, trillions of connections, weights about 1.4 kilograms, and works on electrochemical energy? If you guessed a minicomputer you’re wrong. If you guessed the human brain, you’re correct!” I did not know the brain had quite this many connections. After reading our chapter I really started to grasp the complexity of the human brain and the amount of energy it expends. I felt that the article lacked facts like these further in. There was very little empirical numbers offered by the author Eric Chudler.
I find, however, that Clark’s conclusion is false, and that the following considerations provide a convincing argument for the premises leading to this conclusion, starting with premise one: “the brain is constructed like a computer, since both contain parts which enable them to function.” This statement is plausible, yet questionable. Yes, the mind contains tissue, veins, and nerves etc. which enable it to function, the same way that a computer contains wires, chips, and gigabytes etc. which it needs to function. However, can it be possible to compare the two when humans devised these parts and the computer itself so that it can function? If both “machines”, as Clark believes, were constructed by the same being this comparison might be more credible. Clark might argue that humans were made just as computers were made so therefore it could be appropriate to categorize them together. I feel that this response would fail because it is uncertain where exactly humans were made and how, unless one relies on faith, whereas computers are constructed by humans in warehouses or factories.
In the chapter “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era,” from The New Brain, written by Richard Restak, Restak makes some very good points on his view of multitasking and modern technology. He argues that multitasking is very inefficient and that our modern technology is making our minds weaker. Multitasking and modern technology is causing people to care too much what other people think of them, to not be able to focus on one topic, and to not be able to think for themselves.
At some point in our lives, we have wondered about the possibility of a computer being able to think. John Searle addresses this issue in his paper, “Can Computers Think?”, where he argues that computers cannot think because they are directed by formal information. This means that the information presented is only syntax with no semantics behind it. In this paper, I will elaborate more on Searle’s position and reasoning whilst critiquing his argument by saying that it is possible to derive semantics from syntax. Finally, I will analyze the significance of my criticism and present a possible response from Searle to defend his argument.
For years philosophers have enquired into the nature of the mind, and specifically the mysteries of intelligence and consciousness. (O’Brien 2017) One of these mysteries is how a material object, the brain, can produce thoughts and rational reasoning. The Computational Theory of Mind (CTM) was devised in response to this problem, and suggests that the brain is quite literally a computer, and that thinking is essentially computation. (BOOK) This idea was first theorised by philosopher Hilary Putnam, but was later developed by Jerry Fodor, and continues to be further investigated today as cognitive science, modern computers, and artificial intelligence continue to advance. [REF] Computer processing machines ‘think’ by recognising information
This paper involves how the brain and neurons works. The target is to display the brain and neurons behavior by sending signals. The nervous system that sends it like a text message. This becomes clear on how we exam in the brain. The techniques show how the brain create in order for the nerves about 100 billion cells. Neurons in the brain may be the only fractions of an inch in length. How powerful the brain could be while controlling everything around in. When it’s sending it signals to different places, and the neurons have three types: afferent neurons, efferent neurons, and the interneurons. In humans we see the old part of emotions which we create memories plus our brain controls heart beating, and breathing. The cortex helps us do outside of the brain touch, feel, smell, and see. It’s also our human thinking cap which we plan our day or when we have to do something that particular day. Our neurons are like pin head. It’s important that we know how our brain and neurons play a big part in our body. There the one’s that control our motions, the way we see things. Each neuron has a job to communicate with other neurons by the brain working network among each cell. Neurons are almost like a forest where they sending chemical signals. Neurons link up but they don’t actually touch each other. The synapses separates there branches. They released 50 different neurons.
Thinking is such a strange concept to me, I think about writing a paper and I have endless possibilities of what I could write. I find it amazing that we are compared to computers, when our brains are way more powerful than the fastest computer. Our brains adapt constantly and are always relating experiences with past ones; we learn concepts, rules and create relationships. We form concepts in order to generalize, relate things, and help our memory and aid in our reactions to certain environments and situations. Unlike computers we can tell when we need to rest or when we are getting a virus. Brains store information constantly and if it doesn’t make the cut or it isn’t important enough we get rid of it, instead of storing useless information that clogs up our processing. Although our brains are more complex and definitely hold more data, computers and our brains share characteristics. We both have an input of information, the processing stage and then the final output of information. Computers only use algorithms while our brains can use algorithms and heuristics. Even though our brains use more than one form of decision making our brain gives itself obstacles. We often like to delay our decision making but in the end we try to make a decision that best serves us, if not we learn from our mistakes (hopefully) to become a better person and change the next time we are faced with a similar situation.
When a message comes to the brain from body parts such as the hand, the brain dictates the body on how to respond such as instructing muscles in the hand to pull away from a hot stove. The nerves in one’s skin send a message of pain to the brain. In response, the brain sends a message back dictating the muscles in one’s hand to pull away from the source of pain. Sensory neurons are nerve cells that carry signals from outside of the body to the central nervous system. Neurons form nerve fibers that transmit impulses throughout the body. Neurons consists of three basic parts: the cell body, axon, and dendrites. The axon carries the nerve impulse along the cell. Sensory and motor neurons are insulated by a layer of myelin sheath, the myelin helps
The human brain is not a computer. A computer can store hundreds and thousands of documents and files permanently in its memory, but the human brain can not. Computer files can be stored permanently in secondary storage devices such as external hard drives and USB. On the other hand, human memory is neither transferable nor material. The human brain can not store memory permanently and accurately. Although the human brain is marvellous, human memory is highly unreliable due to memory distortion.
The traditional notion that seeks to compare human minds, with all its intricacies and biochemical functions, to that of artificially programmed digital computers, is self-defeating and it should be discredited in dialogs regarding the theory of artificial intelligence. This traditional notion is akin to comparing, in crude terms, cars and aeroplanes or ice cream and cream cheese. Human mental states are caused by various behaviours of elements in the brain, and these behaviours in are adjudged by the biochemical composition of our brains, which are responsible for our thoughts and functions. When we discuss mental states of systems it is important to distinguish between human brains and that of any natural or artificial organisms which is said to have central processing systems (i.e. brains of chimpanzees, microchips etc.). Although various similarities may exist between those systems in terms of functions and behaviourism, the intrinsic intentionality within those systems differ extensively. Although it may not be possible to prove that whether or not mental states exist at all in systems other than our own, in this paper I will strive to present arguments that a machine that computes and responds to inputs does indeed have a state of mind, but one that does not necessarily result in a form of mentality. This paper will discuss how the states and intentionality of digital computers are different from the states of human brains and yet they are indeed states of a mind resulting from various functions in their central processing systems.
Psychologists adhering to strong AI such as information processing psychologists believe that nonhuman machines can duplicate human intelligence and those adhering to weak AI such as humanistic and rationalistic psychologists believe that nonhuman machines can only simulate human intelligence. The Humanistic psychologists believe that humans have so many unique characteristics such as creativity, and the innate tendency to self-actualization that they cannot be duplicated. Thinking, according to strong AI, is the manipulation of symbols according to rules, and because computer programs manipulate symbols according to rules, they think. For the proponents of strong AI, computers do not simulate human cognitive processes instead they duplicate
In philosophy, the critical analysis on the relationship between the brain and mind is known the mind body problem. The following schools of thought have tried to solve the mind body problem. Dualism, this school of thought subscribes to the belief that the mind and brain exist independently of each other. Other dualists deny the fact that the mind is a part of the brain. This is because the mind and brain don’t share same
This is similar to the life of any computer. Humans gain information through the senses. Computers gain similar information through a video camera, a microphone, a touch pad or screen, and it is even possible for computers to analyze scents and chemicals. Humans also gain information through books, other people, and even computers, all of which computers can access through software, interfacing, and modems. For the past year, speech recognition software products have become mainstream(Lyons,176).
Von Neumann architecture, or the Von Neumann model, stems from a 1945 computer architecture description by the physicist, mathematician, and polymath John von Neumann and others. This describes a design architecture for an electronic digital computer with a control unit containing an instruction register and program counter , external mass storage, subdivisions of a processing unit consisting of arithmetic logic unit and processor registers, a memory to store both data and commands, also an input and output mechanisms. The meaning of the term has grown to mean a stored-program computer in which a command fetch and a data operation cannot occur at the same time because they share a common bus. This is commonly referred to as the Von Neumann bottleneck and often limits the performance of a system.
In the past few decades we have seen how computers are becoming more and more advance, challenging the abilities of the human brain. We have seen computers doing complex assignments like launching of a rocket or analysis from outer space. But the human brain is responsible for, thought, feelings, creativity, and other qualities that make us humans. So the brain has to be more complex and more complete than any computer. Besides if the brain created the computer, the computer cannot be better than the brain. There are many differences between the human brain and the computer, for example, the capacity to learn new things. Even the most advance computer can never learn like a human does. While we might be able to install new information onto a computer it can never learn new material by itself. Also computers are limited to what they “learn”, depending on the memory left or space in the hard disk not like the human brain which is constantly learning everyday. Computers can neither make judgments on what they are “learning” or disagree with the new material. They must accept into their memory what it’s being programmed onto them. Besides everything that is found in a computer is based on what the human brain has acquired though experience.