Is the brain a computer?

[nightning]

This is interesting too. Off topic, but interesting.
This too.

I'm not sure; how many of you people are actually into computers? Or the brain?

I hope my posts aren't too esoteric.

DNA computing... interesting. I would like to know what exactly are they using the DNA for other than info storage... However isn't a system with 4 bases automatically stores more info than something in base 2 in a given length of sequence? The question I don't get is how exactly does it speed up processing rate? By reducing length of inputs and outputs? I don't think I'm getting this correctly...

I'm into brain/psychology... computers I'm less familiar with, although I find some things to be interesting as well.

Upon deeper inspection of this idea we share, I hold that it would be a near hopeless endeavor, not because it would be impossible to analyze the routes of the neurons, but rather that every slice would be so different that we'd have hardship trying to get each one to work on the same language.

Well, we're not trying to build a brain from scratch. If you're going to do that, you're better off getting a bunch of neurons and figuring out how to hook them up the way you want them to using neurotransmitters, growth factors and attractants. That's still beyond the levels of current science but that's besides the point. All we're trying to say here is that the brain can be a type of computer. So we really would only need to make one that models parallel processing by connecting multiple simple circuits together. A big mess, but still it's an interesting idea. Actually, we don't really need to build it. Why not use a computer program to model the system? Simulation of a simple neural network has been done before I think So the only thing missing would be the physical components that make up this system.

Hmmm now how do you get a simulation to make a decision? Wait... the main difference between a brain and a computer is the degree of self awareness... minus that... self-programming. I don't see how that's not simulatable... the travelling salesman problem... solvable by a program that mimics behavior of ants. Is that not self-learning? *scratches head* Maybe not... hmmm

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Who said anything about robots?

This is not about robots or AI. It's about computers.

Doesn't change anything, but you don't think AI is a relevant topic in discussing whether the brain makes calculations like a computer does, and vice versa, whether a computer makes (or can make) calculations like a brain does?

 

[redacted]

Doesn't change anything, but you don't think AI is a relevant topic in discussing whether the brain makes calculations like a computer does, and vice versa, whether a computer makes (or can make) calculations like a brain does?

do you think it's theoretically possible to replicate each routine (function) in the human body, and instantiate those routines in a computer? if so, would the computer be any different (excluding processing speed/material)?

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

do you think it's theoretically possible to replicate each routine (function) in the human body, and instantiate those routines in a computer? if so, would the computer be any different (excluding processing speed/material)?

Can we build a perfect human body from scratch? Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[ygolo]

I've posted this before (in BlueWing's blog, I think).

This book is an interesting read:
On Intelligence

The hypothesis of what the "cortical algorithm" is seems very plausible to me.

The essence is that that the neocortex (for computational purposes) is a hierarchical neural-network organized as an associative memory.

There is even a dedicated forum on the On intelligence website.

See also: computational neuroscience

 

[Nocapszy]

Doesn't change anything, but you don't think AI is a relevant topic in discussing whether the brain makes calculations like a computer does, and vice versa, whether a computer makes (or can make) calculations like a brain does?

Yes. It does. AI is intended to mimic human behavior. Computers are not.

It's my speculation that computers DO mimic human behavior by accidental projection, where because we're concentrating on making a carbon copy of the human mind with AI, we screw up because we don't know enough about it. There's a great difference.

 

[Nocapszy]

Can we build a perfect human body from scratch? Your guess is as good as mine.

We did it with a rats heart. I think with enough research and study, we'd be able to do the same with any organism.

 

[Nocapszy]

This is interesting too. Off topic, but interesting.
This too.

I'm not sure; how many of you people are actually into computers? Or the brain?

I hope my posts aren't too esoteric.

Dr. Quantum

Observe the video. It's somewhat comparable to the notion that when being directly observed, whatever is being observed, changes its behavior. Or at least that our perceptions are faulty to begin with.

 

[Carebear]

Observe the video. It's somewhat comparable to the notion that when being directly observed, whatever is being observed, changes its behavior. Or at least that our perceptions are faulty to begin with.

I changed the behavior of a youtube video! (Or I have faulty perception.)

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

We did it with a rats heart. I think with enough research and study, we'd be able to do the same with any organism.

It wasn't built from scratch, though. It was built for organic matter and genes. We didn't build the genes, nor the cells.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Yes. It does. AI is intended to mimic human behavior. Computers are not.

It's my speculation that computers DO mimic human behavior by accidental projection, where because we're concentrating on making a carbon copy of the human mind with AI, we screw up because we don't know enough about it. There's a great difference.

Meh. I've lost interest in this thread. Said what I had to say.

 

[Eldanen]

In my opinion, the mind is like a highly advanced router. It doesn't house consciousness itself, but sorta is like the radio that tunes in all of our higher spiritual pieces, modules, wholes, etc.

 

[Carebear]

So if you're on drugs, alcohol etc, you're not altering the consciousness itself, you're just tuning into different frequencies?

 

[Grayscale]

exhibit a:

exhibit b:

 

[Nocapszy]

In my opinion, the mind is like a highly advanced router. It doesn't house consciousness itself, but sorta is like the radio that tunes in all of our higher spiritual pieces, modules, wholes, etc.

Wtf?

I can understand considering this, but it sounds like you've completely accepted this notion. What evidence: I'm dying to hear.

 

[Nocapszy]

It wasn't built from scratch, though. It was built for organic matter and genes. We didn't build the genes, nor the cells.

True enough. We only grafted parts to make a working whole. A Frankenstein heart.

Meh. I've lost interest in this thread. Said what I had to say.

Thank you for the dissension. It was helpful.

x2

 

[Nocapszy]

IMGs

ISTP is an appropriate tag.

 

[Eldanen]

So if you're on drugs, alcohol etc, you're not altering the consciousness itself, you're just tuning into different frequencies?

Well, altered states of consciousness to me /are/ different frequencies. It's just that when you take drugs, you might get a jumbled mix . Plus, taking the router analogy, the drugs could do something to the router.

As far as evidence goes, I have nothing empirical . I just took what I knew about the brain supposedly being holographic, and mixed it with the idea of "phasing". More info on that here:

Phasing Resource

 

[Nocapszy]

What do you mean by holographic?

 

[Eldanen]

Holographic in that when you take a piece out of the whole, the piece you took out is a smaller representation of the whole. You can look at the part, and see the whole. If you've ever seen pictures made up of other pictures, it's kind of like this. Imagine a picture of a lion made up of thousands of pictures of other lions that were really small pictures .