The problem is not the number of neurons, it's the architecture. I once heard a LANL scientist give a talk touting their latest massively parallel computer. He was actually foolish enough to say that they would have so much computing power that when they turn it on, they didn't know what would happen. Maybe it would become sentient. I almost walked out.
Discussions about the number of neurons tend to be equivalent to saying that if I could measure the exact chemical content of a human body, pour it in a vat and stir, maybe I'd get a person. It's absurd, but analogous. It's just a box of computer chips until someone gets the right architecture. To be amazed at what you can do with very few neurons, read this article in New Scientist about a jumping spider that seems to be able to solve problems that many mammals cannot. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg19025531.400.html Just my humble opinion. Joe Joseph L Breeden, PhD President & COO Strategic Analytics Inc. o 505 995-4747 2935 Rodeo Park Drive East c 505 670-7670 Santa Fe, NM 87505 ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
