Difference between computer and human brain

[Kuldeep]

Fonceai in the thread "what is soul" has nicely tried to compared computer and computer user to human physical body and the associated soul. I did point out my side difference which I am quoting for ready reference

Quote by: Kuldeep I find the analogy between computer & its user with living human being quite interesting and also cleaverly put. I would like to add a bit from my side as: Self (which we call individual) is associated with metaphysical mind, which in turn is associated with physical full physical body including memory of course. So to my mind the self + metaphysical mind = Soul. This soul not only evaluates, enjoys the individual existence of self but also makes various internal and external body functions of a personpossible. Contarary to this, various systems in computer are run by electricity and electrons flow while computer user only enjoys the computer functioning. I want to point out that in case of computer, system functioning and user are two different identities while in case of living being both the fuctions are due to one identity viz. Soul you may call it!

I am not touching emotions, sentiments, desires, thoughts presently. Only fuctioning as regards memory has been discussed that too not in detail. Let me see how others would educate us as per latest scientific understanding of brain vis-a-vis computer fuctioning.:eek:

[Zhavric]

While the analogy is romantic, I fail to see how it's accurate. We have evidence of computers and computer users. We have no evidence of souls, let alone souls using human bodies as a computer.

Instead, what all evidence points to is consciousness as a type of software and the brain as its corresponding hardware. Internet explorer and human personality can both look very flashy, but sever a few neural pathways or silicon chips and they both function abnormally (or not at all).

The brain is complicated, but our knowledge of it is increasing greatly.

[Athena]

Immediately your words cause me to question, will a computer ever love? Will a computer ever have empathy for another? Will a computer ever desire to protect others or to releave the suffering of others? Do not our human judgements rest on our feelings? Without a body, isn't a computer lacking the feelings necessary for human judgements?

Did Star Trek tackle this problem many times? Does anyone desire to be part of the Borg?

[rez]

Quote by: Kuldeep Fonceai in the thread "what is soul" has nicely tried to compared computer and computer user to human physical body and the associated soul. I did point out my side difference which I am quoting for ready reference I am not touching emotions, sentiments, desires, thoughts presently. Only fuctioning as regards memory has been discussed that too not in detail. Let me see how others would educate us as per latest scientific understanding of brain vis-a-vis computer fuctioning.:eek:

Artificial Intelligence.

Quote by: Kuldeep This soul not only evaluates, enjoys the individual existence of self but also makes various internal and external body functions of a personpossible. Contarary to this, various systems in computer are run by electricity and electrons flow while computer user only enjoys the computer functioning.

You described nothing more then a highly advanced social animal. I as a human animal understand existence because my ancestors millions of years ago were pressured in certain ways to do so. You should investigate the idea behind "memes", so that you can compare the two concepts together.
Although humans may seem to have something special within, its really based in nature rather then something that exists outside of nature. (you can read a nice thread that Zharvic started about memes for even further study, I think its titlted "Q & A about memes")

Consciousness expands and becomes clearer as time goes on, but also needs the power of the physical body so it can operate like a computer. One major difference between computers and living organisms deals with how organisms in the Universe were unintentional made by natural means.

I take the materialistic perspective toward the Universe; however, this perspective does not limit my imagination. Although I do not think the human body NATURALLY developed a soul, I do believe humans can create one in the future.

[rez]

Quote by: Athena Immediately your words cause me to question, will a computer ever love? Will a computer ever have empathy for another? Will a computer ever desire to protect others or to releave the suffering of others? Do not our human judgements rest on our feelings? Without a body, isn't a computer lacking the feelings necessary for human judgements? Did Star Trek tackle this problem many times? Does anyone desire to be part of the Borg?

Although it may sound foolish to say, you are a natural borg - you just are so use to it.

[Jack]

Present computer technology is no match for the human brain. Computers can't appreciate nuance. They can't make assumptions. Our brains are not binary.

[Autolykos]

On the contrary, Isherwood, our brains are binary. Every neuron has an "excited" state and a "rest" state. The excited state can be considered a "1" and the rest state a "0".

- Rob

[rez]

Maybe we should bring back Autolykos's thread - Neural Nets and the Human Brain and share more information.

[Nathan Struth]

I think the neurons have moer states than two. My theory is that the brain is a gradually increasing state computer. Remember that there are 3-state computers. Brains are definitely some form of an organic computer.

[Autolykos]

AFAIK, every neuron has one and only one threshold at which it "pulses". Thus, there are only two states: "on" (1) and "off" (0).

- Rob

[Zhavric]

Quote by: Nathan Struth I think the neurons have moer states than two.

Please provide your evidence for this assertion.

[Kuldeep]

Quote by: Rez Consciousness expands and becomes clearer as time goes on, but also needs the power of the physical body so it can operate like a computer. One major difference between computers and living organisms deals with how organisms in the Universe were unintentional made by natural means.

Generally people try to go from body to soul and then to absolute self (Individual consciousness) while; I try to start from consciouness (what individual call "I"). This consciousness desires to know about itself. This desire develops with the help of meta-physical mind into what can be termed as SOUL. Still, this soul though naturally developed with a purpose is not physical as we humaen understand. In order to be so, nature has kept sex drive in living beings (even in plants) via which physical bodies are developed fed first by mother's system them by individual's SOUL. Thus, to my mind both the Soul and the physical body are naturally made and that too with a definite purpose.:)

I take the materialistic perspective toward the Universe; however, this perspective does not limit my imagination. Although I do not think the human body NATURALLY developed a soul, I do believe humans can create one in the future.

Rather, I think soul developed a body with a purpose of understanding itself better in physical form. I have also reservations that human can create soul in future since soul is not a physical identity.:(

[Kuldeep]

@Zhavric
Yes, I know the comparison is not accurate. Also the human brain is much more complicated than a computer. So most of the questions Athena raised are correct but difficult to answer with current scietific knowledge. Those can be answered only with help of consciousness and ego of self (the feeling of existence). The sum total of self and meta-physical mind (soul) has all the properties of feeling of desire, love, affection, selfishness and the like. These properties would never be fed and developed in computer for long long time to come!!!!

[Jack]

Yeah, I agree, Autolykos. I should have said the mind, not the physical brain. I meant cognitive abilities. The interactivity of those neurons. That's where we add the extra dimensions to reality that computers can't yet comprehend.

[Fonceai]

Since this stemmed from my post, I might as well elaborate on the concept here. I'll repeat concepts we all probably already know so that the comparison clarity can be made more accurately.

Computer

Hard Drive: Storage of all data ever fed into the computer.
RAM: Storage of all data currently being used by the computer.
Processor: Speed at which computer processes data and also autonomous memory of how to process information (assembly/machine code).

Brain

Memory: Storage of all data.
Short-term memory: Storage for all data being used.
"Good memory": Misnomer. Everyone has the same memory. This is used for people who access memories faster.

"Smart" people aren't smarter than anyone else, they just recall information faster.

Intelligence is the amount of information stored.
Smarts is the speed at which a person accesses it.

Where does computer data come from? Input.

Where from? A computer stores whatever the user puts into it.

That's the computer's "senses".

Same with a brain. Input from the senses.

Here is the only way in which a brain differs from a computer...

The soul.

The data input from the senses has multiple components depending on the senses involved. The addition, from the soul, is the interpretation and emotion and weight attached to it.

Computers don't evaluate the data they have. The computer doesn't have an image of child porn and feel revulsion. A person does, or doesn't, depending on how their soul accepts such information.

[Nathan Struth]

Think of a neuron pulsing faster that it usually does autolykos. That's the pain response you know. The faster a neuron pulses the more pain you get. It doesn't matter about the strngth of the pulses. There we have a 2 pulse/ second state. a 3 pulse/second state. I've allready defined 4 states.

0 pulse/sec state
1 pulse/sec state
2 pulse/sec state
3 pulse/sec state

The list goes on and on. Nice Foncei about the computers tot he brain analogy.

[Fonceai]

@Nathan

At first blush you are correct about pain.

Pain is a more intense version of the sense of touch where the pressure is so great that it's damaging the body.

But...

It's not faster pulses of one neuron, it's more neurons pulsing.

Touch is touch. Binary.

But if you push harder, deeper receptors are being triggered.

Still binary.

[Jagged]

I understand the argument, but it pretty much 'cleverly' defines the soul to be something a computer is, while quietly ignoring the rest. You can say the same about plants, virii, ipods, or even a microwave. Am i wrong?

[Fonceai]

You didn't quite catch the analogy.

The soul is what places significance and priority and weight and emotion on our memories.

If a computer could review the data it had stored and could decide which pieces of data were more important than others, it would have more of a soul.

As it is now, simulations like Black and White 2 and Creatures 3 mimic this process by telling the avatar / creature that certain things are bad, and then letting it evaluate which actions cause bad things.

It's a heuristic process that humans do automatically, intuitively, and without prompting. That ability to instantly know how to evaluate on our own and decide good from bad on our own is the soul.

Our bodies are nothing more than robots... systems and organic machinery put together to operate and gather data for the brain and the ability to refuel itself.

[Jagged]

"Smart" people aren't smarter than anyone else, they just recall information faster.

I thought the definition of a "Smart" person was one that is smarter- we get what you are saying but you can't define the real definition of a word by saying its not the word, or what people usually think the word means, because its ambiguous and not everybody has the same previous definition of smart in their heads beforehand. Also, i think this is partially just speculation. Is smartness only categorized by being able to recall information fast? I thought it would also include such characteristics such as being able to recognize new patterns and coming up with creative ideas.

Intelligence is the amount of information stored. Smarts is the speed at which a person accesses it.

I feel the definitions of terms have been way oversimplified to make a point, and you're undermining the complexity of the brain, which i partially believe may be the only difference between the brain and a computer, other than creativity.