Re: brains, telphones and microprocessors

Paul Dillon (dillonph who-is-at northcoast.com)
Thu, 30 Sep 1999 08:08:59 -0700

Regardless of whether the network metaphor of the mind is appropriate, I
find it interesting that the major development of the synapses (the wiring
of the telephone network if we make the equivalence brain=mind, which I
don't) occurs after birth and continues until approximately the age 7 at
which time, according to the report I listened to about this, there is a
paring back.

So internalization has a physical embodiment (surely not symmetical) in
synaptic structure. Isn't this what one would expect?? After watching "The
Matrix" or "Existenz" one begins to wonder whether the brain is a necessary
physical basis for the existence of mind but then there's the nagging issue
of self-consciousness invevitably being connected to a living body.

Paul H. Dillon

-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Robinson <bruce.rob who-is-at btinternet.com>
To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Date: Saturday, October 02, 1999 1:55 PM
Subject: Re: brains, telphones and microprocessors

>
>
>
>> (Thorndike and Woodworth 1901) "The mind consisting not of large
>capacities
>> such as memory and reasoning waiting to be developed. but of
"multitudious
>> sperate individual functions", a kind of switch board with innummerable
>> wires connecting discrete points."
>
>I've a feeling (which may be wrong) that it was also in McCulloch and
Pitt's
>1944 paper on neuronal connection.
>
>Bruce
>
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: George McKinlay <mckinlay who-is-at unr.edu>
>> To: <xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu>
>> Sent: Saturday, October 02, 1999 1:34 AM
>> Subject: brains, telphones and microprocessors
>>
>>
>> >
>> >
>> > I remember reading an interesting analogy between the human brain and a
>> telephone system, needless to say
>> > it was a rather dated piece of work (the analogy I mean) but it did so
>> much smack of the "brain as
>> > computer" model that I thought it would be rather fun to do a little
>> comparison... now my problem (among
>> > others) is that my brain doesn't store information like a computer
>does;
>> so I have this rather vague
>> > recollection about that work...
>> >
>> > Anybody out there know the source of my telephonic analogy
>> >
>> > Of course any other trivial trivia about treating the brain like a hunk
>> of silicon would also be
>> > appreciated
>> >
>> > Cheers
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>