From: Mikko Särelä (msarela@cc.hut.fi)
Date: Sun Jan 15 2006 - 13:30:20 MST
And why do you claim that the chemical component is not computational? Is
it not a kind of way of doing mass communication within a brain and the
rest of the body?
- Mikko
On Sun, 15 Jan 2006, Phillip Huggan wrote:
> The reason this argument is a strawman is because we know to some degree
> how emotions work. We know it really has little if any to do with
> computation. We know it is a chemical hormonal process. Physical not
> computational. Everbody knows carbon is a more versatile element for
> chemical processes than is silicon. This has to do with valence shells
> and electron affinities. Nothing to do with any computational
> switching. The odds of finding silicon-based life out there are zero.
> I would say silicon based emotions are maybe possible in principle, but
> impossible to engineer on present computer architectures. We're not
> seriously going to debate that hormones are computational, are we?
> We're not seriously going to suggest a person made of legos can be sad,
> are we?
>
> fudley <fuddley@fastmail.fm> wrote: On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 "Phillip Huggan" said:
>
> > Why will *computer programs* above a complexity threshold
> > necessarily have feelings?
>
> And where did people get the bizarre notion that feelings are more
> difficult to come up with than intelligent action? Evolution found the
> exact opposite to be true. Most emotions come from the old reptilian
> part of our brain and that is about 450 million years old. The newer
> part, the part that distinguishes us from other animals, the part that
> comes up with smart ideas, is only about one million years old.
>
> And that’s not the only data point we have; which do you personally find
> more difficult to consistently produce, actions that are very smart or
> feelings? I unfortunately have far more feelings than very smart ideas,
> and I do not think I’m unusual in that regard.
>
> You could make a stronger case that computers may someday be emotional
> if they are not already, but they could never be smart; although I think
> they will do both.
>
> > I don't believe electrons and silicon will do it for
> > machines the way ions and carbon does it for us.
>
> Because everybody knows carbon is a far more emotional element than
> silicon and ions are more self aware than electrons.
>
>
>
>
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