Re:Roger Penrose on Why Consciousness Does Not Compute
by mixedbit on Friday May 05, 2017 @05:19AM
(#14272122)
> as long as it is software, is programmed with a very specific understanding of what is being programmed. Every line of code is intentional. Nothing exists in between the lines.
A reductionist would say that we can explain any phenomenon in the Universe because we know how atoms interact and everything is built out of atoms. When you ask why a tree grows, the answer that it grows because of the interactions between atoms is not useful and approaches the problem on too low level. Similarly a programmer can create artificial neurons and perfectly understand how these neurons operate on a low level, but it doesn't mean the programmer will understand the high level emergent phenomenons that can result from these low level interactions.
A reductionist would say that we can explain any phenomenon in the Universe because we know how atoms interact and everything is built out of atoms. When you ask why a tree grows, the answer that it grows because of the interactions between atoms is not useful and approaches the problem on too low level. Similarly a programmer can create artificial neurons and perfectly understand how these neurons operate on a low level, but it doesn't mean the programmer will understand the high level emergent phenomenons that can result from these low level interactions.