X-Message-Number: 26863
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 09:28:22 -0400
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: a little more for Yvan

A bit more for Yvan:

Rereading your answer to me, it looks to me that there is an essential
difference between the notion of tasks which a brain must perform
which each of us has. Our brains do not primarily act as calculators
and do tasks which have few restrictions on timing. Our brains have
evolved to do tasks for which timing becomes very important, something
which is true for many instances in the real world.

That is why I say that SIMULTANEOUS processing is so important. If
we were simply doing calculations, with no restriction as to when
we must complete them, even a single processor would serve. It's
because we are human beings living in a real world that we want
computers which will complete their calculations in less than 1 million
years. We could hardly flee a tiger if it took us 1 million years
to work out what to do.

Yes, this problem of timing is one that Turing did not consider at
all --- though to be fair, he was only considering calculations and
not the problem of fleeing a tiger. And because of this, Turing's
ideas start breaking down when we consider parallel computers of
any kind.

Just as small addition to my comments, to make one difference very
clear.

              Best wishes and long long life for all,

                   Thomas Donaldson

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