X-Message-Number: 4341
Date: 03 May 95 14:51:03 EDT
From: Michael Riskin <>
Subject: Intelligence, Contd'

  Yes and sure, Mr. Clark....I continually make judgments about who is
intelligent. And, as I have aged, what I used to consider intelligent has
undergone radical change, and possibly in the future the same will
continue to be true. I am willing to similiarly make judgments about
computer intelligence, but at this time it seems a lot easier and surer
than to do the same with human intelligence. Thats because I now factor in
"wit", "sense of humor", and "the ability to perceive anothers mood"
among other criteria of intelligence.  
  Probably computers were called computers because what they did was
compute. (I think that "calculators" preceded computers). My guess is
that they still merely compute.  My laptop 386 seems to compute better
than a 1960's 360/20, and I have no problem calling it more intelligent.
 Mr. Clark..I do not have personal knowledge of you. You may even be a
computer, but you appear to have more than computing ability. You seem to
be a "thinker" which in my terms is an advancement over "computer", which
was in turn an advancement over "calculator". I similiarly see my self as
a "thinker", so hello. You may not compute as fast as a computer, but you
are certainly more interesting than most computers I have met. One of the
reasons I say that is because this discussion appears to be important to
you... a concept I rarely encounter with my PC. 
 If you will bear with me another moment, I would say that that an
intellectual is someone/something that demonstrates intelligence.
My favorite definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the
William Tell Overture and not think about the Lone Ranger.
Michael Riskin


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