The Brain and the Computer
4 n5 k; |4 r9 n' O" V; k- G Some recent developments in the computer industry make scientists predict that the gap between human beings and machines will be closed about the year 20000.
+ u4 F1 N# @- M4 c To understand the significance of this prediction let us compare the human brain with existing computers. The brain consumes electrical energy at the rate of 25 watts and occupies a volume of one tenth of a cubic foot. The brain houses between 10 billion and 100 billion items of information. Every brain cell is directly connected to many other cells. As a result, the cells in which information is stored can communicate with thousands of other cells.* d. n- N9 K( P+ t
However, the computer consumes 1000,000 watts of electrical power and occupies hundreds of cubic feet of space. Its million items of immediately accessible information. In contrast, the computer memory is like a cell of pigeonholes, with no thinking capacity and no connections elsewhere.
9 I* J! B: c4 H; L In a word, the electronic brains are hopelessly inadequate in comparison with the human brains. |
发表于 2012-8-14 10:35:42
