computer-go: Nothing is automatic

[John Aspinall <jga@xxxxxxx>]

At 5:09 PM -0700 11/12/99, Jeff Massung wrote:
> No need to be an ass.  Do you know how the brain works?  I certainly 
> don't, and I think I had a very valid question.  If you know the 
> answer, please, enlighten me.  If not, or you would like to add 
> something constructive to the question (like "I don't believe it can 
> be done automatically), please state that.
I'm sorry if my sarcastic tone obscured the message.  Here's what I'm 
trying to say:

 "Automatically" is a noise word in this discussion.  It has no 
content.  Nothing is automatic, if you look in sufficient detail.

 Example: the automatic transmission in a car.  It's automatic from 
the point of view of a driver, but to a mechanic there is mechanism 
causing things to happen.  Why did the car shift into third gear just 
then?  If you answer "it's automatic", you aren't answering the 
question.  (Or, you're answering it, only in the most banal sense.) 
An answer must speak about mechanism.  An answer might be: "because 
the shift-up threshold is set to 3500 rpm, and you just accelerated 
through 3500 rpm in second gear".

So my suggestion is: rephrase your question without the word 
"automatically".  That way, the question will have some content, and 
be more likely to get a meaningful answer.

 No one knows *completely* how the brain works.  But we do know lots 
and lots of things.  Here's one very inportant thing we do know:
  -  Only a *tiny* amount of brain function is observable by the 
conscious mind.  Your brain, and my brain, are doing lots and lots of 
things that we cannot, ever, know about.
 What this means is that any opinion we form by "thinking about our 
thinking", is probably wrong.

Good reading:  Daniel Dennett: "Consciousness Explained", which even 
though no book could live up to that title, does a tremendous job in 
coming close.  If you need to be convinced that we do not know what 
our own brains are doing, most of the time, then read this.  It'll be 
an eye opener.

John Aspinall
IS Robotics, Inc.
http://www.isr.com/