From: mhf4421@usl.edu (Flynn Matthew H)
Subject: Re: Brain and Mind (was: Logic and God)
Organization: University of Southwestern Louisiana
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 17:45:28 GMT

Hi,  I'm not exactly an expert on AI or anything, but well, what am I 
apologizing for anyhow....

n looking at the problem of understanding, it is necessary to look at the 
different levels of what we call human understanding.  These different levels
are nicely seen in contrast in grammar school.  For example, third grade, 
multiplication tables.  A child is taught that 2*1=2, 2*2=4, 2*3=6, etc.
This is very similar to the Chinese room, in that the student does not know
why 2*3=6, but if they are given 2 and three, and are told to times them, they
will respond "6".  Some time later on the students are taught the associative
and communicative principles, and they "understand" multiplication a bit better.In other words, they have been given an extra set of instructions to deal with.
Perhaps they are taught geometry, and the concept of length times width equals
area--another set of instructions.  

Derrida and De Sausare (sp.?) argue rather convincingly that language is
arbitrary, and there is no real reason why any particular word, letter, or    
phoneme need mean what we accept it to mean.  Why do we understand tham to mean
what they do?  Because our mind has been programmed to accept them as meaning 
such.  Why does 2*3=6?  because that is what we have learned.  The number of
units in three sets of two units is six.  Or else 2*3=6 because 3*2=6, or else
2*3=6 because (1+1)+(1+1)+(1+1)=6, or else 10*11=110.  Once we have this fully
encoded into our brain we understand it.  Some people have difficulty with the
code, and never really "understand" multiplication.

So I think that most of the things we learn to understand can be seen as 
programs, like on a computer or in the chinese room.  But what about awareness,
and consiousness? is the next question.  awareness of things outside of our-
selves has obvious parallels to the computer world.  We "see" because our
retinas react to light and fire neurons, which fire more neurons, and so on intothe brain, where the composite of all the neurons form what we call an image.  
Each bit perfoms a function, and none of the functions individually can be
called "seeing".  The retina does not see, neither the brain, but the two
together perform a process called sight.  why?  because that is what they are
programmed to do.  Do we understand what "seeing" is though?  Do we really know
thet the image the brain forms has anything to do with what is in front of our
eye?  Or have we been programmed to react to what that image is, just as a 
computer  prints "b" when we press the "b" key, and remembers it (in RAM, until it is overwritten), the eye sees "red" when the eye reacts to "red" light.

The thing that is confusing really is human "thinking".  This is where we seem
to be aware of ideas and words in our mind--almost like hearing a voice, only
it is inside of us, rother than external.  We seem to be stimulated by something and yet we do not know what.  Where does that voice come from?  The patterns, 
sounds and images formed can easily be related to the images formed by eyes and
ears, the brain is performing similar functions, and yet not from these input
sources.  Where form then?  How about internal memory?  The brain processes 
old sights, sounds and feelings according to another code (one we haven't
figured out as much) and places them back into memory.  

But then, what is perceiving all this.  What is sensing our sensing things?  
Cogito ergo sum...but who is the I?  Every function a human performs can potent-ially be simulated by a computer, but does it care?  A computer can "understand"much as a human does, but does it percieve itself doing so?  Aye, there's the
rub.  Somehow our CPU is aware that it is processing information, but it is 
impossible to know if a computer's CPU does the same.  At this stage it seems
unlikely.

Question,  at what level in our physiology does awareness begin?  is a zygote
aware?   how does an embryo's cells know what to do before a brain is formed?
If a zygote is aware, how about protiens?  I know this is metaphysics, but there
must be a start somewhere.  

I'm sorry that this is so unfocussed, but I think there are several points here that could be addressed.  Any reactions?  Answers?


M.H.Flynn