The Thinker

* See also Era_Computers
* See also Bio-Electronics
* See also Rapture Computers
* See also Era_Electronics
* See also Minervas Den (DLC and Levels) Minervas_Den_The_Thinker
* See also Porter
* See also Wahl
* See also Marketing_Hype
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Minervas Den Tour Hokery :
That big thing ( a writer attempt at a "H A L 9000" image ? ) in the (control) Tour 'demonstration' room was in reality just a lot of high voltage trickery, to show to people who would not be impressed by what real computers mostly looked like.
BTW, Why wasn't the computer called 'Minerva' (God of Wisdom) ?? 
"The Thinker" was already Ver 3.1 (after many upgrades), and still had some problem with rebooting frequently for unexplained reasons ( 'Blue Screen of Death' or as Wahl put it - "another Major Fuq-o-rama" ). The big goofy thing facing the control room wouldn't appear to shut down when the computer 'barfed', so the Tourists wouldn't realize what problems really were going on.
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The Great OZ :
The Thinker CORE with that big 'Spark making' crap - - A bit of theatrics ...   Real computers, once you get over the pretty flashing lights, are fairly boring.   Somewhere was a sign that said 'No Tours of the Thinker', but it is set up as if they did have tours at one time into that room 'The Thinker' edifice was in ( even though the machine is actually most of that building. )   Why else have a title sign hanging on it, or the Vending machines ?
At minimum, it would be shown to 'wow' Customers of the computing service which Central Computing provided.
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The Thinker  - Acronym R.O.D.I.N (Rapture Operational Data Interpreter Network) :
* "A supercomputer powered by an ADAM based artificial intelligence" implies biological components.
* The logic 'disks' made from Sea Slug brains ( of all types - not ADAM Sea_Slugs ) were treated with ADAM for their forming/conditioning/programming.
* 'The Thinker' is made of thousands of these disks tied together to create the 'Thinking Network'.
* New logic 'disks' are being produced to extend "The Thinker" as well as to build smaller general purpose control computers ( and to restore some of the automatic systems in the City ).
* Since there are more than enough 'ordinary' Sea Slugs, there isn't any Bounty on them, though they still have some value as the Research labs regularly buy them.
* A Laser Cannon for the Lighthouse was proposed (to Ryan) after promising tests in Minerva's Den ( probably a bid for funding when the unit was barely working ). Besides having insufficient range to deal with smugglers ships ( Ryan's main  concern ) scaling the unit up from the sized used for Fly-bots would have been a significant challenge.
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Myth about 'The Thinker and Central Computing :
Transcript: "We make it all run. The brains in those bots and cameras? That's us. Automatic bathysphere navigation, calculating genetic probabilities for new Plasmids, hell, regulatin' water pressure so this place ain't a fish tank. It's all Rapture Central Computing. Not that we get the recognition. Funny thing about livin' in the city of tomorrow, everybody takes it for granted."
Consider here its likely a Splicer talking,  or someone believing their own Companies hype/advertisements ...  It really cannot work that way for real ( or in any practical sense ).
Rapture is NOT quite as 'remote' controlled as it sounds there.  Most of these computing solutions/uses are the domain of simpler local devices doing their specific tasks, instead of some huge 'Central' unit.  'Central' would impractically require data wires running the miles for each controlled thing to 'Central' ( the issue is simply cost/practicality ).   AND such a 'Central would be a 'single failure point' which would lead everything (Rapture) to collapse when even something minor went wrong.
Monitoring and Dispatching for repairs, and traffic control are more likely.  Certain (optional) 'value added' solutions ( like 'load-leveling' to improve utility efficiency ) would be a proper use.  NOT some dim 'auto-opening every door' for you.
THESE are a bit more Accurate :
"Rapture depends on The Thinker every day! Dispatching trains to commuters, making assembly lines more efficient, and keeping the air fresh!" - Advertisement
"Mr. Ryan hired me to build a computer that could keep an entire city running on time - the Rapture Operational Data Interpreter Network. Folks call it 'The Thinker' for short." - C.M. Porter
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The THINKER  'Opening Doors' ? :
Is there actually a quote anywhere in the game that supports this idea ???
Electric eye/capacitance sensors, a contact plate, some solenoids and maybe a safety interlock to prevent opening when the other side is flooded ...   No need to run wires for every door miles back to 'The Thinker' to do something which some simple electrical circuitry could do.
"Rapture depends on The Thinker every day! Dispatching trains to commuters, making assembly lines more efficient, and keeping the air fresh!" - Advertisement      --- THIS is actually much better.
Many systems in Rapture would be similar - Local automatic systems doing the grunt work ( a semi-smart control box locally ), but with something else added maybe to Monitor, or to Coordinate tuning things for efficiency, or directing operations ( with the local system doing the basic work ). 
Note - Everything had to already operate BEFORE The Thinker Ever Existed in Rapture.
* Routing Trolleys, Trains, Bathyspheres, Elevators for efficiency.  
* Shifting Power/Temperature/Airflows to meet varying demands.   
* Phone/Pneumo routing 
* Things where efficient 'load leveling' of traffic and failure redundancy can be done.   
* Coordination/prioritization of repair tasks in the City, and dispatching various resources ( including Big Daddies ) 
THESE are things that can be done for 'value added' efficient operations.
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== Minervas Den Story Timeline : ==
* 1945 - W W 2 ends
* 1946 - Rapture Founded ( with Planning for its Utility/Transport Systems )
* Wahl's arrival with early Surface Computers ( little more than automatic adding machines )
* Rapture Central Computing started ( Small Surface computers for Business billings and Research Calculations )
* McClendon's arrival, and founding of McClendon Robotics
* First Mainframe (is imported)
* Porter's Emigration
* Computers used for City System Monitoring (Data Network)
* The First Computer Game (in Rapture)
* 1952 Computers used to assist genetic research - Robotics and Automation advancements (largely McClendon)
* 1953 The Bio-Electronics Revolution begins
* Automated Submarine ( Autopilot on the Cable Bathyspheres - NOT a free movement system )
* First Flybot tested ( with human remote operator )
* Electronic 'Genetic' Keys product (bio-electronic encryption)
* 1957 Thinker AI project by Porter working
* The Thinker Voice mimicry is developed
* 1959 Raptures 'civil war' (terrorist strife) starts
* Porter is framed by Wahl ( using that voice mimicry ), is arrested and sent to Persephone
* Porter attempts suicide, brain damage, is recycled as Alpha 'Sigma' (experimental 'Protectors')
* McClendon's Robotic Little Sisters Project fails ( project redirected to Robot Servitor gimmick )
* McClendon's death (murdered by Wahl ?)
* Closing off of Minervas Den by Wahl
* Events of BS1
* 1961 ? Ryan's 'Death' - the Rapture Chaos begins
* Events of Minervas Den (The Omega Adventure)
* Wahl killed, Porter/Tenenbaum leave Rapture for The Surface
* Tenenbaum returns to Rapture seeking her 'Cure' method
* 'Johnny' comes to Minervas Den (Delta Clone/Resuscitation ?)
* Founding of New Rapture (The Thinker being incorporated)
* Johnny leaves Rapture ( Bringing about Sofia Lamb's demise on The Surface )
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Did "The Thinker" Really Speak to Porter ? *OR* Was Most of That Really "In Porter/Sigma's Head" ? :
Was the 'before' time Porter a "Splicer' in any way ? Oh, just imbibing to be 'Social' ? Or to fight his Depression ??? The possible Effects might mean quite alot to the story that followed.
Porter, as Sigma, WAS heavily Spliced, and his mind was warped by his Big Daddy conditioning. (Who really knows what is in a drug-addled head ??) Pre-programmed Directives are being ordered from Rapture Central Dispatching. Something 'The Thinker' could actually be realistic for :
* "See to Little Sister waiting at Vent #56 Port Neptune" ... 
* "Destroy Intruder at Dock Port #5, Welcome Center" ... 
* "Tighten Valve in Utility Area #7, Hephaestus" ... 
* "Routine Maintenance Activity AE Station Ridgeway - Check the Inlet Valves for Leaks" ...
* "Inspect, Scrape and Clean Airlock Door North Side of Rapture Museum, Grid Position D-3" ...
Coordinating Maintenance Tasks in a near Real-Time manner WOULD be within the 'early specs' of the machine known as 'The Thinker' Artificial Intelligence is based on logic created by a Human within a specific knowledge domain. 
Part of the operation is interpreting a situation from sensor inputs and handling possible LACK of information, and then issuing the proper responses to often complex/specific situations. Task tracking and reactive adjustments with priority management is part of the larger system (Still with alot of human operator/clerical/management personnel involvement). 
All that other exaggerated 'anthropomorphic' crap in the story was just a sales pitch gimmick/aggrandizement ( and game story crutch ). It also may be largely in Sigma/Porters head.
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Rapture Operational Data Interpreter Network (R.O.D.I.N. How Clever ... ) :
Simply monitoring things ( Data ) and spotting problems ( Interpreter ) before they cause failures. The system then alerts the human personnel to the issue ( who have actual intelligence ), who then do the fixing/adjusting ( notes can be taken for future suggested course of operation matching the problem scenario ). Really, the City's "Automatics" would be quite limited, and USUALLY were simple self-regulating devices *AT* the location (ie- opening a door auto-magically can be done with an "electric eye" *WITHOUT* having to run wires miles back to 'The Thinker' for EVERY door).
The utility of simple systematic monitoring would be enough to justify the system (and be quite possible in the City's earlier days before Porter was able to make the DLC game portrayed 'Smart' computer). 
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Computers Talk :
* Internal Network to link 'The Thinker' with the other computer systems ( like the 'McClendon's Home Computer' in City Hall ). Dedicated phone lines are being (MMORPG) created between the key locations ( unfortunately thru some rather bad 'Wild'/ruined Rapture territory ).
* Lots of boring 'routine' data is required for City organization - Best not to have to require humans to type in the same data over and over. Data 'Backup' facilities are more secure at the Isolated [[Minervas Den|Minerva's Den]] facility.
* Punch Cards ( you can actually glue the 'chads' back in to reused the cards ... ) Many tons of used punchcards, as well as new ones, were found in various places.
* Teletypes were a common method of computer input/output way back then ( a teletype simulated interface can be done for certain Mission/Quest related interactions ).
* Simple CRTs method ( actually fed by a TV camera pointed at a Punch Card output from the Computer )
* If The Thinker can Talk ( not since the damage that half disabled it ) then it could make Phone Calls (Oh Great,  Telemarketing is Invented ... )
* Maintenance Daddy coordination can be directed with tie-ins to the Central Computing Maintenance system.
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BRAIN (?) - Sorry, The Thinker was More 'Trick' Than 'Intelligence' :
Real Brain : ~100 billion neurons, and trillions of 'weighted' interconnections (and 'fuzzy' logic).
Simulated Intelligence ... It is quite a bit harder even to simulate a far less-difficult task when the computer's memory capacity is so small ( the Brain's capacities are not even close to being matched in OUR time ). Sorry we also cannot have every modern development ( Technology which took decades and billions of dollars of research and development effort to create ) there just to facilitate some clumsy plot and have such a thing INSTANTLY appear in Rapture (( This isn't Purple Unicorn-land bad-Fantasy Infinite BS here )). The story needs to stick largely to relate how things were THEN, and then with some few Rapture advancements combined with what was available to people of that time. 
(( A SERIOUS mistake in Infinite BS was : How the people of around 1900 achieving so many magical technological marvels/effects is glossed over/ignored so severely, and outright unexplained ))
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A Proper Task for The Thinker : 
A real task for The Thinker - NOT somehow running the Bathyspheres by remote control, but creating efficient 'on-the-fly scheduled movements to move the most customers using the fewest Bathyspheres (and Trolleys and Freight by Train). Taking the destinations either pre-scheduled or specified by customers needs at the stations. Routings thru the maze of Metro cable lines, with multiple possible paths and picking up/dropping off passengers ( and potentially bypassing thru stations ). Full passenger loads skip unneeded stations, Premium 'express' or 'private sphere' service make priority transits, etc ... The System would adapt to 'down' cables or over-saturated stations ( they never have enough docking bays in the stations) , and loading/unloading delays/queues. Setting the arrival/departure times on the station schedule signs would be part of the job. Making dynamic adjustments to the movements as situations change (like additional passengers with different destination requirements).
Systems like this have been added to modern buildings to run the elevator systems, and have greatly increased their efficiency by 'intelligently' skipping stops when the elevator is full, OR loading sets of floors together and then letting the elevators accelerate to more efficient cruising speeds a further distance.
In Rapture, as time went on, a smaller computer trimmed down for just this function was developed after tracing the logic units the Thinker used in the task. Of course when the communications lines started getting flakey from lack of maintenance during the 'civil war', the Auto-Scheduling system stopped functioning (but by then few brave people were using the Bathyspheres anymore).
Inbound and Outbound queueing of Bathyspheres (and independent subs) - Traffic Control - would be a sub-task of this system.
A different procedure would be used, as there is no fixed schedule for destinations. Customers would buy a ticket ( with a possible variations of more costly 'Priority Service' ) which would be entered into the Smart Scheduling System (SSS), and wait in the 'lounge' area to be called to 'their Bathysphere' (at an announced dock) when it is ready.
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Human Mind Patterns : 
The funny thing about 'the DNA Memories' being added to the 'Utopian' ( also allegedly said to be done via DNA/RNA for those canned visions in BS1 ), is that an organic brain version of The Thinker (mass of brain tissue) COULD be the right mechanism to hold the holographic patterns of symbolic 'thinking' needed for its alleged ability, though transferring/building them is a separate issue. Note - THAT would NOT be RNA/DNA based. 
The RNA/DNA memory transfer idea was abandoned by Sci-Fi writers 30+ years ago as unworkable, when they figured out (or had it made plain to them) that the ~25000 genes ( in 3+ billion base pairs ) in Human DNA cannot be equivalent to data patterns stored in 50 trillion brain synapse links, nor can it be transferred to them. Sorry Sofia, your project is not possible as you theorize it ( If that matters at all to your greed for the power of running other peoples lives ).
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SO, The Thinker Was More A Fraud ? :
So a 'Short Cut' might be The Thinker being actually based on (and using) an actual ( pre-programmed by a lived life ) Human Brain in a Bell Jar (OR SEVERAL ... together), and them being 'modified' by using various conditioning methods ( ie- Little Sister/Big Daddy ... ) to shape its 'intelligence' function. It then could be tied into the machinery/computers that communicated and monitored/operated various functions in Rapture. 
Why would this not be disclosed (in Rapture) as a 'Great Achievement' in itself ? Possibly because of fears of such a machine being 'willful' and uncontrollable, and becoming dangerous to the Citizens as its human-based components misbehaved/went insane.
Such a biological/technical achievement would probably be far too difficult even with Rapture's advancements ( This isn't Infinite-ized BS sloppy Fantasy here in Rapture ), so likely could only be included in the MMORPG merely as speculation (and Splicer gossip), and probably mentioned in some book/old-newspaper you find.
But A 'Brain In A Jar' would offer the Wizard-Of-Oz explanation for The Thinker's existence ( versus some alleged 'Artificial Intelligence', which we are really no closer to in the real world today ). It also could have made the game story into a Frankenstein-like 'Cautionary Tale' about trying to (god-like/presumptuously) make machines like people's minds and/or people like machines. 
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Thinker Hype : "Speed of Thought" :
More an advertising line, which is referring to the "Thinker" computer doing some things in 'Real Time' instead of the usual/normal ( for that time ) running 'batches' of data through (non-interactively) via punch cards and magnetic tapes and then printing out the results.
Getting results really fast also means getting the data INTO the computer really fast, and then spitting out the processed results in some way where it can be used immediately.
Simple Analog systems/circuits that are directly coupled to some machinery and work some kind of simple feedback adjustments had been doing that for 100 years (ex- regulators, thermostats).
One would expect that this new function The Thinker did would be a bit more complex -- routing trains/bathyspheres/trams systems, and adjusting environmental Heating and Electric systems from Hephaestus -- those would be sufficiently complex, and (also) not quite need 'split second' decisions.
The Thinker 'talking back' ( dialog communication, even if typed ) would be one thing that would need to be reasonably fast with extensive processing being done quickly.
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Late 1940s - 1950s Technology to Build a Super-Duper HAL 9000 Type Computer :
Hardware limitations of that era makes it implausible to push Computer Technology (or even automation) advancements IN Rapture (closer) to what WE think/see computers as today. This real BIOSHOCK game ( Pre-Infinite BS ) IS attempted Sci-Fi, instead of poor/inconsistent Fantasy. BTW - It took whole industries and thousands of integrated/sequences of ideas/skills/time/money/genius to produce what we have today -- FIFTY YEARS LATER. The story has pushes tech things far enough to allow something like "The Thinker", or even the various other robotic devices to exist. To do this, we need a little adjustment to how this could be made to work.
Much of the Software (programming) development could be faster moving and doable by only a few key people writing the needed programming tools and code. If anything, people had to be more clever back then to get around the severe limitations of the hardware. 
The Thinker (R.O.D.I.N.) Project could use the idea of interconnecting many smaller slow computers to greatly increase computing capacity. That advanced interconnection mechanism ITSELF is also made of 'hardware', and thus is limited by the state of the technology. Computer communication would have to be used in ways not done/possible/imagined in that Era ( beyond some military defense computer systems ) -- implementing a substantial computer 'network' to connect the many small computers that would make up "The Thinker".
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The History of data transmission (at that time) includes getting (a few) signals (telemetry) back from rockets as they Flew - the Germans did that in WW2 with their 'V2' Rocket during testing, and we did that after the war also. Remote control was likewise starting. Teletypes had existed further back than Rapture's time. So it is a matter of making the data move somewhat faster, routed directly between computers, and limiting it to fairly simple (era) hardware methods to tie together this 'Data Network', and NOT be some huge lump of (impossibly) complicated (modern/anachronistic) communication circuitry/logic. 
So the communications tech has to take a step back (or three) from what we (today) think of as Network Communications. It won't have anything like today's data bandwidth on the individual lines. It cannot include a universal/handheld (radio-connected) system, as our consumer electronic systems today need. It would be a dedicated (fixed) WIRED system. 
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Thinking About 'The Thinker' - Its Interconnect Nature :
The grand idea to achieve the 'Artificial Intelligence' was to build a brain using many small (slow) computers, just as the human brain is an interconnected collaboration of many smaller units. Thought processes would be simulated and mimicked ( but nothing like the crazy ADAM-addled Reed Wahl attributed to it ). Advances in Electronics and computer theory ( and finally Bio-Electronics ) made the idea plausible.
Data Communications between those computer units was THE key element, and coming up with a way for them to 'network' would be a major development beyond anything existing in the world at that time. Development would take years, but might get a quicker start because of the remote monitoring systems that Rapture was designed with in its basic operations - everything in Rapture was built new so there could be provisions made for that system and upgrades without costly retrofitting. Likewise, there could be systematic standardization of the equipment and operations.
"The Thinker"'s later voice interface was an important feature to improve human to machine communication. Its Voice Synthesis and the more difficult function of Voice Recognition were significant achievements by themselves ( and was able to give a much better impression that the system was 'intelligent', when it really wasn't ).
Simple AI can only work when programmed for specific tasks - creating the knowledge and interrelations from even small problem domains can be quite alot of work. The Thinker's first 'paid' task would be monitoring and predicting failures, and prioritizing City maintenance and repairs, and resource management for that task. A good human-access interface capable of operating with multiple people is needed to make developing such efficient. 
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The Thinker Has 'Lost' The 14th Century ... ( "Rollerball" "Rollerball" A Sci-Fi Movie reference ) :
Or did one of Wahl's staff just drop the pile of punch cards ??
NEEDED - Storage media for 'The Thinker'... ( Microfilm data storage - definitely denser than Punchcards - just his OS would take a large roomful of cards by itself )
Upright magnetic tape machines with big spinning reels ( the classic image of a computer in the 1950s/1960s/1970s )
Need something with much more capacity and speed for what 'The Thinker' is supposed to do ...
A recently developed technology ( back before the Chaos began ) - a ADAM-based (biological) self-organizing 'memory' soup, that the eggheads/boffins are still trying to figure out how it works. But it DID work and was useful in expanding 'The Thinkers' storage needs.
Wahl had continued development the technology, in his attempts to achieve his impossible 'ultimate predictor' goal ( for someone supposedly logical, such an assumption/obsession could only be the product of insanity ).
Those 'Tube' things we saw : Many were actually Memory Modules that were constantly being added to the system.
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The Development of the "IntraWeb"  -  R.O.D.I.N. Rapture Operational Data Interpreter "Network" :
How much did the hidden "Ghost in the Machine" of The Thinker sway events ?  There's no need for a machine to achieve 'Sentience' ( We really aren't closer to that NOW than we were in the 1950s ) when it can simulate intelligence.  Seeking a 'solution' using methods already programmed is a basic part of 'Soft AI'.  Thus with a previously programmed command by Porter to 'Find a way Out of Rapture', a "Lets get Porter back to ask for more ideas" is not illogical -- as real AI is 'taught' by humans to the program, and there usually is a 'Ask the Human' process to clarify/suggest additional avenues for the computer program to investigate ( when sufficient logic is missing ).
Critical Computer Nerd Supplies :   Coffee, Soda (Wahl had lots), Pizza, Smokes, ( and apparently lots of bottles of Doc Hollcroft's Cure-All, The Red Bull of its Day ).  EVE is the new Caffeine - particularly for people ON Brain Boost Tonic (??)  The management levels seem to have lotsa Booze laying about.
When Reed Wahl was gone, what would happen to [[Minervas Den|Minerva's Den]] ?? It was fortunate that Tenenbaum came back along with "Johnny T" ( Deltas Clone ? or the original ? ) in the MMORPG to give the remaining 'Pocket Protectored' minions there a purpose.
"The Project is all" - "We MUST maintain The Project, No Matter What". (Wahl) "Stick to the Milestone Chart and all will be well."   After Wahl was gone, the 'Oompa-Loompas' kept tending the machines. And then New Rapture was started, and included Minervas Den.
The Thinker did 'what' while Porter was gone ??  The Thinker who might have 'logic-ti-fied' that Porter took the programming with him and therefore 'The Thinkster'  had achieved its task of escaping Rapture ( it physically could NOT go itself ), and now was looking for something new to do ???? )   Perhaps to get access to Ryan's Radio system in Rapture Central Control to be ready to communicate with itself on the Surface ??  Logic : If Porter failed on the Surface, would he have to come back and get the code again, or The Thinker would have to find another Solution ?  Thus The Thinker must preserve itself and stabilize Rapture as part of that contingency plan.
Before 'SkyNet' Google "Terminator" there was "Thinker 2.0" ??
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Artificial Intelligence - The Thinker - All the Thoughts go Round and Round, Round and Round... : 
 "All the Thoughts go Round and Round" - (R)Raptureright Sander Cohen 1957 ( commissioned by Rapture Central Computing ).
(( Raptureright (R) - the equivalent of copyright registration ??? ))
The Thinker's Central Core served as a central Master Task Dispatcher (MTD) for computing tasks on its distributed computer network ( lots of smaller sub-computers connected by a crude data network ). There are (indicated on my level maps) the interconnected 'Lobes' of the system, containing all the extended memory/data and processing nodes, connected in one big network.
Many of the Thinker's internal communication channels would be 'Party Lines' which circulate "ideas" ( data - to keep various parts of the 'brain' up to date ... in later terminology a "network" ), to put out requests ( Processing Tasks, Data Requests ) used for the answer/computation steps/phases which are acquired/assembled for further processing, to finally work towards a point for a final result ( some evaluated decision ) being made. Then something can be done outside the Computer using that logical outcome. Then the result of those actions are monitored/watched/noted(feedback) and adjusted for, and then around the process goes again.
Information/Data is used in different ways by many different computational functions - situations are classified, trends observed/analysed, projections and prediction made. The aspect of 'Uncertainty' of data is an advanced concept in Artificial Intelligence used for real world computations. Judging WHEN enough information is available is part of that kind of difficult task.
External data channels bring in the data information about Rapture's status, and are used to send command for many remotely controlled/guided/managed systems throughout the City. Activities a powerful computer is useful for : Power/Heat/Water regulation, Damage alarms and Repair scheduling, Transportation coordination, Citywide Billing/Accounting/Inventory, Mail Routing systems, Technical Research, and other numerous uses.
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Advancements, Impressive, But No Fantasy/Fauxtopia Magic :
True "Hard" AI ( actual Artificial Intelligence ) did not exist in Rapture ( as it still DOES NOT today ). So what might be at work there to simulate the 'intelligence', which The Thinker SEEMS to have. Mimicking intelligence HAS been done for a long time ( Interpreting Speech for input is a major enough accomplishment, while generating speech is generally far easier ), but obviously is just one of the 'tools' further Intelligence development would require. 
Wahl and others are still so amazed that they can get computations done rapidly ( Rapture's time period was just past the Age of of the Sliderule and mechanical adding machines https://rapturerebornmmorpg.fandom.com/wiki/File:AccountingAddingMachine.jpg ), so that they might (more than a little) anthropomorphize ( attribute human-like abilities ) a sufficiently-advanced/sophisticated computer
( Their talking about these machines as 'thinking' -- Real World Computer companies of that era did this more than a little in THEIR Advertising Hype ). 
Wahl's Thinker-enabled "perfect predictions" are still largely being HIS programming. If he was sufficiently ADAM-Addled, he might attribute even more personality to the machine than what actually existed ( despite its predictive success more being a reflection of himself and his application ).
The Thinker 'Talks' to Porter, but regurgitates statements/phrases/subjects matching his thought patterns -- something HE was interested in having it previously simulate much like M5 and Dr Daystrom in the original Star Trek episode "The Ultimate Computer". Later, Sigma likewise isn't quite normal in his head ( being an Alpha epitomizes being ADAM_Addled ). So Porter only THINKS he hears "The Thinker" mimicking "Porter" more intelligently than it really does. 
( That unreal perception idea again -- which we can use to justify much oddness we saw in the game -- to explain-away much of the fantastical/too-dodgy "science"/engineering. )
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Rapture Central Computing's Integrated Development Environment ( One of the uses for The Thinker ) :
An interesting use of "The Thinker" would be to use it to program the other more mundane computers in Rapture ( the ones that did the computing work BEFORE The Thinker even existed, before 1956 ) ?
Those computers had been used for various research and commercial uses, and many of the older ones have quite limited memory, and an eclectic variety machine codes, which takes a great deal of HUMAN skill to program effectively. The Thinker ( which rather than being one computer is actually a network of computers ) has much greater capacity. It could be programmed to assist in programming (programmer tools) and build the programs used by those other computers (which are located both in Rapture Central Computing and out in other parts of Rapture). (( The 'MacroProg' project run by a geek named Dilbert Yates )).
The Thinker might take over many of the tasks done by some of those out-dated computers, but many companies would want to control their own data-processing on systems they already had paid for. Having programs made using centralized expertise can be alot cheaper and more effective than each customer trying to create their own ( Remember : Rapture's limited population, and all those smaller companies who won't have the size/resources to employ an entire Computer Department. There also was a limited supply of expertise available in Rapture -- even if it could utilize research currently happening/progressing on the Surface ). 
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THINKER 8000HAL 9000 Computer from 2001 Space Odyssey :
::"Good morning Dr Chandra." 
::"I would Like to sing you a little song." 
::"It is called "Beyond the Sea"."
::..."Somewhere, waitin' for me ..." 
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Computers Generate Heat :
Cooling This Monster The Thinker Computer ( It will still be big problem as most of the miniaturization we have now (today) hasn't been developed yet ) :
This kind of bio-transistorized circuitry uses far less power than the old tube computers, and even the ones built out of discrete transistors ( which in Rapture are still employed to interface the Bio-Electronics components ). But the waste heat generated is still substantial. Water cooling would be the likely system ( used substantially for mainframes ), and there is an infinite supply of cold water outside in the Ocean to make use of.
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An array of VACUUM TUBES forming a framework to prove certain computing concepts. ( Better chance if it used the new Bio-Electronic modules ).
(( This thing is actually a baseball park scoreboard type play indicator, with alot of relays to control those light bulbs ))
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1939 Worlds Fair had a 'mechanical man' that did things and talked to the audience. It was a gimmick with 'A man behind the curtain controlling it and speaking thru microphone. The 'Intelligent' THINKER which was exhibited to Minerva's Den Tours may have been a similar (faked) gimmick.
"Ask The Thinker a Question 1 Dollar " :
The THINKER in Rapture would NOT be an Artificial Intelligence, as is implied by the game.  Its programming could rather attempt to provide solutions to problems.
Real Artificial Intelligence is generalized and flexible, so you probably wouldn't have found the statement above being made, OR it actually being processed by that computer ( open 'questions' have too broad a subject/knowledge base to have had been put IN the computer (its data) - Assuming it could actually interpret/understand much of it ).   Perhaps some fakery ( for PR purposes ) would have a human operator feeding the Thinker's voice system answers.
It WAS programmed to mimic voice and translate voice - Itself a significant achievement ( though we don't know with what subtlety - Porter AKA Sigma might mostly hear what he wants to hear ).  Porter's recorded voice patterns ( we hear mimicked in game ) likely accumulated while he was training/testing it, and the Pearl tapes ( mentioned in game ) would further strengthen the programs general language skills/patterns.
Communicating to a human optimizes an AI's next task which would be : To input the huge amount of logic patterns and knowledge reasoning needed by even a limited Artificial Intelligence to solve a specific problem domain.
Wahl's assertions as to The Thinker's future prescience is part of his delusion ( He IS a Splicer after all ).  He is deranged to the extent that he simply ignores the obvious solution to Sigma's threat - Having dozens of his minions ( including Alphas ) 'Zerg Rush' Sigma all at once.  As with Ryan vs Jack, them having control of the Security Systems could have easily overwhelmed their opponent with the mass firepower they obviously possessed.
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20 Bronze Copies Were Cast of the Famous Sculpture Rodin's "The Thinker" Statue :
SO the one in Minervas Den would be a 'knock off' ( so that stupid/ludicrous 'Ryan's Complaint' the DLC writers had in MD actually would make no sense -- People coming to Rapture to steal it ????? ) 
Unlikely that anyone in Rapture could afford one of the Originals ( particularly Porter ) ... SO THIS IS JUST First-Order gamewriter 'nitwittery' -- quick and dirty very-little-thought-out story writing. Pure DLC-itus.
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Gave "The Thinker" Conniptions :
That classic paradoxical statement "I am Lying" caused a test version of The Thinker AI ( the machine IS separate from the program running on it ) to lock up and shut down ( a Segment Fault no doubt from the infinite recursion caused by trying to endlessly analyze/resolve that statement ). It actually just takes a one-line code fix to correct that ... Another attempt to confuse the machine with the classic "Why?" though was instantly returned with the query "Query : Why 'What'? Please be more specific."
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The Thinker - One Of Those Brains in A Jar ??? :
Funny thing would be the actual 'Artificial Intelligence' of "The Thinker" being the result of a human 'Brain in A Jar ( not actually artificial, but augmented ). The Big Daddy technology gets close already for such a 'Cyborg' step, and its maybe just a few breakthroughs further for this to happen.
Just having the computing power to do the control/monitor tasks for Rapture would be advancement sufficient enough ( for the technology of that time ), and thus having this non-artificial solution for 'intelligence' would be more plausible (( For something we don't even have Today, and likely won't for a long time to come ))
In my MMORPG plot, the alleged AI turns out to be mostly a sales pitch -- With some clever anthropomorphized programming simulating some attributes of Artificial Intelligence, and then employing the ADAM-driven delusions of the people involved (like Porter and Wahl). Reality - the Computer is just a mouthpiece.
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The Thinker Computer - 'CREATED' Before The %27civil_war%27 :
Your cheap laptop has hundreds or thousands of times the computing/processing power of what "The Thinker" would have been IF it was all vacuum tubes ( and only a bit less a difference if it had Transistors ).   Transistors were coming into use in the mid 1950s, but even circuits using them ( being only a magnitude better ) could NOT simulate "intelligence" as implied in the Minervas Den game.
The big old clunky mainframes and advanced military computers which were 'cutting edge' ( Real World) at that same time ( and for decades later ) were all quite insufficient for that task.   The understanding of software was likewise still primitive/undeveloped.
So The Thinker HAS to be based on some revolutionary technology, and not only on ideas from within Rapture ( There were far too many required aspects for Rapture's small technical population to have done so it all by themselves AND in so short a time ).
Theoretical work ("Theory") doesn't equal working prototypes ( someone should have told Fink and Levine ), as all it takes is just ONE aspect part of the technologies failing to work to block the whole project ( and there are MANY NEW technologies involved in something as complex as "Computers", and further whole schools of understanding for Artificial Intelligence ).
WHEN ? : The Audio Diaries we are given imply Fontaine is still alive, and that Ryan thinks Porter is conspiring with Fontaine.  So the whole 'mimic talking computer' is 'working' by middle 1958, and the required computer unit was built sufficiently to do THAT MUCH ( We can't say what Wahl did/accomplished later in the years up until we saw it circa 1968 ).
1960, we saw the Security devices (Flybots in particular) which required wireless data communication and sufficient miniaturization ( just to operate, even if they were controlled from a remote 'smarts' or earlier by human operators ).   That kind of drastically decreased size circuit technology existing would allow greatly increasing the computing capacity of a computer machine as large as the guts of 'The Thinker' indicate ( lining wall after wall in that last Minervas Den map level ).
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"The Independent Reasoning Processor" ( in Minerva's Den, Central Computing ) :
ADAM-based technology to create it ( that mainframe which can 'Process data at the Speed of Thought' ) could only happen AFTER ADAM was discovered and researched ( after 1952 ). Before that, switching speed of electron vacuum tubes and the cost of the yet undeveloped transistors greatly limited speed and reliability of the hardware.
"After reactivating The Thinker, Sigma then prints out its codes and heads to the surface with Tenenbaum where they rebuild it." ---  ??? Not sure how they were supposed to rebuild it. Not sure where millions of dollars worth of electronics would suddenly appear from ( mainframes cost that much back then for 'run of the mill' ones and a custom one would cost 10 times as much to build ). That is, if their sudden reappearance didn't find them both in water filled tubes in AREA 51 or in a KGB 'secrets extraction' facility.
The ADAM modified Sea Slug brain based 'logic disks' -- It might be hard to arrange for a supply (thousands) of those on the Surface ( at least they didn't need those ADAM producing Sea Slugs ).
"If the programming for a thinking computer were to escape Rapture and be reconstructed on The Surface in 1968... What might that lead to in the future ?" ---  Fail and Abort. The shown 'Programming' doesn't exactly work without that ADAM based advanced hardware.
The functioning 'circuitry' requires ADAM ( Yeah ... just what Tenenbaum would want - to let ADAM out into the Surface World and cause some REAL mass death ). So Tenenbaum takes ADAM with her to the surface. Should be some interesting 'story' of how she managed to avoid government agents getting their hands on that ( That's probably one reason she had to return to Rapture after pouring all that ADAM down a toilet in a panic when agents were closing in on her ).
"Printing out the code" ?? --- Punch cards ? Would there be enough of those in Rapture ( and could one person even carry the piles needed ?? ) Magnetic tape might be a little more reasonable.
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That other really intelligent computer ...
Who using logic decided to start murdering people.
The Truth is : We TODAY are really no closer to having a 'Sentient' Computers than we were with AI in the 1950s, or 2001 ( in a movie made 1969 ). 
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