Consciousness and Computers

Published by Neville Holmes (University of Tasmania) on "Computer.org"
(Computer IEEE Magazine, July 2007)

Recently, the cover of an issue of Time (29 Jan. 2007) that appeared to promote ancient phrenology caught my attention. Closer inspection showed it to be a "Mind & Body Special Issue." This surprised me because The Economist's special Christmas/New Year issue (23 Dec. 2006) had featured the supplement "A Survey of the Brain." So I bought the copy of Time to compare with the earlier issue of The Economist. Although both started with a signed introduction, the rest of the content was stylistically opposed. The Economist had five anonymous reports compiled from interviews with, and quotations of, experts, the lot decorated with a few drawings and diagrams. Time had 10 richly illustrated essays informed and often written by experts, and followed by a short puzzle section. The contest, if indeed it was one, seemed to be a standoff, like a saber versus a shillelagh. The computing profession is relevant here. Click for more...

[G.K Comment: As Neville Holmes says: "The conscious mind is not mysterious, just misunderstood".]