Re: What IS Intelligence

From: Programmer Dude (Chris_at_Sonnack.com)
Date: 12/09/03 

Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 11:55:35 -0600

Wouter Lievens wrote:

>>> Another thought that I've had, most people seem to think that
>>> intelligence is a binary switch: this species has it, this-
>>> doesn't. A very humanocentric point of view,...
>>
>> I would call it plain stupid, rather than humanocentric.
>
> It's called anthropocentric, by the way...

Yes. People have been using "humanocentric" in this thread (as
you can see from the quote), so I just went with the flow.

> Nobody has seemed to ask himself this pivotal question:
>
> If humans are intelligent, and dogs are not, then there must be
> a biological difference in the brain!

And there is. Not in the substance, but in the structure.

> Is there, or are human and dog brains made of the same stuff?
> It seems they are. So a logical conclusion must be that they
> have the same capacity, only humans have developed those much
> stronger.

Most houses are built from the same basic materials. Are all
houses basically equal? Imagine a theatre and a small house
both built from bricks, wood, steel and glass. Are they the
same in their purpose and capacity? Or does the *structure*
of how those materials are put together matter (and matter a
great deal).

As we believe mind comes largely from the *structure* of the
brain, it is that structure that matters, not the substance.

> If humans are 'intelligent' and dogs are not, it means they must
> have a fundamentally different brain, which they don't!

Apply that logic to, say, the Z80 and the latest from Intel.
Both made from silicon.... are they equal??

Structure is pretty important! (-: 

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