Re: Something goofy on the Wiki Page for Science Fiction -- Heinlein

: Gene <gene@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
: Mike came alive by "magic", because other similar computers didn't act the
: same way, and Mike "died" even though the physical capacity was restored.

Hm. Arguably, there *were* no computers of similar capacity.
I've already quoted the bits about "capacity was restored"; Manny
was uncertain what was going on, but the hypothesis is still viable
if there needs to be some sort of precipitating incident, as seems
reasonable. Here's where Manny first introduces the hypothesis

Human brain has around ten-to-the-tenth neurons. By third year Mike
had better than one and a half times that number of neuristors. And
woke up. Am not going to argue whether a machine can "really" be
alive, "really" be self-aware. Is a virus self-aware? Nyet. How
about oyster? I doubt it. A cat? Almost certainly. A human?
Don't know about you, tovarishch, but I am. Somewhere along
evolutionary chain from macromolecule to human brain self-awareness
crept in. Psychologists assert it happens automatically whenever a
brain acquires certain very high number of associational paths.
Can't see it matters whether paths are protein or platinum.

and here they speculate that it's possible Mike is the largest in the world

"Uh, riddle this. Any computers smart as you? Any awake?" He
hesitated. "I don't know, Man." "No data?" "Insufficient data. I
have watched for both factors, not only in technical journals but
everywhere else. There are no computers on the market of my present
capacity. . . but one of my model could be augmented just as I
have been. Furthermore an experimental computer of great capacity
might be classified and go unreported in the literature."

So it's possible that other computers of his capacity existed, but he
has no definite evidence of this, and the Authority's practice of adding
more and more capacity to an existing system was an unusual pattern.

"But aren't there emergency arrangements? There are in Hong Kong
Luna." "Some. Not enough. Control of anything essential to life
should be decentralized and paralleled so that if one machine fails,
another takes over. But costs money and as you pointed out,
Authority doesn't care. Mike shouldn't have all jobs. But was
cheaper to ship up master machine, stick deep in The Rock where
couldn't get hurt, then keep adding capacity

So. The real issue is, why didn't he wake up *again*.
But that doesn't require "magic", it merely requires a preciptating
event, the nature of which is unknown. I suppose you could call the
unknown "magic", but that's not the implication I get.

Ah, but it makes a great deal of difference, you see. It is the
difference between the unknown and the unknowable, between science
and fantasy -- it is a matter of essence. The four points of the
compass be logic, knowledge, wisdom and the unknown. Some do bow
in that final direction. Others advance upon it. To bow before the
one is to lose sight of the three. I may submit to the unknown, but
never to the unknowable. The man who bows in that final direction
is either a saint or a fool. I have no use for either.

--- Yama-Dharma

Wayne Throop throopw@xxxxxxxxx http://sheol.org/throopw
.

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