Macroscopic Scale

This knob controls the physical БЂњstuffБЂ«out of which the simulation be constructed. Its settings include: neurons and chemicals; water pipes and water; bits of paper and symbols on them; toilet paper and stones; data structures and procedures; and so on. Knob 2. This knob controls the level of accuracy with which the simulation attempts to mimic the human brain. It can be set at an arbitrarily fine level of detail (particles inside atoms), at a coarser level such as that of cells and synapses, or even at the level that AI researchers and cognitive psychologists deal with: that of concepts and ideas, representations and processes. Knob 3. This knob controls the physical size of the simulation. Our assumption is that microminiaturization would allow us to make a teeny-weeny network of water pipes or solid-state chips that would fit inside a thimble, and conversely that any chemical process could be blown up to the macroscopic scale. Knob 4. This critical knob controls the size and nature of the demon wh carries out the simulation ...»