The Human Brain vs. the Computer
The Human Brain vs. the Computer
Over the millennia, Man has come up with countless inventions, each more ingenious than the last. However, only now, as the computer arises that mankind's sentience itself is threatened. Ridiculous, some may cry, but I say look about you! The computer has already begun to hold sway over so many of the vital functions that man has prided himself upon before. Our lives are now dependent upon the computer and what it tells you. Even now, I type this essay upon a computer, fully trusting that it will produce a result far superior to what I can manage with my own to hands and little else.
It has been commonly said that the computer can never replace the human brain, for it is humans that created them. Is this a good reason why the computer must be inferior to humans? Is it always true that the object cannot surpass its creator? How can this be true? Even if we just focus on a single creation of man, say the subject of this essay, the computer, there are many ways in which the computer has the edge over man. Let us start with basic calculation. The computer has the capability to evaluate problems that man can hardly even imagine, let alone approach. Even if a man can calculate the same problems as a computer, the computer can do it far faster than he can possibly achieve. Let us go one step further. Say this man can calculate as fast as a computer, can he, as the computer can, achieve a 100% rate of accuracy in his calculation? Why do we now go over the human data entry into a computer when a mistake is noticed instead of checking the computer? It is because computers now possess the ability to hold no error in its operation, where mankind has not advanced in this area in any noticeable margin. Why do you think the words
'human error' and 'to err is human' have become so popular in recent years? It is because the failings of the human race are becoming more and more exposed as the computer advances and becomes more
Over the millennia, Man has come up with countless inventions, each more ingenious than the last. However, only now, as the computer arises that mankind's sentience itself is threatened. Ridiculous, some may cry, but I say look about you! The computer has already begun to hold sway over so many of the vital functions that man has prided himself upon before. Our lives are now dependent upon the computer and what it tells you. Even now, I type this essay upon a computer, fully trusting that it will produce a result far superior to what I can manage with my own to hands and little else.
It has been commonly said that the computer can never replace the human brain, for it is humans that created them. Is this a good reason why the computer must be inferior to humans? Is it always true that the object cannot surpass its creator? How can this be true? Even if we just focus on a single creation of man, say the subject of this essay, the computer, there are many ways in which the computer has the edge over man. Let us start with basic calculation. The computer has the capability to evaluate problems that man can hardly even imagine, let alone approach. Even if a man can calculate the same problems as a computer, the computer can do it far faster than he can possibly achieve. Let us go one step further. Say this man can calculate as fast as a computer, can he, as the computer can, achieve a 100% rate of accuracy in his calculation? Why do we now go over the human data entry into a computer when a mistake is noticed instead of checking the computer? It is because computers now possess the ability to hold no error in its operation, where mankind has not advanced in this area in any noticeable margin. Why do you think the words
'human error' and 'to err is human' have become so popular in recent years? It is because the failings of the human race are becoming more and more exposed as the computer advances and becomes more