spiltz
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- Posted: Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:32:13 +0000
This is one of my... philosophies. I am in no way positive that it's true, it's just something that I've been thinking about a lot for a long time now. I've brought up pieces of this stuff with friends before in arguments and such, and they've never agreed with me. But I think that if I start from the very beginning, there's no reason why you shouldn't agree with me on these things. By the way, this philosophy is the setup for my next philosophy: You don't choose your opinions. But that's for another time.
As I imagine nobody will take the time to read all this, just do me one favor... let me know what parts you agree/disagree with, out of the parts you read. Or if you got confused, let me know which part confused you so I can try to rephrase that part better.
1. The word "COMPUTERS" refers to all electronic devices that compute. This includes actual computer-computers, as well as calculators, gameboys, cell phones, digital watches, many electronic toys, etc. These are all COMPUTERS because they compute.
2. To COMPUTE is to solve mathematically.
3. To SOLVE is take an expression that is cumbersome and meaningless, and equate it to an expression that is easy to simple and easy to understand and useful.
For example, "1 + 1 = 2". "1 + 1" is difficult to understand, so you solve it to get "2", which is useful and easy to understand. This is why we do math; to turn convert complex things into their more simple (but always equivalent) forms. In other words, this is why we COMPUTE.
4. Before going any further, understand that COMPUTE, CONVERT, and SOLVE are all basically the same word and can be used interchangeably.
4. We invented COMPUTERS (things that COMPUTE) to COMPUTE for us. The most basic COMPUTER is a calculator. You give it something complicated and cumbersome, such as "1+1" and it SOLVES it for something useful, such as "2".
5. However, other COMPUTERS do more than just COMPUTE information. They may also SAVE/RETRIEVE information. Take, for example, a laptop: it COMPUTES information by solving your keystrokes and mouseclicks for more meaningful information on your screen, and it SAVES/RETRIEVES information by recording those computations onto a hard drive. Understand that this means a "Word document\" is just the SOLUTION to your keystrokes. It is your keystrokes CONVERTED into something more useful.
6. You may think that another function of laptops is to transport information, like sending an email from one computer to another. Wrong. "Transporting" information is really just an example of computing information. Take two computers. Connect them to each other in any way - a physical cord, wireless signals, it doesn't matter. Type "HELLO" on computer 1, and it converts it to "HELLO" on screen 1. Type "HELLO" on computer 1 and click the "SEND TO COMPUTER 2" button on your keyboard, and it coverts it to "HELLO" on both screens. Either way, you input information, and the computer converts it into something else. This example is no different than the internet, just on a tiny scale.
7. A phrase, such as "1+1", can be COMPUTED into infinite different solutions. "2" is a solution. So are "4-2", "1x2", and "10/5". These are all solutions to "1+1". Some of these solutions are more useful than others, depending on the situation. When the calculator was invented, it could've been designed so that if you entered "1+1=" it would display "10/5". But that wouldn't be very useful. But keep in mind that there are infinite different equivalent phrases to any one phrase, i.e. infinite solutions.
8. We're going to look at laptops again. Just to restate this before going any further, laptops COMPUTE information (converting your keystrokes into onscreen information) and they SAVE/RETRIEVE information (recording the solutions to your keystrokes onto a hard drive).
9. Before a laptop can COMPUTE anything, it needs something to compute. It needs you to give it the left side of the equation before it can give you the right side of the equation. It needs INPUT. INPUT is information that you give a COMPUTER.
10. Each COMPUTER has it's own method(s) of obtaining your INPUT. A laptop gets your INPUT through its keyboard, mouse, and possibly camera and microphone. When you press the keys on the keyboard, you are giving the laptop INPUT. The buttons you press, the order you press them in, the time you press them at, how long you hold each one down - That's all information you're giving the computer, or in other words, INPUT.
11. Once the laptop has your INPUT, it COMPUTES your input (because it's a COMPUTER). It CONVERTS your INPUT into OUTPUT. OUTPUT is information that the COMPUTER gives back to you, i.e. the right side of the equation, the solution.
12. For a laptop, OUTPUT includes the color of each pixel on the screen, the sounds coming out of the speakers, the placement of ink on paper in your printer, and whether or not certain LED lights around the laptop are lit (such as the POWER light).
13. If you're confused by the whole INPUT/OUTPUT thing, here's an example. Say you buy a new laptop. You take it out of the box, open the screen, and press the power button. Pressing the power button is INPUT - the fact that you pressed the button is information that you've given the computer, and therefore, it's INPUT. The laptop then takes this INPUT and COMPUTES it. It comes up with a solution: Light up every pixel on the monitor so that the screen says "WELCOME", and also light up the little LED light labeled "POWER" down by the keyboard. This solution is OUTPUT - the computer is giving you back information, the solution to your INPUT. Remember how I said there are infinite different solutions to any INPUT, but some are just more useful than others? Well, the computer could have been designed to say "GO AWAY" when you push the power button. But "WELCOME" is a much more useful solution to the INPUT, which is why this COMPUTER was designed to COMPUTE that solution, rather than any of the other infinite equivalent solutions.
16. I should probably mention that I chose the word "laptop" instead of the overarching word "computer" (which applies to both laptop and desktop computers) because if I kept saying "computer" you'd probably think I meant "COMPUTER: ANYTHING THAT COMPUTES, INCLUDING CALCULATORS AND GAMEBOYS" instead of "Computer: That thing with the keyboard and mouse". Ugh... English is so stupid. Ok, from now on, when I say "computer", I'm referring to the thing with the keyboard and mouse. In other words, the thing you immediately think of when someone says "computer". NOT the definition we had going before. So from now on, we're gonna be talking about computers instead of laptops, because laptops are too specific for this next step to make sense...
14. To recap, we've established that a computer gets INPUT information through its keyboard, and CONVERTS it to OUTPUT information through its computer screen, and as aforementioned, SAVES/RETRIEVES information for use at a later time. At the heart of any computer, these are its only functions. Turning input into output, like spinning straw into gold. And saving info, like... saving some of that gold for later xp
15. Any object that has these two functions, COMPUTING info and SAVING/RETRIEVING info, could be said to be be similar to a computer, or to contain something similar to a computer.
16. Your mind has information in it, does it not? For example, the information of what you had for breakfast this morning is in your mind. The information of what your name is is also in your mind. Your mind has lots of information in it.
17. When you were born, your mind didn't have all this information in it. How did it get there? Your brain was given information. In other words, INPUT.
18. What are your mind's methods of INPUT? Your 5 senses, of course. Seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling. Just as a keyboard "senses" you pressing its keys and sends that information to the computer, your tongue senses the taste of food and sends that information to your mind.
19. When your mind gets the INPUT information, it doesn't just sit there and do nothing. It converts it to OUTPUT information. It takes the information from the tongue (INPUT), converts it into the thought "This cracker tastes bad" (COMPUTATION of a SOLUTION) and tells your muscles to spit the cracker out (OUTPUT). If you need further proof that your mind COMPUTES, here's an easy one: Say to someone, "What's two plus two?" and they'll spit out "Four!". Input, computation, output.
20. Ten seconds later, you'll remember that those crackers taste bad, so you won't reach for another. Therefore, your brain also SAVES/RETRIEVES information.
21. Because your mind COMPUTES info (turning INPUT into OUTPUT) and SAVES/RETRIEVES info, and because these two functions are the only two functions of a computer, it could be said that your mind is like a computer, or that it contains something like a computer.
22. Your mind also has a third function, one that no computer has: desire. This is another discussion in and of itself, and I won't get into it here. But it is my humble belief that the defining characteristic of all life is the desire to exist. Because we desire to exist, we also desire to eat, drink, sleep, urinate, deficate, etc, because these bodily functions are vital to our existence. "Happiness" and "sadness" evolved over time to drive us from things that jeopardize our existence, and to drive us towards things that secure our existence. For example, extreme heat can kill you, so you experience "pain" when you get too hot, which makes you "sad", which makes you leave the heat. If it didn't cause you pain or make you sad, you'd stay in the heat until you died. This is just one example of how we're expertly crafted to fulfill our desire to exist.
23. Because your mind has desires, it is more accurate to say your brain contains a computer than it is to say your brain is a computer.
24. So your mind contains a computer, so to speak... A beautiful organic computer made of neruons and electrical impulses. Congratulations.
As I imagine nobody will take the time to read all this, just do me one favor... let me know what parts you agree/disagree with, out of the parts you read. Or if you got confused, let me know which part confused you so I can try to rephrase that part better.
1. The word "COMPUTERS" refers to all electronic devices that compute. This includes actual computer-computers, as well as calculators, gameboys, cell phones, digital watches, many electronic toys, etc. These are all COMPUTERS because they compute.
2. To COMPUTE is to solve mathematically.
3. To SOLVE is take an expression that is cumbersome and meaningless, and equate it to an expression that is easy to simple and easy to understand and useful.
For example, "1 + 1 = 2". "1 + 1" is difficult to understand, so you solve it to get "2", which is useful and easy to understand. This is why we do math; to turn convert complex things into their more simple (but always equivalent) forms. In other words, this is why we COMPUTE.
4. Before going any further, understand that COMPUTE, CONVERT, and SOLVE are all basically the same word and can be used interchangeably.
4. We invented COMPUTERS (things that COMPUTE) to COMPUTE for us. The most basic COMPUTER is a calculator. You give it something complicated and cumbersome, such as "1+1" and it SOLVES it for something useful, such as "2".
5. However, other COMPUTERS do more than just COMPUTE information. They may also SAVE/RETRIEVE information. Take, for example, a laptop: it COMPUTES information by solving your keystrokes and mouseclicks for more meaningful information on your screen, and it SAVES/RETRIEVES information by recording those computations onto a hard drive. Understand that this means a "Word document\" is just the SOLUTION to your keystrokes. It is your keystrokes CONVERTED into something more useful.
6. You may think that another function of laptops is to transport information, like sending an email from one computer to another. Wrong. "Transporting" information is really just an example of computing information. Take two computers. Connect them to each other in any way - a physical cord, wireless signals, it doesn't matter. Type "HELLO" on computer 1, and it converts it to "HELLO" on screen 1. Type "HELLO" on computer 1 and click the "SEND TO COMPUTER 2" button on your keyboard, and it coverts it to "HELLO" on both screens. Either way, you input information, and the computer converts it into something else. This example is no different than the internet, just on a tiny scale.
7. A phrase, such as "1+1", can be COMPUTED into infinite different solutions. "2" is a solution. So are "4-2", "1x2", and "10/5". These are all solutions to "1+1". Some of these solutions are more useful than others, depending on the situation. When the calculator was invented, it could've been designed so that if you entered "1+1=" it would display "10/5". But that wouldn't be very useful. But keep in mind that there are infinite different equivalent phrases to any one phrase, i.e. infinite solutions.
8. We're going to look at laptops again. Just to restate this before going any further, laptops COMPUTE information (converting your keystrokes into onscreen information) and they SAVE/RETRIEVE information (recording the solutions to your keystrokes onto a hard drive).
9. Before a laptop can COMPUTE anything, it needs something to compute. It needs you to give it the left side of the equation before it can give you the right side of the equation. It needs INPUT. INPUT is information that you give a COMPUTER.
10. Each COMPUTER has it's own method(s) of obtaining your INPUT. A laptop gets your INPUT through its keyboard, mouse, and possibly camera and microphone. When you press the keys on the keyboard, you are giving the laptop INPUT. The buttons you press, the order you press them in, the time you press them at, how long you hold each one down - That's all information you're giving the computer, or in other words, INPUT.
11. Once the laptop has your INPUT, it COMPUTES your input (because it's a COMPUTER). It CONVERTS your INPUT into OUTPUT. OUTPUT is information that the COMPUTER gives back to you, i.e. the right side of the equation, the solution.
12. For a laptop, OUTPUT includes the color of each pixel on the screen, the sounds coming out of the speakers, the placement of ink on paper in your printer, and whether or not certain LED lights around the laptop are lit (such as the POWER light).
13. If you're confused by the whole INPUT/OUTPUT thing, here's an example. Say you buy a new laptop. You take it out of the box, open the screen, and press the power button. Pressing the power button is INPUT - the fact that you pressed the button is information that you've given the computer, and therefore, it's INPUT. The laptop then takes this INPUT and COMPUTES it. It comes up with a solution: Light up every pixel on the monitor so that the screen says "WELCOME", and also light up the little LED light labeled "POWER" down by the keyboard. This solution is OUTPUT - the computer is giving you back information, the solution to your INPUT. Remember how I said there are infinite different solutions to any INPUT, but some are just more useful than others? Well, the computer could have been designed to say "GO AWAY" when you push the power button. But "WELCOME" is a much more useful solution to the INPUT, which is why this COMPUTER was designed to COMPUTE that solution, rather than any of the other infinite equivalent solutions.
16. I should probably mention that I chose the word "laptop" instead of the overarching word "computer" (which applies to both laptop and desktop computers) because if I kept saying "computer" you'd probably think I meant "COMPUTER: ANYTHING THAT COMPUTES, INCLUDING CALCULATORS AND GAMEBOYS" instead of "Computer: That thing with the keyboard and mouse". Ugh... English is so stupid. Ok, from now on, when I say "computer", I'm referring to the thing with the keyboard and mouse. In other words, the thing you immediately think of when someone says "computer". NOT the definition we had going before. So from now on, we're gonna be talking about computers instead of laptops, because laptops are too specific for this next step to make sense...
14. To recap, we've established that a computer gets INPUT information through its keyboard, and CONVERTS it to OUTPUT information through its computer screen, and as aforementioned, SAVES/RETRIEVES information for use at a later time. At the heart of any computer, these are its only functions. Turning input into output, like spinning straw into gold. And saving info, like... saving some of that gold for later xp
15. Any object that has these two functions, COMPUTING info and SAVING/RETRIEVING info, could be said to be be similar to a computer, or to contain something similar to a computer.
16. Your mind has information in it, does it not? For example, the information of what you had for breakfast this morning is in your mind. The information of what your name is is also in your mind. Your mind has lots of information in it.
17. When you were born, your mind didn't have all this information in it. How did it get there? Your brain was given information. In other words, INPUT.
18. What are your mind's methods of INPUT? Your 5 senses, of course. Seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling. Just as a keyboard "senses" you pressing its keys and sends that information to the computer, your tongue senses the taste of food and sends that information to your mind.
19. When your mind gets the INPUT information, it doesn't just sit there and do nothing. It converts it to OUTPUT information. It takes the information from the tongue (INPUT), converts it into the thought "This cracker tastes bad" (COMPUTATION of a SOLUTION) and tells your muscles to spit the cracker out (OUTPUT). If you need further proof that your mind COMPUTES, here's an easy one: Say to someone, "What's two plus two?" and they'll spit out "Four!". Input, computation, output.
20. Ten seconds later, you'll remember that those crackers taste bad, so you won't reach for another. Therefore, your brain also SAVES/RETRIEVES information.
21. Because your mind COMPUTES info (turning INPUT into OUTPUT) and SAVES/RETRIEVES info, and because these two functions are the only two functions of a computer, it could be said that your mind is like a computer, or that it contains something like a computer.
22. Your mind also has a third function, one that no computer has: desire. This is another discussion in and of itself, and I won't get into it here. But it is my humble belief that the defining characteristic of all life is the desire to exist. Because we desire to exist, we also desire to eat, drink, sleep, urinate, deficate, etc, because these bodily functions are vital to our existence. "Happiness" and "sadness" evolved over time to drive us from things that jeopardize our existence, and to drive us towards things that secure our existence. For example, extreme heat can kill you, so you experience "pain" when you get too hot, which makes you "sad", which makes you leave the heat. If it didn't cause you pain or make you sad, you'd stay in the heat until you died. This is just one example of how we're expertly crafted to fulfill our desire to exist.
23. Because your mind has desires, it is more accurate to say your brain contains a computer than it is to say your brain is a computer.
24. So your mind contains a computer, so to speak... A beautiful organic computer made of neruons and electrical impulses. Congratulations.
