The Limitations of Humans (Humans)

by xeno6696 , Sonoran Desert, Wednesday, December 07, 2011, 15:38 (4534 days ago) @ David Turell

You're forgetting an article I think you shared. It takes an equation of 1.5M terms to model a single cell.

What individual human has the capacity to be "plastic" enough to understand an equation with 1.5M variables? in data circles, they talk all the time about "data deluge." This is one example. How about social webs like facebook. the avg user has 200 friends. Can you fathom what that whole network of (1Bn users) looks like? I know I can't. And I study networks.

You are certainly correct about the capacity of your field of work. But don't skip over my concept. Computers are for the grunt work, we bright ones develop the overarching concepts.

I'm not (and nor was the original article) arguing that AI will somehow swoop in and save the day. The fact remains that we're heading into an area of science where the human mind alone isn't capable of understanding the entire picture. Kurzweil has been arguing for awhile that the data and understanding of the data will rapidly outpace man's biological capabilities. Our brains are good at snap judgments and simple pattern finding. it takes training to move beyond this. (Hence why education exists.)

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\"Why is it, Master, that ascetics fight with ascetics?\"

\"It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with ascetics.\"