Man v Machine

Our strength lies in adopting both contextual and abstract perspectives. We contain multitudes. On the other hand, algorithmic thinking and thinking using mere words is primarily a world of abstractions, i.e devoid of context.

I do not know the secret sauce of how we ideate, how we think, how we feel or how we are aware. But I am more than eager to discover and articulate this secret sauce.

As a first step in this task, I am going to identify how we don’t think. This is done by comparing us humans to, allegedly, the second ‘smartest’ entity on the planet, i.e. AI. The following list highlights the differences between man and machine. It sets the tone that algorithmic, abstract thinking is not the source of human genius:

1. AI does not forget. In situations where a 'machine' does not have enough storage space, older memories are over written. The human brain, on the other hand, prefers to retain older memories. This is evident in dementia patients.

2. Humans prioritize based on emotions. Love drives us. Algorithms rely on cost functions.

3. Memory in humans is not the same as memory in machines. In humans, memory is a function of all that has come before it.

4. Memories beautify life but only forgetting makes it bearable.

5. Humans have a sense of mortality and that helps us prioritize.

6. The human mind can understand paradoxes and self referentiality without breaking and escaping from its own perspective.

7. We have multiple ways of perceiving the same stimulus.

8. Computers do not have a sense of time but a sense of sequences. For humans, time flows and is not discrete.

9. As long as we have enough paper, ink and patience, humans can count to infinitely large numbers. Computers  lose resolution as the numbers get big. Computers can count to (2^64 )— 1.

10. Random number generators on computers follow an algorithm/rules to pick random numbers. Humans don’t need such rules. That is the ‘Axiom of Choice.’ However, I would love to hear what Oz Pearlman has to say about this. He may differ on this last point. 

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This article is going to be a living document. I will continue to explore how consciousness, thinking and feeling interact with each other. If fellow readers have any ideas, please do comment. In the next article of this series, I will be unpacking how emotions are more fundamental to our being than thinking. Understanding what motivates us will provide a glimpse into how we operate.

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