[extropy-chat] Warwick: Could future computer viruses infecth umans?

[Adrian Tymes]

--- Walter_Chen at compal.com wrote:
> Certainly you didn't overreact.
> It's very good to see some detailed explanation from
> experts.
> But sometimes imagination can lead to some important
> creation also.
> (Now I am thinking how to let the PC, esp. a
> notebook, to get a cold to
> solve the more 
> and more difficult thermal problem.)

Biological metaphor: exercise.  If your computer is
too cold, run it a lot and most computers will warm up
pretty quickly - especially if they're not designed
with good heat sinks.

The converse is a good example of where biological
metaphors break down.  In practice, computers often
run too hot - and they don't sweat.  (Water +
electricity = bad, although there have been attempts
at water-cooled systems.)  But they do take advantage
of passive and active heat dissapation mechanisms,
some of which do not have close analogs in nature.
(E.g., certain metals and ceramics are excellent heat
conductors, so use them to ship heat from the
computer's core to the air outside.  Few biological
creatures have natural metal or ceramic anything, not
even heat sinks like this.)  Fans to cool off are seen
in nature and in computers, but computer fans tend to
be made out of multiple parts in ways that are
difficult to grow in a single creature, but easy for
us to manufacture.