[ExI] Wernicke's aphasia and the CRA.

[John Clark]

On Dec 13, 2009, at 10:15 AM, Gordon Swobe wrote:

> Searle's systems reply critics had argued (with perfect logic, even if they missed the point) that while the man inside lacks understanding, it does not follow that the room also lacks understanding. After all the man inside is not the subject that passes the Turing test. The room is!
> 
> So Searle replied, "Well then forget about the Chinese room and all its trappings (I only put that stuff there to help you visualize what's going on) and let the Englishman inside memorize the program. 

Searle is like a stage magician who makes a great flourish with his right hand to make sure we're looking at it while his left hand is subtly hiding the card. We are accustomed to people being conscious we are not accustomed to rooms being so, thus if we want to check up on the consciousness of Chinese or anything else we are accustomed to ask the man. The man replies that he doesn't know Chinese and voila Searle has magically made consciousness disappear. Pay no attention to the room full of reference books that is larger than the observable universe, Searle says, pay no attention that the Chinese questions are answered a hundred thousand million billion trillion times slower than a native Chinese speaker would answer them even if the man moved at 99% the speed of light.

If somebody sees through that deception Searle tries another ruse, memorize those reference books.
We are accustomed to a person having one identity not two so if we ask him if he knows Chinese and he says no we are accustomed to thinking that ends the matter. Searle says pay no attention to the fact that this normal average everyday man has just accomplished a mental feat that would make a Jupiter Brain green with envy.

 John K Clark

    
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