[ExI] The digital nature of brains

[Spencer Campbell]

 Gordon Swobe <gts_2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Spencer:
>> Finally, would you say that an artificial neural network is a digital computer?
>
> Software implementations of artificial neural networks certainly fall under the general category of digital computer, yes.

I could easily have guessed you would say that, but my question
pertains to hard, non-simulated artificial neural networks.

This brings up another point of interest: you seem to place computer
programs within the category of digital computers. This isn't how I
use the term. I would say:

Firefox is not a digital computer, it is instantiated by a digital
computer. All computers are physical objects in reality; if they are
not, they should be explicitly designated as virtual computers.

As a side note, are all computers effectively digital computers? It'd
save me some time, and the Internet some bandwidth, if so. Personally
I could go either way. When I want to be fully inclusive, I usually
say "information processor", which denotes brains just as well as
laptops.