[ExI] Meaningless Symbols.

[Gordon Swobe]

--- On Sat, 1/16/10, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:

> On 1/16/2010 3:10 PM, Gordon Swobe wrote:
> 
>> So....  you understand a computation took place
>> in your CPU, not unlike the child who added 3 fingers to 5
>> and got 8.
>> 
>> Do you think your CPU understood it? If you do then I
>> wonder if you also think the child's fingers understood it.
> 
> But John Clark has just stated unequivocally that *he* at
> least thinks so. Yep, the fingers *understood* the
> calculation. The cloud *understands* how to rain. I suppose
> we come to a point here where the use of words has broken
> down. Or perhaps the use of concepts. 

Minds sometimes wander off onto the wrong subjects. John's wanders off onto the wrong objects.

-gts