Re: Re: Intelligence, IE, and SI

Darin Sunley (umsunley@cc.umanitoba.ca)
Thu, 28 Jan 1999 13:15:03 -0600 (CST)

Skye Howard <skyezacharia@yahoo.com> wrote:

>"a computer being a
>primitive neural extension, "

After carrying a PalmPilot around for a year and a half, I can attest to this. As a text searchable notepad alone it's
like having a third layer of
memory.

Short term: 7-9 items/concepts/symbols. Duration approx 20 minutes. Very rapid, reliable access. Speed of recall: <0.1 seconds.

Long term: multiple giga-giga bytes, including linked streams [music], images, models, and isolated facts. Duration: varies with amount of recall, up to 80 years. Reliability of recall varies with amount of recall. Speed of recall: 0.1-10 seconds.

PDA memory: 2 megabytes of text, including email ,notes, databases, addresses, minus space for applications. Duration: Forever, with appropriate maintenance [changing batteries, backups]. Reliability of recall invariant with amount of recall. Speed of recall: 15-45 seconds.

And that's just as a memory aid. This doesn't even mention the benefits of carrying a clock, calculator, and programmable computer around.

I'm almost ashamed to say that I feel almost naked if I leave the house without it. Almost like [a small taste] of what a human SI with neural implants would feel if their implants failed.

Darin Sunley
umsunley@cc.umanitoba.ca