Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!vsi!friedl
From: friedl@vsi.UUCP (Stephen J. Friedl)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Safe optimization
Summary: An anecdote here...
Message-ID: <745@vsi.UUCP>
Date: 5 Jul 88 18:44:13 GMT
References: <16271@brl-adm.ARPA> <408@proxftl.UUCP> <5368@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Organization: V-Systems, Inc. -- Santa Ana, CA
Lines: 25

In article <408@proxftl.UUCP> bill@proxftl.UUCP (T. William Wells) writes:
< ... computers are discrete devices, the brain is (or at least might
< be) a continuous device.

In article <5368@sdcrdcf.UUCP>, markb@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Mark Biggar) writes:
< I think that it is easy to demonstrate that the brain IS a discrete
< device.  Nerve impulses are transmitted across the synaptic gaps
< using certain neuro-transmitter molecules.  Since a fraction of a molecule
< is nonsence, the brain is a discrete device.  Given that electric changes
< and even energy are quantized, I am willing to take the position that
< all realizable material devices are discrete.  There are no such things
< as continuous devices (at least in this universe).

An anecdote along these lines:  A friend and I were talking about
hardware design.  I have a very informal background, and as such
am only really comfortable with building-block style digital
design.  My friend, who is an EE and uses analog a lot, says "If
you're good, everything is analog, but if you're *real* good,
everything is digital".

Steve :-) :-) :-) :-) 
-- 
Steve Friedl     V-Systems, Inc. (714) 545-6442     3B2-kind-of-guy
friedl@vsi.com     {backbones}!vsi.com!friedl    attmail!vsi!friedl
--------Nancy Reagan on Professor Chomsky: "Just say Noam" --------