The Difference between a Brain and a Computer(人脑与电脑的区别)

    The Difference between a Brain and a Computer
       ~he difference between a brain and a computer can be expressed in a single word: complexity.
     Even the most complicated computer man has yet built can't compare in intricacy with the brain. Computer switches and comportents number in the thousands rather than in the billions.What's more, the computer switch is just an on-off device,whereas the brain cell is itself possessed of a tremendously complex inner structure.
     Can a computer think? That depends on what you mean by"think". If solving a mathematical problem is"thinking',then a computer can"think'and do so much faster than a man. Of course, most mathematical problems can be solved quite mechanically by repeating certain straightforward processes over and over again. Even the simple computers of today can be geared for that.
     Surely, though, if a computer can be made complex enough, it can be as creative as we are. If it could be made as complex as a human brain, it could be the equivalent of a human brain and do whatever a human brain can do.
     But how long will it take to build a computer complex enough to duplicate the human brain? Perhaps not as long as some think. Long before we approach a computer as complex as our brain, we will perhaps build a computer that is at least complex enough to design another computer more complex than itself. This more complex computer could design one still more complex and so on and so on and so on.
     In other words, once we pass a certain critical point, the computers take over and there is a"complexity explosion". In a very short time thereafter, computers may exist that not only duplicate the human brain--but far surpass it.

人脑与电脑的区别
    要形容人脑与电脑的区别只需一个词，即：复杂。
    即使是迄今为止人类制造出的最复杂的电脑如果与人脑的复杂相比也望尘莫及。电脑转换组合出的数字只有千百万种而不是千百亿。更重要的是，电脑的转换器只是一个开关装置，而大脑细胞本身就具有极其复杂的内部结构。
    电脑会“思考”吗?这就要看你所说的“思考”是指什么了。如果解一道数学题是“思考”，那么电脑会“思考”，而且比人脑快得多。当然，绝大多数数学题都可以通过一遍一遍机械地重复简单的程序而得到解决。即使是现今简单的计算机也能做到这点。
    然而，电脑如果能造得够复杂，它也能和我们一样富于创造力。如果它能造得同人脑一样复杂，它便能与人脑相媲美，并能做到人脑能做到的一切。
    但是，要造出一个与人脑一样复杂的电脑要花多长时间呢?或许不会像有些人想象的那么长。在造出与人脑一样复杂的电脑之前，我们也许可能要先造出一个电脑，它复杂得至少能设计出比它本身更复杂的电脑。那个更复杂的电脑又能再设计出比自己更复杂的电脑，如此反复。
    换言之，我们一旦突破了某个极点，电脑将盛行起来，并导致“复杂性爆炸”。不久，电脑将不仅复制人脑，而且将远远超越人脑。