I am still trying to get my head around how computers work. The biggest thing that I don't understand is how we can program them. It is so strange to me to think that somehow computers understood what we wanted them to do by using binary numbers. It makes me think about how 'smart' computers are. How is it that they aren't going to take over the world one day? I guess the difference is that we tell them what to do and that they can't think independently.
The concept of language is very complex. I really enjoyed the in class group work that we did. Separating the different words made the concept of genus and species and so forth a lot more clear. While thinking about all of these words and the categories it's strange to think that we can differentiate between these things for computers. It made me wonder about how we create these differences when 'speaking' to computers. What about words that are different but sound the same? Obviously it wouldn't be that hard for computers because they don't hear. But it still makes me wonder.
For example, what if you wanted to do something with a color, lets say pear. There is also the word pair. These two words have nothing to do with each other but how can a computer tell the difference? I imagine that it has a lot to do with context. Even so i guess the bigger point that I am trying to make is that somehow computers understand something so, well, human.
Computer programming is pretty strange. I think it is strange because it is hard to picture a computer evaluating a bunch of 1s and 0s like the matrix. However, people can make a living by programming computers and can even create amazing things such as video games.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that the word "pear" has numerical values assigned to each character, i.e. a number for each letter (0-26).
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that computer entertainment would eventually catch on as people evolve. It's too bad there isn't really a developer who creates for a more mature audience, and that they have far more limited budgets in contrast to our film market.
computer is very different. sometimes to me it is a little confusing especially when the charater were numerical
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered the same thing myself. Other than a set of commands, what is the actual energy being sent on that green electric board full of chips and wires? How did people figure this out? I like your analogy of pears. I believe that the computer does know the difference between the words pear and pair, but the only thing it knows about them is that they are spelled differently. Everybody also has it in the back of their mind about an eventual "computer takeover," like something out of Terminator. I've always believed that a robot does what it's programmed to do, and that's as far as it an think. Until computers can reason, I have no fear of them.
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