ABSTRACT
We know pretty well how computers function but we are a long way from getting computers to perform all intellectual tasks done by the brain; the brain can do a lot of things but we know very little about how it functions as a machinery. This double ignorance has led to unjustified positive and negative conclusions. For example, some vague similarity is observed between the underlying design principle of the computer and some crude anatomic feature of the brain; some existing unorthodox applications of computers are described as exemplifying intelligent behavior. These are then taken as a powerful argument for the conclusion that all intelligence is a natural consequence of the symbol-manipulating capabilities of complex switching networks. We may or may not like the conclusion. But it is hard not to find the above argument somewhat hasty for the strong conclusion of mechanism.
