Re:

I can see that C&W were having fun with each oth=r... what happened? Did they get along?

By the way, since [I think] we are computers, implemented in the language o= of neurons, neurotransmitters etc., it is obvious that language in a comp=ter already understands concepts. Nature is not magical, and I see no reas=n why we cannot pull off the feat again, i.e. build our own computers with=languages that understand concepts. That makes me a DUBE, too, I guess. I =onder what alternative Noam and you see to DUBEdom? How else do humans und=rstand concepts, if not via a computational process (i.e. by manipulating =nformation in regular ways)?

Btw, Steven Wolfram just wrote a newsletter to announce the latest version =f Mathematica; he has a certain distinctive style that rubs many people th= wrong way, by laying on pretty thick how much work he personally did on i=, how grandiose and unique the fruits of his intellect are, etc.

http://blog.wolfram.com/2016/08/08/today-we-launch-v=rsion-11/http://blog.wolfram.com/2016/08/08/today-we-launch-version-11/

I think that in pointing out his achievements, he is factually mostly corre=t, but fascinatingly un-selfaware. He may not be as good as he thinks, but=he is far better than most. His mixture of a generous, genius intellect, h=s big ego and his unwillingness/inability to submit to standards of social=interaction seems to have turned Wolfram Industries into a kind of cult. P=ople seem to either follow him like disciples follow their guru, or they d=smiss him as a crank.

http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~wclark/ANKOS_humor.html http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~wclark/ANKOS_humor.html

It limits his effectiveness as a thinker or scientist, but of course, it do=s not matter much in the face of the meaninglessness of the universe. He i= having fun, and comes up with good stuff. Also, he seems to be quite a bi= jealous of Zuse, because Zuse gets all the credit for cellular automata t=at he would like to be credited for. Did he tell you about his quest to di=mantle the myth that Zuse invented the computer? He thinks that Zuse's=computer was not really destroyed in the bombing or Berlin, but has been h=dden by Zuse's heirs in an unexcavated basement, to hide how limited i= really was. Who knows, might be actually true.

Who are the DUBES?

Wolfram types that think language in a computer will eventually be abl= to understand concepts

His . He fell to pieces in front of Noam