2206 : Window Onto A New World
– –
– –
– –
– –
– –
– –
– –
XVI. The Solid Time Of Change
submitted. « Well, okay » acquiesced the assistant, manifestly still bothered yet glad to move on. « Anyhow » carried on the physicist, smiling, « the crux of the matter is, that's not what we'll be doing » he asserted in an authoritative voice, « we must be very careful that we don't impose upon it any form of logic, or any seemingly reasonable way of dealing with the world » he stated resolutely, « at the risk of repeating myself, I want us to create an intelligence, not a reasoning machine » the pundit stressed again, « and that's an essential component of my hypothesis, that intelligence is mostly irrational » he added, once more unnerving his auditor. « Hmm... » the techie uttered, apparently bewildered by the notion. « Or perhaps more precisely, that reason is merely one of its basic faculties » the former teacher proceeded, « but its higher faculties are deeply irrational in nature » he attempted to clarify, « we can describe them logically, but they reside beyond the grasp of logic and reason... or in other words, logic and reason cannot emulate them » he finally suggested. « Maybe you could provide examples ? » requested the computer specialist, unsettled but willing to consider the possibility. « Sure... there are plenty » Sturn first answered, « intuition, perception of beauty, love » he began his enumeration, pausing for an instant to decide if it would be appropriate to mention more controversial abilities, « prescience, telepathy – » « You believe in such things ? » inquired the coder, incredulous. « Of course » acknowledged the public speaker, « I mean, once you've experienced them, it becomes very hard not to believe in them » he emphasized, amused by the doubts about what was to him evident, « if you don't mind however, this morning I'd like us to focus on architecture » he wisely avoided the topic. « Sure, of course, sorry » agreed the vicenarian, looking slightly guilty. « That's okay, Frank » promptly responded the researcher, stopping for a few seconds as he recollected his thoughts, « our main concern over the course of the project will be to ensure that we develop an architecture that allows for flexible knowledge representation, including representation of that very same architecture » he declared in a solemn manner, « and when I say our main task, I refer to you and I, Frank » he pointed out at once. « We're responsible for its nervous systems » ventured the programmer. « In a sense, yes, that's a good analogy » concurred the scientist, « but what I'm getting at is that the rest of the team will work on... pretty much everything else in fact » he evoked succinctly, « and whatever they come up with, it's crucial that our architecture accepts it, and yet, isn't limited by it » he resumed his argumentation, « we must be adamant on this, there must be no shortcuts for the sake of simplicity » he insisted, almost threateningly. « The nervous system must be able to adapt to just about anything that may be grafted on it, without having to change itself » tentatively summarized the software developer. « Without having to change its own nature, yes » the space engineer contrasted, « but it
The Threshold
227
Christopher Stewart