computers do not "think" at all.
Seriously? This is what you got from my post?
no, not really.
it was the only part i felt relevant.
but i shall try to oblige you.
I've been programming computers since I they first invented the home computer and had a TRS-80 16k home computer.
the TRS-80 was not the first home computer, not even close.
the first home computer was the MITS ALTAIR and was notable for the introduction of the S-100 microbus.
you programmed this thing by direct hex entry into machine code.
I learned the BASIC language inside out as a teenager and went on to learn several other computer languages and also have designed many websites.
there is no such thing as "a basic language".
there are several dialects with some having major revisions,floppy drive and floating point math support for example.
I have read EVERY POST here and one thing nobody has mentioned so far is that computers do not think on their own.
i've already commented on this.
Computer programming is extremely simple.
nothing can be further from the truth.
i've had programming problems stop the press for 6 months only to discover the answer lies in a simple variable assignment.
All computer programming is boils down to "If/Then" Statements.
yes but with careful manipulation you can determine the execution order.
this is where a goto statement that resolves into an equation comes in really handy.
If this is true do that.
If that is true do this.
That is why flowcharts are mostly decision boxes/"if/then" statements.
just remember that our most complex protein folding programs are based exactly on this principle.
linked lists are another area of merit.
these types of programs allow you to easily create learning types programs.
LISP makes special use of lists.
I recently mentioned this discussing bots, but thought I'd add a comment here about it.
Turning "If/Then" statements into a functional conversationalist robot is a mighty attempt considering every thought must be processed entirely with "If/Then" statements.
this is wrong.
every sentence is processed, not thoughts.
Creating a life form that could function this way could never happen.
i believe i've answered this.
There would need to be a new type of machine, or computer designed possibly using biological parts before something that could resemble life or a human brain is possible.
maybe.
the biggest problem i see is how a human can randomly focus on an object and all sorts of thoughts follow it.
also how a human "puts 2 and 2 together".
Currently though, every programming language boils down one decision after another. It only seems intelligent based on what you do not see.
yeah, a programmers life isn't very glamorous, especially when you are rolling one out.