---
title: "The Limits of Computer Intelligence III"
type: "article"
slug: "the-limits-of-computer-intelligence-iii"
url: "http://localhost/article/the-limits-of-computer-intelligence-iii/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/article/the-limits-of-computer-intelligence-iii.md"
published_at: "2026-03-12T16:51:01+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-12T16:51:02+00:00"
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excerpt: "Third installment. Returns to the Chinese Room to demonstrate that even adding a dictionary (without illustrations) provides no semantic breakthrough for the computer; only colored illustrated definitions give the human 'something to relate to.' Conclusion 1: computer programs can perform only the syntactical portion of mental activity. Proposition 4: brains cause minds. Details the staggering…"
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  title: "SMUG Bytes"
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  - name: "Lloyd Dreger"
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volume: "7"
issue: "11"
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  - id: 50222
    title: "SMUG Bytes v7 n11"
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pages: "1"
pubdate: "November 1990"
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---

Third installment. Returns to the Chinese Room to demonstrate that even adding a dictionary (without illustrations) provides no semantic breakthrough for the computer; only colored illustrated definitions give the human ‘something to relate to.’ Conclusion 1: computer programs can perform only the syntactical portion of mental activity. Proposition 4: brains cause minds. Details the staggering scale of brain simulation: ~30 billion cerebral neurons, ~70 billion cerebellar, ~10,000 synaptic connections each (some up to 32,000), 10 quadrillion total interconnections, unique wiring per individual, chemical transmitter depletion, and signal speeds of ~300 ft/sec vs. light speed in computers.