The
behavior of an object in a multi- dimensional space (four, five,
six, or more dimensions), actions along a timeline that can be
regressive, or in several distinct and unrelated time frames,
modeling choices beyond the capability of the human mind-all
these, and many more, with practical significance for the
survival and development of humankind are acceptable problems
for a digital computer.
It is true, as many would hasten to object, that the computer
does not formulate the problem. But this is not the point.
Neither does literacy formulate problems. It only embodies
formulations and answers pertinent to work within a scale of
manageable divisions. The less expressive language of zeros and
ones (yes-no, open-closed, white- black) is more precise, and
definitely more appropriate, for levels of complexity as high as
those resulting from this new stage in the evolution. The
generality of the computer (a general-purpose machine), the
abstraction of the program of symbol manipulation, and the very
concrete nature of the data upon which it is applied represent a
powerful combination of reified knowledge, effective procedures
for solving problems, and high resolution capabilities. Those
who see the computer as only the principal technological
metaphor of our time (according to J. D. Bolter) miss the
significance of the new metrics of human activity and its degree
of necessity as it results from awareness of the limits of our
minds (after the limits of the body were experienced in
industrial society).
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