http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/18/ibm-simulates-cats-brain-humans-are-next/
It has come to my attention, through Facebook of all places, that researchers from IBM are reporting that they've simulated a cat's cerebral cortex, the thinking part of the brain, using a massive supercomputer. The computer has 147,456 processors and 144 terabytes of main memory. For those not up to speed with computers, that's enough junk in the trunk to put the super in supercomputer.
I must ask IBM this: how much computer do you need to simulate the natural instinct to eat, sleep, poop, find nearest sunbeam, bat/kill all interlopers of equal or lesser size, and go bat-shit crazy 'round midnight?
A more cheeky response -- as just supplied by my wife, who is reading over my shoulder as I type this -- would be a supercomputer with 147,456 processors and 144 terabytes of memory. And I just said to her the same thing that I now say to you: that can't be right. Seriously, an old Apple II should be up for the job, right?
(*) Did an alt-c, alt-v to Seth's post on Facebook, and tweaked it to my liking ("junk in the trunk enough", etc.). Thanks and/or sorry, Seth. I was in a hurry this morning.
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