Thinking Computers
Recently we heard about computers which mimic human thinking and emotional behavior. There is the reality in the form of robots made in Japan which have genuine human facial responses and which can speak with emotional overtones just like human beings.
In his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali dismissed realistic and unrealistic thinking and imagination as being three of the processes which are undesirable for yoga. In his famous second sutra, he wrote this (my English translation):
yogaḥ – the skill of yoga; cittavṛtti = citta – mento-emotional energy + vṛtti – vibrational mode; nirodhaḥ – cessation, restraint, non-operation.
The skill of yoga is demonstrated by the conscious non-operation of the vibrational modes of the mento-emotional energy.
In another verse, he listed what he meant by cittavritti, saving us arguments about what that was. In the list of the five vrittis (mento-emotional operations), three which involved deliberate or undeliberate thinking operations, were mentioned
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One thinking pattern of computers is called php. In this method there is format system which is similar to a thinking process of humans. It is written like this:
printf("Australia comprises %d states and %d territories.", 6, 10);
After receiving this input into its memory (mind), the computer will show the human being this on the screen:
Australia comprises 6 states and 10 territories.
In this example of computer thinking, first the computer was instructed to print (printf) some information using a preset format or prejudice. It formed this prejudice even before it received the information.
The prejudice as that it was to explain some facts about Australia but it was to do so in a particular way even though it would be given the actual facts later. In other words, just as human being have prejudiced notions and keep those in place irrespective of being ignorant of something, the computer was to have this format and then once it held this format, it was given information which was to fit into the given format.
The information followed as 6 and 10 in the total instruction which I retype here:
printf("Australia comprises %d states and %d territories.", 6, 10);
%d means that the computer is to put certain information which it will be given later as 6 and 10 into the format given before.
Have you ever found yourself thinking in this way, where you first have a format idea(s) of someone or something, and you maintain that idea while you wait for factually information. Then when you get the facts, you fit them into your mental format and believe that for yourself or impress that on others?
