Mind and Consciousness - Essay Example

Mind and Consciousness Syntactic knowledge comprises data which an individual must store in mind in order to be able to make use of a system. Use of a programming language can not be made without sufficient syntactic knowledge of the same. People that have stored the syntactical rules in their mind are able to write programs with least inconvenience. Syntactic knowledge puts the user under a lot of pressure. Syntactic knowledge should be applied in the least possible time. Otherwise, the individual may not be able to recall it.

For example, I am able to use MS Excel because of my syntactic knowledge. Syntactic knowledge is, to much an extent, dependent upon the system. The same action may have various commands with the change of the machine. “Also conventions can be a source of difficulties, for example using “S” for saving or for sending a file can produce confusing experiences” (Dursteler, 2011). Semantic knowledge, on the other hand, points towards the understanding of meanings that are not linked with particular experiences.

It is the conscious recollection of knowledge about our surroundings and the whole world in the broader context irrespective of the context. For example, it is because of my semantic knowledge that I am able to differentiate between the meanings of individual words in language. The form and content of knowledge are two entirely different areas. Forms of knowledge can be classified into three types, namely the intellectual knowledge, knowledge of stats, and the knowledge of reality. Intellectual knowledge is an assemblage of facts which can be used to derive intellectual conclusions.

Knowledge of states is basically emotionalism, in which an individual is occupied by extreme thoughts. The knowledge of reality enables a man to identify the ultimate truth. This form of knowledge is commonly retained by Sufis and spiritual people. The content of knowledge, on the other hand, is all that shapes an individual’s vision and opinion. The form of knowledge is more concerned with the state of mind whereas the content of knowledge is what is displayed in the form of knowledge. Machines have limited knowledge.

When assessing machine intelligence, it must be ensured that the form of knowledge is consistent with the content of knowledge stored in it. Human brain and computer are so different structurally that they are almost incomparable (Scaruffi, 2001). The fundamental difference between thinking power, consciousness and knowledge of human intelligence and machine intelligence is the fact that the former is unlimited while the latter is quite limited. There is a lot of subjectivity in the measurement of thinking power, consciousness and knowledge of human intelligence while results of the measurement of the very aspects of machine intelligence are very objective and quantitative.

This is because machines know what they are fed with, no more, no less. Human intelligence is also inextricably linked to self-consciousness or the capacity to reflect on ones own thinking or to be aware of ones mental acts. Computational machines do not as yet possess this capacity which is a necessary prerequisite for controlling creatively ones own line of thinking, or mental acts such as choosing alternatives. (Khan, 2002). References:Dursteler, J. C. (2011). Syntactic Knowledge and Visual Knowledge.

Retrieved from http://www.infovis.net/printMag.php?lang=2&num=146. Khan, A. H. (2002). Person and Boundedness in Wittgenstein and Tagore: Positioning Artificial Intelligence. University of Toronto. Retrieved from http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/i_pr/i_pr_khan_paper_frameset.htm. Scaruffi, P. (2001). Machine Intelligence: The Machinery of the Mind. Retrieved from http://www.scaruffi.com/tat/machine.html.