operations that a central processing unit can perform comprises a language based on the sensori-motor environment that defines its existence; that is, through an ordered set of words comprised of bits. The motor operations performed by a central processing unit are directly related to this model. One operation might test to see if a particular bit in a word is a one or a zero and then switch to perform some different operation based on the value detected. Another operation might shift the bits in a word, essentially giving an order to the arrangement of bits within a word. If we view word addresses as an ordered stack of words and bit positioning as an ordered string of bits then the sensori-motor environment of the central processing unit assumes the properties of extent and directionality. Thus, at its most basic, a central processing unit exists within a two dimensional world.

The point we’re trying to derive in this description of the metaphorical environment of the central processing unit of a computer is that it intrinsically deals with a very limited set of objects: words and bits. As the most powerful tool yet developed by Homo sapiens sapiens, this provides a very limited basis through which computers can contemplate the full range of sensori-motor experiences of the individual human. The way in which a more expansive view of the world is achieved is through the development of computer languages that more closely match the human experience. Through the form of sets of processing instructions, which we will call programs or codes, computer cognitive tools known as interpreters and compilers can be built through which human sensori-motor experiences can be translated back to the pure computer sensori-motor world of words and bits.

So, the central processing unit doesn’t accomplish much without some additional computer elements, most specifically, memory, which we will consider in more detail next. For the moment, let us just consider that memory provides a means of storing strings of ones and zeros; that is, strings of binary symbols. Any specific central processing unit is designed to respond to its own set of definitions of such binary symbols. In essence, the specific set of symbols form a language which the central processing unit can interpret and effect.

As with human memory, computer memory is a recording mechanism for sensori-motor experience. Human memory reflects the storage of the continuous sensori-motor experiences of a person. An adjunct to memory as a storage mechanism is a complementary retrieval mechanism that provides a means through which a series of experiences, once experienced and stored, can later be retrieved and re-experienced. Computer related memory derives from a similar concept, but with the added wrinkle that it is the computer sensori-motor experience being saved. Thus, with computer systems it is basically a collection of words comprised of bits that can be saved and subsequently retrieved. Somewhat distinct from human memory systems, at least to the extent that they are currently understood, is the recognition that computer memory is extremely context insensitive. That is, the basic content of memory is a string of words comprised of bits, independent of the context in which sensory mechanisms obtained the information that is ultimately stored in memory. Thus, the higher-level interpretation of those words and bits, when retrieved from memory, is dependent on re-establishing the context from which the information was obtained in the first place. This then requires the storage of contextual information as well as the derived sensor data. So, let us be sure we understand the concept of context in this regards.

As our first consideration of context, let us refer back to our cursory discussion about human DNA in Chapter 2. At that time, we noted that the DNA molecule, as metaphorically illustrated by the railroad track system of the United States, could be viewed as either a single linear structure or as a collection of interconnected segments. We further noted that DNA based processes most generally make use of small sections of the molecule. Indeed, the term gene references a very

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