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"In science fiction one can say a great many things that are unpalatable, … because it's expressed as science fiction you can slip it past their defenses."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Neuristor | ||
| A solid-state computer component that mimics the human neuron. |
"Neuristor" is a term coined by visionary computer science engineer Hewitt Crane in his PhD thesis in 1958. The basic idea was that a solid-state device could mimic the characteristics of the human neuron. For example, it would offer a similar finite refractory period and lossless propagation. It's probably formed from "transistor" and "neuron".
| They kept hooking hardware into him - decision-action boxes to let him boss other computers, bank on bank of additional memories, more banks of associational neural nets, another tubful of twelve-digit random numbers, a greatly augmented temporary memory. Human brain has around ten-to-the-tenth neurons. By third year Mike had better than one and a half times that many neuristors. |
| From The Moon is a Harsh Mistress,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by GP Putnam in 1966 Additional resources -
|
Roger Zelazny also used it in his Hugo Award-winning novella Home is the Hangman. The following quote is from a related 1976 story The Force That Through the Circuit Drives the Current:
That brain is actually functioning. I could almost feel those little tunnel junction neuristors working, forming their own interconnections as I operated it. Apparently, I fed it sufficient activity, it took in sufficient data… It formed its own paths. It did—learn.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
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and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
Neuristor-related
news articles:
- Atomristors - Atomic Memristors - Using Thin Nanomaterials
| AVATECT Prevents Spoofing Of Avatars |
| I Really Want A Folding Computer |
| Galaxy Z Fold 3 Perfect For William Gibson's 'Control-Face' |
| Poor Humans. Miami Herald Bot Writes Great Real Estate Articles. |
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Then some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to 'help them out.'
'... you had your trademark Lucky Dragon Global Interactive Video Column outside.'
'It's an Indian Air Force drone; its solar cells could power an entire farm.'
'... we were supposed to be forming five unit composites first."
'We send our eyes on their appointed rounds, and they can hover or soar or back up...'
'Light from the sun hit those little spheres and bounced.'
'... the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
'THE SPACE VESSEL was traveling swiftly… For over five thousand years they had Voyaged on and on.’
