Last year, the Pentagon’s premiere research arm gave IBM nearly $5 million to make electronics that mimic the “function, size and power consumption” of a cat’s brain. Last week, IBM’s lead researcher on the project, Dharmendra Modha, announced that he had made major progress toward that goal, simulating on a supercomputer the number of neurons and synapses inside a feline mind. Now, a leading neuroscientist is blasting the whole project as a “scam” and a “hoax.”

more at the full source

You know, I’d been thinking that it wasn’t all it seemed. I was figuring that they had just modelled a cat brain at a high level of detail, and the press had simply got it into their head that meant it was thinking at that level..

Given that our best computers can *barely* emulate a fly’s brain, on a good day, I’d be damn surprised when they emulate something with a backbone.

I can’t wait for the version of the IBM laptop with the “Cat’s Brain Intel Processor”. It will go chasing after birds while you read your emails and a session on the spread sheet will have it wetting your desk.

I’ll stick to Macs thank you very much.

Peter - 24 November 2009 08:09 AM

I can’t wait for the version of the IBM laptop with the “Cat’s Brain Intel Processor”. It will go chasing after birds while you read your emails and a session on the spread sheet will have it wetting your desk.

I’ll stick to Macs thank you very much.

I was just about to say: “sounds like you describe Microsoft software there…” 

After reading the article it almost sounds like a couple of kids arguing over whose fort is bigger.