How do computers understand bits?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around how computers and electronics interpret and process bit signals, focusing on the fundamental concepts of bits as on/off states and the underlying mechanisms that enable this processing. Participants explore various aspects of computer architecture, logic gates, and the historical evolution of computing technology.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the appropriateness of the term "understand" in relation to how computers process bits, suggesting that it may not accurately reflect the nature of machine operation.
  • Another participant draws an analogy between computers and mechanical devices, such as mousetraps, to illustrate that machines do not possess understanding.
  • A later reply emphasizes the importance of logic gates in processing bits, noting that combinations of gates can represent and manipulate binary data.
  • Participants discuss the historical progression of computing technology, mentioning the transition from mechanical devices to electronic components, including the role of operating systems in managing hardware resources.
  • There is a suggestion that mechanical or hydrodynamic systems could theoretically replace electronic systems in computing, with examples such as automatic transmissions and Charles Babbage's difference engine being referenced.
  • One participant humorously proposes a conceptual "goldfish computer" that uses a goldfish's position in a tank to represent bits, highlighting the potential for unconventional computing models.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying views on the nature of understanding in machines, the relevance of mechanical versus electronic systems, and the historical context of computing technology. No consensus is reached on these points, and multiple competing perspectives remain evident throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific historical developments and technological transitions without fully resolving the implications of these changes on the understanding of computing. The discussion also includes speculative ideas about alternative computing mechanisms that are not fully fleshed out.

  • #31
ISamson said:
Hello.
How do computers and electronics understand bit signals and information? how do they process it?
I know that a bit consists of ons and offs, but how does the computer understand this and what to do with it??
Is there something I don't understand?:smile:
Thank you.
I'm sure you know that computers and electronics don't actually understand bit signals and information, they respond to signals and generate signals, and they accept, process, and report information. Colloquially, they made be said to "know" or "understand", but such usage of human knowledge and reasoning terms as that are conveniences for our own understanding. We may say that Google knows everything (including many things that are not true) but in reality, only we (and perhaps other sentient beings, epistemic questions aside) can properly be said have knowledge.

"How", interpreted as "in what or which way" computers process information, depends on the processor architecture, and on the process specification (the program) that it is given by which to process it. (Please note that the word "process" is in that sentence used both as a noun and a verb.) "How", interpreted as "by what internal mechanism", in modern electronic computers, is by semiconductor switching circuits, arrays of interrogable and switchable (readable and writeable) memory devices, and communication mechanisms.

Your questions, if interpreted liberally, bring up multiple fields of study and endeavor.

A rudimentary non-electronic digital computer apparatus is the abacus. It's not a computer by itself, because its operator is required to interpret the program and perform the mechanical actions, but it does passively hold sequences of digital memory states. If you watch a video of someone extracting 4 digits of the square root of 2, you can see elements that are present in every digital computer. The position of the beads is the state of the memory. The manipulation of the beads is the processing. The person doing the manipulation is the processor. The rules the person is following constitute the program. The problem he is trying to solve is the input to the program. The result read as the solution is the output from the program.

You can download an abacus for windows here: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Home-Education/Soroban.shtml

Soroban_1.png
 

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