On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:36:34 -0800 (PST), jamesgangnc
wrote:

Seems we seldom have more than one or two boating topics a day
anyway. But hope springs eternal!

And spring is right around the corner for you high latitude folks. It
was in the 80s here last week but a chilly 40 something this morning.
Hopefully the pool will warm up by late afternoon.

Back to computers: Read up on "the Turing Test" for some fresh
insights:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test

As you can see, this discussion has been going on for a long time. I
would postulate that Kasparov's automated opponent has already passed
the test within its limited realm. At some point, and it may have
already started, computers will be expertly programmed to simulate
feelings, emotion and creative thought. When the simulations become
so well done that world class experts can't tell the difference, what
do you have then?