the various constraints are soft in character, the must, nevertheless, be addressed through a continuous process of interaction.
Sequential computer programs that are characteristic of most models of computer metaphor theory are neither effective nor efficient in the coordination of the required simultaneous process of interaction. It has been suggested by critics of the computer metaphor theory of the cognitive system that such tasks are better described as the interaction of several tasks in parallel (Lloyd, 1990, pp. 92 93).
Critics of the computer metaphor theory of the cognitive system contend that the brain is the implementation of the program of the mind, but that it is not known just how the so called hardware of the brain supports the so called psychological software of the mind. These critics contend further that it is highly improbable that the so called brain hardware could implement serial programs within the context of the computer metaphor theory of the cognitive system. The reason for this improbability is held to be that the human brain is simply not fast enough to computer the functions demanded of it by large artificial intelligence models. Thus, as the brain can process only about 100 discrete program steps in route to a cognitive outcome, it is less than probable that artificial intelligence programs that process millions of lines of code are representative of the functioning of the brain.
Computational models that use the structure of the brain have been discounted because it is contended that such models lack the computational power to develop truly intelligent systems (Smolensky, 1991, pp. 49 51). Further, it is held that such models provide little insight into the computational organization of the brain. Such symbolic models, it is also held, do a relatively good job at a coarse level, but are lacking in effectiveness and efficiency at higher levels. The fine structure of cognition, it is contend...