
Javascript and the brain: Why Javascript is the future of programming languages - ColinWright
http://grenzgenial.com/post/2414488498/javascript-and-the-brain-why-javascript-is-the-future
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dvt
Up-voted because I have interest and experience in AI, but the stuff about the
brain is just nonsense. What does it even _mean_ for the brain to have types
(or _not_ to have types, for that matter)?

> The brain is a (sophisticated) computer! It’s a big processor.

If you're a behaviorist, sure. But many (many) people don't see it this way.
I'm not just talking about philosophers here, but also doctors, biologists,
and chemists. How do you even define _computer_ in such a context? I would
suggest some reading of John Searle (see _Mind: A Brief Introduction_ ) to
clarify some ideas here. Sure, we tend to hear stuff like "the brain is a
parallel computer!" all the time, but these statements don't really mean much
and are often sensationalized.

The analogy breaks down even worse from there. Comparing the JS event
subsystem with fired electrical impulses in the brain? I mean, come on.

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bun-neh
Whether or not the brain has any inherent structure for "types" is irrelevant.
Types are a mechanism for providing reasoning about the correctness of code.
At the very least they are a notification to the compiler or interpreter as to
the function (and possibly the correctness) of various operations.

And besides, we segment and type the world all the time. Its a natural
behavior to define an instance of a object and to reason about that object in
isolation.

A lot of these points are really short-sighted. The reasoning behind
eliminating code-as-data (note, not really self-modifying code) has more to do
with efficiency than with clarity.

If you do accept the premise of the article then Javascript is not the only
language for which it applies.

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timinman
It's the same kind of argument made about ruby being 'developer friendly.' My
hunch is that the brain is so much more complex than _any_ programming
language - that drawing out likenesses to one over the others is overdoing it.
It's like saying 'zucchini is like pizza because it can be cut into round
slices like pepperoni.'

One point that was missed is that all those curly brackets look a bit like
neurons :)

