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leplen comments on Could a digital intelligence be bad at math? - Less Wrong Discussion

3 Post author: leplen 20 January 2016 02:38AM

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Comment author: leplen 21 January 2016 01:22:28AM 1 point [-]

This raises a really interesting point that I wanted to include in the top level post, but couldn't find a place for. It seems plausible/likely that human savants are implementing arithmetic using different, and much more efficient algorithms than those used by neurotypical humans. This was actually one of the examples I considered in support of the argument that neurons can't be the underlying reason humans struggle so much with math.

Comment author: HungryHobo 21 January 2016 04:42:59PM 0 points [-]

It has only been in recent generations that arithmetic involving numbers of more than 2 or 3 digits has mattered to peoples wellbeing and survival. I doubt our brains are terribly well wired up for large numbers.