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Dictionary:

blockhead

  (blŏk'hĕd') pronunciation
n.

A person regarded as very stupid; a dolt.


 
 
Thesaurus: blockhead

noun

    A mentally dull person: chump, clod, dolt, dullard, dummkopf, dummy, dunce, numskull, thickhead. Slang dimwit, dumbbell, dumbo. See ability/inability.

 
WordNet: blockhead
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: these words are used to express a low opinion of someone's intelligence
  Synonyms: dunce, dunderhead, numskull, bonehead, lunkhead, hammerhead, knucklehead, loggerhead, muttonhead, shithead, fuckhead


 
Wikipedia: Blockhead


Blockhead is the name of a theoretical computer system invented as part of a thought experiment by philosopher Ned Block, which appeared in a paper entitled Psychologism and Behaviourism. In this paper, Block argues that the internal mechanism of a system was important in determining whether that system was intelligent, and also to show that a non-intelligent system could pass the Turing Test.

Block asks us to imagine a conversation lasting any given amount of time. He states that, given the nature of language, there are a finite number of syntactically and grammatically correct sentences that can be used to start a conversation. From this follows the point that there is a limit to how many correct responses can be made to this first sentence, and then again to the second sentence, and so on until the conversation ends.

Block then asks us to imagine a computer which had been programmed with all these sentences. Although the number of sentences required for a 30 minute conversation is said to be greater than the number of particles in the universe, it is clear that such a machine could at least logically exist (this makes for a purely theoretical argument which can't be applied in practice). From this, Block leads us to see that such a machine could continue a conversation with a person on any topic, because the computer would be programmed with every sentence that it was possible to use. On this basis, the computer would be able to pass the Turing test despite the fact (according to Block) that it was not intelligent.

Block says that this does not show that there is only one correct internal structure for generating intelligence, but simply that some internal structures do not generate intelligence.

The argument is similar to John Searle's Chinese Room.

External links


 
Translations: Translations for: Blockhead

Dansk (Danish)
n. - tykpande, dumrian

Nederlands (Dutch)
domkop

Français (French)
n. - andouille, crétin, sot

Deutsch (German)
n. - Dummkopf

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μπουμπουνοκέφαλος, χοντροκέφαλος

Italiano (Italian)
citrullo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cabeça (m) (f) dura (gír.)

Русский (Russian)
болван, тупица, олух

Español (Spanish)
n. - imbécil, botarate, estúpido, zoquete

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - dumhuvud, pappskalle

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
笨蛋, 傻子

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 笨蛋, 傻子

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 멍청이, 얼간이

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - あほう, のろま

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) غبي, مغفل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮טיפש‬


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Blockhead" Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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