| The intelligence is in the parts' interactions. Compare with an OS kernel: individual code snippets are useless / meaningless. Executed by some CPU or VM, each snippet can be seen to modify that machine's state. Snippets put together may be observed, and understood as implementing some specific algorithm. Again: useless / meaningless in isolation. Some snippets may be seen to address I/O, and so it may be assumed to be part of a subsystem that controls (or is controlled by) a peripheral device. Now put all those parts together, and you have an intricate piece of machinery that shows flexible, adaptable, goal-oriented behaviour. Behaves in a 'smart' way (for varying definitions of 'smart'). Where did the intelligence come from? The parts' properties, how they're put together, and their interactions (among themselves & their environment). As science progresses, I think we'll come to realize it's just that: a matter of scale & how the many parts and variables interact with their environment. No magic (but fascinating & wonderful nonetheless). |