The mental ability of humans is a characteristic unparalleled in the natural world. We are alienated from other organisms by our complex and multifaceted thought process. In fact, humans are so unique in the animal kingdom that our greatest intellectual rival may be a nonliving object of our own creation. Since the conception of the computer, an atmosphere of competition has surrounded the machine. Having had no clear opposition to the excellence of human design for thousands of years, the notion of a machine carrying out similar functions can be quite frightening. Countless images of destructive supercomputers have been conjured up in books and movies. The popularity of such ideas may have something to do with a real human fear and uncertainty. Are we, as humans, still smarter than our creation? Are we still special?
             The primary purpose of computers has always been memory. Thus, their design tends to mimic the human brain. Facts and data are stored in chips that perform the same tasks as cells. These chips or circuits store information and allow the computer to carry out vital operations. The wires in a computer act like the neurons in a brain. They are the pathways for electrical impulses and are therefore responsible for communication between regions. For each circuit or wire in a computer, there are millions of cells or neurons in a brain. The complicated system of computer components can be viewed as a simplified mock-up of the even more complex human brain.
             Computers also have a system for storing memory similar to humans. The first step in the process is short-term storage. For a person, this stage occurs the instant new information is perceived. For a short time after hearing or seeing something, the knowledge will be retained whether or not the individual has a desire to remember it. For a computer, this is the time when data is first entered by a human. This data is recorded and maintained until it is either f...