It is cool to learn about dendrites: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:FIejhf3q_y4J:www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/g6002/2003/Euler-Denk.pdf+dendr

It is cool to learn about dendrites: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:FIejhf3q_y4J:www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/courses/g6002/2003/Euler-Denk.pdf+dendritic-dendritic+processing&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESilRTCj0U6DwT-n--B1QlJo2iUwgo5K1rPheFccDm0c96g48xFlPZoVlJMw00bUeotH6uSEPq_HPrrRjH7DHhK_5-l-zVcwXkgF4-ZWvxF6bGMGFDSsa5-MLyyVd_cxTytyvKAa&sig=AHIEtbRUBN6Mjv0uPjCpkx362m0_7KXeww https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:FIejhf3q_y4J:... I see now, more intuitively, how the brain's nonlinear triggering might come about, and how plasticity can be achieved. Isn't it worth noting, however: that the singularity may not require 100% replication of the human brain, but rather replication of aspects of it? In other words, mental illness should not be viewed as a requirement... it should be avoided, if possible, in such modeling, assuming we're developing these models to help run our infrastructure. Creating an exact replica of a human brain on a machine seems an unnecessary goal. What we want is a machine that can think like us but orders of magnitude faster/broader. That doesn't mean we want it to think like us in every sense, but rather to accomplish specific goals: like the end of poverty.