extra-computer stimuli, and procedural activities providing complex cognitive processing of combinations of stimuli. A background clock then provides a repetitive trigger for activity within the computer in the absence of other external stimuli. On top of the real-time subsystem, computers often have task queues, lists of activities that are scheduled by various subsystems in the form of a priority ordered list. At the top of computer subsystems, applications interface the computer’s functional capabilities to human end-user defined services. As we will note below, these very general subsystem definitions suggest qualitative comparison to the triune brain.

In computer systems, the software that sits between the basic sensori-motor functions of the computer and the higher cognitive levels of software, which we typically call applications, is termed the operating system. The first half-century or so of the evolutionary development of computers has seen a wealth of operating system architectures and implementations. To a certain extent, we might view these as somewhat analogous to the differing brain structures that have evolved among the vertebrates. We will review some of the more salient examples of operating systems, but we are hard pressed to pick any particular one as the analogue of the basis of the brain of Homo sapiens. However, at least they give a flavor of the ongoing search for the best foundation for much higher cognitive levels of software.

What we consider as those higher cognitive levels of software are the applications through which the needs hierarchy of the human users of computers is specifically addressed. An indirect illustration of such applications is found within the various computer languages that have evolved in an attempt to address the needs of the application providers. As we suggested back in Chapter 4, “A good programmer can think like a computer; a good computer language sounds like a person talking to another person.” Well, in fact a good programmer generally has to think like a computer operating system, because the actual computer is hidden behind a variety of application programming interfaces that the operating system provides. While natural languages are similar in their capability of expression, computer languages are more variable, a property that can be attributed in part to their short history compared to human languages. So, we will provide a bit of discussion about the two areas, operating systems and languages. Then, as overview to this chapter’s theme of trust through process we will consider the problem of provisioning; the process of preparing both humans as well as computer systems to meet the real world.

So, let us first consider the progressive structure of the human brain before we delve into some of the general characteristics of computer software systems that seem to offer at least the hint of a qualitative parallel.

The Neural Chassis

Vertebrates have a spinal cord running from tail to head, connected to the lower brainstem at the base of the brain. Two extensions of this neural chassis are the peripheral autonomic nervous system, which regulates the organism, and the peripheral somatic nervous system that enables the sensori-motor apparatus. For example, the autonomic nervous system addresses stimulation of the heart, breathing, and movement of the intestines to move digesting food. This subsystem of the total brain is primarily concerned with the physiological needs of the body. In terms of the sensori-motor experience, an important characteristic that we typically associate with the somatic nervous system is the initial facilities for reflexive actions that serve to help us quickly avoid danger. The most basic protection mechanism, from a physiological standpoint, is the reflex action facility of the nervous system. These processes are not routinely accessible from the higher

Book available at Midori Press (regular)
Book available at Midori Press (signed)
Book available at Amazon (regular)