# The Cognitive Spectrum May Explain Why AI Cannot Simulate Human Thought by David Gelernter > “I believe (I know—but can't prove!) that scientists will soon understand the physiological basis of the "cognitive spectrum," from the bright violet of tightly-focused analytic thought all the way down to the long, slow red of low-focus sleep thought—also known as "dreaming." Once they understand the spectrum, they'll know how to treat insomnia, will understand analogy-discovery (and therefore creativity), and the role of emotion in thought—and will understand that thought takes place not only when you solve a math problem but when you look out the window and let your mind wander. Computer scientists will finally understand the missing mystery ingredient that made all their efforts to simulate human thought such naive, static failures, and turned this once-thriving research field into a ghost town. (Their failures were "static" insofar as people think in different ways at different times—your energetic, wide-awake mind works very differently from your tired, soon-to-be-sleeping mind; but artificial intelligence programs always "thought" in the same way all the time.)” > **— David Gelernter**, *2005, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Computer Scientist, Yale University; Chief Scientist, Mirror Worlds Technologies; Author, Drawing Life](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11160) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2005 Annual Question collection, *WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Modern Artificial Intelligence in the 1970s|AI in the 1970s]] - **Article:** [[articles/Christopher Nolan's Odyssey at the Threshold of Machine Succession|Nolan's Odyssey]] - **Article:** [[articles/Cyber-Physical Lessons from Imperial Beekeeping|Cyber-Physical Beekeeping]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Artificial Intelligence|Artificial Intelligence]] - [[wiki/Infrastructural Superintelligence|Infrastructural Superintelligence]] - [[wiki/Machine Learning|Machine Learning]] - [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “I believe (I know—but can't prove!) that scientists will soon understand the physiological basis of the "cognitive spectrum," from the bright violet of tightly-focused analytic thought all the way down to the long, slow red of low-focus sleep thought—also known as "dreaming." Once they understand the spectrum, they'll know how to treat insomnia, will understand analogy-discovery (and therefore creativity), and the role of emotion in thought—and will understand that thought takes place not only when you solve a math problem but when you look out the window and let your mind wander. Computer scientists will finally understand the missing mystery ingredient that made all their efforts to simulate human thought such naive, static failures, and turned this once-thriving research field into a ghost town. (Their failures were "static" insofar as people think in different ways at different times—your energetic, wide-awake mind works very differently from your tired, soon-to-be-sleeping mind; but artificial intelligence programs always "thought" in the same way all the time.)” — David Gelernter, 2005, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-david-gelernter-cognitive-spectrum-explain-ai-cannot ```