What Is Gedanken?

Do you know what they say: if you want to get away with something, call it a "Gedanken. " That's right—just because you've got an idea that would never work in the real world doesn't mean it's not worth thinking about. And just because an idea is impractical doesn't mean it's not worth planning out. And just because your opinion isn't built on solid physics and research doesn't mean it can't be considered. It's a pretty common trope in science fiction. In IT, "Gedanken" is often used to describe projects that are elegantly described but not coded. Critics often feel that the project's programming ideas are impossible. For example, someone could draw up schematics for a cyborg without showing how the embedded technologies would allow for things like vision, strength or other features. The word "Gedanken" is often used in the context of "AI-complete" technologies or about progress toward artificial intelligence. This is partly because artificial intelligence is so controversial, and the extent to which computers can mimic human cognitive ability is so often debated today. The word itself comes from the German word for thought—Gedanken. It's a shortening of the phrase "thinking aloud" and has since been adapted into English as a metaphor for thinking out loud. With this in mind, when we use it to describe something like artificial intelligence, we're acknowledging that there's always more than one way to look at something and more than one way to solve a problem. Artificial intelligence is notoriously difficult to define—partly because there are many different ways it can be defined—but generally speaking, it refers to programs that behave like humans do when they think through problems or make decisions. According to some researchers (like Stephen Hawking), it might even be possible for computers to become more intelligent than humans!