Intermediate passages 1 The best recruiting agents

16 The computer

The computer is basically a device for ingesting, judging, and otherwise processing or usefully modifying knowledge. Thus it enlarges brainpower in the same way that other man-made machines enlarge muscle power. Like man, the computer expresses knowledge in terms of symbols; man's symbols are letters and numbers, and the machine's symbols are electromagnetic impulses that represent letters and numbers. Although man must usually instruct or program the machine minutely, its chief present advantage is that it can manipulate symbols a million times faster than a man with pencil and paper, and can make calculations in a few minutes that might take man alone a century. An expert has remarked that the difference between doing a calculation by hand and by computer is the difference between having one dollar and having a million. Sometimes the difference is infinite; only a computer can calculate swiftly enough to analyze the data from a satellite, or to enable man to control the flight of a missile.

1. Whereas some capacities of the computer are comparable with man's

1. 
   it still can't respond satisfactorily to the requirements of the modern world
   
2. 
   the computer uses electromagnetic impulses that stand for letters and numbers
   
3. 
   there are certain situations which only a computer can handle
   
4. 
   the computer helps man improve his brainpower rather than his muscle power
   

2. The writer states that

1. 
   the way the computer expresses knowledge is similar to man's
   
2. 
   the capacities of the computer are currently limited to calculating and storing information
   
3. 
   man should have developed such a miraculous device a century ago
   
4. 
   the advantages of the computer are infinite
   

3. 
   One can conclude from the passage that the computer A) will help to increase goodwill between nations
   

B) is a great time-saver for man, in addition to its other benefits

C) may eliminate the hostile feelings between nations by deterring them from starting wars D) is causing unemployment in those countries where it is widely used

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