Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were.
But without it we go nowhere.
Carl Sagan
[..] Τo further appreciate the difference between the genuine intelligence required to pass Turing's test, and the shallow, yet deviously deceptive nature of ELIZA's conversational abilities, here is a hypothetical exchange between the Turing test investigator Alice and a really intelligent candidate, say Bob:Alice: What is a zupchok?Bob: I have no idea.Alice: A zupchok is a flying, novel-writing whale. It has been carefully cultivated in a laboratory over sever generations to ensure that it's fins evolve into wing-like things that enable it to fly. It has also been gradually taught to read and write. It has a thorough knowledge of modern literature, and has the ability to write publishable mystery stories.Bob: How weird!Alice: Do you think zupchoks exist?Bob: No way. They cannot.Alice: Why?Bob: For many reasons. First of all, our genetic engineering capabilities are far from adequate when it comes to turning fins into wings, not to mention our inability to cause 10-ton engineless creatures to defy gravity just by flapping those things. Secondly, the novel-writing part does not even deserve responding to, since writing a good story requires much more than the technical ability to read and write. The whole idea seems ridiculous enough. Don't you have anything more interesting to talk about?[..]
Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎?, October or November 1760 – May 10, 1849)[1] was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. In his time, he was Japan's leading expert on Chinese painting.[2]Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Born in Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景, Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei?, c. 1831) which includes the internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s.
Hokusai created the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a personal obsession with Mount Fuji.[3] It was this series, specifically The Great Wave print and Fuji in Clear Weather, that secured Hokusai’s fame both within Japan and overseas. As historian Richard Lane concludes, "Indeed, if there is one work that made Hokusai's name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series...".[4] While Hokusai's work prior to this series is certainly important, it was not until this series that he gained broad recognition and left a lasting impact on the art world. It was also The Great Wave print that initially received, and continues to receive, acclaim and popularity in the Western world.