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Computer Analogy Help

Romero ZombieRomero Zombie Registered User regular
edited October 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Hey all - I've built my last two computers using prior computer build threads here on PA and I have recently been tasked with teaching a class on how to identify parts in a computer in a seven minute presentation.

Here is the deal though, the class I am going to teach this to does not exactly have a lot of experience with computers and I was thinking about giving an analogy to each of the major computer parts to help them understand what they do. I was looking at using the human body as an analogy and here is what I came up with so far....

Case: This can be referred to as your skin. Keeps everything inside as safe as can be

Power Supply: Heartbeat of your computer. Without a heartbeat, you can’t survive. Everything runs off
of your power supply

Motherboard: The central nervous system of the computer. Everything in your computer is connected
To this and the individual parts communicate with each other through the motherboard

Processor: ??

Video Card: Your muscles - how strong and how much strain your computer can take

Memory: ??

Hard-drive: Memory portion of your brain - how much memory or data you can store

CD-Rom: ??


The processor memory and video card have me stumped a bit, any suggestions? Or other good analogies which would help explain each of the parts?

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Posts

  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited October 2009
    The CD/DVD-Rom is your mouth.

    Esh on
  • mrcheesypantsmrcheesypants Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Processor - Your functional part of the brain
    Memory - your short term memory
    HDD - your long term memory
    I/O - your senses.

    mrcheesypants on
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  • Project MayhemProject Mayhem Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    I'd say the video card is more like your eyesight/how well you can see.

    Project Mayhem on
  • Romero ZombieRomero Zombie Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Good ideas so far thanks :) The human body was the first thing I thought of. If anyone has other analogies which may be easier to understand, feel free to suggest them.

    Romero Zombie on
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  • TerrendosTerrendos Decorative Monocle Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    I would just liken everything to the brain. It's easier that way.

    case: skull
    processor: prefrontal cortex (where our actual thinking and reasoning and the like happens)
    motherboard: frontal lobe (basically organizes information for the prefrontal cortex to sort)
    video card: occipital lobe (processes and makes sense of visual data)
    sound card: temporal lobe (auditory processing)
    power supply: carotid arteries

    etc.

    Terrendos on
  • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Terrendos wrote: »
    I would just liken everything to the brain. It's easier that way.

    case: skull
    processor: prefrontal cortex (where our actual thinking and reasoning and the like happens)
    motherboard: frontal lobe (basically organizes information for the prefrontal cortex to sort)
    video card: occipital lobe (processes and makes sense of visual data)
    sound card: temporal lobe (auditory processing)
    power supply: carotid arteries

    etc.

    Wouldn't that only work if they, er, remember how the brain works? I mean, you're adding a redundant level of explanation yourself:

    sound card: temporal lobe (auditory processing) == A = B = C == A = C == sound card: auditory processing.

    admanb on
  • futilityfutility Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited October 2009
    Esh wrote: »
    The CD/DVD-Rom is your mouth.

    cd rom is a bit too specific for mouth. And really as with how it functions, it may act like a mouth, but really because it's a means of taking in information, it's closer to being the eyes of the system

    futility on
  • Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    I'd rewrite mobo to peripheral nervous system.
    it'll handle all the autonomic base functions you don't see going on
    whereas the processor is your central nervous system or "brain" all major tasking and intelligence comes from here.
    ram is short term memory
    hard drive is long term memory
    video card is eyes, processes visual information
    cd drive is ears, takes in information to be processed by the brain and stored in long or short term memory
    power supply is stomach. it takes energy from outside the system (ac/food) and converts it something the system can use (dc/chemical energy)
    case is skeleton, defines the form and shape of the system. holds it together, protects the vitals

    alternately, to tone down the anatomy side of things, you could refer to the mobo as "internal organs" here are your liver, kidney, intestines, they all are vital to your survival, and connect your various systems together, but all function on a much lower level than the rest of your body.

    Captain Vash on
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  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    The chipset is your spleen, the frontside bus is your occipital lobe, the CMOS battery is your pineal gland, the motherboard header is the roof of your mouth, the power button is the belly button, the USB ports are the holes cut into your hands that you use to connect to computers (this will work really well in 5 years), the Firewire port is your asshole, and the SATA host controller is the SATA host controller that everyone is born with but which doctors usually chop off.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited October 2009
    The chipset is your spleen, the frontside bus is your occipital lobe, the CMOS battery is your pineal gland, the motherboard header is the roof of your mouth, the power button is the belly button, the USB ports are the holes cut into your hands that you use to connect to computers (this will work really well in 5 years), the Firewire port is your asshole, and the SATA host controller is the SATA host controller that everyone is born with but which doctors usually chop off.

    I think we have a winner.

    admanb on
  • EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited October 2009
    futility wrote: »
    Esh wrote: »
    The CD/DVD-Rom is your mouth.

    cd rom is a bit too specific for mouth. And really as with how it functions, it may act like a mouth, but really because it's a means of taking in information, it's closer to being the eyes of the system

    What does that make the networking card?

    Esh on
  • Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Esh wrote: »
    futility wrote: »
    Esh wrote: »
    The CD/DVD-Rom is your mouth.

    cd rom is a bit too specific for mouth. And really as with how it functions, it may act like a mouth, but really because it's a means of taking in information, it's closer to being the eyes of the system

    What does that make the networking card?

    in what way does the cd dvd rom drive imbibe sustenance?

    the mouth analogy relies purely on visual comparison which makes for a weak analogy.

    Captain Vash on
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  • futilityfutility Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited October 2009
    Esh wrote: »
    futility wrote: »
    Esh wrote: »
    The CD/DVD-Rom is your mouth.

    cd rom is a bit too specific for mouth. And really as with how it functions, it may act like a mouth, but really because it's a means of taking in information, it's closer to being the eyes of the system

    What does that make the networking card?

    If a cd rom is a book, the internet would be mass media, with the network card being a tv...

    futility on
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