Anders: The physical structure of the brain plays an important role in thinking  So researchers developing thinking machines -- computers that can make decisions based on both common sense and factual knowledge -- should closely model those machines on the structure of the brain  Yang: Important does not mean essential  After all, no flying machine closely modeled on birds has worked; workable aircraft are structurally very different from birds  So thinking machines closely modeled on the brain are also likely to fail
In developing a workable thinking machine, researchers would ttherefore increase their chances of success if they focus on the brain' s function and simply ignore its physical structure
a particular example illustrating a general claim