A Cornell University press release says that the idea of the brain as a computer has outlived its usefulness. Instead, Michael Spivey and other researchers say, the brain is a "dynamic continuum, cascading through shades of grey". They propose that "perception and cognition are mathematically described as a continuous trajectory through a high-dimensional mental space; the neural activation patterns flow back and forth to produce nonlinear, self-organized, emergent properties". They don't seem to actually be saying that machines can't think, be conscious, or exhibit nonlinear emergent properties, just that humans don't think in a string of binary symbols.