Neural Networks: a definition
Neural networks are computational models that perform computation via a
densely connected net of very simple processing elements. This idea is an abstraction
based on the behaviour of biological nerve cells.
Artificial neural networks do not retain many details and complexity of the biological
functions, but provide a model for studying the actual biological neural workings, as well
as alternative computing paradigms. In fact they are massively parallel systems that rely
on densely connected simple processors, in contrast with traditional computing paradigm,
based on the architecture of the computer designed by Von Neumann in the fifties, that
foresees a central processor able to perform relatively complex operations, one a the time.
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