>but it misses the crucial thing that our minds do, which is that they conceptually represent and relate
You seem to be drawing a distinction between that and computation. But I would like to think that conceptualization is one of the things that computation is doing. The devil's in the details of course, because it hinges on like a specific forms and manner of informational representation, it's not simply a matter of there being computation there, but even so, I think it's within the capabilities of engines that do computations, and not something that's missing.
Yes, I think I'd agree. To make an analogy to computers though, some algorithms are much faster than others, and finding the right algorithm is a better route to effectiveness than throwing more CPU at a problem.
That said, there are obviously whole categories of problem that we can only solve, even with the best choice of programme, with a certain level of CPU.
Sorry if that example was a bit tenuous!
Not tenuous at all, a great example. The ability of computers to do fancy stuff with information, up to and including abstract conceptualization and association between concepts, hinges on details about how it's doing it, and how efficient it is. The discussion of the details, in their execution, is where all the meat and potatoes are to be found.