When confronted with the hows and whys of nature's computational engines, some prefer to focus upon neural function: addressing issues of neural system behavior and its relation to natural intelligence. Then there are those who prefer the study of the "mechanics" of neural systems: the nuts and bolts of the "wetware" the neurons and synapses. Those who investigate pulse coded implementations ofartificial neural networks know what it means to stand at the boundary which lies between these two worlds: not just asking why natural neural systems behave as they do, but also how they achieve their...