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Full Idea
A computer, me for example, could run the steps in the program for some mental capacity, such as understanding Chinese, without understanding a word of Chinese.
Gist of Idea
A program for Chinese translation doesn't need to understand Chinese
Source
John Searle (The Rediscovery of the Mind [1992], Ch. 9.II)
Book Ref
Searle,John R.: 'The Rediscovery of the Mind' [MIT 1999], p.200
A Reaction
I don't think this is true. I could recite a bit of Chinese without comprehension, but giving flexible answers to complex questions isn't plausible just by gormlessly implementing a procedure.