The only way I can explain the (almost entirely american) backlash at the idea of the human brain being a computer that we can emulate is that a lot of them are religious. That is sad.
In this case that might mean (a) providing enough information to explain why escalating the question is necessary to the discussion, as opposed to a closet insult, and (b) using impersonal language. For example, you already changed your wording from "do you know what science is" to "what is science". That's a big difference.