Brain complexity: massive connections (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, April 04, 2015, 15:01 (3303 days ago) @ David Turell

Just a brief idea of how complex. We really know very little. Can we solve the problem?-"Computer scientists are working on algorithms that will make it easier to manage such data. They're also are trying to create computers that can replicate the processing power of the brain. That would take a so-called exascale computer, a machine capable of performing a billion calculations per second.-"It's impossible to know how close scientists are to reaching that goal.-"The precise speed and capacity of the brain have never been determined, a lesson I learned after asking Caltech for help on the matter. A public relations representative responded by email, saying, “I reached out to several of our neuroscientists, and they seem to agree: These are VERY tough questions.”-"She then referred me to a scientist at another institution. Imagine that. Caltech — whose faculty have won Nobel Prizes for their work on the brain — pointing me elsewhere. The brain is that complex.-"There's reason to believe the brain is too complicated to ever be fully understood. Long ago, Gerald Edelman of La Jolla, winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology, tried to help people visualize the complexity.-"He asked people to think of a region of the brain that's the size of a match. There are enough neurons in that spot to make a billion connections.-"'If we consider how connections might be variously combined,” Edelman said, “the number would be hyper-astronomical — on the order of 10 followed by millions of zeros.'"