Your brain does not process information and it is not a computer | Aeon Essays
aeon.coSaved by Charlie Gedeon and
Your brain does not process information and it is not a computer | Aeon Essays
Saved by Charlie Gedeon and
To be frank, science knows surprisingly little about mind and consciousness. Current orthodoxy holds that consciousness is created by electrochemical reactions in the brain, and that mental experiences fulfil some essential data-processing function.
The brain has a certain computing capacity which may be enhanced but not indefinitely. There is only so much sensory information that neural networks can process.
Using a crude analogy,2 it’s as if the brain is an antenna (such as those used in cell phones and televisions) that receives, transmits, processes, and filters signals that exist outside the body. In other words, our brain picks up consciousness from “the cloud.” These ideas fly in the face of mainstream scientific thought, which typically regards
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