Here are some things about the brain that I find mind-blowing. Please add more! 1/n
The brain contains ~86 billion neurons and >100 trillion synapses, but it weighs only about 1400 g (3 lbs) and you can hold it in the palm of your hand. 2/n
Unlike the computer on my desk, which was built in a factory and is plugged into the wall, the machinery of my brain assembled itself over a period of years and has its own power plant that converts glucose and oxygen into electrical potentials. 3/n
Each individual neuron is an incredibly powerful information processor. It apparently takes a deep neural network with 7 layers to reproduce the input/output relationship of a single neuron. 4/n doi.org/10.1101/613141
To a first order of approximation, your brain is a network of cells, each of which is a bag of unthinking, unfeeling chemicals. And yet this network gives you the conscious experience of color, texture, flavor, joy, anger, and beauty. 5/n
If a surgeon severs your corpus callosum (the connections between the hemispheres), you end up with two largely independent minds in one head. Only one can speak, but both appear to be fully conscious. 6/n
The brain gives us the illusion of a direct connection to the world. If you walk across a floor wearing shoes, and you hit a sticky spot, you don’t just feel an odd sensation in your shoes. You feel the stickiness on the floor itself. 7/n
The brain turns the physical world into a compelling but illusory experience. The redness of an apple is not present in the 680 nm light reflecting from the apple’s skin. The taste of vinegar is not present in CH3COOH. 8a/n
If @donalddhoffman is right, even space and time are illusory constructions of the human brain. 8b/n link.springer.com/article/10.375…
@donalddhoffman The flow of information through the brain is determined by the pattern and strength of synaptic connections, which changes slowly. And yet we can change this routing in a moment, making a completely different response to the same stimulus if our goals change. 9/n
Many years ago, I had the privilege of working with some split-brain patients. Absolutely fascinating. In a casual conversation, you would never guess that the ~200 million axons connecting their hemispheres had been severed.
