Is the Human Brain the Fastest Cpu

Status
Not open for further replies.

yakyb

Distinguished
Jun 14, 2006
531
0
18,980
i think this would be the best place to discuss this

in another thread the point was raised that the fastest CPU is the Human Brain not wanting to hijack a thread i thought i would post a new one

The Human Brain is the Fastest Cpu

now thats open to debate. seeing as a brain acts as both a hard drive and CPU also.

also what is 928346*98236?
im sure the computer can do that faster than the human brain hell try doing what super pi does in 30s in your brain.

i would suggest that a human brain is more like a 100 core processor with a lot of them dedicated to individual functions that wouldnt be much good at doing other things (cpu cant act as a Gpu)

what makes something the fastest CPU?
 

CaptRobertApril

Distinguished
Dec 5, 2006
2,205
0
19,780
i think this would be the best place to discuss this

in another thread the point was raised that the fastest CPU is the Human Brain not wanting to hijack a thread i thought i would post a new one

The Human Brain is the Fastest Cpu

now thats open to debate. seeing as a brain acts as both a hard drive and CPU also.

also what is 928346*98236?
im sure the computer can do that faster than the human brain hell try doing what super pi does in 30s in your brain.

i would suggest that a human brain is more like a 100 core processor with a lot of them dedicated to individual functions that wouldnt be much good at doing other things (cpu cant act as a Gpu)

what makes something the fastest CPU?

My particular human brain isn't the fastest anything until at least three cups of coffee. :lol:

Now that's outta the way, I doubt that it is possible to accurately compare the function of a biological brain with a silicon one. CPUs process data in a very linear, structured fashion. Human brains work in a 3D structure of almost infinite potential connections. The neurons which are organized into vertical columns form several hundred million neural networks within the brain. Folding these structures into six separate cellular layers around the limbic system creates a 3D system of connections which allow for the "richness" of human sensation and thought. It will be many centuries before we can artificially recreate even a semblance of this complexity.
 

ajfink

Distinguished
Dec 3, 2006
1,150
0
19,280
It's so hard to judge that, because the human brain operates significantly different from computers.

Would I say the human brain is the most innately powerful computer in terms of overall scalability and usefulness? Clearly.
 

BaronMatrix

Splendid
Dec 14, 2005
6,655
0
25,790
i think this would be the best place to discuss this

in another thread the point was raised that the fastest CPU is the Human Brain not wanting to hijack a thread i thought i would post a new one

The Human Brain is the Fastest Cpu

now thats open to debate. seeing as a brain acts as both a hard drive and CPU also.

also what is 928346*98236?
im sure the computer can do that faster than the human brain hell try doing what super pi does in 30s in your brain.

i would suggest that a human brain is more like a 100 core processor with a lot of them dedicated to individual functions that wouldnt be much good at doing other things (cpu cant act as a Gpu)

what makes something the fastest CPU?


CPUs are faster but the brain is MUCH MORE EFFICIENT. The big key is that a human can always beat a computer in calculation speed by just unplugging the PC.
 

kyosuke

Distinguished
Feb 6, 2007
165
0
18,680
. The big key is that a human can always beat a computer in calculation speed by just unplugging the PC.
LOL, well said.

I think the one key that makes the mortal brain more powerful is Rationalization.

I think the fact we only use about 20% of our brain anyway says alot too. Imagine unlocking the whole thing.....
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
[/quote]
CPUs are faster but the brain is MUCH MORE EFFICIENT. The big key is that a human can always beat a computer in calculation speed by just unplugging the PC.

That's the best rational thought I have heard all day to compare the thought power of a human vs. a computer. A PC would try infinite tangents and speed shortcuts to win; a human would just cheat and take away the energy resource of its competitor. :)
 

stemnin

Distinguished
Dec 28, 2006
1,450
0
19,280
Human makes first AI robot
Robot's first words : "ROCK'EM SOCK'EM HUMANS"
Human turns off power, watches WWE or UFC.

Damn tha Fudman, where'd you get that paragraph, or are you a biochemist at night?

You can't really equate processor cores and neurons. Long live the ameobas!
 

pongrules

Distinguished
Dec 28, 2006
301
0
18,780
Interesting philosophical question, but I would have to say the brain beats the cpu for speed any day. The cpu can only calculate what binary code and humans tell the binary code to do. When it comes down to it, a cpu can only think of two things--one and zero. Now, it's very fast at that but it can't think, rationalize or feel. There's no cpu that contains a fraction of the speed it takes the brain to calculate, assess and manipulate the environment around it. The eyes, for example, are infinitely more complicated than anything a computer could replicate most likely ever.
 

rockyjohn

Distinguished
what makes something the fastest CPU?

You have to define your own terms and specify the operant definition or process for determining what is the "fastest". Then when applying your definition, you are finding only the fastest within that particular meaning.

The undefined term is too general so the discusion lacks focus and meaning.
 

tekzor

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2006
429
0
18,780
Someone asked one of my CE professors this q and he said... if I remember correctly
(The human brain runs at 2Mhz but has a huge amount of threads).
 

Twisted_Sister

Distinguished
Jan 20, 2007
573
0
18,980
I was thinking the other day about posting this question - is there a way to truly train your brain to multi-task two or more processes that require intellect?

Obviously our muscles and subconscious can multitask (think, walk, and chew gum)... but want about 2 seperate processes that require focused concentration.

For example, could I training my brain to write a book in a word document while doing my taxes in a spreadsheet? Concurrently?

The brain still has the advantage in terms of sheer number of calculations per second and data storage... but multi- tasking, a dual processor (or greater) crushes us.

It's only a matter of time before computer technology advances beyond the capabilities of the brain.

Again, I'm talking raw processing and storage power... not AI or anything (true AI will never exist).
 

Eviltwin17

Distinguished
Feb 21, 2006
520
0
18,990
i wouldnt say the human brain is the fastest cpu in terms of calculations, but its the most advanced and complex piece of technology available to human beings. It performs so many calculations per second on many different levels. Think about it, your brain has to tell your hear to beat, it has to tell you to breath, it has to tell your cells to act, it tells your arms and legs to move, how fast, how slow, how hard, how far, what angle. Just things like that. Your brain remembers things, it also performs as ram if you think of short term memory. It will take many years to even mimic this as your brain is extremely complicated.
 

CaptRobertApril

Distinguished
Dec 5, 2006
2,205
0
19,780
I was thinking the other day about posting this question - is there a way to truly train your brain to multi-task two or more processes that require intellect?

Obviously our muscles and subconscious can multitask (think, walk, and chew gum)... but want about 2 seperate processes that require focused concentration.

For example, could I training my brain to write a book in a word document while doing my taxes in a spreadsheet? Concurrently?

The brain still has the advantage in terms of sheer number of calculations per second and data storage... but multi- tasking, a dual processor (or greater) crushes us.

It's only a matter of time before computer technology advances beyond the capabilities of the brain.

Again, I'm talking raw processing and storage power... not AI or anything (true AI will never exist).

There are some ambidextrous people who can concurrently write a different story with each hand. Much of that is a function of hemispheres which in some ways can act as a separate and distinct brain.
 

sailer

Splendid
CPUs are faster but the brain is MUCH MORE EFFICIENT. The big key is that a human can always beat a computer in calculation speed by just unplugging the PC.

I'm not sure if a human brain is more efficient. If I tell my computer to do something, it will do it without interuption (other than power loss), and do it very quickly. If I start something complicated and a pretty nurse walks by, I might well be thinking of all sorts of things other than the task I started out with. At that point, the computer has me, hands down.
 

Twisted_Sister

Distinguished
Jan 20, 2007
573
0
18,980
I was thinking the other day about posting this question - is there a way to truly train your brain to multi-task two or more processes that require intellect?

Obviously our muscles and subconscious can multitask (think, walk, and chew gum)... but want about 2 seperate processes that require focused concentration.

For example, could I training my brain to write a book in a word document while doing my taxes in a spreadsheet? Concurrently?

The brain still has the advantage in terms of sheer number of calculations per second and data storage... but multi- tasking, a dual processor (or greater) crushes us.

It's only a matter of time before computer technology advances beyond the capabilities of the brain.

Again, I'm talking raw processing and storage power... not AI or anything (true AI will never exist).

There are some ambidextrous people who can concurrently write a different story with each hand. Much of that is a function of hemispheres which in some ways can act as a separate and distinct brain.

yeah, but typing is one thing... concurrently creating two seperate stories with plots and correct grammar... is totally different. I'm less interested in the delivery of the content (e.g. one process could be typing, the other speech recognition) than the ablity to truly clone my brain and have it really working on two seperate bodies of work.

Brain partition?
 
ahh good question!

Computers are fundamentally different than human brains.

ie. Computers use algorithms to sort through and process information, which happens to be a very efficient way to crunch nubers.

Humans on the other hand rely heavily upon heuristics to make decisions, something computers simply have a hard time doing. Basically heuristics allow humans to take past experiences and knowledge and make INSTANT decisions, or if you prefer you could call them guesses.
 
The fastest CPU in the world is in essence a really complicated abacus. Core 2 Quads and QuadFX's? Multi - leveled abacus's. Our brain is not even comparable to these things in the complexity and sheer vastness of power that it contains. Your CPU might be able to calculate the square root of pi to the millionth place, but can it feel? Can it exist? Is it aware? And by all these things I don't mean a hollow emulation of human emotions and philosophies but the actual capacity to think.
 

3lfk1ng

Distinguished
Jun 28, 2006
681
0
18,980
Someone asked one of my CE professors this q and he said... if I remember correctly
(The human brain runs at 2Mhz but has a huge amount of threads).

This site says differently and it's a pretty interesting read.

Honestly I don't think there really is a way to measure this. I would have to agree that we are two completely different types of processors.

Our applications are for two completely different things.

Our graphics rendering is far superior to any computer.

However...seeing as how the Brain temperature is always within at least 1 degree c to the body, the brain would run at 37 degrees Celsius(+ or -1) which leaves plenty of room for overclocking.
:lol:
 

theaxemaster

Distinguished
Feb 23, 2006
375
0
18,780
Its not a fair comparison, because you're comparing two CPUs to one brain. Dual core = 2 CPUs. A CPU can only run one thread at a time when you bring it down to a single instantaneous moment. You could probably argue that the brain is a multi-core system using different areas to control different parts of the body but the logic section only counts as one "cpu."

Can you make a single CPU core do two different tasks in the same instance of time? No. You can get things on the rising and falling edges of the clock cycle, but its still linear. It just does it very very quickly.
 

RamboMadCow

Distinguished
Feb 8, 2007
18
0
18,510
I think you guys are forgetting something very important here. There are many people out in the world that can actually calculate any mathematical equation faster than computers. Most people can not do it, but the simple fact that some people can shows the true power of the brain. In fact, the brain is powerful enough to compute any mathematical equation faster than a computer, you just have to have that ability unlocked in your brain.
 

ZozZoz

Distinguished
Dec 7, 2006
487
0
18,780
I know one thing, the number of the receptors that pick up the image in the eye (back of retina) - is smaller than the number of neural fibres connecting it to the brain.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking? YES! JPEG!
 

zarooch

Distinguished
Apr 28, 2006
350
0
18,780
i think this would be the best place to discuss this

in another thread the point was raised that the fastest CPU is the Human Brain not wanting to hijack a thread i thought i would post a new one

The Human Brain is the Fastest Cpu

now thats open to debate. seeing as a brain acts as both a hard drive and CPU also.

also what is 928346*98236?
im sure the computer can do that faster than the human brain hell try doing what super pi does in 30s in your brain.

i would suggest that a human brain is more like a 100 core processor with a lot of them dedicated to individual functions that wouldnt be much good at doing other things (cpu cant act as a Gpu)

what makes something the fastest CPU?

You see the computer CPU is based on john von neuman model or who so ever, our brain is a network or neurons which are working parallel in nature, so looking at this the CPU and a human brain can simply be not compared.

Talking of AI well its simply conventional AI, i.e. its just simply based on conditioning which is not truly AI more like of knowledge base attached to an expert system.

Now as I also work with Artificial Neural Networks in which we mimic the human brain, these can be compared to each other. We have usually three layers in an ANN (input, hidden[maybe more than 1], output) and all the input layer neurons are connected with the hidden layer neurons (maybe or may not be the same case for every ANN), then all the hidden layer neurons are connected with the output layer neurons hence forming a fully connected artificial neural network. Then we assign a numeric value to each of these connections and we start training our network on a specific pattern, basically adjusting these weights so that on the output layer neurons we get an output > 0. There are mathematical functions which are used to adjust the weights or used to learn a specific pattern (backpropagation) and it takes some time to fully adjust the weights. We usually provide a threshold value so that we can stop the training. So this kind of neural network can be compared with a human brain. This is known as computational intelligence which we put into ANNs.

Further more there are many types of ANNs, feed forward, feed backward, recurrent neural networks, instar, outstar, Bayesian networks and etc etc etc.

So in the end the question:

Is the Human Brain the Fastest CPU?

well we haven't fully understood the power of a human brain, so at the moment can't really give a yes or no answer. But from my personal experience I can tell that ANNs can be better. Maybe not now but they will be one day (I'm trying). I think this was pretty much of an explanation.

If you want to read some more go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Neural_Networks

Also check in the references links.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.