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The Human Brain
The
Brain
What can I
tell you about the human brain? Not much. It is a
fairly complicated organ. I am doing my best to
understand more about the brain, as it is central to
important future issues like privacy, transhumanism
and The Singularity.
Here are
some general statements about the brain that I found
online:
-
Center of
the human nervous system
-
Most
complex organ on earth
-
Weighs on
average about 3 lb (1.5 kg)
-
Consistency similar to jelly
-
Estimated 50–100 billion neurons
Image from
Wikipedia
The
Mind
I find
current philosophies of the mind to be as foggy as a morning
hangover. How does the brain's processes generate the
stream of consciousness we call the mind? I'm not sure
that the science community can adequately answer this
question.
That may change, thanks to merging technologies like
artificial intelligence, imaging, nanotechnology and
supercomputers.
Brain
Matters
Future
breakthroughs in neuroscience could have a great
effect on society. What will the world be like when
technology can tell us without a doubt that the
accused is guilty of a crime, a spouse has cheated or
an employee might steal? That is just the tip of the
iceberg. How about uploading your memories for
posterity or downloading the skills you need for that
new job? Record your dreams for later viewing or
control your computer (or any device), just by
thinking about it. Many of these futuristic
technologies are already in development.
Some of
the most controversial issues to face society in the
future will come from cognitive breakthroughs. In my mind
it comes down to this,
the more we understand about the human
brain, the more we know about ourselves, and that can
be a bit unnerving.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is a field that is devoted to the
scientific study of the nervous system.
Neuroscience is at the frontier of investigation of
the brain and mind. The study of the brain is becoming
the cornerstone in understanding how we perceive and
interact with the external world and, in particular,
how human experience and human biology influence each
other.
Neuroscience - Wikipedia
Brain Awareness Week is a series of events held around
the world to increase public awareness about the
brain.
Brain Awareness Week
Brain Backup
Some experts predict that by the year 2050, computers
will have the capacity to store all of the information
contained in the human brain. For those that can
afford immortality, their brains could be scanned and
downloaded to machines, perhaps to be uploaded to a
new brain.
Brain downloads 'possible by 2050'
Mind links
The Race to Reverse Engineer the Human Brain
How Technology May Soon "Read" Your Mind
Top 10 brain NewScientist articles from 2008
First Detailed Map of the Human Cortex
Technology to figure out dreams and other secrets
inside people's minds
Brain Imaging Reveals Joys of Giving
Fun Facts About The Brain
Brain Facts
The Technicolor Brain
Where in the Brain Lies Intelligence?
A Working Brain Model
This Is a Computer on Your Brain
MEMS-based
brain-computer interface
Mind reading research
What Dictionaries and Optical Illusions Say About Our
Brains
Drug selectively erases memories
'Pre-crime' detector shows promise
Thought Helmet
Bionic chip stimulates brain pleasure center
Researchers make brain tissues from stem cells
Scientists Identify Machinery that Helps Make Memories
'Consciousness signature' discovered spanning the
brain |
