Why your brain is not a computer

For decades it has been the dominant metaphor in neuroscience. But could this idea have been leading us astray all along?

We are living through one of the greatest of scientific endeavours – the attempt to understand the most complex object in the universe, the brain. Scientists are accumulating vast amounts of data about structure and function in a huge array of brains, from the tiniest to our own. Tens of thousands of researchers are devoting massive amounts of time and energy to thinking about what brains do, and astonishing new technology is enabling us to both describe and manipulate that activity.

We can now make a mouse remember something about a smell it has never encountered, turn a bad mouse memory into a good one, and even use a surge of electricity to change how people perceive faces. We are drawing up increasingly detailed and complex functional maps of the brain, human and otherwise. In some species, we can change the brain’s very structure at will, altering the animal’s behaviour as a result. Some of the most profound consequences of our growing mastery can be seen in our ability to enable a paralysed person to control a robotic arm with the power of their mind.

Every day, we hear about new discoveries that shed light on how brains work, along with the promise – or threat – of new technology that will enable us to do such far-fetched things as read minds, or detect criminals, or even be uploaded into a computer. Books are repeatedly produced that each claim to explain the brain in different ways.


https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/feb/27/why-your-brain-is-not-a-computer-neuroscience-neural-networks-consciousness?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Correct the human brain is not a computer ........ cos it's SO much more than that.  

Yes some elements of brain functioning depend on being programmed  ....... but is where the similarity starts and ends.

A 'puter has no scope beyond what it is programmed to do. And no flexibilty whatsoever. Even with the 'supersmart' or 'intelligent' computers it's still down to programming by the IT technician(s), nothing more.

In contrast the brain has infinitely more scope. Logic, reasoning, imagination, abstract thinking, mood changes ..... not forgetting numerous personality traits such as willpower and defiance ….. a 'puter does not even come close.

+1