4 ms·

In the energetic efficiency meaning of the word. The energy consumption of the brain is around 20W in an adult human. Compare that to the multi hundred Watt c

• roel_v 16y ago
  Oh I see. But like the rest of your comment indicated, it's hard to compare until we understand more of the brain, right? Depending on the speed of the brain, the 'energy per thought' or 'energy per operation' can go either way when we have better measurements and understanding of the things brains are good at and not so good at?
  • berntb 16y ago
    I don't think the analogy was pulled out of ... hrm, /dev/random. afaik, the brain researchers have data for opinions. E.g. the functions of the first levels of the visual cortex is relatively well understood -- both from mapping the nerve connections and from copying the mechanism in computers. There is a long time evolutionary pressure to conserve energy, all the way back to the evolution of nerves. (The brain use quite a lot of your total energy use, unless you're a non-mechanized lumberjack...) Edit: The visual cortex might work differently than other parts of the brain (ask a researcher) because of speed demands, which otoh supports the point about energy efficiency.