3 ms·
I think the idea that brain tissue is near optimally efficient is interesting. Yes, it's had a long time to evolve. But the same can be said about photosynthesi
by abeppu 5y ago
I think the idea that brain tissue is near optimally efficient is interesting. Yes, it's had a long time to evolve. But the same can be said about photosynthesis which is less efficient at capturing solar energy than PVs. The evolution of brain tissue was under constraints about something that could be made by biological systems from the resources we could eat. Is it not plausible that some very efficient computational substrate can be made, but requires minerals and chemical and industrial processes which would be toxic or impossible for life?
- causi 5y agoBut the same can be said about photosynthesis which is less efficient at capturing solar energy than PVs. The instantaneous efficiency is much lower, sure, but the lifetime efficiency is another question. The resource cost to create a plant is the nutrient/energy cost of producing and dispersing a seed. The energy cost of producing and installing a solar panel is enormous by comparison, and takes years if not decades to capture more resources than it took to produce. Home solar panels capture 11-15% of incoming energy. Plant leaves capture 3-6%. Do you have solar panels now? If you could throw five dollars in seeds over your roof and get half that amount of electricity, would you?