> The point is not just that it is hard to understand the brain's holistic operation in terms of what cells are doing but, instead, that it might be impossible

> The point is not just that it is hard to understand the brain's holistic operation in terms of what cells are doing but, instead, that it might be impossible [...] You can't seriously expect to develop a model of the brain while ignoring neurons and their connections. Neurons are not like atoms for a smartphone, they are like computers for the internet. Even high level functionality like memory seems linked to dendritic spines (small protrusions of the membrane that change shape, appear and disappear in a matter of hours). Looking at the big picture is all fine and dandy, but until we have a decent model of the brain's functionality we are not in any position to decide what's superfluous and what's not.