Ask A Scientist© Computer Science Archive

Index Key:   CSI012
Author:      Brian Lintz
Subject:     Brain Speed?
Text:        In terms of megahertz, how fast does the human brain operate?

Response #: 1 of 1
Author:     Psych
Text:       This is a tough question.  A human brain is much faster than a 
super computer at something like visual recognition. It is much slower at math 
than a hand calculator because it is built differently.  Neural Network 
research is starting to look at how the brain works.  One of the big 
differences is that on a typical computer with linear processors, those 
processors do one thing at a time. This allows you to count how much it does 
in a second.  A typical PC has one processor and a lot of memory.  A typical 
brain has billions of processors (neurons) and probably very limited formal 
memory. (See the response to how many bytes in a brain.)