The Speed of Human Thought: In the Digital World, Our Brain Is Still Lagging Behind!

According to the Science and Technology Service of SAEDNEWS, it is often said that the human brain is the most powerful computer in the world with unparalleled efficiency. But how fast does our brain actually work in computational terms? Biologists at Caltech have now calculated the speed of human thought in terms of bits. (It should be noted that, digitally, one bit represents zero and one, and a string of them is used to encode information.)

In their new study, researchers first decided to define a bit in human terms, which varies depending on the specific state of information processing. For example, when reading and writing, they define one bit as a single text character, and when listening to speech, it is essentially one sound.

For writing, they began their experiment with the example of a professional typist who can type at a speed of 120 words per minute, with an average of 5 letters per word, translating to about 10 keystrokes or bits per second.

For sound, the recommended rate to ensure that your speech is understandable is up to 160 words per minute, which, using the same formula, is equivalent to 13 bits per second.

The team members then calculated a similar bitrate for examples of human information processing, which included solving Rubik's cubes at world-record speed (11.8 bits per second), digit memorization challenges (4.9 bits per second), professional Tetris (7 bits per second), and the speed card challenge (which involves randomly observing a deck of cards and recalling them in order) (17.7 bits per second).

Our Brain Is Slower Than Our Eyes

After these experiments, the team concluded that a speed of about 10 bits per second is a good average for the speed of human thinking, which is very slow compared to artificial data transmission systems (for example, Wi-Fi speeds are typically measured in hundreds of millions of bits).

Our thinking speed is even slower compared to our body's hardware, including sensory organs and the nervous system. According to the team's calculations, a single cone photoreceptor in the human eye can transmit information at about 270 bits per second, which amounts to 1.6 billion bits per second per eye. It seems that the optic nerve compresses this to about 100 million bits per second. However, this still makes our thinking speed appear insignificant, especially considering the massive volume of input from our other five senses entering the brain simultaneously.

Markus Meister, the author of this study, said: "At any moment, we extract only 10 bits from the trillions of sensory inputs and use those 10 bits to understand the world around us and make decisions." According to the team, individual neurons have the capacity for much faster data rates, but in practice, they typically operate at 10 bits per second.

A Legacy From Ancient Human Ancestors

This may have been inherited from our ancient ancestors, as they only needed to focus on moving toward food and avoiding predators. As a result, we can truly have only one "train of thought" at the forefront of our minds at any given time.

The article continues: "Our ancestors chose an ecological niche where the world is slow enough to make survival possible. In fact, 10 bits per second are only necessary under the worst conditions, and most of the time, our environment changes at a much slower pace."

However, the implications of future technology are somewhat concerning. According to researchers, computers, robots, and artificial intelligence process information much faster than we do and will become exponentially faster over time. The article further states: "The debate over whether self-driving cars will perform as well as humans in traffic seems strange: roads, bridges, and intersections are all designed for creatures whose brains process at 10 bits per second. The day the last human driver finally retires, we’ll be able to upgrade infrastructure for machines capable of cognitive speeds measured in kilobits per second. At that point, humans will be advised to avoid such tasks, much like snails should avoid moving on highways."

At the same time, this will be bad news for those hoping to enhance their cognitive abilities with artificial intelligence using systems like Elon Musk's Neuralink. No matter how fast computers become, what matters is that our complex hardware will continue to operate at its current speed.

In another part of this article, we read: "Based on research conducted on the speed of human cognition, we predict that Elon Musk's brain communicates with a computer at a rate of about 10 bits per second. Instead of a bunch of Neuralink electrodes, Musk could use a phone designed with a data rate that aligns with human language, which in turn matches the speed of perception and cognition."

However, this study requires more data. Brain bits and computer bits are not precisely comparable. Quantifying bits for various human activities is challenging.

In any case, it’s an intriguing study that makes you think—though not as fast as computers!