The Brain
What can I tell you about the human brain? Not much. It is a fairly complicated organ. I am doing my best to understand more about the brain, as it is central to future issues like privacy, transhumani and The Singularity.
Here as some general facts about the brain:
Center of the human nervous system
Most complex organ on earth
Weighs on average about 3 lb (1.5 kg)
Consistency similar to jelly
Estimated 50–100 billion neurons
The Mind
I find current philosophies of the mind to be as foggy as a morning hangover. How does the brain's processes generate the stream of consciousness we call the mind? I'm not sure that the science community can adequately answer this question. That may change, thanks to merging technologies like artificial intelligence, imaging, nanotechnology and supercomputers.
Brain Matters
Future breakthroughs in neuroscience could have a great effect on society. What will the world be like when technology can tell us without a doubt that the accused is guilty of a crime, a spouse has cheated, or an employee would likely steal? How about uploading your memories for posterity or downloading the skills you need for that new job? Record your dreams for later viewing or control your computer (or any device), just by thinking about it. Many of these futuristic technologies are already in development.
Some of the most controversial issues to face society in the future will come from cognitive breakthroughs. In my mind it comes down to this, the more we understand about the human brain, the more we know about ourselves, and that can be a bit unnerving.
