Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

Shayna's picture

My Possibilities Are Endless Like the Sky

What captivated me in class last Thursday was the fact that there are trillions upon trillions of ways in which the neurons can configure themselves and, thus, no two configurations are 100% alike. That is an amazing idea. Furthermore, someone stated in class that this rule applies to clones!!! This is an empowering idea because it lets me know that no one can deny my uniqueness and individual expression of it.

Another thing that fascinated me was the concept that there are at least 10^12 neurons in my body and at least 10^12 stars in our solar system. That means, that my configuration mirrors that of the solar system. Does that mean my function and behavior mirrors that of the Milky Way, too? I would like to think so.

That leads to another important question: If the brain is a series of input/output boxes inside of input/output boxes inside of input/output boxes and so on, does this series of boxes continue onto 10^ -infinity or 10^infinity or is there a finite number? And if so, does that mean there is a starting or ending point to the Universe's behavior--more precisely--ability? If there isn't a starting point and ending point to the Universe's behavior and if I am a mirror of the Universe, then there is no limit to my behavior--or more interestingly--ability.

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
2 + 6 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.