Wednesday, December 25, 2013

The Brain: Most Incredible Information Processing Device Known

One quadrillion Synapses

New research is now indicating that the brain is even more powerful than previously thought. A nerve cell, or neuron (see illustration), can be thought of as having inputs and outputs. The basic output is an electrical signal that travels down the tail of the neuron called the axon. The axon may connect to tissue, such as muscle via a connection called a synapse. The synapse may also connect the axon to another neuron, and this leads us to the input side of the neuron. The input branches, leading from the synapse to the central body of the neuron, are called dendrites. So for a given neuron, there are a number of input signals coming from the dendrites, and a number of output signals at the tail end of the axon. But what happens in between? Aside from merely propagating these electrical signals, somewhere the neuron needs to do some processing of the input signals, which determines the output signals that are generated. How does this processing work, and where does it occur?

The new research indicates that while dendrites have been thought mainly to transmit signals, they also perform substantial processing as well. As one of the researchers explained:

This work shows that dendrites, long thought to simply funnel incoming signals towards the soma, instead play a key role in sorting and interpreting the enormous barrage of inputs received by the neuron. Dendrites thus act as miniature computing devices for detecting and amplifying specific types of input.

Or as another researcher concluded, “Suddenly, it's as if the processing power of the brain is much greater than we had originally thought.” This work, he added, is a little bit like reverse engineering a piece of foreign technology:

Imagine you're reverse engineering a piece of alien technology, and what you thought was simple wiring turns out to be transistors that compute information. That's what this finding is like. The implications are exciting to think about.

That is how science works, and it contradicts the evolutionist’s claim that evolutionary theory is required to perform life science research. Nothing could be further from the truth. Assumptions of evolution not only are unnecessary, they get in the way. Science analyzes nature and figures out how it works.

These findings also contradict the evolutionist’s claim that evolution is a fact, for evolutionists have no explanation, beyond vague and silly story-telling, for how such a marvel as the brain and its neurons could have evolved. The metaphysics makes evolution a fact, but from a strictly scientific perspective, evolution is a bizarre and inane theory.

Religion drives science and it matters.

4 comments:

  1. The theory of evolution is for morons and mental midgets. It's the most stupid scientific theory since the flat earth hypothesis. Hell, the flat earth hypothesis was a brilliant idea in comparison.

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  2. Quanto mais a evolução fracassa a criação se levanta.. E viva o futuro!

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  3. Its fine to say the brain is so greatly complex.
    Yet its not evidence the brain is relevant to intelligence.
    The bible teaches we are souls and do not think with our brain as are thinking is not affected by leaving our brain on earth when people die.
    Jesus brain was irrelevant to his intelligence. He was gOd.
    He was as a baby just as smart as God.
    I think however his memory was interfered with as with all people as babies. Babies are just as intelligent as everyone else in thinking ability but are severely retarded.
    That is there is interference with the triggering mechanism for the memory.
    The brain is just a middleman between our soul and our body.

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  4. More evidence of the power of the paradigm. The evolutionary paradigm, if firmly believed, can give people the necessary faith to believe that such a powerful information processing system as the brain can evolve by pure random mutations, one little beneficial step at a time.

    But when pressed, this is simply a statement of faith. Evidence to back up this faith is lacking. But since they "know" it happened, they are able to believe even ridiculous things like this and call it "science", as opposed to religion/faith.

    Cornelius is right. "Religion drives science and it matters."

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