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Saturday, June 25, 2005

Fractal Intelligence

A neuron is a complex cell. It's a fairly intelligent cell as far as cells go. However, it's less intelligent than the entity called a “human brain” which is comprised of many billions of such cells. The totality of the knowledge and information that a human brain can support exceeds the capacity of any individual neuron. In addition, that neuron cannot even comprehend the extent of the knowledge and information contained in the larger entity of which it is a member.

A human is a complex organism. It's a fairly intelligent organism as far as organisms go. However, it's less intelligent than the entity called a society which is comprised of many tens or hundreds of millions of such organisms. The totality of the knowledge and information that a society can support exceeds the capacity of any individual human brain. In addition, that human brain may not even comprehend the extent of the knowledge and information contained in the larger entity of which it is a member.

2 comments:

Howard said...

hmmmmm, where have I heard this concept before?

Bret said...

You mean my favorite Hayek quote? I'm just trying to illustrate it a little.

It's also an introduction to an upcoming post on superintelligence.