Human brain is better than computer free essay sample

Computers are probably the most important innovations of our times. Technological advancements in computer development have led many people to think that processors are faster than human brains. Inquiries have been made into the subjects. Different researchers and institutions have tried to study the subject to establish facts on this subject, but no satisfactory answers have been drawn. Background of the Study World War II had catastrophic losses on many nations, but at the same time it attacked as the base from which modern technology has been build. Among the many technologies that emerged immediately after the war is computer technology. Actually computers, as computational and analytical tools have been in existence for a long time (Felt 214). But real computer revolution began after World War II. Military apparatus had complex structures that demanded smart data processing. The military embarked on the process of building a computer that would help analyze their complex arithmetic. That was the onset of the most important technological tool of our time. During the war, computers were used to decipher codes of the axis forces. At its inception, the device was build to do humans work i. e. initially there was no vision of creating a processor that would surpass human intelligence (215). However, they ended up with a machine that could process several activities at a time and high speed. Even though computers do huge amount of tasks and calculations at the same time, they do not have the ability to think or analyze. Sometimes they make mistakes that normal persons would never make because they can only process information within a certain predetermined range. Computers’ output is the result of pre-set protocols and rules written in a special logical way to perform specific tasks. So, the computers do not consider the logic of the output. Unlike computers, human brains create logic and perform calculations instead of acknowledging pre-set commands. Although computer processors can be fast and versatile, brains have special capabilities that processors can never achieve e. g. visualizing or predicting the future. For example retrieving a deleted file from a computer would mean going over every action that was performed on the computer during the past few days (Stokes 15). On the contrary, humans can easy remember past actions especially when one specific event is apparent. Although, scientists have made tremendous brains is not easy. Scientists have tried to simulate the learning ability of the brains, spent years researching and spent millions of dollars but have not managed to replicate the brain functioning. A famous computer called Watson was built and its performance enhanced through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the performance of the computer was deemed excellent to an extent of including it in the T. V show JEOPARDY where it was even able to win (Markoff 17). Artificial Intelligence is designed to work like the human brains in terms of analysis. Scientists who built Watson used A. I. and developed it to meet that goal. The effort that have been put and the money consumed on that project were just to simulate a single function of the brain with all the technology that we have nowadays. Problem Statement Discussions have always ensued about whether the human brains can process information faster than computer processors. Different answers have been provided depending on the approach used. Arguably, computer processor is faster than human brains in retrieving pre-set information; however the human brain is superior when it comes to processing information outside set data. Research Questions Are processors better than the human brains? How does the speed of the fastest processor compare to that of the brains? How does the memory of a computer compare to that of human brains? Hypothesis Human brains are better than computer processors but computer processor beats brains in several events such as information retrieval and consistency during operations. Objectives The objectives of this research are to: Determine whether computer processor can match human brains functionalities To compare speed of information processing by both human brains and computer processor Significance of the Study This research is significant because; It will improve the available literature on the subject It will offer answers to the research objects which will in turn enrich public knowledge on the subject Literature Review The processing speed of a computer processor can be easily established, but the processing speed of the brains can only be estimated. However, a theory that suggests that the processing speed of the brains is equivalent to the volume of the nerves may give us an estimate of the processing speed. A typical example of information processing is image formation by the retina. The retina is estimated to have about 100 million neutrons which send small patches of information about color, light intensity to the brains through optic nerves. Tentatively, the human brains are 100, 000 times the size of the retina and we can estimate the processing speed of the brains of an average person to be about 100 Million Computer Instructions per Second (MIPS) (Andy 1). An average computer has a processor speed of 700 MHZ and 4200 Million Computer Instructions per Second. Through simple calculations it’s possible to establish that human brains have a capacity equivalent to 24, 000 computer processors (1). Analysis and Synthesis Human brains are enormously powerful, but unlike the computer processor that is almost always utilized to its full capacity, the human brains are used only utilized to about 10 percent of its capacity. The 10 percent that is usually in use is dedicated to different functions of the body. Which means the brain utilizes about 1 percent in processing information and thinking logically. Limitations Although computer technology has attracted many researchers, literature on brain functioning is limited. Obtaining accurate data about the brains will not be possible in this research but rather estimates and unverified methods will be used.