If you visit the Internet often enough, then you have probably seen pictures comparing the Universe with the human brain.
And it does not mean its soft and sinuous gray matter. We are talking about microscopic connections between his nerve cells which are known as “neurons”.
And indeed, if you look closely at the panoramic portrait of the universe, it becomes obvious that it is strikingly similar to an enlarged snapshot of the neurons found in the human brain.
Galaxies and Neurons
Luminous nodes are entire galaxies filled with hundreds of billions of stars, stretching out like limbs to other galaxies. The brain also has nodes, which are clusters of neurons. They are connected by cellular branches of dendrites and axons with other neurons.
But this similarity is not only between the human brain and the cosmos. Networks of tree roots, ant colonies, glowing city lights as seen from space, and more all show similar network forms of nodes and channels.
Perhaps such networks are the most efficient form such objects can have. Whether information is transmitted by water molecules through the roots of trees, or by the mandibles of ants through the tunnels of an anthill, it moves from node to node according to the needs of the system as efficiently as possible.
The difference in scale between the human brain and the universe is simply enormous. And it is incomprehensible.
One thing is clear: the universe is “a billion billion billion” orders of magnitude larger than the human brain. However, comparing some of their proportions leaves an eerie feeling.
Coincidences between the universe and the brain
There are one too many similarities for this to be a coincidence. An astrophysicist and neuroscientist teamed up to compare similarities between the universe and networks of neurons in the brain. Despite the substantial difference in scale, the two complex systems are strikingly alike.
There are approximately 70 billion neurons in the human cerebellum. And in the observable part of the Universe – 100 billion galaxies.
About 77% of the brain is filled with water, and 72% of the universe is a mysterious, all-pervading dark energy.
The spectral density of cerebellar cells ranges from 1 micrometer to 0.1 millimeter. And the density of the space network is from 5 million to 500 million light years. Which corresponds to the same distribution order.
Using different but comparable sample sizes, it turns out that the human brain has an average of 4.6 to 5.4 connections per node. And space is from 3.8 to 4.1 connections per node.
In each of the systems, about 25% of its mass and energy are directly related to the flow of information and energy. And this list has no end.
The universe is similar to a huge human brain, scientists have found.
Obviously, the Universe looks like just a colossal brain. But if it is the brain, then where is the body?
Whose brain is this anyway? Could it be that we humans are just atoms in a cosmic god’s neural network spanning multiple galaxies?