More stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches in the world...

[Tefal]

I's don't's knows how's it's work's.

Serialz though I just heard it before.

You know how's is just a contraction of "how does" right?

 

[Serenityxo]

Makes your head hurt trying to think of such things, time to go watch SG-1

 

[Andrew Moore]

Also more neural pathways in your brain than there is grains of sand on all the beaches alledgedly.

for a second I thought that said "neutral pathways" to which I was about to agree with some of the "stories" I have read recently in the sun...

 

[Tefal]

If you have a billion neurons and add one more neuron (a billions atoms as a guess),

You know there are something like 3 trillion atoms in a grain of dust.

 

[Serenityxo]

You know there are something like 3 trillion atoms in a grain of dust.

My point, to make a pathway there are trillions of atoms so how can there be more pathways than atoms

 

[Jokester]

The point is, you add an neuron, it increases the number of atoms linearly, but the pathways increases in an exponential or near exponential manner. So eventually the number of pathways exceeds the number of atoms. It's said that with the number of neurons in the human brain, the number of possible pathways is more than the atoms in the universe. It's certainly mathematically possible if the neural net is big enough.

 

[Monkeynut]

The point is, you add an neuron, it increases the number of atoms linearly, but the pathways increases in an exponential or near exponential manner. So eventually the number of pathways exceeds the number of atoms. It's said that with the number of neurons in the human brain, the number of possible pathways is more than the atoms in the universe. It's certainly mathematically possible if the neural net is big enough.

So let's develop some more neurons.

 

[j.col]

it does make you realise just how small the earth is

 

[D.Roberts]

Holy crap did not know that.

Space is a scary thing tbh I mean there has to be other life forms come on.

 

[Andy90]

There is one famous photograph taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows something like 15,000 galaxies. The area of the night sky covered in the picture is the same size as a US Dime viewed from 75 feet away!

Douglas Adams had it right - "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is."

You could probably say there are more Galaxies out there than grains of sand on the Earth and wouldn't be wrong.

 

[EdGey]

I think i could have guessed that really lol.

Amazing non the less though.

 

["andy"]

prove it ?

surely just a theory unless someone has seen and counted that many

 

[SexyGreyFox]

I've been watching an American series recently called The Travellers Guide To The Universe - brilliant.

 

[Meridian]

Also more neural pathways in your brain than there is grains of sand on all the beaches alledgedly.

Probably true, but permutations and probability both traditionally throw up absolutely colossal numbers.



M

 

[PMKeates]

Probably true, but permutations and probability both traditionally throw up absolutely colossal numbers.

I was just about to post this, but I'm quite glad that someone else can spot the difference between the actual existence of a certain number of elements, and the number of potential ways those elements could be theoretically combined.

For all those who find existence interesting, I would thoroughly recommend the Cosmos series by Carl Sagan. It's a 13 hour indulgence of humanity, the universe and cool sound bytes.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmos-DVD/dp/B0027UY8CW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1281679046&sr=8-1

Something everyone should watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g

 

[Jokester]

There's a good thread here:-

http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/14303-number-of-connections-in-the-brain/page__st__40?

that shows the maths and references estimates for neuron numbers (100billion) and average individual numbers of connections per neuron (7,000). The number of pathways that it throws up is bigger than the number of atoms in the universe

Someone uses 100billion and 3000 connections per individual and calculates 10^8432. There is estimated to be 10^80 atoms in the universe. Yes, not all of them are used, but they do exist.

 

[robgmun]

The number of fully developed civilizations out there must be at least in the millions. I hope there's just one of half-naked Amazon women who worship a god that just happens to look like me.

I'd settle for one that looks like that bird out of Avatar

 

[Rids]

Space is such a fascinating thing, I wish that I'd looked at the study of space as a possible career route when I was younger.

 

[NickK]

If you have a billion neurons and add one more neuron (a billions atoms as a guess), it's connected to every other neuron, via every other neuron, the total number of pathways is astronomical, something like a billion to the power of a billion.

No it's not connected to every neuron.

There's a structure, created at birth where the neurons seek out chemical signals from other synapses. You then get a structure built. Some neurons are longer than others, even leapfrogging others.
Also neurons are not the only structure in the brain. There's a secondary set of signal processing cells that act slower but connect to synapses too - it's thought that these are longer term memory.

edit: I see you have answered the question

 

[nikebee]

I read it as 'stairs'

Exactly the same

I came in here thinking "WTF is this thread about?"