Boffins ponder paltry brain data rate of 10 bits per second

[erronis]

https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/01/boffins_peg_brain_data_rate/

You may not need that high-bandwidth brain-computer interface

Caltech researchers have estimated the speed of human thought to be a mere 10 bits per second, a data rate so leisurely that it underscores the need for further research into brain function and calls into question claims about brain-computer interfaces and artificial intelligence.

In a paper [PDF] titled, "The Unbearable Slowness of Being: Why do we live at 10 bits/s?," published in the journal Neuron on Tuesday, Jieyu Zheng, a Caltech graduate researcher, and Markus Meister, professor of biological sciences, explore the cognitive conundrum of the human brain.

Why, they ask, does the inner brain process thought at about 10 bits per second while the outer brain – which handles sensory information – operates 100 million times faster, at about 10^9 bits per second.

The authors muse, "The stark contrast between these numbers remains unexplained and touches on fundamental aspects of brain function: What neural substrate sets this speed limit on the pace of our existence? Why does the brain need billions of neurons to process 10 bits/s? Why can we only think about one thing at a time?"

...

I know I have bursts up to 12 bits/second but usually hover around 4 (more with coffee.). Back in my very olden days of computing we used to think 110bps was a pretty good rate for our teletypes.

[cachukis]

1. I suspect digestion and response need time.