I know there are some who think we only use 1% of our brain power (less if you are a Fox Network exec), but assuming you were immortal, would the hundreds/thousands/millions of years of input eventually overload the brain?
Maybe I am thinking too much in terms of Ram and Hard Drives, but it seems no matter how complex the human brain is, at some point, all of that information would eventually “overload”.
Has there ever been a study of any kind showing maximum capacity of the human brain?
Would “new” input override old at some point?
Would the brain be able to “erase” memory?
I would wonder if we have the capacity to live with all the ‘emotional baggage’ that would accumulate over time. We have enough trouble dealing with our ups and downs over a normal lifetime!
I guess not. As it is, our brain prioritizes memory. How much do you remember from when you were 4 years old barring perhaps a couple of images. Are you even sure, you remember those and aren’t simply reconstructing it from guides ?
Besides, I’m not sure I want immortality. The best thing about a finite and short life is that you don’t lose hope. Although, speculating about it is pointless.
IANONeurologist, but my understanding is that the hard drive model of the brain is a pretty crude metaphor at best. Memory is not encoded forever; if memories aren’t used all that much then I believe the brain begins to take them out to the curb. It’s a pretty good system for the brain, but you wouldn’t want your computer to work like that.
While the brain probably can only carry a finite amount of data, it’s a self-correcting enough system that it’s unlikely you’ll ever run out of room.
PS It’s not true what they say about using only 1% of your brain. We all use all the resources we got. With the possible exception of tv executives and people who mis-use the word “energy.”
The brain does replace older, less-frequently used memories with newer, more-likely-to-be-used memories. Storing old, infrequently needed information is a waste of brain space; there’s no advantage in retaining the memory of some distant, irrelevant event. You may, however, retain memory of some distant event or thing that was significant somehow, or that you were exposed to often, or that you since recalled often.
I reckon that after several hundred years, you would be a different person, literally; in just the same way that you are a different person when you are 35 than you were when you were 15; I believe that personality is fluid and that our bodies are occupied by a series of ‘persons’, each flowing into the next.