# Assuming Immortality: Would The Brain Ever Overload? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908 "2003-01-31T17:47:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/1 "2003-01-31T17:47:33Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![yawndave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/43a26b/32.png) [@yawndave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawndave)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/2 "2003-01-31T17:51:32Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/3 "2003-01-31T18:01:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DMark \* > 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 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. ---
**Author:** ![mipiace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@mipiace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mipiace)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/4 "2003-01-31T18:32:32Z")
My brain over loads by Friday afternoon every week… ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/5 "2003-01-31T18:45:48Z")
I’m presuming the OP is talking about memory? 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.” ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/6 "2003-01-31T18:54:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/7 "2003-01-31T18:54:57Z")
The more common false statement is that we use 10% of our brains. See [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percnt.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/8 "2003-01-31T19:57:39Z")
Narf! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/9 "2003-01-31T21:04:40Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/10 "2003-01-31T21:40:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AudreyK \* > \*\*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. \*\* Or maybe brain memories are like dynamic RAM… each time you think back to recall something, it refreshes the RAM. If you never give it a second thought, a memory will slowly dim, then disappear over time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-immortality-would-the-brain-ever-overload/151908/11 "2003-01-31T22:09:23Z")
Required Simpsons quote: Homer: “Remember that time I learned how to make wine and forgot how to drive?” Marge: “Homer, you were drunk!”