We Think Too Fast

By Shlomo Maital  

     We think too slow.  This is a conclusion of a lovely article in the New York Times by Carl Zimmer. * 

      Streaming a high-definition video takes about 25 million bps (a ‘bps’ is bit per second, and ‘bib’ is a unit of information, say, zero or one).  The typical download rate, engineers have found, in a US household is 262 million bps. 

      OK, that’s the Internet. Now, how fast is the ‘download’ rate in the human brain?  How fast does information flow from our brain to our bodies? 

       Caltech neuroscientist Markus Meister has published a study in Neuron, according to Zimmer, and speaks about the endless hyperbole about how incredibly complex and powerful the human brain.

       Actually, it’s pretty slow, Meister says.  He and colleagues estimate the flow of information ‘downloaded’ from the brain to the body is….   “just 10 bps”.  Ten bits per second.  The title of their article?  “The unbearable slowness of being”.   This is a clever play on the 1984 novel by Czech writer Milan Kundera, The unbearable lightness of being. At 10 bps, you couldn’t begin to download even a silent black and white movie from 1920.

         Just 10 bps.  Not even enough to download a high definition vide.  Huh!

         Let me make an opposing argument.  Even 10 bps is far too fast.  Have you ever said things you wish you hadn’t?  Yes?  Many times?  Reacted too fast?

         Radio stations have a kill button.  What you hear is delayed by a second or two, before it is aired.  This is just in case someone calling in uses a profanity, not allowed by FCC rules, and the host hits the kill button to avoid broadcasting it.

          I find I need a delay/kill button.  Think something.  Think if it really needs to be said. Is it hurtful?  False?  Emotionally disturbing?  Hit the delay before you send it out into the air.  I wish I had done this more often – before I invented my own ‘kill button’ —  think it, listen to it as if you are saying it, and only then, actually say it.

      No, scientists, the brain is not too slow. If anything, it may be too fast.  Slow it down a bit. Believe me – it will keep you out of hot water, especially with your partner or spouse.

  • Carl Zimmer. “The speed of human thought lags far behind your internet connection, study finds”.  New York Times, December 26, 2024.