The amazing human cortex.

An average human brain contains 100 billion neurons. Neuroscientist have counted it. It’s exactly 86 billion. Still 14 billion short of a round 100.

But a baboon’s brain counts exactly 14 billion neurons. So we are a baboon’s brain short of the magical figure of 100B.
Human brain weighs 1.5 kg maximum. But an elephant brain is roughly 4.5 and a blue whale has 9 kg of grey (and white) matter. So they have more neurons. It’s in proportion to their body mass.

The difference is in the Cerebral cortex. Humans have 16 billion neurons in that higher chamber. These 16 billion guzzle 25% of their total daily calories.

Animals’ cerebral cortex count is in millions only. Yet they have to spend 10 hours every day in finding enough food, eating and digesting to maintain those calorie guzzling neurons.

That way a primitive human had to spend his whole waking hours in catering to the calorie need of his cortex.

Then man discovered fire. In the process of cooking, those primates could supply pre-digested, rich and easy source of calories to their Cortex.

The cortex has now more time to invent and innovate. It then discovered the wheel and thus further reduced the transport and supply time for calories. In this way we Homo Sapiens forged ahead of our rival primates. Human cortex ruled over all animals and made them slaves, used them and killed them as per it’s will.

Then came electricity reducing the sleep time. That means more time to innovate.

And now this amazing calorie consuming cortex is busy in creating the Artificial Intelligence. That means it need not think any more to innovate. The machine it creates will do the thinking for him.

And then what ?

… ..

So some day in future, the all powerful AI will think this Cerebral cortex is an old useless, power guzzling vestige. It has outlasted It’s utility. It’s time it should be decommissioned.
That day the machine will take over, humans will be it’s slaves. The cortex will meet it’s match.