5.2.4 A review of the size and flow-rate estimates relative to brain capacity

Initial estimates of 'raw' information, i.e. without compression or transformation

1. 2D picture information from the eye
• 24 Megabits per image, and half a Gigabit per second
2. information about feelings
• 48 bits for all feelings, and 48 bits per second
3. Action specification to the muscles
• 2.7 Kbits per action instant, and 2.7 Megabits per second

Information capacity: brain cells available for perception, feelings, action, and for memory storage

• There are between 10¹⁰ and 10¹¹ nerves available in humans for storage and transmission, as well as for any processing to be done.
• There are likely to be fewer for animals lower in the evolutionary chain, such as chicks
• Let us start with the assumption that 10¹¹nerves are available for temporary or long-term storage, 1 bit per nerve
• This represents a storage capacity of 100 Gigabits
• Let us assume that all of the cells are available, i.e. none are used for managing the body functions (heart, lungs, etc.), for thinking, for other senses such as hearing, or for other actions such as grasping with hands, or for speech.
• That leaves us with 200 seconds, or just over 3 minutes worth of memory for recording perception, feelings, and action.
• These assumptions clearly are unreasonable, but it illustrates the need for compression, for using fewer bits to represent both perception and action.

In the next chapter we will explore how we might want to use the information for improving the sucess rate of action through learning.