So I was browsing the
tvtropes
wiki, when I came upon a line in
Misapplied
Phlebotinum.
Sure,
for a macro-scale device like that, but something as complex,
intricate, and dense (in complexity/volume terms) as a human brain?
That's pushing it.
Whoa-ho! I can't let a statement like
that stand.
Thus:
Let's improve this discussion with some math. Assuming that a human
brain has
10^11 neurons
(100,000,000,000), then just giving them all 39 digit serial
numbers would take, of course, 10^11*2^39 = 54 zettabits or 6.871
zettabytes. Assume we use some of the address space for special
characters (we could just use ASCII for the first 128 bits, making
this a superset of Unicode, humorously enough.) then 39 bits of
address space allows us to address a 5.49*10^11 neuron brain, or a
brain with 549,755,813,888 neurons, about five and a half times
more complex than a human's.
Now, assuming that the structure of our file is the serial number
of a neuron followed by the numbers of the neurons it's addressing,
a line feed, the next block, etc; and assuming that each neuron
addresses ten others, then we get a final total of 68.71
zettabytes. The brain might be more complicated than this, and each
neuron might interconnect more, but handwave handwave, let's keep
moving.
Using
Stross memory diamond, which has a density of 6.022*10^23 bits
per 25 grams, we end up with a final encoded mass of 22.8 grams,
which is 6.48 cubic centimeters of diamond.
23 grams, six and a half cubic centimeters. Roughly two orders of
magnatude smaller than its organic equivilent. The brain is
complicated, but it isn't
magical.