Like duh!, I hear you all exclaim. That's easy.
One looks like this, and is all fleshy and squelchy...
And the other looks like this, all hard and plastic...
It's obvious.
But joking aside, the 'brain as computer' metaphor is one that holds a lot of sway over us. It is also one which has influenced many models of consumer behaviour, advertising/comms and research.
However, as neuroscience extends our 'brain' understanding, it's becoming increasingly clear that this metaphor isn't just breaking down...it's plain wrong in many ways, raising huge questions (as we all know) for a lot of behaviour/ advertising/research accepted wisdom.
Anyway, there's a good article over at Developing Intelligence which outlines these differences. I've put the headlines below, but would thoroughly recommend a read...
- Difference # 1: Brains are analogue; computers are digital
- Difference # 2: The brain uses content-addressable memory (think this one is particularly important for the whole 'how advertising works' question, and the kind of research we do as a consequence - it's NOT about accessing logical facts 'stored' in a particular place)
- Difference # 3: The brain is a massively parallel machine; computers are modular and serial (ditto for this - I think sometimes we believe comms - and ads in particular - are noted and stored as a single unit, and are recalled in the same way. It just ain't so)
- Difference # 4: Processing speed is not fixed in the brain; there is no system clock
- Difference # 5: Short-term memory is not like RAM
- Difference # 6: No hardware/software distinction can be made with respect to the brain or mind
- Difference # 7: Synapses are far more complex than electrical logic gates
- Difference # 8: Unlike computers, processing and memory are performed by the same components in the brain (which means that whenever we retrieve a memory we instantly alter that memory - interesting when you think about the questions we ask in research, quant or qual)
- Difference # 9: The brain is a self-organising system
- Difference # 10: Brains have bodies (think this is also interesting - rather than the model of people as purely rational beings, this recognises that a lot of what we do is instinctive and visceral, rather than about cognitive consideration)
- Bonus Difference: The brain is much, much bigger than any [current] computer
Ooops. Forgot to say where I first saw this - so thanks to Johnnie
