clipped from: scienceblogs.com   

10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers


"A good metaphor is something even the police should keep an eye on." - G.C. Lichtenberg


Although the brain-computer metaphor has served cognitive psychology well, research in cognitive neuroscience has revealed many important differences between brains and computers

Brains are analogue; computers are digital

The brain uses content-addressable memory

The brain is a massively parallel machine; computers are modular and serial

Processing speed is not fixed in the brain; there is no system clock

Short-term memory is not like RAM

No hardware/software distinction can be made with respect to the brain or mind

Synapses are far more complex than electrical logic gates

Unlike computers, processing and memory are performed by the same components in the brain

The brain is a self-organizing system

Brains have bodies

Bonus Difference: The brain is much, much bigger than any [current] computer