According to recent studies, the human brain operates at a maximum speed of approximately 10 bits per second. When compared with an iPhone 10, which can process up to 956 million bits per second, it is clear that our conscious processing speed is relatively low. Before the advent of computers, these 10 bits per second were enough to perform incredible feats and cause great disasters on this blue, brown and green planet. However, the reality of the human body is far more complex. Nerve cells collect, process and send billions of bits per second to the brain, which rationally processes only a small fraction of this – approximately 10 bits per second. When these 10 bits interact with a modern data centre, home to artificial intelligence capable of processing, for example, 100 terabits per second (100 trillion bits per second), we may feel at a disadvantage. However, this perception is misleading. Whilst we admire a flower, gaze at the moon, or sink our hands into the warm sand and let the sea wet our feet, the number of bits per second that the human body processes increases exponentially. This complex sensory and neurological interaction can make any supercomputer seem obsolete and outdated. Nevertheless, when rational thought takes over, we return to our beloved 10 conscious bits. Each of us uses our bits in the great universal computer in the best possible way; this is due to a principle of efficiency intrinsic to matter. Furthermore, given that each individual processes 10 bits per second, if we add up all the human beings on planet Earth, we arrive at at least 82 billion bits processed per second. To this, we can add the 8,200 million hearts beating within the bosom of humanity, contributing to the creation of something intelligent and empathetic, out of respect for our shared home.
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