A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence

Let’s begin our gentle journey into the wonders of the brain. Imagine, for a moment, that the thoughts in your head—your memories, your dreams, even the words you’re hearing right now—are the product of billions of tiny, simple cells. The brain, in all its complexity, is built from the humblest of beginnings: the single cell. If you could peer inside your skull, you’d find a living record of evolution itself. At the core lies the ancient brainstem, a structure responsible for the breath you just took, the steady beat of your heart, and the basic rhythms of life. Layered above are newer, more sophisticated regions, culminating in the neocortex—a napkin-sized sheet, folded with purpose, that enables the miracle of intelligence.

What’s truly astonishing is how this neocortex, responsible for everything from recognizing a face to composing a symphony, looks almost identical wherever you examine it. Whether it’s processing the touch of a loved one or the meaning behind a poem, its structure remains consistent. This uniformity hints at a profound truth: the brain may use a universal algorithm for intelligence, repeating the same pattern across its surface.

Now, picture your neocortex as a vast city, made up of roughly 150,000 neighborhoods called cortical columns. Each column is like a tiny think-tank, working semi-independently to build its own understanding of the world. These columns are the unsung heroes of your mind, collaborating in quiet harmony to create your perception of reality.

As we reflect on this, let’s marvel at how evolution has crafted a brain that is both a museum of its ancient past and a workshop for the future. The next time you notice a familiar object out of place, or feel a sudden insight, remember: it’s these simple, repeating structures in your head, layered by time and experience, that make it all possible.

Having glimpsed the brain’s architecture, let’s move deeper, to discover how these columns actually build a model of the world and what makes their collaboration so powerful.