A brain of Einsteins is an interesting concept. And to properly assess the efficacy of such a brain, one must first consider the fact that each particle of the brain is identical. Does this make it better or worse than one united Einstein’s brain?
For me, the discussion of this hinges on the fact that each Einstein is the same, since there is only one Einstein. If each Einstein is identical in DNA, how would that affect the patterns of thought? If the makeup of each is the same, would all of the individual thoughts be the same as well? I personally know very little about the makeup of the brain and how neurons work; the same can be said for my knowledge of DNA, so let’s look at either side.
If each Einstein is the same, has the same DNA and therefore the same brain, would the quantity of thoughts really mean more than the quality? Or, as an even greater stretch, how different would the thoughts be, if they came from identical brains? In this case, I feel that the brain of Einsteins would only be negligibly different from Einstein’s brain. But, on the other hand, if identical DNA can produce different thoughts, would there really be any competition between Einstein’s brain and a brain composed of many Einsteins? It strikes me that in this case, a brain composed of Einsteins would almost need to be more powerful than Einstein’s brain.
Of course, this has drawbacks. Any group with different thoughts is bound to have different opinions; if a brain can’t get along, is it really a powerful brain after all? Or, also interestingly enough, each section of the brain has a distinct function – it isn’t so simple to categorize a brain as being stronger or weaker or smarter or dumber than another type of brain. If the motor functions are made of a group of Einsteins (personally unaware of how Einstein’s original motor skills were) all trying to work together are much less likely to be strong than those of a single brain component already trained to work specifically on that type of skill. With many, each only having a small fraction of their own brains allotted for motor skills, the chances of skilled coordination are slim.
There is no easy way to compare a brain full of Einsteins to the brain of Einstein. And, unfortunately, without a greater understanding of the human brain, I’m not able to draw any distinct conclusions. I can only say that, either way it goes, the brains have the potential of being distinctly different, but also of measuring out to be the same in the end, after one combines the benefits and drawbacks that would come from each potential setup. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on which of the possible outcomes I’ve touched on has the most probability of occurrence.
I like how you managed to connect the whole issue of brains and DNA to the program that we ran in class (with the robots and food). It seems like you really thought about this issue. It also connects with Riki’s thoughts in the post on Glial Cells: issues of timing and the complexities involved in creating a brain really stand out in the arguments put forth regarding the differences between Einstein’s Brain and a Brain Made of Einsteins.