← Giant Brain Candy
Giant Brain Candy: A 20-Watt Supercomputer. Your brain runs on about 20 watts, roughly a dim light bulb. It is only 2% of your body weight, yet it uses about 20% of your body’s energy. Source: The brain’s energy budget.
Strong evidenceThe research
  1. Balasubramanian, V. (2021). Brain power. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(32), e2107022118.
  2. Raichle, M. E., & Gusnard, D. A. (2002). Appraising the brain’s energy budget. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(16), 10237–10239.

Journey 1 · Non-Consciousness

A 20-Watt Supercomputer

Your brain runs on about 20 watts, roughly a dim light bulb. It is only 2% of your body weight, yet it uses about 20% of your body’s energy.

Source: The brain’s energy budget · Strong evidence

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Giant Brain Candy: 86 Billion Neurons. Your brain holds about 86 billion neurons. Scientists counted them by dissolving brain tissue into a ‘soup’ of cell nuclei and tallying samples of it. Source: Counting the brain’s cells.
Giant Brain Candy: The Other 85 Billion. Neurons have partners: about 85 billion other cells, mostly glia — astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia. The old claim of ten glia for every neuron turned out to be a myth. Source: Neurons and glia, counted.
Giant Brain Candy: Wiring That Circles the Earth. Laid end to end, the brain’s insulated nerve fibres stretch roughly 150,000 to 180,000 km at their peak — enough to wrap around the Earth about four times. Source: Myelinated fibres, measured.
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