The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

by Ray Kurzweil

SIGMUND FREUD: When you talk about reverse engineering the human brain, just whose brain are you talking about? A mans brain? A woman’s? A child’s? The brain of a genius? A retarded individual? An “idiot savant”? A gifted artist? A serial murderer? RAY: Ultimately, we’re talking about all of the above. There are basic principles of operation that we need to understand about how human intelligence and its varied constituent skills work. Given the human brain’s plasticity, our thoughts literally create our brains through the growth of new spines, synapses, dendrites, and even neurons. As a result, Einstein’s parietal lobes—the region associated with visual imagery and mathematical thinking—became greatly enlarged.121 However, there is only so much room in our skulls, so although Einstein played music he was not a world-class musician. Picasso did not write great poetry, and so on. As we re-create the human brain, we will not be limited in our ability to develop each skill. We will not have to compromise one area to enhance another. We can also gain insight into our differences and an understanding of human dysfunction. What went wrong with the serial murderer?