Human Brain versus Computer & Database

Human Brain versus Computer & Database

DBMS has made a revolution in technological world, especially in Information Technology era. Non-IT people, please don’t get confused, it is Database Management System (DBMS) which is simply called as DATABASE. Since 1986, many impacting innovations have been carried out in computers and databases and we are currently having most powerful and fastest databases and Super Computers ruling over IT market to serve requirements of businesses, commodities and institutions. In short, database is a logical concept of storing huge data physically on the hard disk of a computer with more structured and safe way. So, after all, a computer with a harddisk, RAM, processor etc. along with a database has revolutionized the humans and human society in great extent.

If somebody asks me which is the fastest, smartest and intelligent database and computer system? I don’t look here and there and I don’t think, I simply answer – Our Human Brain…!!! Why? And I have list of reasons why it is smart and intelligent. Another question is why to call a Brain as database. So, in coming paragraphs you will come to know my feelings (Computer Database doesn’t have feelings, buddy!) are hoping to tell you about our own alive database.

Since school days I am interested in biology and biological terms. That included human body and science behind development of it. Later, time made me a bug in computers and I started my career in IT world. So, from cells & tissues I moved to bits & bytes. Truly speaking, I am very well aware of such medical stuffs and their functions. Even today, I know most of the body parts like as small as nucleolus up to as big as our biggest bone i.e. femur - a thy bone. Eventually I got familiar with Brain and its parts too. Brain has got two major parts like, Cerebrum, a bigger brain and Cerebellum, a smaller brain. Cerebrum again divided into four parts/lobes like Frontal, Parietal, Occipital and Temporal Lobes. Guys, I am not going to omit any more medical terms which will make you sleep. But the idea is why I feel our brain is more like a computer database, or inversely I feel computer database is made up by keeping a human brain as a guiding example.

I searched many things on Internet to know how much is the average capacity of normal human brain in terms of megabytes/gigabytes. Now the question is, can we really measure storage capacity of our brain like what we do for harddisks, pendrives etc. Scientists have come up with a figure like 1 Million Gigabytes. Means, if you see TV programs for 250 years, which you can store in it. Startled hh..!! I don’t know if these values are correct, but these figures can very depend upon storage capacity as well as how long information will retain inside it. According to me, this storage depends upon the way you think, analyze and remember the information. Our brain has approximately 1 Billion neurons (Neuron is a smallest functional part of a brain which stores information). Each individual neuron is further connected to 1000 neurons. So in all if you calculate one neuron exponentially can store 1000 times more data being mutually connected to each other.

Now this was all about the figures and estimates. Moving to interesting part of our article is how brain is related to functions and terms, we normally hear and learn in computer and database world. I was thinking for 2-3 days to come with and prepared following table which explains how each individual function and process in computer and database technology is related to our brain, thoughts, mind, decisions, calculations, reasoning and so on. I am making the terms simple so a non-IT audience can digest and enjoy it –

Computer or Database Terms	Actual and Physical Meaning of these terms	How brain and its functions are related to -
COMPUTER
Processor	Processor processes various functions in computers like arithmetic calculations	All four lobes of Cerebrum like are responsible for such functions what computer processor does.
Hard Disk	Stores the data permanently which user uses during computer operation. Smallest part of Hard Disk is a sector and smallest counted measure is a Byte. Each sector stores 512 bytes.	Memory which we know from past and we remember it any time. Though the time of accessing that memory from brain is varied.
RAM (Random Access Memory)	This is a physical chip which stores the data temporarily while computer is ON. Data gets removed when we SHUT DOWN computer.	All our low priority and short term memory which we don’t want to remember and we forget it soon the incident happens.
Cables and Bus	Physical copper wires which carry data from one point to another in the form of digital/electrical signals.	Neurons in turn pass data to nerves which carry memory information to all over human body parts in the form of pulse. This is a nervous system.
Cabinet (a.k.a. CPU)	A box which keeps all computer parts together as a whole assembly	A skull in which human brain is protectively kept.
DATABASE (DBMS)
Database	A largest logical entity which stores data for similar objective and functions.	Unlike in computer DBMS, brain stores data in all four lobes and into nerves.
Trigger	Predefined Triggers are executed when any action happens on database.	Simply, reaction of all actions happens around us. Eg. You show your anger when somebody snatch your favorite chocolate. So now you think, we living with number of trigger in our life :)
Constraints	These are rules which are defined in Database.	Same, we have some rule defined in our brain. Like, our favorite colors, food etc. And these are unique for us.
Indexing	This is a process where data access is made up very fast as per defined requirement.	Same here, we prioritize our memory from past based on our interest and if you try to remember it you recollect it very fast. Say a favorite game at childhood you play, you remember each and every moment you spent with friends and too quickly. So Indexing of our life depends on our likes and dislike stored into brain :)
View	A good option to hide important table, rather making of another view of it based on our requirement. This hides and protects main data.	So is this something like, your fake image? Which you show to outside world to gather attention. Or you pretend to be something like you never been. Just to protect your original image or lifestyle.
Sequence	A data which is easy to store sequentially and already known.	This is something like, assumptions and expectations we make in life and we arrange it in our coming days to happen in sequence.
Procedure & Function	A program which is executed in scheduled manner which uses a same data in database.	In our life too, we set some decisions, processes and ways of life. We have a timeline when to use it or do it. Eg. A plan to pursue MBA education at the age of 23 or after graduation.
Insert	An operation which stores a single line of information in database	As the name suggest, we add up all moments which we like (more retention) dislike (less retention). Everything what we sense (see, smell, hear, feel) we insert it in our brain.
Delete & Update	Delete – Deletes the data from database Update – Changes the data in database.	Delete – It is really hard to delete some memory information from our brain at sudden. Knowingly and unknowingly we keep on deleting some memory information from our brain. Update – We update our memory whenever needed. Eg when a President of a country changes.