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.

The 2 inches of business

I had a spicy food last night made by mom. That included awesome chicken curry and taste is still roaming on my tongue. But mom shocked me by preparing a spinach dish for lunch box today though she knows I hate spinach but she always keeps on saying the importance of spinach for health being a green vegetable.

Sometime I feel to have my lunch in my office canteen just to have something different and because, “Being irritated with homemade food?” Don’t say this to my mom or else you have managed to have a heavy anger stones falling on me when I go back to home. Still I frequently gulp outside food as others do.

I stay in Mumbai, a metropolitan city, which has variety of food and foodies. All types of restaurants and cuisines are widely spread over all directions in Mumbai. Since childhood I have been fascinated with “Masala Dosa”. Though I visit a pretty good five star hotel, I still order Masala Dosa which costs much less than what my friends order. This particular dish has made a sweet home in my heart and for me it stays at high among all cuisines I tried and will try in future. Mumbai has got around 15,000 odd restaurants for middle class man as per online sources. Most incredible thing is my dosa is still most common everywhere and I get it wherever I go. Mumbaikars are very less food conscious. A common man in Mumbai prefers Vada Pav – The Indian Burger, in his breakout timings. And the list goes on with Bhelpuri, Panipuri, Shevpuri, Pav Bhaji etc. All these are spicy items sold in each corner of the city. On an average Mumbai has got huge turnover of Rs.2.5 Cr including all Vada Pav stalls every day. At the other side all restaurants sum up to Rs. 20 Cr at the end of business every day.

Now all this for my lone Mumbai city, what about universe? Alone US has 5,00,000 full and part service restaurants and they accounting $600 Billion annually. So what if you consolidate all restaurants all over the world. Now don’t imagine, it is out of imagination..! Now if you talk about which is the best cuisine in the world then it counts on the popularity how much population prefers it. So it starts with French then Italian, then Chinese and then Indian and so on.

Spices which are heart of cuisines have their own importance. Saffron – a famous spice costs around $1500 per kilogram. What makes Saffron so popular in taste? Why cuisines made with saffron added are expensive? The most expensive Potato is cultivated in France and that costs around $500 per Kg why because it is only cropped in seaweed fertilized land. Most expensive beef comes from Wagyu Cows in Japan; these cows are grown up in best treatment and are feed best grass that makes the beef tender and expensive. Take an example of liquor; Macallan Fine Rare Vintage, a whisky costs $50,000.

Don’t you feel people and their taste is getting more nutritious? Or it is stylish? Or the place where you eat the food? What makes it so expensive? Why don’t we eat at home, getting raw material and cooking it with our own ease. Why people visit restaurants when they can prepare food at home? Just imagine a common potato costing Rs. 10 per kg in our country, and why the same potato with say very little nourishing difference costs $500 in France. So much of discrimination for eatable things. What happens when the food goes down your esophagus i.e. your food canal which takes food from your mouth towards stomach? Can you taste food in your stomach? What if you eat a grass? Yes you can still remain alive and digest it..! But only thing is your mind is not prepared to eat a grass. We have made our taste such that what others eat, we eat the same food and again your mind and brain controls your interest of food. But what makes this happen, why don’t we eat the things (I can’t call it a food for now) like grass which we can easily digest, because your tongue doesn’t allow it. Again there is only a part of our tongue which has capability of taste. And that part is spread over only 2 inches of our tongue, right from the tip. This part has taste buds which react to all types of tastes you know till now and saves it in the brain and then brain decides which food you like most. So, guys that will not be an exaggeration to say, all this billion of billions of dollars of food businesses are only because of 2 inches part of our tongue. Because of this 2 inches part, I frequently have outside food, that too includes fast and junk food, I keep disputing with my mom for the food I love which she does not prepare, I spend 1000 bucks in every visit to restaurant. At the end I feel, what if I had a food at home, I would have saved lots of money and that too I can I have trust of hygienic food which is a pretty home made. But still, still I need something different, my tongue wants to have something different always. Like this my brain has always Masala Dosa on top of the list. And now after writing so much about food and taste, my 2 inches of tongue's part has again asked and tempted me to go outside now and have some chicken kebabs and chocolate desert. So guys, I am leaving off for a nice treat, and you are most welcome to join me...