4 · The minds

How much computing does a mind need?

Nobody knows. Published estimates for one human brain differ by more than thirty orders of magnitude. It depends on how much of the brain’s biological detail you think matters.

To run a mind, you need…

Each answer updates the reality at right. You can change any answer later.

Your reality

The default reality, before you answer anything, takes 8.2 × 10²⁷ FLOPS. Our computers could run this between 2070 and 2089 if growth runs a fifth faster or slower. At the central rate it’s 2078.

Show the numbers

Year	All computers on Earth	Projected
1986	3.0 × 10^14 FLOPS
1993	4.4 × 10^15 FLOPS
2000	2.9 × 10^17 FLOPS
2007	6.4 × 10^18 FLOPS
2025	10^21 FLOPS	10^21 FLOPS
2050		1.8 × 10^24 FLOPS
2075		3.3 × 10^27 FLOPS
2100		6.0 × 10^30 FLOPS

Make a choice to start the chart.

Tune it

DetailPainted set

Real playersEveryone

Computed when no one’s looking0%

Computing growth35% a year

The human costs are the author’s judgement, not a measurement. The computing numbers come from the same engine as the sandbox. See the method.