We will have a device in our heads that will allow us to connect to the network with the brain.
The human mind has always been a mysterious element that many scientific studies have sought to uncover over the years. Within this scenario, neuroscience has become closer to uncovering its deepest secrets, and according to the famous neurobiologist Rafael Yuste, we are closer than ever to understanding how the brain works.
In his book, The Brain as a World Theater, Yuste proposes a fascinating hypothesis: the brain not only interprets the world around us, but creates its own reality, as if it were a constantly evolving simulation.
This article, which combines popular science with philosophical musings, is based on the idea that the 80 billion neurons that make up our brain work as a network capable of predicting the future. This internal model of the world not only helps us understand reality, but also helps us anticipate it and make decisions that adapt to the environment.
The expert calls it the "theatre of the world", in honour of Calderón de la Barca, because he considers that what we perceive is, to a large extent, an internal construction.
The key to understanding the brain is to think of it as a prediction machine, neuroscientist Rafael Yuste, who directs the Center for Neurotechnology at Columbia University in the United States, explained in a recent interview with Cuatro TV.
“The aim of this book is to put forward a hypothesis that could explain the mystery of the brain: how the human mind arises from the activity of neurons,” Yuste explains.
The brain processes sensory information and uses it to build a virtual model of the environment. This model not only reflects what we perceive, but also generates hypotheses about what might happen. “We use this model to calculate what will happen in the future, and in this way we design and select appropriate behaviors for our environment,” says the expert.
Yuste believes we are living at the dawn of a new era, a modern renaissance that is redefining our understanding of what it means to be human. “In the future we will have a device on the head that allows us to communicate with the brain.”
For him, in the not-too-distant future, these brain-implanted devices will allow us to communicate without words or learn languages instantly.
Although these ideas sound like science fiction, Yost presents them as real possibilities based on current advances in neuroscience and artificial intelligence. In The Brain, the World’s Stage, the neurobiologist takes us by the hand on a journey from the evolutionary origins of the nervous system to the most futuristic applications of neurotechnology.
Through clear examples and metaphors, neuroscientist Rafael Yuste is able to explain complex concepts in an accessible way, making neuroscience more accessible to the general public.
Among his ideas, he highlights the importance of emotions as decision-making tools and the central role of memory in constructing our identity. Furthermore, he asserts that although we have made great progress in understanding the brain, we are only beginning to uncover its true potential.