Neuroscientist David Eagleman: the brain isn't a computer, it's a constantly rewiring 'livewire'
Chris_Armstrong · x · 2026-10-04
A Guardian interview with neuroscientist David Eagleman, revisited around his book Livewired, pushes back on the brain-as-computer metaphor.
Key points
- The computer analogy is seductive but flawed: the brain doesn't store memories like a machine — it's "three pounds of alien material"
- 86 billion neurons, 10,000 connections each, reconfiguring every second — what Eagleman calls "livewire," not fixed hardware + software
- The brain is the most complex system we've ever encountered, and experience continually refashions it
- He also discusses the mystery of consciousness and why the next generation will be smarter than us
Eagleman is also co-founder and CEO of Neosensory, which builds sensory-substitution devices. Note: this interview is over 5 years old.
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