[sbanach]

My point is that should there exist some higher level structure in the brain that is more amenable to simulation than the equivalent quantity of low-level synapses and neurons, then all bets are off about exactly what sort of computer is required to simulate it. The brain has to be replicable by biological processes - who knows what tricks it has to pull to achieve its function? Maybe it's possible to come up with an 'optimizing compiler' that tosses the junk.

[king_magic]

Makes me think back to UltraHLE, and how that was a quantum leap over existing N64 emulators when it came out. Similar approach - UltraHLE didn't emulate every detail of the system. It took a higher-level approach.

Obviously not the same thing as emulating the brain :-) but just what came to mind.

[paulgb]

For anyone not familiar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UltraHLE#The_HLE_technique

Here's hoping the brain is implemented in C ;-)