Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of having synapses between neurons?
1 Answer
Slows decision making down to the speed we evolved in, but we can't make light-speed kinds of decisions like a computer.
Explanation:
Synaptic gaps in the brain evolved over millions of years to accommodate decision making that is in the about 0.5 seconds to minute or two range. That is the time frame we operated in to make quick enough decisions to keep us alive. Say, a saber tooth tiger leaps out at you 2 million years ago - you need to make a fight or flight decision in less than a second, but you don't have an hour or so to decide (like say the Ents in Lord of the Rings!). So the advantage is that synapses help us make decisions in the right time frame we need to stay alive.
Brain cells also evolved out of earlier biological cells that were modified to become brain cells, so the evolution of the brain had to work with what it had on hand - it didn't have electrical cables to evolve a high-speed brain network. A disadvantage, is that we can't perform high-speed calculations or make decisions as fast as a computer can, but then, we never had to! For example, in the last 15 years or so, computers have beaten humans at checkers, chess, Jeoporady, and most recently the complex game of Go.
