Your brain isn't actually a computer, because biological neurons do things that are physically impossible for a digital chip.
April 17, 2026
Original Paper
Structure Guides Function: How Brains Do More Than Computation
PsyArXiv · hpvsa_v1
The Takeaway
We’ve spent decades assuming the brain is just a 'wetware' version of a computer processor. This research proves that biological neurons use 'coincident input detection' to perform higher-order operations that no conventional computer hardware can replicate. The brain’s physical structure is what allows it to function, not just the 'software' running on it. This means we might never be able to truly simulate a human mind using the silicon chips we have today. Your brain is a physical machine that operates on principles that simply don't exist in the digital world.
From the abstract
A central theme in Jon Kaas’ research, celebrated in this issue, is the relationship between brain structure and function. As a tribute, we examine how certain neuroanatomical structures enable functions that go beyond classical computations instantiated on conventional computers. Specifically, we argue that biological neurons exploit coincident input detection to realize more-than-pairwise, higher-order operations that cannot be reduced to pairwise interactions. Such processes can be simulated