Bryan JohnsonFounder of Blueprint and Don't Die

What if we could understand the body and brain through numbers?

20 Jul 2023 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, Bryan Johnson reflects on humanity’s historical leap when phenomena were captured by mathematical equations—such as planetary motion, chemistry, thermodynamics, and gravity—and contrasts that with the current inability to mathematically model the brain. He argues that our present understanding of the mind relies on subjective experience, theory of mind, and language, which are crude approximations. Johnson posits that creating equations that accurately represent brain function would constitute a major revolution for humanity, enabling us to comprehend ourselves through numbers rather than solely through introspection.

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You're making brain measurement mainstream, one could say that you're creating equations that represent what it means to be human. So how has your own view evolved? And basically, humanity will be in the future.
In history, when we used equations to represent certain phenomena, for example, the motion of the stars, or chemical reactions, or thermodynamics, or gravity. We level up as a civilization, this mathematical modeling. And so far, the brain has not been able to be mathematically modeled. We've not been able to understand ourselves through numbers. We understand ourselves through subjective experience, through theory of mind, looking at each other, through language. But they're all crude approximations of what is really going on. And we know the disconnect oftentimes between what we feel and what's really happening. I think that would be one of the more significant revolutions to happen for the human race, is if we could understand the mind and brain through numbers.