Blue Brain Project

I recently learned about a project that aims to fully model a human brain on a supercomputer. This sounds pretty far off, but they've already mastered a full section of a rat's brain. Given how quickly processing power is growing, the 10 year goal stated by the project's leader, Henry Markram, doesn't sound all that unbelievable considering what they've accomplished up to this point. If you're interested in the science or philosophy of the brain, there is a very cool talk on TED. I really like how Markram has some very simple yet thought-provoking ways to think about the mystery of consciousness.

I personally believe that consciousness is intrinsically tied to the physical universe in some magnificent way that we cannot even fathom. Our separate approaches to understanding each one might not be the best way to go about finding a "theory of everything". If you think about it, the Big Bang and consciousness are uncannily similar. Their existences are self-evident and their origins are completely inexplicable... Food for thought.