The IQ test came back. It was negative.
Walking along the trail surrounded by tall trees on a crisp autumn afternoon it is easy to slide in a state of mind of peace and serenity when neurons in the brain fire synchronously, and by doing so, operate at maximum efficiency with least energy requirement.
But the state of peak efficiency does not last long.
As it usually happens in the moments of contemplation, for example, sitting cross legged in a lotus position near a pond and watching the reflection of trees on the other side on its still surface, a stray leaf falls and breaks the sense of harmony.
Waves ripple on the surface of the pond outward from the epicenter of the impact mimicking how the universe may have looked at its beginning at the Big Bang. Since the moment of its creation, the ripples of creation are moving farther and farther away, and along with their outward journey, managed to create you and me.
Today the leaf that fell on the surface of pond of serenity is the thought whether a brain with higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) would require more energy or less energy?
It is one of those thoughts that may not be of any practical relevance but still sometimes the brain wants to indulge.
Guess it has its weak moments. Only yesterday, it started musing about the question of free will wondering if we do or do we not have choices. To be cute, it also added “That is the question”.
The answer to the question of the relationship between IQ and brain’s net energy requirement, however, was not obvious. Like the leaf that fell on the surface of the pond is two sided, the possible answer to its musings also had two sides.
It is sometimes annoying to go through life having two sides to every question. It is like Democrats and Republicans bickering over every issue. Is there not a single social, economic, climate change issue on which they can agree? If one says A the other has to say Z and each will produce convincing arguments to support their point of view.
Watching them bicker makes you wonder whether taking opposing positions is a matter of principle or if there are legitimate reasons for it. But back to the question of IQ and energy requirement.
One of the basic facts about the brain is that it requires a lot of energy for its functioning. On average, the brain consumes about 20% of the body’s total energy, despite accounting for only about 2% of the body’s total weight. This high energy demand is because of the brain’s continuous activity, which includes maintaining electrical signals, release, and uptake of neurotransmitters etc.
One position on the energy requirement for a high IQ brain would say it would require less amount of energy. A high IQ should be more efficient in solving problems and finding solutions compared to a brain with a lower IQ.
Isn’t it plausible to think that facing a problem a brain with higher IQ would require less time and energy to solve the issue at hand relative to a brain with lower IQ?
But that is not the end of the story.
A high IQ brain may also be a magnet for confronting more problems, and oftentimes, may like to do so on a voluntary basis.
A high IQ brain may even want to delve into problems having no practical relevance in the context of evolution, the prime goal of which is to survive and reproduce These are the kind of problems that have been debated for eons as part of philosophy, or trying to conjure reasons for human existence, or finding the meaning of consciousness.
An immediate example of such musings is wondering whether a brain with higher IQ would require more energy or less energy to function.
If the high IQ brain likes to wander about esoteric issues, and as a consequence is firing its neurons all the time and pathways in the brain are always filled with electrical storm of activities then the consequence will be that such a brain will require lots more energy to function.
So, which one is right? I guess experiments and measurements should be able to settle the issue.
The answer ended up with alternatives, both being equally plausible. As usual, having two sides of the coin rules and it is time to move on before the brain starts to get fatigued and cries out for “feed me.”
Ciao.
See also:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/019188699390206I
https://time.com/5400025/does-thinking-burn-calories/
Related:
Do we or do we not have choices? Should we worry?
In the context of evolution, is IQ an optimization problem?
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