How fast can human brain think? You might say very quick, but a new study reveals otherwise

If we ask how fast the human brain thinks, you might say it operates at an exceptional speed. But what if we told you that’s wrong? A new research suggests it works at a surprisingly slow speed. Scientists found that our brains process only 10 bits per second. This is far below the trillions of operations computers handle.

Researchers Jieyu Zheng and Markus Meister, from Caltech, explored this contrast. They discovered our brains process thoughts in a single-file manner. This creates a bottleneck that slows down internal calculations. Meanwhile, the peripheral nervous system processes sensory data much faster. It collects information at gigabits per second in parallel stream

Contrasting Inner and Outer Brain Functions.

Zheng and Meister argue this mismatch presents a scientific puzzle. "We extract 10 bits from the trillion sensory inputs," said Meister. "It’s fascinating to think how much is filtered out." The team’s findings suggest even complex tasks require limited brainpower. Solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded needs under 12 bits per second. Playing a high-level strategy game like StarCraft takes about 10 bits.