
Khan Academy
4 mins 11 secs
Ages 11 - 18
This video explains the structure and function of the brain, focusing on neurons and their role in processing information. It also introduces the concept of brain plasticity and the idea that intelligence can be developed and improved over time.
We know that our brain is what makes us, us. It's what does all of our thinking. It processes all of the sensory input from the outside world and creates this reality in our brain that we experience. It is us. So the question is, what is the brain actually made up of? It's primarily made up of neurons. These are depictions of neurons right over here. The current view on how the brain processes information is by these different neurons getting excited and then stimulating other neurons. As these signals go through this huge neural network that has 80 to 100 billion neurons, that electrochemical signal going through this neural network is essentially our thought. It's essentially our intelligence. Arguably, it's essentially us. So given that, a question arises. What determines our ability to do things? What determines our intelligence? One school of thought is that maybe you're either just born with it or you either have it or you don't. Some people are smart, some people are less smart. Or maybe you can change it. It turns out there's actually been a lot of research on this in the last few decades. And the answer is pretty clear.