Just how much more complex is the human brain compared to human DNA, and why?

Answer 1

DNA is a single molecule that codes for the complexities in any given tissue. It is but one part of the human brain. It is the spatial arrangement of proteins within a cell and developmental processes in the cell that orchestrate the formation of tissues that make up the brain. Just the presence of the brain alone combines several layers of complexity. Not just the transcription of DNA and the translation of proteins, but the timing and specificity that actually give you the right combination of all of it in addition to the functioning of the cells together connected by neurons and electrical impulses.

It's kind of like saying how much more complex is an engine than the sheet of paper containing the blueprint of the engine? Looking at it organically, there is no question that the engine contains more dimensions and more materials in a more complex formation than a sheet of paper with ink on it. If you look at and understand the information on the sheet, however, you may seriously wonder which is more complex. We do not understand all the information in DNA yet, though, and so we tend to look at it organically.

Answer 2

Lots. I don't know how to quantify it, but maybe there are mathematicians who can.

In the meantime, DNA is just a machine that is designed to produce proteins. It operates in prespecified ways where responses are generated to stimuli: the cell needs a protein, and so the DNA is transcribed to make that protein.

The brain of a mammal, and especially of a human, is designed to adapt to situations. It has some prespecified responses to stimuli, but the whole point is that it can learn - and even create de novo - new ways of responding. As far as I know, there is nothing else in the universe that has this sort of adaptability engineered into it so powerfully.

The connections that allow the brain to function are remodeled to suit the needs all your life; your DNA stays the same (or at least you hope it does!).

Answer 3

You are trying to compare apples and cucumbers. Can you show that there is some relation between a complex DNA and a brain?

Answer 4

It is not. You forget developmental processes that take the combinatorial power of the DNA instructions on building brains and use it to wire the brain against the " test pattern " of the environment.