7 ms·
Ask HN: Should the CPU be compared to the mitochondrion instead of the brain?
The CPU is often compared to the brain. This analogy have caused lots of misconceptions. Could the mitochondrion be a better analogy?
- gus_massa 10y agoNo way. The main function of the mitochondria is to transform ADP to ATP. A good analogy is that ADP is an uncharged battery and ATP is a charged battery, so the mitochondria are the rechargers. The ATP can be used in other parts of the cell to make something useful, like moving or building a molecule. To use it, the ATP is split and it produces ADP. So they are like a battery. The function of mitochondria is totally unrelated to the function of CPU and brain.
- l3robot 10y agoYou are absolutely right, I wanted to say the ribosome was. I confused both. My bad.
- gus_massa 10y agoRibosomes! Not a bad idea. Anyway, I think that ribosomes have a very restrictive type of "calculation", you can compare them with a Jackard Loom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_loom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_loom or a Pianola https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano . Perhaps an old programmable calculator. Currently the CPU have a lot more of computational abilities.