[MD] Social level for humans only

[Krimel]

> [Krimel]
> A second way to speed neurons up is just to make them bigger. That's what
> squids do.

[Dave]
Which is also analogous to electron flow at the physical level. Larger
copper wires enable larger flow not because of their thicken per se but
because of their large circumference where the electrons flow. That is also
what makes wave guides (hollow tubes) work at higher frequencies.

[Krimel]
Pretty much. To carry this inexact analogy farther is something like the
difference between the electrical grid in your city and the electrical
circuits in a computer processor. The electrical grid distributes massive
amounts of power throughout a city. Inside a processor much small voltages
are used but the awesome complexity of the system is a result of the high
resistance or insulating properties of the silicon in which the circuits are
embedded. 

I should also note that in fact the electrical part of neuronal activity is
not properly speaking at all like the flow of electron through copper.
Rather it s a wave of polarization and depolarization of sodium and
potassium ions across the cell membranes of axon fibers of the neurons.

Or to break it down for dmb and a few others: it's magic!