The Singularity is Near - Ray Kurzweil

“The reason memories can remain intact even if ¾ of the connections [synapses] have disappeared is that the coding method used appears to have properties similar to those of a hologram. In a hologram, information is stored in a diffuse pattern throughout an extensive region. If you destroy ¾ of the hologram, the entire image remains intact, although with only one quarter of the resolution…This explains why older memories persist but nonetheless appear to “fade”, because their resolution has diminished.”

“We have 50 billion neurons in the cerebellum that deal with skill information, billions in the cortex that perform the transformations for perception and rational planning, but only about 80,000…dealing with high-level emotions. It is important to point out that [they] are not doing rational problem solving, which is why we don’t have rational control over our responses to music or over falling in love. The rest of the brain is heavily engaged, however, in trying to make sense of our mysterious high-level emotions.”