# The Brain Is a Machine Built From Genetic Information by Gary Marcus > "Brains exist primarily to do two things, to communicate (transfer information) and compute. This is true in every creature with a nervous system, and no less true in the human brain. In short, the brain is a machine. And the basic structure of that brain, biological substrate of all things mental, is guided in no small part by information carried in the DNA." > **— Gary Marcus**, *2006, Edge Annual Question, “What Is Your Dangerous Idea?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Minds, genes, and machines](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11197) — Edge published this passage in its 2006 Annual Question collection, *What Is Your Dangerous Idea?*. The full response preserves the qualifications and argument surrounding this exact extract. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2006 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2006 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first archive record for the complete yearly response cohort. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Escape Hatch in the Skull|Escape Hatch in the Skull]] - **Article:** [[articles/Science of Digital Consciousness|Science of Digital Consciousness]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Biological Intelligence Operating System|Biological Intelligence Operating System]] - [[wiki/Genetic Code|Genetic Code]] - [[wiki/Biological Organization|Biological Organization]] - [[wiki/Substrate|Substrate]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "Brains exist primarily to do two things, to communicate (transfer information) and compute. This is true in every creature with a nervous system, and no less true in the human brain. In short, the brain is a machine. And the basic structure of that brain, biological substrate of all things mental, is guided in no small part by information carried in the DNA." — Gary Marcus, 2006, Edge Annual Question, “What Is Your Dangerous Idea?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-gary-marcus-brain-machine-genetic-information ```