It is estimated that 117 billion humans have ever lived on earth.
And a human brain has an estimated 86 billion neurons.
Altogether, we can estimate that human brains on Earth have collectively contained around 10 quintillion neurons (that’s a 10 followed by 18 zeros, or 10 000 000 000 000 000 000).
This is an unimaginable number of neurons (though perhaps not for Einstein and Hawkins?), capable of thinking countless thoughts throughout human history.
And yet, the connections and patterns in your brain are uniquely yours. That precise combination of activity has never existed before and will never exist again.
Whatever you have to say, your experience, your knowledge, and your idiosyncrasies make your thoughts uniquely yours.
So even if it has been said before, it hasn’t been said by you.
Or, as a Pulitzer Prize Winner put it:
“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
This blog post was inspired by a lunch I had with a friend. Go have lunch with your friends.