The universe is a network. Galaxies are not randomly scattered but linked through invisible filaments of dark matter, connecting massive clusters as if they were neurons. This cosmic web, known as the large-scale structure of the universe, has been reconstructed through supercomputer simulations led by institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Durham University, in projects like Illustris and the Millennium Simulation.
This architecture caught the attention of astrophysicist Franco Vazza (University of Bologna) and neurosurgeon Alberto Feletti (University of Verona), who in 2020 compared the structure of the observable cosmos with that of the human cerebral cortex. Their study, published in Frontiers in Physics, explored whether two such different systems could share similar organizational patterns.
They used:
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Cosmological simulations spanning ~1 billion cubic light-years.
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Microscopy images of 1 mm³ of human cortical tissue (~70,000 neurons).
They applied multifractal analysis, calculations of spectral energy density E(k)∼knE(k) \sim k^nE(k)∼kn, and topological metrics. Both systems followed a power law with nearly identical exponent:
n≈−1.5n \approx -1{.}5n≈−1.5
Despite 27 orders of magnitude in scale difference, the brain and the universe reveal hierarchical, interconnected structures optimized to transmit information.
Strengths: rigorous scientific method, solid data, multidisciplinary approach.
Limitations: correlation is not causation, and metaphors must be used with care.
Still, the message stands: nature prefers efficient forms of organization. The universe may not think—but it structures itself as if it could remember.
Kilian Víndel - Starlight Certification 13/07/2025
