Renowned Cambridge neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow has said that there is a possibility that humans could live inside a machine, which will give them the capacity to virtually live forever.

At the Hay Festival in Wales this weekend, Critchlow said that this could happen when people turn their brain into a program code once a computer that has the capability of recreating some 100 trillion connections becomes available.

She said that if such a computer—recreating the large amounts of connections in the brain—were to be built, it would be possible for people to exist inside a program.

The neuroscientist said that while the brain is enormously complex, it works similar to a large circuit board, and scientists are now starting to understand the function of each of its parts. She described the human brain to be the most complicated circuit board with its billions of nerve cells.

"People could probably live inside a machine. Potentially, I think it is definitely a possibility," Critchlow said. "If you had a computer that could make those 100 trillion circuit connections, then that circuit is what makes us us."

Critchlow, who was named by the Science Council as one of the top 100 scientists in the UK, also debunked the common myth that we only use about 10 percent of our brain. She explained that the brain constantly runs in idle mode to save energy, and some areas are only powered up when they are needed.

She added that the fallacy has something to do with Albert Einstein who said that he was able to discover the Theory of Relativity for reason that his brain works at a higher level compared with those of most people's.

The incident involving Phineas Gage also contributed to the spread of the myth. The railroad foreman had an accident that embedded a metal pole deep in his skull. The pole initially appeared to have caused only little damage. Gage was able to live life as usual, leading to his conclusion that large parts of the human brain are not needed.

Critchlow likewise noted that although the brain only weighs about 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) and takes up only 2 percent of the body's mass, it uses about 20 percent of the body's energy consumption. She also confirmed that the right and left hemispheres are different and confirmed, based on evidence, the belief that people who are left-handed tend to be more creative.

Photo: Allan Ajifo | Flickr