--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What does it matter if two brains are…" description: "\"“What does it matter if two brains are isomorphic, or quasi-isomorphic, or not isomorphic at all? The answer is that we have an intuitive sense that, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/douglas-r-hofstadter-34926_human-intelligence_what-does-it-matter-if-two-brains-are-is_1501071.jpg" --- # What does it matter if two brains are isomorphic, or… ![“What does it matter if two brains are isomorphic, or quasi-isomorphic, or not isomorphic at all? The answer is that we have an intuitive sense that, although other people differ from us in important ways, they are still 'the same' as we are in some deep and important ways. It would be instructive…” quote by Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/douglas-r-hofstadter-34926_human-intelligence_what-does-it-matter-if-two-brains-are-is_1501071.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/douglas-r-hofstadter-34926_human-intelligence_what-does-it-matter-if-two-brains-are-is_1501071.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d76/douglas-r-hofstadter-34926_human-intelligence_what-does-it-matter-if-two-brains-are-is_1501071.jpg) > ““What does it matter if two brains are isomorphic, or quasi-isomorphic, or not isomorphic at all? The answer is that we have an intuitive sense that, although other people differ from us in important ways, they are still 'the same' as we are in some deep and important ways. It would be instructive to be able to pinpoint what this invariant core of human intelligence is, and then to be able to describe the kinds of 'embellishments' which can be added to it, making each one of us a unique embodiment of this abstract and mysterious quality called 'intelligence.”” [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human minds share a deep structural core despite surface differences; identifying that core helps understand intelligence. **In simple terms:** We share a basic mental pattern. Key Takeaway Explore common cognitive foundations. Themes cognition identity humanity Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - education - team building - cross‑cultural communication - AI research Key Concepts philosophy psychology AI Questions to Reflect On - What core traits define intelligence? - How can we respect individuality while recognizing similarity? A Different Perspective Defining the core is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brains Isomorphic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brains-isomorphic-5503114/) [Human intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-intelligence/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Isomorphic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isomorphic-5503115/) [Isomorphic Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isomorphic-answer-5503116/) [Isomorphic Isomorphic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isomorphic-isomorphic-5503118/) [Matter Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-brains-5503117/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“...the following parable may be useful. Long ago, when shepherds wanted to see if two herds of sheep were isomorphic, they would look for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-baez/the-following-parable-may-be-useful-long-ago-when-shepherds-wanted-to/) [John C. Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-baez/) > [At some point, human intelligence became collective and cumulative in a way that happened to no other animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/at-some-point-human-intelligence-became-collective-and-cumulative-in/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [I strongly support the call to greatly expand our human intelligence capability to penetrate al Qaeda and gather critical intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ramstad/i-strongly-support-the-call-to-greatly-expand-our-human-intelligence/) [Jim Ramstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ramstad/) > [Use your human intelligence in the best way you can; transform your emotions in a positive way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/use-your-human-intelligence-in-the-best-way-you-can-transform-your/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“Pleasure need not be less keen because there will be centuries of springs to come, their blossom unseen by human eyes, the walls will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-2/pleasure-need-not-be-less-keen-because-there-will-be-centuries-of/) [P.D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james-2/) > [By the time we get to the 2040s, we'll be able to multiply human intelligence a billionfold. That will be a profound change that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/by-the-time-we-get-to-the-2040s-we-ll-be-able-to-multiply-human/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [We are approaching a time when human intelligence alone will be incapable of managing a highly advanced society. Existing technologies are rapidly exceeding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/we-are-approaching-a-time-when-human-intelligence-alone-will-be/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Perhaps measuring animal intelligence by comparing it to human intelligence isn't the best litmus test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/perhaps-measuring-animal-intelligence-by-comparing-it-to-human/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [If you look up 'Intelligence' in the new volumes of the Encyclopeadia Britannica, you'll find it classified under the following three heads: Intelligence, Human;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/if-you-look-up-intelligence-in-the-new-volumes-of-the-encyclopeadia/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [ “Even as they sought their destruction, many considered them \[wolves\] "possessed of near human intelligence," according Stanley Young, one so refined and subtle that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-hampton/even-as-they-sought-their-destruction-many-considered-them-wolves/) [Bruce Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-hampton/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [The techniques of artificial intelligence are to the mind what bureaucracy is to human social interaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-winograd/the-techniques-of-artificial-intelligence-are-to-the-mind-what/) [Terry Winograd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-winograd/) > [LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“...genius, having the widest experience of the human intelligence, can best understand the ideas most directly in opposition to those which form the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/genius-having-the-widest-experience-of-the-human-intelligence-can/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [It is impossible to underrate human intelligence - beginning with one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-impossible-to-underrate-human-intelligence-beginning-with-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Douglas R. Hofstadter > [“I wish my wish would not be granted!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/i-wish-my-wish-would-not-be-granted/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [ “\[...\] provability is a weaker notion than truth” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/provability-is-a-weaker-notion-than-truth/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“It is extremely interesting, then, to think about the meaning of the word ‘form’ as it applies to constructions of arbitrarily complex shapes. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/it-is-extremely-interesting-then-to-think-about-the-meaning-of-the/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“We have a very hard time “seeing” our cognitive activity because it is the medium in which we swim. The attempt to put our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/we-have-a-very-hard-time-seeing-our-cognitive-activity-because-it-is/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“A mirror mirroring a mirror”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/a-mirror-mirroring-a-mirror/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“People enjoy inventing slogans which violate basic arithmetic but which illustrate “deeper” truths, such as “1 and 1 make 1” (for lovers), or “1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/people-enjoy-inventing-slogans-which-violate-basic-arithmetic-but/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“Please, Oh please, publish me in your collection of self-referential sentences!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/please-oh-please-publish-me-in-your-collection-of-self-referential/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“I enjoy acronyms. Recursive Acronyms Crablike "RACRECIR" Especially Create Infinite Regress”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/i-enjoy-acronyms-recursive-acronyms-crablike-racrecir-especially/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“I can't help but recall, at this point, a horribly elitist but very droll remark by one of my favorite writers, the American "critic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/i-can-t-help-but-recall-at-this-point-a-horribly-elitist-but-very/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“This computer-generated pangram contains six a's, one b, three c's, three d's, thirty-seven e's, six f's, three g's, nine h's, twelve i's, one j,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/this-computer-generated-pangram-contains-six-a-s-one-b-three-c-s/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“Saying that studying the brain is limited to the study of physical entities would be like saying that literary criticism must focus on paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/saying-that-studying-the-brain-is-limited-to-the-study-of-physical/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“No, no - I think about thinking”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/no-no-i-think-about-thinking/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“Supperational thinkers, by recursive definition, include in their calculations the fact that they are in a group of superrational thinkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/supperational-thinkers-by-recursive-definition-include-in-their/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) [Explore all 14 Douglas R. Hofstadter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) ## More Human intelligence quotes > [It is impossible to underrate human intelligence - beginning with one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-impossible-to-underrate-human-intelligence-beginning-with-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...genius, having the widest experience of the human intelligence, can best understand the ideas most directly in opposition to those which form the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/genius-having-the-widest-experience-of-the-human-intelligence-can/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The techniques of artificial intelligence are to the mind what bureaucracy is to human social interaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-winograd/the-techniques-of-artificial-intelligence-are-to-the-mind-what/) [Terry Winograd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-winograd/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [ “Even as they sought their destruction, many considered them \[wolves\] "possessed of near human intelligence," according Stanley Young, one so refined and subtle that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-hampton/even-as-they-sought-their-destruction-many-considered-them-wolves/) [Bruce Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-hampton/) > [If you look up 'Intelligence' in the new volumes of the Encyclopeadia Britannica, you'll find it classified under the following three heads: Intelligence, Human;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/if-you-look-up-intelligence-in-the-new-volumes-of-the-encyclopeadia/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Perhaps measuring animal intelligence by comparing it to human intelligence isn't the best litmus test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/perhaps-measuring-animal-intelligence-by-comparing-it-to-human/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [We are approaching a time when human intelligence alone will be incapable of managing a highly advanced society. Existing technologies are rapidly exceeding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/we-are-approaching-a-time-when-human-intelligence-alone-will-be/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [By the time we get to the 2040s, we'll be able to multiply human intelligence a billionfold. That will be a profound change that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/by-the-time-we-get-to-the-2040s-we-ll-be-able-to-multiply-human/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [“Pleasure need not be less keen because there will be centuries of springs to come, their blossom unseen by human eyes, the walls will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-2/pleasure-need-not-be-less-keen-because-there-will-be-centuries-of/) [P.D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james-2/) > [Use your human intelligence in the best way you can; transform your emotions in a positive way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/use-your-human-intelligence-in-the-best-way-you-can-transform-your/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I strongly support the call to greatly expand our human intelligence capability to penetrate al Qaeda and gather critical intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ramstad/i-strongly-support-the-call-to-greatly-expand-our-human-intelligence/) [Jim Ramstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ramstad/) > [At some point, human intelligence became collective and cumulative in a way that happened to no other animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/at-some-point-human-intelligence-became-collective-and-cumulative-in/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [We must develop as quickly as possible technologies that make possible a direct connection between brain and computer, so that artificial brains contribute to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-must-develop-as-quickly-as-possible-technologies-that-make/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) [Browse all 201 Human intelligence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-intelligence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What does it matter if two brains are isomorphic, or quasi-isomorphic, or not isomorphic at all? 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