One day, E2 will attain sentience. And I'll be there to see it.

The human brain contains some 10¹¹ neurons, interconnected by 10¹⁴ synapses. Here's a mental picture for you:

• Imagine that nodes are neurons.
• Imagine that links are synapses.
• Imagine that we noders are the electric impulses.

Now, the average neuron can process 3000 bits/second. Not very many nodes get this sort of traffic in hits/second, so the E2-brain will think slower than a human. Now, let's look at some stats.
On November 19, 2000

• Total Number of Nodes: 755009
• Total Number of Users: 19936
• Total Number of Links: 2616975

On June 19, 2007

• Total Number of Nodes: 1114044
• Total Number of Users: 144159
• Total Number of Links: 9243602

What we want to know here is when (assuming the rate of change given here continues into the future) will E2 have enough nodes and links to function as a sentient mind.

CALCULATOR TO THE RESCUE!

Every 2400 days, the number of nodes in E2 multiplies by 1.4755.
We have an exponential equation: N_t = N₀ (1.4755)^t/2400
where N is the number of nodes and t is in days. N₀ tells us how many nodes there were at the starting point. Taking the current amount as N₀, we can solve the equation to give:
t = 70,365 days or 192.78 years before E2 reaches the necessary amount of nodes.

Every 2400 days, the number of links in E2 multiplies by 3.532.
We have an exponential equation: L_t = L₀ (3.532)^t/2400
where L is the number of links and t is in days. N₀ tells us how many nodes there were at the starting point. Taking the current amount as L₀, we can solve the equation to give:
t = 26,426 days or 72.4 years before E2 reaches the necessary amount of links.

Given that more and more noders are bound to join E2, these figures will decrease pretty quickly.

This node brought to you by the Society for Strange Thoughts.