On 2014 Oct 13, David Keller commented:

Will mapping of all neural circuits increase understanding of the brain in meaningful ways?

The Human Brain Mapping Initiative (HBMI) is a government-mandated research program with the goal of systematically mapping the neural circuitry of the entire human brain. Will this large-scale fiat-funded project result in commensurate advances in neuroscience, or will it divert scarce funds away from smaller, innovative research projects with the potential for breakthroughs in diverse realms? Are we trading away the prospect of new fundamental discoveries, in order to accumulate terabytes of minimally meaningful mapping data in a routine and mechanistic fashion? The brain circuit mapping study by Fox et al provides interesting and relevant findings, much to the credit of the overall Brain Initiative.

The Human Brain Mapping Initiative recalls prior large-scale government-mandated projects, such as the effort to put a man on the moon, and the Human Genome Sequencing Project. The moon shots consumed funding which could have driven great progress in more crucial areas of discovery than lunar geology and micro-gravity ant farming. And, while the Genome Project did yield important information quickly, it has been criticized for amassing huge amounts of expensive data before they were needed, when the same information would have accumulated naturally over the years during the course of other investigations, and at less expense. Supporters have replied that the Genome Project itself drove down the cost of DNA mapping, due to the large market for sequencing equipment it created and funded. Similar arguments can probably be made both to attack and to defend the Brain Mapping Project. Only time, and further results, will settle these questions.

On 2014 Oct 13, David Keller commented:

Will mapping of all neural circuits increase understanding of the brain in meaningful ways?

The Human Brain Mapping Initiative (HBMI) is a government-mandated research program with the goal of systematically mapping the neural circuitry of the entire human brain. Will this large-scale fiat-funded project result in commensurate advances in neuroscience, or will it divert scarce funds away from smaller, innovative research projects with the potential for breakthroughs in diverse realms? Are we trading away the prospect of new fundamental discoveries, in order to accumulate terabytes of minimally meaningful mapping data in a routine and mechanistic fashion? The brain circuit mapping study by Fox et al provides interesting and relevant findings, much to the credit of the overall Brain Initiative.

The Human Brain Mapping Initiative recalls prior large-scale government-mandated projects, such as the effort to put a man on the moon, and the Human Genome Sequencing Project. The moon shots consumed funding which could have driven great progress in more crucial areas of discovery than lunar geology and micro-gravity ant farming. And, while the Genome Project did yield important information quickly, it has been criticized for amassing huge amounts of expensive data before they were needed, when the same information would have accumulated naturally over the years during the course of other investigations, and at less expense. Supporters have replied that the Genome Project itself drove down the cost of DNA mapping, due to the large market for sequencing equipment it created and funded. Similar arguments can probably be made both to attack and to defend the Brain Mapping Project. Only time, and further results, will settle these questions.