I wasn't thinking of the universe as a conscious brain (after all, what is "consciousness"-- is it a property created by quantum entanglement-- if so the two articles are connected together), but I like to view the universe as a cosmic quantum computer. During the earliest stages of the universe there must have been some role that quantum entanglement played in establishing interactions between quantum units that later became galaxies no? (I have read astronomers and cosmologists have found "two point" connections and are looking for "three point" connections between very distant galaxies-- these would have been created by particles that collided with each other just after the Big Bang and later formed the very first galaxies.) So let's say that consciousness is the result of quantum entanglement and the very earliest galaxies formed as a result of primeval collisions between quantum particles that were also quantum entangled-- could there be parallels there, Wat? The brain and the universe could both be considered quantum computers but on vastly different scales if this is the case.I can't tell you how many people have been led to believe or at least wonder if the universe could be a conscious brain because of articles like these. It's exhausting.I thought you would like to read that Nautilus paper because it was interdisciplinary research done by both an astronomer and a neuroscientist. It's a long paper but well worth the read.
The article is written in such a way as to practically beg casual readers to reach that conclusion. It leaves aside the point that similarity in appearance doesn't mean equivalence in function, and that there is no information transference across the cosmic web in a manner that could lead to consciousness, as almost a sidenote near the end.
One of their figures shows something important. Many completely unrelated things have power spectrums that are similar to the cosmic web and brains. It's neat that the cosmic web and brain structure are similar, but it's not that surprising or mystical.
It wouldn't have to be mystical if both at least in the very earliest stages got their kick start via quantum entanglement. They may have diverged from that point on but perhaps this is where the connection comes from? I don't look at consciousness as a mystical process either (for example I don't believe in the existence of a "soul") but if both are the result of quantum entanglement at a very fundamental level there may be some commonality there? After all, the most recent theories state that quantum entanglement is what created space-time in the first place (which was catalyzed by ER=EPR).