Full Idea
The pattern of molecules in the ocean is vastly more complex than any pattern of neurons in my brain.
Gist of Idea
The pattern of molecules in the sea is much more complex than the complexity of brain neurons
Source
John Searle (The Mystery of Consciousness [1997], Concl 2.6)
Book Reference
Searle,John R.: 'The Mystery of Consciousness' [Granta 1997], p.206
A Reaction
A nice warning for anyone foolish enough to pin their explanatory hopes simply on 'complexity', but we would not be so foolish. A subtler account of complexity (e.g. by Edelman and Tononi) might make brains much more complex than oceans.