Do we know the operating principles of our computers better than those of our brain?

The increasing interest in understanding the behavior of biological neural networks, and the expanding utilization of artificial neural networks in different fields and scales, both require a thorough understanding of how technological computing works. However, von Neumann in his classic "First Draft" warned that it would be unsound to use his suggested paradigm to model neural operation, furthermore that using "too fast" processors vitiates his paradigm, which was intended only to describe (the timing relations of) vacuum tubes. Thus, it is worth scrutinizing how the present technology solutions can be used to mimic biology. Some electronic components bear a surprising resemblance to some biological structures. However, combining them using different principles can result in systems with inferior efficacy. The paper discusses how the conventional computing principles, components, and thinking about computing limit mimicking biological systems.