The term neural network can mean one of two things in modern parlance. The first refers to a network of neurons found in your brain. These neurons form specific networks and pathways and are vital to you understanding this very sentence. The second meaning of the term refers to an artificial neural network; that is, things we build in software to emulate a neural network in the brain.
This, of course, has led to very many unfortunate comparisons between a biological neural network and an artificial neural network. To understand why, we must start at the beginning.
From here on, I shall spell neuron with a British spelling denoting a real neuron cell, while the American spelling, neuron, will be reserved for the artificial variant.
This following diagram is of a neuron:
In general, a neuron typically consists of the soma (the general body of the cell that contains...