How is memory like a filing cabinet?
October 25, 2013 5:42 PM Subscribe
I once had a Psychology GCSE lesson where we were given homework to describe how the short-term / long-term model was like a filing cabinet. Recently I've had some new insights into this.
If memory is like a filing cabinet, then that makes short-term
memory the top drawyer, the bottom drawyer is long-term memory.
Files are automatically sorted over time from the top to the bottom.
However, in order to make sense of incoming information, files
(concepts) must be accessed from the bottom drawyer in order to
facilitate this.
The flow from the long-term to the short-term is conflicted by the
sorting from the top drawyer to the bottom, creating mental
fatigue. How can this insight used to improve concentration over a
long period of studying?
Also, one further insight is that the complementarity of the two types of memory is like a Tao symbol (yin-yang). There's a speck of a long-term process going on in short-term memory as information percolates to the long-term memory banks, but there's also a speck of an immediate process going on in long-term as old concepts are accessed to make sense of new information.
If memory is like a filing cabinet, then that makes short-term
memory the top drawyer, the bottom drawyer is long-term memory.
Files are automatically sorted over time from the top to the bottom.
However, in order to make sense of incoming information, files
(concepts) must be accessed from the bottom drawyer in order to
facilitate this.
The flow from the long-term to the short-term is conflicted by the
sorting from the top drawyer to the bottom, creating mental
fatigue. How can this insight used to improve concentration over a
long period of studying?
Also, one further insight is that the complementarity of the two types of memory is like a Tao symbol (yin-yang). There's a speck of a long-term process going on in short-term memory as information percolates to the long-term memory banks, but there's also a speck of an immediate process going on in long-term as old concepts are accessed to make sense of new information.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This isn't really an answerable question. -- restless_nomad
How can this insight used to improve concentration over a
long period of studying?
Is this your question? Or the homework assignment?
posted by bleep at 5:59 PM on October 25, 2013
long period of studying?
Is this your question? Or the homework assignment?
posted by bleep at 5:59 PM on October 25, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Benjy at 5:44 PM on October 25, 2013