Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

The Process of Long Term Memory (An idea or thought enters the Working…

- - - - In a way, like with RAM, the working memory can be expanded. Tackling an entirely new skill can quickly occupy all of your working memory slots, especially one as complex as programming. As soon as you begin to learn all the different elements you run out of mental resources because the working memory is simply limited.
        
        However, consider a senior developer. He's a master at programming, so actually creating new code would only take one working memory slot. He's familiar with the syntax, reserved words, data structures, if statements, everything. It's as second nature to him as eating. Therefore, he now has 3 other working memory slots as opposed to our novice programmer whom occupies all of them because he hasn't completely chunked the skill of programming yet.
        
        It's similar to DNA. The DNA molecules are so incredibly long and complex, that in order for the cell to accommodate it, it has to be compressed by being tightly coiled. This is similar to what happens to complex ideas when they are chunked. They're more able to fit inside our working memory.
  - - - An easy way to understand chunking is if you imagined eating a large piece of steak. You would eat it by cutting it into small pieces that are easy to digest. Conversely, it would not make sense to try to eat it in one large bite. You would most likely choke, if you could even open your mouth that wide.
        
        Similarly, if you tried learning an entire body of knowledge such as programming in a single day, you would fail. Instead, you should chunk the information into more digestible bits of information.
        
        You would instead break up the subject into smaller pieces by learning the different elements such as syntax, variables, constants, loops, data types, functions, etc.
      - Once you have become familiar with a concept or idea, it is considered chunked. Your neural circuit has experienced the thought pattern enough times that it is easy, almost automatic.
  - - - The more times a thought pattern is experienced, the deeper the impression is on the neural circuit. The deeper the impression, the more automatic the response becomes. In other words, practice makes permanent.
      - A scientifically backed method of practice is recall. Simply trying to recall something to mind improves your chances of remembering it.
        
        Since being able to hold large numbers in your mind was not necessary for our hunter-gatherer ancestors, the mind is not efficient at doing so. Instead, it has an excellent visual and spacial memory system.
        
        You can utilize these excellent memory systems by creating memorable images for something you want to remember. To improve your chances of remembering evoke different senses such as smell or texture.
    - - The process of storing a new memory can surprisingly take many years. This is known as memory consolidation.
        
        Interestingly, your memories are not static. They are living parts of your brain that changing constantly. This is why eye witness testimonies are unreliable and often lead to innocent people being convicted due to faulty memory.
        
        Whenever your recall a memory, it is changed. This is known as memory reconsolidation.
        
        Both of these processes occur during sleep.
      - Memories are stored in the hippocampus. If this vital organ were removed, you would not be able to form new memories. Interestingly enough, you might still be able to learn new skills, but you would not remember having learned them.
      - The neural connection to a memory naturally degrades over time if you do not access it frequently. This is why memories tend to fade.