(Medical Xpress) -- A theory that has been widely accepted for many years can be overturned: our short-term memory does not limit itself to remembering four to seven things at the same time. Groundbreaking research demonstrates that we can remember far more elements at once. However, the more we remember the poorer the quality of the information we retain. NWO researcher Dr. Ronald van den Berg and his supervisor professor Whee Ky Ma conclude this on the basis of various experiments. The researchers recently published their findings in the renowned scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Up until now it has been assumed that thanks to our short-term memory we could remember four to seven elements at once, such as numbers, letters or images. Anything else we wanted to remember was instantly forgotten. Recent research from Dutch neuroscientists Ronald van den Berg and Whee Ky Ma, both working at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, overturns this established theory. "Our research shows it is not true that you either remember everything really well or not at all," explains Van den Berg. "Your short-term memory divides its attention over the several elements you want to remember, even if these are more than four elements. Due to the competition for attention there are gradations in how well you remember things. For example, later you might remember one thing partially, forget something else completely and remember a last thing perfectly."
Experiment
In one of the researchers' experiments, study subjects briefly saw circles with random colours on a computer screen. They subsequently had to state which color they had seen at a certain point. The greater the number of colors that appeared on the screen, the more difficulty study subjects had in stating the correct color. The researchers subsequently tested a series of mathematical models on the data obtained. This revealed that the new theory was the most successful in explaining the answer pattern from the study subjects.
Quality versus quantity
"In effect it is just like watering plants with a watering can," explains Van den Berg. "The more plants there are the less water each can receive. The same is true for our memory: the more you want to remember, the less well each element is retained." Furthermore the quality of your memory of each element is subject to fluctuations. "For example, if you only have a limited amount of time to water your plants then you will not give each one exactly the same amount. That is also the case with the short-term memory: you remember one thing better than another," says Van den Berg.
Temporary buffer
Our short-term memory can be compared with the buffer in the computer. It ensures we retain information relevant for subsequent actions for several seconds to minutes. A football player who scans the field searching for the right path to the goal, imprints the position of his opponents in this scan. Without the several seconds of storage in the short-term memory it would be impossible for the footballer to remember where each player is located and to determine the route to the goal.
Van den Berg carried out his research with a Rubicon grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. Rubicon offers scientists who have recently gained their PhD the opportunity to gain experience at a top institute in the Netherlands or abroad for a maximum period of two years. The aim of the programme is to keep talented researchers in science after they have completed their PhD research.
Provided by Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
"Short-term memory is more flexible than thought." June 19th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-short-term-memory-flexible-thought.html
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Robert Karl Stonjek
Robert Karl Stonjek
இன்றைய காலகட்டத்தில் குழந்தைகளுக்கு ஆங்கில அறிவு மிக மிக முக்கியம், ஆங்கில இலக்கணத்தை பிழையில்லாமல் கற்றுக் கொள்வதற்கு ஒரு வழி உள்ளது.
பலாப்பழத்தின் மேல் தோல் கரடுமுரடாக இருந்தாலும், அதன் உட்பகுதியில் இருக்கும் பழம் சுவையாகவும் கண்ணை கவரும் நிறத்திலும் காணப்படும்.
“This virat-rupa of the Lord was especially manifested, not for the benefit of Arjuna, but for that unintelligent class of men who accept anyone and everyone as an incarnation of the Lord and so mislead the general mass of people. For them, the indication is that one should ask the cheap incarnation to exhibit his virat-rupa and thus be established as an incarnation.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.1.24 Purport)
From the Bhagavad-gita you get lessons on duty, morality, virtue, sin, vice, lust, greed, birth and death, the true identity of the individual, and most importantly what the individual’s relationship to the higher being is. Despite the profound wisdom found in the verses of this sacred work, the speaker, the supreme teacher, still didn’t want others to mistake Him to be a hack mental speculator. The truths passed on to Arjuna and future generations were not mentally concocted, nor did they arrive as a revelation to the speaker. He knew what He was talking about because He is the origin of knowledge; He is the smartest person based on His inherent characteristics.
Since we have this tendency already, Krishna shows us that He is the greatest of the greatest. In terms of a collection of matter, nothing can be greater than the virat-rupa. “Why are only the asuras enamored by the universal form? Is there another perspective?” Krishna’s supremacy travels in both directions, the large and the small. The deluded consciousness that doesn’t see the difference between spirit and matter only thinks of greatness in terms of abundance, but the devotee knows that Krishna can be smaller than the smallest as well. While He is the virat-rupa, He is also the Supersoul within every creature. The tiny ant and the large elephant both have Krishna residing within them. Moreover, the fragments of spirit that emanate from Krishna are also infinitesimally small in size and yet can do great things on their own.
The charlatan posing to be God can be exposed just from their claim. Nevertheless, if others require more proof they can insist on seeing the virat-rupa. If you really are God, you should be able to show everything, the entire universe of stuff, to any person. If not, you are just a pretender, a cheater who exploits the valuable gem of Vedic wisdom for your own benefit. Krishna gives the transcendental wisdom of the Gita and the accompanying discipline of bhakti-yoga for the benefit of the worthy recipients, knowing full well that the soul is happiest when engaged in divine service. The implementation of that discipline is fine tuned through the association of the saints, and the ultimate arbiter of success or failure is Shri Krishna Himself, who looks at sincerity more than ability. To let Him know that we’re serious about making the most out of the rare human birth, we can chant the holy names, “
