6 ms·

studies like this: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120201224.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120201224.h... They essentia

studies like this: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120201224.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120201224.h... They essentially say the brain can hold approx. 2.5 petabytes. I don't think this can be measured accurately (or that it makes sense to translate it to bytes) due to the nature of neural networks, but it indicates that it's huge. Other studies say it's around 500.000 "thought objects" (whatever that means) that you can hold in your long-term memory. But outliers like Rainman and others suggest that this is not necessarily the limit.

sandworm101 8y ago
>> can hold approx. 2.5 petabytes Depends on the type of media being stored. The drive uses different compression algorithms for different types of data. We don't store video as video. We remember situations and relationships of objects, then draw those object's onto the situation during recall. This is a big deal in areas like eye witness testimony, or pilots flying a plane. Sometimes you remember that an object (ie an instrument) was at a particular location, recognize it, and remember it according to the previous memory rather than save a second copy. That certainly saves space on the drive, but risks loss of current details. An abnormal instrument reading may be lost when the pilot's brain substitutes an image from a previous memory. The notorious Clyde, of Bonny and Clyde, broke out of jail with a bar of soap. He held it like a gun and told people it was a gun. Everyone remembered seeing him holding a gun. Their brains stored a generic gun image and afterwards had a very clear memory of the gun, which was only ever a bar of soap pained black with boot polish.
- olavk 8y ago
  Actually, it was Woody Allen in the movie "Take the money and run" which carved a gun out of a bar of soap. The escape attempt was almost successful until they entered the courtyard where it was raining heavily. Apparently this scene was based on a real escape attempt by one Charles Makley which did indeed carve a gun out of soap and paint it black with shoe polish. He was however gunned down by prison guards, so the attempt was not successful.
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    If that is true, then I got words for the police officer who gave the lecture. I really hate when people teach me things that turn out to be myths. I've never seen the movie. I doubt I would have transposed the story.
    - DoctorOetker 8y ago
      don't worry, someone above pretty much considers Rainman a documentary
      - mockingbirdy 8y ago
        Please read about Kim Peek - that guy read two pages simultanenously while retaining 98% of the content. He had the content of around 12.000 books in his memory and could recite every page after reading it once. He was the inspiration for the movie. But he wasn't very happy and felt trapped in his brain because no one was able to have meaningful conversations with him. Poor guy. Reason for his insane memory is that the connection between the left and right hemisphere of his brain is missing. This means that all the information get saved because the filters aren't working properly.

sandworm101 8y ago

>> can hold approx. 2.5 petabytes Depends on the type of media being stored. The drive uses different compression algorithms for different types of data. We don't store video as video. We remember situations and relationships of objects, then draw those object's onto the situation during recall. This is a big deal in areas like eye witness testimony, or pilots flying a plane. Sometimes you remember that an object (ie an instrument) was at a particular location, recognize it, and remember it according to the previous memory rather than save a second copy. That certainly saves space on the drive, but risks loss of current details. An abnormal instrument reading may be lost when the pilot's brain substitutes an image from a previous memory. The notorious Clyde, of Bonny and Clyde, broke out of jail with a bar of soap. He held it like a gun and told people it was a gun. Everyone remembered seeing him holding a gun. Their brains stored a generic gun image and afterwards had a very clear memory of the gun, which was only ever a bar of soap pained black with boot polish.

olavk 8y ago
Actually, it was Woody Allen in the movie "Take the money and run" which carved a gun out of a bar of soap. The escape attempt was almost successful until they entered the courtyard where it was raining heavily. Apparently this scene was based on a real escape attempt by one Charles Makley which did indeed carve a gun out of soap and paint it black with shoe polish. He was however gunned down by prison guards, so the attempt was not successful.
- sandworm101 8y ago
  If that is true, then I got words for the police officer who gave the lecture. I really hate when people teach me things that turn out to be myths. I've never seen the movie. I doubt I would have transposed the story.
  - DoctorOetker 8y ago
    don't worry, someone above pretty much considers Rainman a documentary
    - mockingbirdy 8y ago
      Please read about Kim Peek - that guy read two pages simultanenously while retaining 98% of the content. He had the content of around 12.000 books in his memory and could recite every page after reading it once. He was the inspiration for the movie. But he wasn't very happy and felt trapped in his brain because no one was able to have meaningful conversations with him. Poor guy. Reason for his insane memory is that the connection between the left and right hemisphere of his brain is missing. This means that all the information get saved because the filters aren't working properly.