5 ms·
A human's working memory has never been that big. 5-7 items at a time. Less for those who are also dealing with other mental issues.
by falcolas 3y ago
A human's working memory has never been that big. 5-7 items at a time. Less for those who are also dealing with other mental issues.
- pengaru 3y agoWhich is kind of bonkers when you think about how much complexity there is in the gray matter upstairs, so many neurons, yet just 5-7 items in the cache at a time. Jim Keller raised this point in one of his Lex Fridman interviews. They're some of the more worthwhile ones to listen to IMO.
- criddell 3y agoIs what Marilou Henner can do different than working memory?
- falcolas 3y agoThere is one thing I always point out when individuals are called out as an exception: genetic mutants whose abilities are ideal for specific tasks exist. Runners who don’t produce lactic acid, swimmers with absurdly long arms, and so forth. The diagnosis of Marilu Henner’s recall ability as Hyperthymesia (per her Wikipedia article) seems to confirm this is a mutation compared to typical memory formation. That aside, long term memory is indeed distinct from working memory. Long term memory is formed from your working memory, but the memories are stored separately.