- Sep 22, 2013
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The human brain is equipped to process stimuli it perceives and then store it based on established categories of object/event type and relevance.
When the brain retrieves stored memories of perceptions, it uses these memories to make formulations of object/event congruence and assess utility value. It may 'discard' a memory of a perception it deems to be useless.
How the brain stores memories of perceptions (and which memories it keeps) long term can tell us about how the brain evaluates the 'experience of learning.'
If the brain receives a shock (from an unexpected or unidentifiable stimuli) from, for example a UFO sighting (or something it does not anticipate), it evaluates risk based on the utility value of its stored memories; the brain assesses if it should seek or avoid a given object/event, and this informs its 'fight-or-flight' response.
If we train our brain to exercise its memory categorization ability, with, for example culturally identifiable monument recognition tests (e.g., Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, etc.), we can evaluate our cognitive ability to store object/event evaluations efficiently.
If our brain is 'over-taxed' or over-burdened in its memory categorization function, it can start to lose its evaluation function efficiency. Our mind would start to feel disorganized or even schizophrenic in its assessment of risk and prioritization.
Since the modern world is flooded with an cornucopia of stimuli (e.g., Facebook, CNN, highway traffic, consumerism/commerce, etc.), our minds feel 'taxed' by the obligation to filter, process, prioritize, and evaluate the value and relevance of all this stimuli.
We always make jokes about the modern world such as, "I have over 500 TV channels of junk food for my brain," but do we really realize how much our brains are being flooded with so much stimuli?
Some cognitive psychologists feel that this avalanche of unfiltered stimuli in the modern world could be making insensitive automatons out of people.
Could our brains' adaptive ability to organize perceptions be deteriorating?
The best remedy for this 'modern problem' is to consciously focus on priorities and filter out 'junk food.'
The danger of ignoring this general modern lifestyle prescription is that we could see forms of brain dementia and lethargy (e.g., Wilson's disease variants, schizophrenia variations, circulatory system disorder variations, etc.).
When the brain retrieves stored memories of perceptions, it uses these memories to make formulations of object/event congruence and assess utility value. It may 'discard' a memory of a perception it deems to be useless.
How the brain stores memories of perceptions (and which memories it keeps) long term can tell us about how the brain evaluates the 'experience of learning.'
If the brain receives a shock (from an unexpected or unidentifiable stimuli) from, for example a UFO sighting (or something it does not anticipate), it evaluates risk based on the utility value of its stored memories; the brain assesses if it should seek or avoid a given object/event, and this informs its 'fight-or-flight' response.
If we train our brain to exercise its memory categorization ability, with, for example culturally identifiable monument recognition tests (e.g., Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, etc.), we can evaluate our cognitive ability to store object/event evaluations efficiently.
If our brain is 'over-taxed' or over-burdened in its memory categorization function, it can start to lose its evaluation function efficiency. Our mind would start to feel disorganized or even schizophrenic in its assessment of risk and prioritization.
Since the modern world is flooded with an cornucopia of stimuli (e.g., Facebook, CNN, highway traffic, consumerism/commerce, etc.), our minds feel 'taxed' by the obligation to filter, process, prioritize, and evaluate the value and relevance of all this stimuli.
We always make jokes about the modern world such as, "I have over 500 TV channels of junk food for my brain," but do we really realize how much our brains are being flooded with so much stimuli?
Some cognitive psychologists feel that this avalanche of unfiltered stimuli in the modern world could be making insensitive automatons out of people.
Could our brains' adaptive ability to organize perceptions be deteriorating?
The best remedy for this 'modern problem' is to consciously focus on priorities and filter out 'junk food.'
The danger of ignoring this general modern lifestyle prescription is that we could see forms of brain dementia and lethargy (e.g., Wilson's disease variants, schizophrenia variations, circulatory system disorder variations, etc.).
