Human Memory

The human mind is a fickle creature. It is prone to dozens of cognitive biases, and the way it is strengthened, is paradoxical:

To learn, you must forget

The above is a mantra all my students are familiar with, and derives from an understanding of Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve.

Additionally, the human-mind is highly fragile:

• vulnerable to brain damage (dementia)
• psychological impairments

And biologically expensive:

• contributes a meagre 2% of the human mass
• is responsible for 20% of the body’s energy consumption.

Whilst this sword is double-edged; it enables our creativity, capacity for complex thought, reasoning, etc.; the design of this organ leads to largely improper use by its hosts.

Analogously, we may consider our smartphone with an “App” called “Brain”. This app – although capable – immediately drains your battery by 20%. Suddenly, it’s not an app that you would prefer to use.

Once again, the strengthening of the brain muscle becomes an unintuitive, paradoxical concept—a recurring motif.

This page serves as a rolodex for the following leaf blogs: