The Memory
Memory forms one of the central pillars of human learning and performance. Of particular relevance are the human brain, its capability for learning and adaptation, neuroplasticity, and the diverse forms of memory. Together, these aspects establish the broader memory-related context in which Ultima Memoria (UM) is situated.
The Brain
The human brain is a highly complex organ
The human brain is arguably the most fascinating and complex organ in the body. Billions of nerve cells (neurons) and many times more contact points (synapses) give rise to capabilities that no supercomputer can match, probably not even in the foreseeable future.
One of its most important capabilities is the ability to learn.
The brain in numbers
At around 1,500 grams, the brain is remarkable: approximately 86 billion nerve cells (neurones) enable us to think, feel, taste, smell, and much more.
The average human brain has a mass of about 1,310 g. On average, male brains have a greater mass, whereas female brains tend to have a higher density.
- The mass of the average male brain: 1,375 g
- The mass of the average female brain: 1,245 g
- The mass of Albert Einstein’s brain: 1,230 g
- The number of elementary (subatomic) particles in the universe is estimated at 10⁷⁹.
- By contrast, the storage capacity of the human brain is often expressed as about 10¹⁵⁰ discrete items or units.
- The brain is metabolically demanding. It makes up only about 2% of body mass, yet it accounts for roughly 25% of the body’s daily energy use. In a 2,000-kcal daily energy budget, that is in the order of 500 kcal devoted to maintaining brain function.
The brain — a supercomputer with unimaginable storage capacity
- The number of elementary (subatomic) particles in the universe is estimated at 1079.
- By contrast, the storage capacity of the human brain is often expressed as about 10150 discrete items or units.
- The brain is metabolically demanding. It makes up only about 2% of body mass, yet it accounts for roughly 25% of the body’s daily energy use. In a 2,000-kcal daily energy budget, that is in the order of 500 kcal devoted to maintaining brain function.
Learning & Neuroplasticity
- How the brain works
- How the brain learns something new
One of the brain’s most important capabilities is its ability to learn. Yet how can a network of neurones learn in the first place?
Contrary to earlier assumptions, neurones are not generated only at birth. Even the adult brain can produce new neurones well into old age.
Around 1,400 neurones are formed each day.
The formation of new neurones*
Brain cells continually form new patterns of connectivity, a capacity known as neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is an umbrella term for “the physical changes in the brain brought about by experience”.
"Our brain is capable of constantly improving, adapting and integrating new cells into its networks [...]"
These newly generated neurones are more flexible than existing ones and can establish new connections more readily. This has direct implications for memory, learning, and, ultimately, intelligence.
Memory as the Foundation of Learning Ability
Can the ability to learn be improved systematically?
“We do not yet truly know how the brain works…”
A single human brain can store more knowledge than all the world’s libraries combined. Everything humanity has ever built, manufactured, written, crafted as poetry, or composed as music began as an idea in the human mind. Yet the brain’s inner workings — how it functions, and what it is capable of in full — remain far from completely understood. Much is still unknown.
Types of memory — human memory is a true masterpiece
- Ultra-short-term memory (USTM): retention for a few milliseconds
- Short-term memory / working memory (STM/WM): retention from a few seconds up to minutes. The capacity of short-term memory is genetically determined and cannot be increased through training.
- Long-term memory (LTM): enduring long-term retention
The brain is the most active of our organs — often compared, by analogy, to a supercomputer.
Recent research from
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia (Missouri)
- Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis (Missouri)
- Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington (Indiana)
have shown that human working-memory capacity converges at approximately 3.35 items. In summary, a capacity of around 3.35 items appears to be the norm.
Requirements for Memory Performance
A high-performing memory, and a high-performing memory system in the twenty-first century, must be assessable against clearly defined, precise and measurable criteria. These include the capacity of the memory, the speed of memorisation and recall, the form of expression and precision of reproduction, the temporal availability of what has been learned, the degree of recall and accurate reproduction, as well as the measurability and practical value of memory.
These criteria also provide the standard by which classical, modern and Ultima Memoria (UM)-specific conceptions of memory are classified and compared. Their systematic assessment requires the precise operationalisation of the underlying parameters. On this basis, Ultima Memoria (UM) was developed as a memory system that translates these parameters into measurable structures.
What can a high-performing memory / memory system accomplish, what must it be capable of, and by what criteria should it be assessed in relation to the following areas?
- 01The capacity of the memory
- 02The speed of the memory
- 03The form of expression and precision of the memory
- 04The temporal availability of what has been learned
- 05The degree of recall and accurate reproduction
- 06The measurability of the above-mentioned categories of memory
- 07The practical value of memory
- 08Learning methods / Learning systems
- 09The practical value of learning methods / learning systems
- 10Anatomy and physiology of memory
- The capacity of the memory was not captured.
- The capacity of the memory was determined.
- On average, it amounts to 3.35 units of information — (items/chunks).
- The capacity of the memory was measured and recorded in standardised form as an exact value.
- The speed of the memory was not captured.
- The speed of the memory was captured.
- The speed of the memory was measured and recorded in standardised form as an exact value.
- The form of expression and precision of the memory was not captured.
- The form of expression and precision of the memory was captured.
- Over time, the form of expression and precision declines markedly.
- The form of expression and precision of the memory was measured and recorded in standardised form as an exact value.
- The form of expression and precision remains constant.
- The temporal availability of what has been learned was not captured.
- The temporal availability of what has been learned was captured.
- The temporal availability of what has been learned was measured and recorded in standardised form as an exact value.
- The temporal availability of what has been learned is a constant-linear parameter.
- The degrees of recall and accurate reproduction decline markedly over time.
- The degrees of recall and accurate reproduction are variable functions of time and therefore time-dependent.
- As a rule, repeated revision of what has been learned is necessary at certain time intervals.
- The degrees of recall and accurate reproduction decline markedly over time.
- The degrees of recall and accurate reproduction are variable functions of time and therefore time-dependent.
- As a rule, repeated revision of what has been learned is necessary at certain time intervals.
- The degrees of recall and accurate reproduction remain constant.
- The degrees of recall and accurate reproduction are constant functions of time.
- Repetition of what has been learned is not necessary.
- The measurability of memory capabilities was not captured.
- Memory capabilities were partially captured as measurable parameters.
- Memory capabilities were fully captured as measurable parameters.
- The practical value of memory for the individual was not captured.
- The practical value of memory for society was not captured.
- The practical value of memory for the individual was recognised.
- The practical value of memory for society was recognised.
- The practical value of memory for the individual was comprehensively captured.
- The practical value of memory for society was comprehensively captured.
- Learning methods are generally based on repeated revision of the learning material.
- Learning methods are generally based on repeated revision of the learning material.
- The Ultima Memoria (UM) learning system requires no repeated review of the learning material and, if repetition proves necessary at all, limits it to no more than three passes.
- The practical value of learning methods for the individual was not captured.
- The practical value of learning methods for society was not captured.
- The practical value of learning methods for the individual was recognised.
- The practical value of learning methods for society was recognised.
- The practical value of the Ultima Memoria (UM) learning system for the individual was comprehensively captured.
- The practical value of the Ultima Memoria (UM) learning system for society was comprehensively captured.