| January 15, 2004 Dreaming, Memory, and Chromosomal RAM and ROM --I’m going to take the common perception that our minds are just like a computer’s hard drive and process (pun intended) it a little further. We input information, store information, and delete information just like a hard drive, everyone already knows that. But I’m also proposing that each human has a memory capacity quota, or “disk” quota, which varies from individual to individual and that this explains why some people are smarter than others. I also believe each human has a distinct amount of Chromosomal RAM and ROM, which I’ll explain later. You see, a disk quota, as it is referred to by computer specialists (but referring the human mind as a disk seems so haughty), is a restrictive measure taken by an administrator to regulate the amount of file space a certain user or computer can fill up on a particular hard drive, or “disk”. This precaution prevents a hard drive from filling up and becoming inoperable. My theory is that God, being The Administrator, set “disk” quotas on us for some reason. How it works is a person is born with a predefined memory capacity quota and from about 4 or 5 years of age (basically the time when humans begin to remember things) their brain, or “disk”, begins to accumulate memory and increase in “file size”. This would explain a human’s gathering of knowledge as it grows. We learn things and they are logged into the brain as memory. It is simple so far. Our brain is like an organic hard drive (Intelligent Design Theory anyone??) continuously writing information to the disk. Where the disk quota comes into play is when we reach that threshold (such a cool word). When a real computer’s or user’s disk quota is reached, the network server can be set to automatically purge, or remove, files to allow for the new files to be saved. I believe the same happens in humans. When we reach our disk quota, we have to purge some information already written onto the disk to make room for the new memory. This would explain why we “forget” things that we previously knew; the information has simply been erased from our data banks. For example, you got a 98% on the chemistry test you took back high school because you crammed tons of information in the night before. But if I asked you what a double covalent bond is, you’d twiddle your thumbs for a while. This is because your disk quota limit has been reached and certain files have been erased to make room for new ones. Also, chances are the information you crammed was written onto your “temporary” drive which has the tendency to undulate resources much more frequent than the main folder. Important events usually occupy the main folder such as deaths in the family, first kiss, etc. The temporary folder contains more trivial information such as chemistry equations, phone numbers, and directions to the party. (Some people would love to learn by osmosis of like they do in the Matrix movies, but that sort of influx of large amounts of data would not only reach the mind's disk quota quickly without purging, it would overload mental resources of the human rendering it inoperable. One could die from such a hasty influx) Our minds also have a form of “file priority”. We chose which files are most important to retain and usually lock them up for safe keeping. The aforementioned trivial information is pretty low on the priority list, so when it comes time to purge the hard drive, we select the most unimportant information to delete. This whole purging process of course happens subconsciously and we are unaware and file management is taking place. Another aspect of the human memory that requires attention is what I call Chromosomal RAM and ROM. RAM (Random Access Memory) is as you all know the inherit power the computer has to read and write processes on the fly. ROM (Read-only Memory) is embedded data that can be read but not modified. The amount each human has is dependent on what the inherited from their parents. Chromosomal RAM acts as our ability to process information. As I’m sure you experienced, some people in this world are “slower” than others. Or maybe some people take longer to understand a joke or witty comment than others. These persons have lower RAM capabilities. This also affects disk(hard drive) properties in that a person’s ability to gather knowledge is directly related to the speed in which they can process and write that information onto their mind’s hard drive. That explains why some people don’t have to study so much as others to learn the same thing. They have more Chromosomal RAM. Chromosomal ROM comes into play concerning our innate abilities. When people are referred to as being “gifted”, it’s just a layman’s term for the fact that they have high Chromosomal ROM comparatively. Some people have more embedded instinctual data then others and this gives them an edge right out of the box (or I should say “tummy”). Athleticism is a direct result of a person’s Chromosomal ROM. Whereas Chromosomal RAM refers to a person’s ability and speed to adapt and process circumstances, Chromosomal ROM refers to a person’s natural instinctive abilities apart from “learning” anything. This explains the notion of “beginner’s luck” when applied to subjective circumstance. Now the amount of hard drive space and Chromosomal ROM and RAM each human has isn’t quantifiable except in statistical relation to others. There are no standard units to measure it like we can measure disk space and RAM in bytes. Maybe in the future, we will discover more exegetical means to measure these qualities, but for know it’s just observational theory. I also haven’t’ a clue when the mind capacity quota limit has been reached. And even if it hasn’t been reached, I still believe we recycle information stored in our temporary memory folders. It’s possible our Chromosomal RAM could interact with out temporary folder and in essence giving it infinite space, but only by continually deleting low priority information. But Chromosomal RAM allows for the writing of memory over and over...sort of like how CDR-RW works. You can write memory onto a CD once, but you can also delete and rewrite new information on that same disc, giving you limitless memory transfer but at a cost of temporal finite space. Anyways, chew on my theories. They make sense to me....sort of. I contemplated all this whilst trying to understand the dynamics of dreaming and why we do. I’ve yet to explain why we dream and where these dreams come from. Keeping with the whole “computer” correlation, I believe dreaming could be a type of “idle” process we do. Or maybe even a “screensaver” type process. It’s obvious we don’t die when we sleep and come back to life, so even though our minds and bodies don’t technically shut off, they do go into a type “sleep” mode (no pun intended). It’s possible during this time the Chromosomal RAM runs an idle thread (process) that reads and writes bits and pieces of information from our memory onto the subconscious (which is sort of like a remote disk on our minds). What I can’t explain is why dreams seem to include information that is fantastical in nature instead of objective. The imagination sector of our minds may prove to be a real wrench in my whole theory. Oh well... You might be thinking my interest in quantifying and mechanizing the human mind is an attempt to deify a supernatural source. But au contrare mon frere. My theories only further the case for an intelligent “computer” Maker. There’s no way such complex and robust organic “systems” could’ve been assembled by “chance” of naturalistic evolutionary means. No my friends, such design only points to a Designer... |