5th Sethe

picture link What if humans had the power of glancing at something and immediately having a photographic image of it ingrained into their memory? What if instead of studying for a test you were able to memorize the contents of the textbook instantly?  In fact, there are people who possess some extent of this so-called superpower, or photographic memory. For example, people working in the crime and investigation department often rely on their memory to recall important details regarding the case. Memorizing car license plates, street addresses, and dialogues are all a part of the fundamental skills that police officers, investigators, and other federal agents are required to master.  Memorization skills can be improved however, with practice. Techniques such as active recall can help stimulate the brain to remember certain events with more precision.  However, if we were all to have photographic memory, then the significance of memory itself wanes. Human memory is imperfec...

          Although we often consider memory as a concept rooted in the mental realm, it can have a definite and measurable effect on our physical states. In fact, there are plenty of examples of memories having a quantifiable impact on our bodies.      An admittedly grim example of this is the condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder, otherwise known as PTSD. This disorder most commonly develops in people who have developed trauma from an upsetting or disturbing experience, specifically the kind that persists for an extended period of time. The National Institute of Mental Health states that individuals diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder are afflicted with what is known as “re-experiencing symptoms,” which can include “physical symptoms” such as a “racing heart or sweating.” In short, it is the memories of the event that they experienced that is having a demonstrable effect on their bodies. The link between memory and ph...

4/27/22  Memorial Mentality Picture Link Memory. Memory is something that we all have but share little bits of. Memory affects each of us in many ways. Memory is something of an odd sort that can be used to influence our actions and how we approach certain things and events. We all associate our memories and past emotions to events that took place within those memories. An example of this could be the school we all hate taking tests and the many grueling times we do in AP English 11 or the carefree relaxing thoughts of summer without school and free of homework, tests, and timed writes. Our view on everything is dependent on our memories of these things another example could be Disneyland or Hollywood Studios and the exhilarating fun experiences you have had on the rides and the anticipation while waiting in the lines to get on those bright shining and climate rides such as the rapids or Matterhorn or even The Simpsons ride these thoughts being you to those emotions of amazement th...

  What does memory mean for other animals? I have been thinking about memory for a while and it occurred to me that humans can’t possibly be the only creatures to remember the past… well they kind of are. It turns out, according to an experiment done by Stockholm University, apart from a few crucial things like food, most animals forget things in a matter of seconds. The experiment was conducted with the use of small lights, and seeing if the animal would react to a color or shape the researchers had shown it before. It is astonishing how animals do not have a function we seem to take for granted. At the same time however, it almost makes sense that animals other than humans wouldn’t have a developed memory, because they have no real need for it. I mean a chipmunk doesn’t have to remember names and dates, and a bear sure doesn’t need to remember what it has for homework. Memory is a skill developed because we had need of it. We have evolved to remember our past because that informa...

picture link As technology continues to advance in today's world, more and more people are interested in its effects on memory. Many scientists and people tend to focus on the negative impacts of memory. For instance, technology can worsen your memory and ability to recall and store information. It just takes a few seconds to Google something and many people prefer this to the alternative of trying to figure out the answer using their memory. Throughout the past few years, one of the main concerns surrounding technology has been that an over-use of technology would make people too reliant on it and that it may harm our ability to remember things. Despite this, technology can be a pretty useful tool to effectively use external memory (memory that uses cues from the environment to aid the remembrance of ideas and sensations). In an article I read recently by psychologytoday.com, the author mentions that humans have been using external memory for thousands of years. In the past, it m...

Recently I learned that a friend of mine lost her mother at a very young age. It made me incredibly appreciative of my own mother and curious about the role of memories in coping with loss. It seems to me that people most often discuss their valiant efforts to escape unwanted memories. We distract ourselves from the embarrassing, the traumatic, the disgusting and go to extreme lengths to rid ourselves of all. Thus, a less common but perhaps more interesting topic is the way people also find comfort and safety in memories. Those who have lost loved ones may “spend time” with them by flipping through photo albums or watching videos and reliving experiences from years long-past. Knowing that old family and friends are within (mental) grasp can provide a sense of security for people in mourning, though the benefits of this are lessened by the fact that memory’s natural tendency to fade over time can be a source of great distress, and at times painful recollections of deceased loved ones ma...

 What would happen if we could not create memories? What would that limitation even look like? In psychology I learned that damage to significant parts of the brain connected memory formation and processing, such as the hippocampus, can make a lasting impact on someone's life. After an accident that took a toll on parts of his brain, one man could not even recognize his own face because he only remembered what he looked like before the accident. However, he did not stay distraught for long because after a short time he forgot what he began being worried about. He is living in a short-term memory bubble. Not having the capacity to remember information would equate to a loss of identity and that is an extremely scary concept. Experiencing the events that life throws at us, including but not limited to various emotions and obstacles, allows us to grow as human beings. Dealing with complex problems helps us with future decision making, encourages resilience in hard times, and promotes ...

  Elephant vs. Human Siya Patil APENG P5      Having a memory “of an elephant” is a commonly heard-of allusion referring to the great memories belonging to elephants, and it is doubtful that you haven’t heard it many times in your life before. Unfortunately, this type of memory is (unfortunately) not gifted to the human species, but that does not mean we should stop ourselves from exploring the differences between an elephant and a human brain.      Firstly, one of the greatest differences between the two brains is the number of neurons in each. According to an article by Forbes, the brain of an African elephant has 257 billion neurons, versus the 86 billion neurons belonging to humans. So, automatically, elephants take the lead for the greater “brain power” in a way. Yet, humans are still ranked as #1 on the list of the smartest mammals, so shouldn’t the number of neurons in the human versus elephant brain be reflected in the ranking?  To simply ...

6 April 2022 Picture Link Void of Significance Everyone has had a time when they have forgotten an important detail or event that has happened. We all have experienced this forgetfulness especially with our memories and experiences that we have accumulated. We all hold onto our memories however we do lose a lot of these important memories and a prime example of this would be dreams for example. For the most part when we wake up from a dream the memory of that dream is already fading into our subconscious. We often forget around 50-80% of the things we learn in a day and, oftentimes children will tend to block out memories subconsciously that were particularly traumatic. If you think about it, no person has a perfect memory and we all will forget things from time to time whether you want to admit it or not we all are guilty of this. This void of memories is a normal thing that often times goes unnoticed because of its insignificance and the insignificance of something that can't be ...

     There are two sides to memory. One side is the positive allowing you to capture great times in your life, and the other forces you to remember times that you wish to forget. Some events in our lives, like significant accomplishments or just happy moments, are things we hope to remember forever. We consciously want to keep these events stored in our memory and hope to revisit them to feel our past bliss. These types of memories are helpful when you are feeling distraught because you can tap into a part of your brain that reminds you of the feeling of happiness. Memories also help us live our lives better: for example, memories can help us make better decisions in the future. Like Lauren Gravitz says in an article published by  Nature News,  "[Memories] shape our understanding of the world and help us to predict what's coming" (Gravitz). By reflecting on memories, we no longer have to make the same mistakes multiple times, and instead, we can do things correc...

  What will be our legacy? The blogs of the last week have done an excellent job of exploring what we remember and why we remember. However, I want to talk about how we will be remembered. I know we’re only in high school and no one wants to think about this kind of thing right now, but when thinking about memory, I kept thinking about how I would be remembered. What will I leave on this earth after I die? What will be in the history books if I even appear in them? I know that I want to create new things. Learn about this world and protect the good people in it. I guess that makes me sound pretentious. I guess I can live with that. After all, what determines if we are remembered, or what for? If we look at history, men and women are remembered for their actions. What they have given to humankind, or sometimes taken away. I think it’s important to think about what we want to be remembered for, so that more than a goal in life, we have a goal of something to leave behind. After all, ...

picture link A dream is a series or collection of sensations, thoughts, and images that occur in a person's mind when they are sleeping. Some people may say that they are a window to the subconscious mind. Others say that they are just a result of the brain activity that takes place while we sleep. Some dreams can be very vivid or scary and are often forgotten the next day. It is a known fact that most dreams are forgotten over the course of the night. Personally, I could probably count all of the dreams I have ever remembered for more than a few days on my fingers. So if dreams are not usually memorable, what makes us remember dreams, and what makes us forget them? In an article I recently read, it mentioned that there may be a simple explanation for why we do not remember dreams. It may be due to the brain's sorting of essential and nonessential information while we are asleep. This theory suggests that while our brain processes the information, the nonessential information ...

One of my personal fears is memory loss, otherwise known as amnesia, specifically of the kind that is so often portrayed in movies and other media. The idea of becoming a dispassionate observer to the events and people that I once held dear is something that chills me to the very bone. But why do I fear amnesia to such an extent? Perhaps it is because I have intuitively made a connection between memory and identity. To me, it seems as though someone who has lost a significant portion of their memories has, in essence, lost a part of themselves. Allow me to rephrase the situation, which may still be unclear. In my very first blog post (written with our first blog cohorts), I discussed the Ship of Theseus, an interesting thought experiment which asks whether a ship that has all of its parts replaced is still the ship that it once was. In a somewhat similar sense, this concept can be applied to memory: if we take away someone’s memories, is the same person left behind? It may be a lit...

  I had several stressful encounters with my own faulty memory earlier today during my POAS presentation. Though I made a script and read it several times, I still feared the possibility of standing in front of the class and instantly forgetting everything I had memorized. Fortunately that did not happen, and though I am irritated that I forgot to mention a few key details, the presentation still went decently well, and I am grateful that my memory did not completely fail me! Yet it is annoying to recall that in one of my classes today, the girl sitting next to me was talking about her dog and I suddenly remembered vividly the day she told me about buying that Goldendoodle in sixth grade--and its name! I am incredibly dismayed that my brain chose to remember this rather than important information about Jane Goodall. Then again, I know that circumstances make a difference in the ability to recall information. I was admittedly nervous when presenting and I am sure that made all the d...

  If you are like me and school drains your energy, then you are probably also like me, in that you like taking naps. My nap taking skills are exceptional, maybe even reaching historical levels. Unless there is something keeping me busy, other than homework, I have had the same after school routine since seventh grade. I come home from another exhausting day, sit on the kitchen table to have another one of my mother’s home cooked meals, and then fall into a deep sleep for around two to three hours depending on the day. Afterwards, I start my homework and do whatever else I need to do around the house or for extracurriculars. It is not a particularly efficient way to get things done, but it works for me. Recently, it has gotten better because my parents have been forcing me to get into bed by eleven P.M. and then I automatically get tired and go to sleep, but I still somehow find a way to get my naps in. However, thinking more about it, I have realized that it is probably unhealthy ...

picture link Many of us most likely possess a pleasant memory of something enjoyable that has occurred in our lives. For example, I may remember a specific day at school very vividly. Now, I am not saying that I remember exactly what I wore that day, or what I had for lunch. In my case, what I remember about that day was wearing cow pants with my friends and receiving a compliment from Mr. Cain. I remember going home that day in a happy mood with a smile on my face. Memories like these are created with the people around you.   Oftentimes you will hear the phrase saying that it's not where you spend your time, but who you spend it with. As humans, it is our natural instinct to interact and develop social networks with others. The memories that fill our hearts is a major defining characteristic of how we lead our lives. Similarly, we may not always remember what a person says to us, but we will always remember how they make us feel. Words are merely just a means of communication...

 Memories and Myths Siya Patil APENG P5           A lot of the fascinating things we hear about our minds and memories may seem too good to be true. And, quite frankly, they probably are! Some of the most common myths about memory include the belief that memory could act like a video recorder and the enforcement of hypnosis on one’s brain can cause forgotten memories to resurface once again. While these concepts may sound cool, it still remains a myth! One of the myths which stood out to me is the myth that memory is supposedly just like a tape recorder. According to an article by iLs Australia, this means that we presume that we have recorded an event which pertains to accuracy, but this is not quite true. Even the most emotionally charged or intriguing memories cannot be recalled to a guaranteed accuracy, no matter how realistic the playback of the memory is. For example, if you were to think about a previous conversation you had with someone, you ...