Re: memory and improvisation

[Stan Card <stanitarium@earthlink.net>]

maybe thats whats happening to my 'doggone'loops after i'm done w/ them.

s


on 9/28/01 11:13 AM, Matthias Grob at matthias@grob.org wrote:

>> At 5:39 PM -0500 9/26/01, jim palmer wrote:
>> 
>>> i heard of a theory of memory where it acts like a pack of ten dogs.
>>> you send the dogs out looking for the ball and they run out into
>>> the woods, here and there, until one happily comes running back with 
>it.
> 
> Richard wrote:
> 
>> My understanding of this metaphor is that the retrieval of memories
>> is a distributed task. A number of semiautonomous mechanisms (dogs)
>> are activated at once, but not all of them succeed in retrieving the
>> desired information. This certainly seems like what my brain might
>> be doing when I'm groping for stored information. I frequently put
>> my brain on "dredge" when I can't think of something (such as
>> someone's name) immediately. Most of the time it pops to the surface
>> later on, after I've stopped consciously trying.
> 
> right: I was tought once that its important to forget about the
> question to get the answer. While we show the dogs what the smell of
> the thing is, they cannot search for it. We have to let the dogs run!
> Maybe looping technology helps to liberate the dogs... :-)