What if your brain works like RAM?

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sillymofo

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Aug 11, 2003
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You go to sleep everynight waking up not knowing you did the day before, all your memories of previous events are gone. You would find out one day that you have this condition... what would you do when you discover this new? (Taken from that movie-50 first dates)


Edit:

Alright... so you all wanna be technical...

Since we don't really have slots where we could insert different memory modules, can we at least agree that our brains serve as storage and processing memory also? Lets say some of us have more storage capacity than others, and some have faster memory than others, yeah? Since I have never put together a human, and I don't know which wire goes where, I'm gonna have to hypothetically refer to the front part of my brain as RAM, and the lower part as storage.

I'm will also name the heart the CPU, since that's the closest thing to a CPU in our body (I know it doesn't process anything, or does it? , but it keeps timing). Our stomach would be the PSU, body both as motherboard and case, all other senses are input functions. Now that's out of the way, let's take a look at my original question.

When we go to sleep, it is very much like powering down a computer, you don't remove the plug from the wall, but simply shutting it down. Now, lets say your storage is full and you can only process information in RAM when you boot up, and you can't store any new information. Since you can't store anything, when you shut down (sleep), everything that was held in RAM is now dumped. When you're awake again, you'd still have everything in storage, but none that was processed the day before. Now if you suddenly come to realization that this is a disease you have (a virus may be?), will you format c:\?

There... shhheeeeshhh!!!11!1!!

 
Adam8281

Adam8281

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May 28, 2003
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Well, it could be ROM. Nothing new gets written to it, you are forever locked in to what was written when the condition began. Unlike RAM that would erase itself totally every day.
 
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sillymofo

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Aug 11, 2003
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Originally posted by: Adam8281
Well, it could be ROM. Nothing new gets written to it, you are forever locked in to what was written when the condition began. Unlike RAM that would erase itself totally every day.
Click to expand...

Yeah... I don't know why I typed ROM, I think I have that disease already.....:eek:
 
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gistech1978

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Aug 30, 2002
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Originally posted by: Adam8281
Well, it could be ROM. Nothing new gets written to it, you are forever locked in to what was written when the condition began. Unlike RAM that would erase itself totally every day.
Click to expand...

ROM would be like 'groundhog day'
 
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Wahsapa

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Jul 2, 2001
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if our brains were like "RAM" we would never really shut down and forget everything until we die, we would just be in 'sleep'(get it?) mode at night.
 
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sillymofo

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Aug 11, 2003
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Originally posted by: Wahsapa
if our brains were like "RAM" we would never really shut down and forget everything until we die, we would just be in 'sleep'(get it?) mode at night.
Click to expand...
How so? Your body is the computer, and your brain is like RAM, all information while processing is still there, until you shut down (sleep). When you wake up (bootup), shiets starts again, and your brain start filling with craps again....
 
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TitanDiddly

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Dec 8, 2003
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We watched a short video on honors psych today about a guy who lost his short term memory- and consequently, couldn't store long term memory anymore. He lived his life (in an institution) in two-minute spans. He constantly is thinking that he just woke up from the coma he knew he was in. He was an incredible musician, and can still perform and sing like he could before his hippocampus was damaged. Sad :(
 
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Wahsapa

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Jul 2, 2001
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Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
Originally posted by: Wahsapa
if our brains were like "RAM" we would never really shut down and forget everything until we die, we would just be in 'sleep'(get it?) mode at night.
Click to expand...
How so? Your body is the computer, and your brain is like RAM, all information while processing is still there, until you shut down (sleep). When you wake up (bootup), shiets starts again, and your brain start filling with craps again....
Click to expand...

but your not shutting down, your sleeping.

if your heart is the psu and power plant then your brain never really turns off until you die, when everything stops, thats being shut down. sleeping is just a inhibited state of being, like your computer sleeping.

when a computer is off no power is being supplied thats certainly not like going to sleep its more like dying. i was trying to make an analogy of how putting your computer to sleep is just like us sleeping.

more aptly the brain would be like a cpu with onchip ram(cache), the real ram of the computer would be a peice of paper and pen.... or would that be the hard drive? :confused:
 
S

sillymofo

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Aug 11, 2003
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Originally posted by: Wahsapa
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
Originally posted by: Wahsapa
if our brains were like "RAM" we would never really shut down and forget everything until we die, we would just be in 'sleep'(get it?) mode at night.
Click to expand...
How so? Your body is the computer, and your brain is like RAM, all information while processing is still there, until you shut down (sleep). When you wake up (bootup), shiets starts again, and your brain start filling with craps again....
Click to expand...

but your not shutting down, your sleeping.

if your heart is the psu and power plant then your brain never really turns off until you die, when everything stops, thats being shut down. sleeping is just a inhibited state of being, like your computer sleeping.

when a computer is off no power is being supplied thats certainly not like going to sleep its more like dying. i was trying to make an analogy of how putting your computer to sleep is just like us sleeping.

more aptly the brain would be like a cpu with onchip ram(cache), the real ram of the computer would be a peice of paper and pen.... or would that be the hard drive? :confused:
Click to expand...

Quit over analyzing, it makes you look stupid if anything. Just look at the question with a metaphorically mind and answer the question... fcuk. Do you have any friends?
 
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Wahsapa

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
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Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
Originally posted by: Wahsapa
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
Originally posted by: Wahsapa
if our brains were like "RAM" we would never really shut down and forget everything until we die, we would just be in 'sleep'(get it?) mode at night.
Click to expand...
How so? Your body is the computer, and your brain is like RAM, all information while processing is still there, until you shut down (sleep). When you wake up (bootup), shiets starts again, and your brain start filling with craps again....
Click to expand...

but your not shutting down, your sleeping.

if your heart is the psu and power plant then your brain never really turns off until you die, when everything stops, thats being shut down. sleeping is just a inhibited state of being, like your computer sleeping.

when a computer is off no power is being supplied thats certainly not like going to sleep its more like dying. i was trying to make an analogy of how putting your computer to sleep is just like us sleeping.

more aptly the brain would be like a cpu with onchip ram(cache), the real ram of the computer would be a peice of paper and pen.... or would that be the hard drive? :confused:
Click to expand...

Quit over analyzing, it makes you look stupid if anything. Just look at the question with a metaphorically mind and answer the question... fcuk. Do you have any friends?
Click to expand...

calm down, jesus christ, have a beer. if you didnt want to discuss this idea dont post.

i am looking at it metaphorically and finding flaws in the argument.
 
5

5ayle

Senior member
Sep 28, 2003
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Wahsapa's right though. Your memories and learned behavoir are like only recurring neural firings. Any sensation that you want to remember
 
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blahblah99

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Oct 10, 2000
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And everything you learn you retain, except when you step out into the sun, then you start losing memory!
 
5

5ayle

Senior member
Sep 28, 2003
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is the equivalent of recurring or more frequent neural firings in a particular neuron. If all the neural firings stopped (psu off - i.e. not sleeping cuz there's brain activity during sleep) in your brain and then restarted you wouldn't retain memory. It can be argued that neurotransmitter receptor sites are increased in the neuron that "remembers" so it also in a sense physical memory to an extent. I guess it's like a mix of RAM and ROM if there is such a thing.

my .02 and sorry for being a nerd....
 
konakona

konakona

Diamond Member
May 6, 2004
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I wish my brain worked like a solidstate drive, would run circles around your hdd based brains!
 
B

bdjohnson

Senior member
Oct 29, 2003
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Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox
We watched a short video on honors psych today about a guy who lost his short term memory- and consequently, couldn't store long term memory anymore. He lived his life (in an institution) in two-minute spans. He constantly is thinking that he just woke up from the coma he knew he was in. He was an incredible musician, and can still perform and sing like he could before his hippocampus was damaged. Sad :(
Click to expand...

that is really neat and sad at the same time. I really miss psych class.
 
C

Chu

Banned
Jan 2, 2001
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Interesting to note -- at the dawn of the industrial age philosophers of the time comapred our brains to great machines. At the dawn of the computer age the great philosophers of the time compared our brains to a complex computer. At the next great revolution in efficencly I have little down a new metaphor will appear.

From what relatives in medical schools tell me (I have FIVE doctors in the family), the brain is a very wiley beast . . . even in med school the metaphores appear everywhere, but the exceptions are so great they quicky become of little use . . .
 
Iron Woode

Iron Woode

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Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
31,303
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Actually I read a short Sci-Fi story about that.

It turned out to be an invasion by an alien race. They setup some satellites that interfered with short term and long term memory.

Really fascinating reading.

They eventaully destroyed the aliens but the result was their society ended up being at a pre industrialized level.
 
Freejack2

Freejack2

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2000
7,751
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If my brain works like ram then I must be storing my memories on a raid array with a messy directory structure.

It's all there but buried in odd directories that are difficult to access.
I know somewhere in my brain is stored what I had for breakfast 2 weeks ago but I'll be dammned if I can find that directory with the memory in it.
 
W

Wahsapa

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2001
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Originally posted by: Freejack2
If my brain works like ram then I must be storing my memories on a raid array with a messy directory structure.

It's all there but buried in odd directories that are difficult to access.
I know somewhere in my brain is stored what I had for breakfast 2 weeks ago but I'll be dammned if I can find that directory with the memory in it.
Click to expand...

that reminds me a sig... i think... went something like "everybody has photographic memory, but not everybody has film"
 
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