Interesting Facts

According to neuroscientists from the Salk institute, the human brain has 10 x more memory capacity than previously thought. (They measured the storage capacity of each synapse - the connections within the brain that are responsible for storing memories - and discovered that, on average, one synapse can hold about 4.7 bits of information. This means that the human brain has a capacity of one petabyte, or 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes. One petabyte is about the same as about 20 million four-drawer filing cabinets filled with text or about the same as 13.3 years of HD-TV recordings, or 4.7 billion books.   One big problem here: I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday. It all sounds very exciting, until you realise that Google handles 20 petabytes of data every day. And a mere 50 petabytes can hold the entire written works of humankind, from the beginning of recorded history, in all languages. I think we need to be able to upgrade our brains, or add bits, like...

According to Professor Brad Bushman, a psychologist of Ohio State University, the old adage, "Sex Sells", may no longer be true. In a recent study researchers found that people pay so much attention to the graphic material their minds are distracted from what is actually being promoted. (Prof Bushman said, 'Our findings have tremendous applied significance, especially for advertisers. Sex and violence do not sell, and in fact they may even backfire by impairing memory, attitudes and buying intentions for advertised products.' The study found viewers were less likely to remember ads when they were shown around films and TV programmes with explicit sexual or violent content and more likely to remember them during more family friendly material. Violence had an even more negative effect, and brands advertised during programmes or films in this genre were remembered less often, evaluated less favourably and less likely to be bought than products plugged alongsi...

According to research from Heinz Cup a Soup, 31% cent of Brits are so protective of their favourite cup or mug that they would never let anyone else drink from it. (In fact nearly 60% of Brits have an "emotional attachment" to their favourite mug, and a third said they would feel "angry" or "totally devastated" if their mug broke, with 42% adding that their favourite mug is not replaceable. According to food psychologist Christy Fergusson we become attached to these simple everyday objects.  Thaler coined the term 'endowment effect'. When we touch something, it almost becomes an extension of us. You can create a deeper connection to it and associate memories, emotions and feelings with objects. It's a mug!)

According to research carried out at Saarland University in Germany, a short nap at the office or in school significantly improves recall, they found that a nap 'produces a five-fold improvement in information retrieval from memory'. (Participants in the study learned 90 single words and 120 unconnected word pairs.  Some students then watched a DVD while others slept.   When they were then retested, those who had slept remembered more word pairs. I'm just going to close my eyes for a few minutes now.)

Good news for once! Some areas of the brain do not peak until we are in our fifties. (A published paper in the journal Psychological Science, states that each cognitive skill peaks at a different age. For example, raw speed in processing information appears to peak around age 18 or 19, then immediately starts to decline. Short-term memory continues to improve until around age 25, when it levels off and then begins to drop around age 35. The ability to recognize faces improves until the early 30s before gradually starting to decline,  but the ability to evaluate another person's emotional state peaks in our 40s or 50s. At 60 we are still learning new vocabulary skills, and between 60 - 70+: our intelligence actually peaks. I think the main point is, just keep learning, keep on learning, learn, learn learning.)

According to research carried out at the University of Sydney, playing chess at a young age can raise a child's IQ, improve their memory and teach them how to take responsibility for their actions. (Dr Peter Dauvergne believes that chess is one of the most effective teaching tools to prepare children for a world increasingly swamped by information and ever tougher decisions I believe it's actually compulsory in Armenia. I wonder when World of Warcraft will be given the same recognition.)

Regulars to the sessions will know that I have a rubbish memory, and I'm not alone.  According to a report commissioned by Post-it sticky note pads, the average person forgets around 4 things a day.  That adds up to 1,460 things every year. (Here are the top 10 things you are most likely to forget . . . Why you went into a room. Where you put your keys. Things you wanted to buy at the shops.  People’s names after you meet them. Where you put your pen. Taking meat out to defrost. To respond to an email. To mail something What you wanted to search for online. Where you parked your car. How many things did I say I was going to write?)

According to research from the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in France and University College London, the brain begins to lose sharpness of memory and powers of reasoning and understanding from as early as 45. (Previously it was thought that this began around the age of 60, but the researchers found that the brains of even the youngest were already in decline. There was a 3.6% decline in the mental reasoning of men and of women aged 45 to 49 and the process appeared to have sped up in the older age groups. Men aged 65 to 70 had a decline of 9.6% while women fared a little better, at 7.4%. The good news is that there are things that can be done about it. Looking after the heart has been shown to help the head, studies show that people with high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol who are at high risk of heart problems, are also at higher risk of dementia. Or maybe as we get older, we simply forget to exercise and eat properly.)

Scientists at Columbia University, say that using internet search engines and databases to find information is making people lose their memory. (They're calling it (a bit unfairly) the Google effect, which they say shows people develop poor recall of knowledge if they know where answers to questions are easily found. So, now I know what to blame. Now what was I saying?) Full Story

Doctors at CPS research have said that as life becomes more hectic and we are overloaded with information we are becoming more forgetful. (They've even given the condition an abbreviated name SCI (Subjective Cognitive Impairment).  So, if you've been getting forgetful, you now know what it's called - just as long as you can remember it.)

The storage capacity of the human brain is around 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes). (For example, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder there would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the telly running for 300 years to use it all up!  Actually, that would be really good - I've nearly run out of my 80 hours recording time!!) Source - Scientific American

In memory tests run by researchers at Plymouth University people who doodled performed 29% better than people who didn't doodle. (According to the researchers doodling stops people from daydreaming, which is a more taxing diversion, and so it's good at helping people focus on mundane tasks. Unfortunately I'm a daydreamer, and yes, I have a terrible memory.)

The ability to ignore information makes for a better memory. (So you had better ignore all the information on this blog. Otherwise your brain will be full.)