Memory: The Illusion of Distinct Moments

Tied into our mind's perception, the input from which we piece together the beautiful intricacies of reality, is a subtle illusion. Our mind can store vast amounts of information within the neurological hierarchy of network signals. But the information is "stamped" with a vague notion of time. The temporal association is created by enveloping other distinct memories and our precise knowledge of an event time is only as good as it's neighbors (see wikipedia's memory). Our state of knowledge isn't continually flowing or changing like the world around us. Only through the feedback of repeated observations can we maintain even a cursory connection to "the state of reality".

We are best served by knowing canonical facts, and understanding the connections between fixed, high confidence points. From these discrete thoughts we can interpolate between events to recreate a guess at truth, or even extrapolate trends and do our best to capitalize on our predictive confidence.

A Digression on Science

But rigorous analysis is far from easy. Complex mathematical definitions are inaccessible to the average person. The commitment to learning an entirely new language requires great interest. While necessary for understanding the building blocks of concepts like Quantum Mechanics, even the greatest physicists and mathematicians will be challenged to bridge the gap between their memories and essential truth (cognitive bias).

If you dabble in several disciplines like myself, you can quickly be overwhelmed by topical jargon. While many concepts are shared between subjects like math, physics, and engineering, the implementation details and equation nomenclatures differ. This added layer of confusion does little to help cross field collaboration.

Images Over Time Help

The observation of discrete image capture in sequence reveals vital temporal causality. Repeatedly watching a video not only enforces memory but encourages observation of nuances and their effect at each moment. We are able to train ourselves to store sequences of memories in great detail. An interesting example of this can be found with Massive Multiplayer Online "Raiders". Fellow World of Warcraft players go through similar scenarios of AI driven loosely scripted events. The challenge for group success is based on rapid response, identification, and prediction. Of course a minimum gear (character item strength) efficacy must be satisfied throughout the group. Repeat attempts at a pseudo choreographed execution, improve cued response time and rapid reaction to unexpected events. Entrepreneur's are challenged with discovering value generation applications for folks who enjoy developing this expertise (it's on my to do list).

All of us are observers of life. Our singular perspective is shared and validated by repeated measurements. On the whole, collaborative observations and hypothesized relationships become stronger from diverse views.