Am enjoying scrolling through some of your previous topical posts on your interesting mix of online venues and came here via a Ko-Fi sidebar. The topic of Human Memory has been on my mind more later in life... some of that interest energy I ascribe to as just out of my normal curiosity, and some out of seeing the decay of Memory in my fellow senior citizens.
I definitely got an initial jolt back in the late 90's from Antonio Damasio's seminal and groundbreaking book "Descartes' Error", which I occasionally must reread chapters on (heady stuff), and am finally now getting into his follow-on efforts that further explore Consciousness, decision-making etc, which are inexorably coupled to our emotions and memory.
The concept that really resonated with me as I was changing careers from Electrical Engineering to Wine was that of Somatic Markers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_marker_hypothesis). I found my ability to memorize the vast knowledge base of Wine and all of its organoleptic underpinnings was closely tied to associatively linking sensations (sound/music, images of place or people, tastes and smells). Essentially, it's like a relational database and any one of those or a combination can effectively "rivet in, or anchor" a memory of data/factoid or of a sensation.
Indeed, another manifestation of this is evident from a famous quote that you probably know:
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
— Maya Angelou
Anyway, I also need to get back to another fascination of mine (besides the Fermi Paradox), Quantum Entanglement, that you have been writing about - so will undoubtedly comment on them at some point.
Wish you more energy to keep up the curiosity and writing; always good reads.
I'm thrilled you stumbled upon my writing, and even more so that you're enjoying what you've read so far. It's always a joy to encounter another curious mind.
I love that you transitioned from a career in electrical engineering to one in wine. What a fabulous plot twist in your story. I also share in your interest regarding Somatic Markers, though mine stems from my time as a license massage therapist and using aromatherapy versus taste. It all kinda of reminds me of synesthesia and I'm curious how someone with the gift would experience somatic markers versus someone without it. But I suppose that's a topic for another day.
In the mean time, I look forward to future comments from you. Thank you for sharing and for your kindness. I appreciate you Marc!
Evening Katrina,
Am enjoying scrolling through some of your previous topical posts on your interesting mix of online venues and came here via a Ko-Fi sidebar. The topic of Human Memory has been on my mind more later in life... some of that interest energy I ascribe to as just out of my normal curiosity, and some out of seeing the decay of Memory in my fellow senior citizens.
I definitely got an initial jolt back in the late 90's from Antonio Damasio's seminal and groundbreaking book "Descartes' Error", which I occasionally must reread chapters on (heady stuff), and am finally now getting into his follow-on efforts that further explore Consciousness, decision-making etc, which are inexorably coupled to our emotions and memory.
The concept that really resonated with me as I was changing careers from Electrical Engineering to Wine was that of Somatic Markers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_marker_hypothesis). I found my ability to memorize the vast knowledge base of Wine and all of its organoleptic underpinnings was closely tied to associatively linking sensations (sound/music, images of place or people, tastes and smells). Essentially, it's like a relational database and any one of those or a combination can effectively "rivet in, or anchor" a memory of data/factoid or of a sensation.
Indeed, another manifestation of this is evident from a famous quote that you probably know:
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
— Maya Angelou
Anyway, I also need to get back to another fascination of mine (besides the Fermi Paradox), Quantum Entanglement, that you have been writing about - so will undoubtedly comment on them at some point.
Wish you more energy to keep up the curiosity and writing; always good reads.
Cheers,
-Marc
Hello Marc!
I'm thrilled you stumbled upon my writing, and even more so that you're enjoying what you've read so far. It's always a joy to encounter another curious mind.
I love that you transitioned from a career in electrical engineering to one in wine. What a fabulous plot twist in your story. I also share in your interest regarding Somatic Markers, though mine stems from my time as a license massage therapist and using aromatherapy versus taste. It all kinda of reminds me of synesthesia and I'm curious how someone with the gift would experience somatic markers versus someone without it. But I suppose that's a topic for another day.
In the mean time, I look forward to future comments from you. Thank you for sharing and for your kindness. I appreciate you Marc!