The ability to encode, store, and then recall information and past experiences is memory. The sum total of what we remember provides the capability to learn and adapt from previous experiences. Recalling memories modifies our behavior thereby providing us protection from dangers, helping us to establish relationships, and creating for us
the world in which each uniquely experience the world.
At the physiological or neurological level a set of encoded neural connections fire off as experiences or activities from the past are experienced again. This firing of neurons occurs throughout the brain as the reconstruction of events occurs. Think of a collage of pictures, or a jigsaw puzzle, rather than information stored neatly in a library.
Closely related but distinct to memory is learning. The process we use to acquire knowledge of the world is learning. As we learn, we modify our behaviour. During the process of learning, separate neurons fire as a specific group, which subsequently produces a particular experience. Because we learned this experience, the neurons tend to fire together again as a group. As an example, we study a new language, but then speak it using our memory to recall the words learned. In that sense, memory is dependent on learning. However, the dependency works the other way too in that stored information provides the framework by which new things are learned. The ability humans have to recall the past provides a framework for the future, and therefore we are able to plan actions accordingly. This ability to connect the past to the future is very
advantageous in our survival and development as a species.
Memory also describes the capacity a computer has to store certain amounts of information. Since the development of the computer many parallels between the memory of the computer and the human brain have been observed. Some parallels exist, but the
fundamental and crucial difference is that the human brain is organized as a distributed network, where each cell can make millions of connections. In contrast, a computer stores information in discrete file locations.
Collective memories play an important role in human societies. Social groups perpetuate through knowledge passed down over many generations. This can be done orally, physically, or through writings. In fact. the invention of writing made it possible for
himans to preserve precise records of the knowledge they obtained outside what was retained in their brains. In that sense, in today’s world in addition to writing, audios, videos, and computer records should be thought of as an external memory for humans.