Raymond Yu, Q4 Week 4 - Transferring Memory
Q4 Week 4 - Transferring Memory
By Raymond Yu
(Image displaying the passing of a relay baton)
Language, in its most fundamental, is the transference of memory from one person to another. To communicate an idea is to pass that idea to another, and where do ideas exist but memory? Memories can include stories, information, and ideas, all of which can be true or false. Language has allowed humans to thrive like no other animals have, and the reason behind our growth has always been the accumulation of progress. In the words of Newton, "[i]f I have further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." Progress is achieved by taking the knowledge of past thinkers and building upon it, which is only possible if the knowledge is preserved in the first place. This is where the role of language comes in. With language, we can pass the ideas of the past as memories to the future.
To have reached the achievements of modern psychology, we have taken the baton from Skinner, who took it from Freud, who took it from Wundt, who took it from Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. The science of psychology grows ever more advanced each time a generation passes the baton, and in turn, the current generation will pass the baton on to the next.
Language has used various methods to transfer memories, beginning with oral traditions before adding physical writing, and more recently, online storage. No more than ever, memories can be transferred efficiently. Everyone has the potential to pass memories to another person halfway across the globe. Transfer memories and change the world.
Image Source:
https://franchisebusinessreview.com/post/transferring-franchise-business/
Hey Raymond!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that language is essentially the transfer of memory. Every syllable, every word that we string together when communicating with others is essentially memories we have formed over time. This is why different places have different languages or ways of communicating, because various experience mean different memories. I really appreciate this take on the connection between language and memory. Thank you for a semester of well-thought out blogs Ray!
Language is fascinating. Believe it or not, I don't actually speak English at home. The entirety of my tenth grade was spoken in Chinese; the only interactions that required any English were the ones with my teachers. Thus, coming back to school and essentially relearning a language meant that my grammatical skills suffered severely. It was difficult to comprehend English again. I couldn't understand the SAT grammar section too. From this experience, I feel that language is impeccably valuable to me. I can't exactly put a finger on it, but I would say that it holds a cultural memory. Every word we use has a history to it, and I feel that with every sentence, we relive that history.
ReplyDeleteHi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very inspiration. I agree that the transfer of memories, or information, makes the world go round. While, yes, the internet has had a major impact on how quickly this can happen, I think that it can be made even quicker as technology advances. For instance, Neuralink is working on devices which allow people to directly share information instantly through the brain. This would be a quantum leap in terms of the rate of information sharing.
Sincerely,
Krish
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI find it really cool that your blog post is very similar to something Krish discussed in his post, storytelling. Language is interesting because they are many ways to pass information. Language consists of conversation, speech, writing, etc. Within writing itself, there are many different types (informative, argumentative, etc.). Language is a crucial part of our lives and the memory of it is equally important.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteLanguage is the basis of memory. Without language, the closest thing we have to visualization is imagery, and although images are powerful, there are certain things that we just can't convey with a sketching. As ironic as it is, sometimes that picture can't amount to the supposed thousand words.
Sincerely,
Sean Wang
Hey Raymond, I completely agree; we definitely would not be where we are today if not for the knowledge from the past. When the Cuban Bearded Anole was discovered, herpetologists originally thought it was a chameleon based on what they knew about chameleon anatomy. However, it was later discovered that they were actually a type of anole, with no genetic relation to chameleons whatsoever. It was because of the collecting of new information and the discovery of new species through the years that this error was corrected, and it has been done in many areas of study throughout the world. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that language is the transfer of memory. Thinking about it, let's say someone says a word you never heard of. Then that person would tell you the definition of that word, aka transferring the memory of the word's definition. It makes a lot of sense that a transfer of memory is another definition of language.
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteLanguage is very powerful in various ways. I agree that one of them is language's ability to pass on memories throughout the globe and through generations to come. I know that many people's memories live on in the form of stories told by their children, grandchildren, or great grand children. Other times, their memories survive in the world through books, as other people are able to relive the author's memories as many times as they wish. Memories are even passed down through illustrations, or art, something that I consider another type of language.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteAs you last blog post, I think it is super cool how all your posts follow a theme of a very interesting "Ted Talk"-like structure. This post actually ties in super well with Krish's post. Language is indeed pivotal to transferring information and memories. I love how you look at memories in an objective way and describe that memories, through language, are transferred most efficiently. I'll miss your biweekly Ted Talks, take care.
Yi-Kuan C.