Is it possible to measure the amount of knowledge our minds dismiss?

Question

Just on any given day, due to too much coming at us.

Answer 1

I know of no way to actually measure how much knowledge and other information our minds fail to store. But the vast majority of what comes at us is never integrated into long-term memory.

For one thing, the human brain can only focus on one thing at a time. And there's a great deal it COULD attend to, both external and internal. So most of it never even makes it into short-term memory.

Most of what enters into short-term memory is never integrated into long-term memory. If the perceptions, facts, concepts, etc. in short-term memory are not reinforced and associated within 6 seconds, they are discarded so that more information can be considered.

Some of what enters into long-term memory are categorized as useless, trivial or untrue...so never become fully integrated with core knowledge.

A lot of our long-term stored knowledge is difficult to access, because it hasn't been used, so few pathways link to it.

So it likely that most of what we COULD learn from our world never becomes knowledge. You can now appreciate the processes and the challenges...but a valid and reliable way to MEASURE it? No. We don't even know how to measure the knowledge we DO have. IQ tests, etc., are totally inadequate to this task.

Answer 2

I would say so, since our brains only function at a rate of the third of the capacity. This would be able to be tested through aptitude tests as well mechanical abilities I would think. Each person would differ with the results, such as athletes and then scholars for instance.

Answer 3

Mmmm, that's a tough one. Hopefully in the future we will be able to detain more information. It would be cool if genetic engineering could achieve a more intelligent human being.

Answer 4

Possible, yes, but very difficult....it's different for everyone.