This week, we review the role of memory in efficiency, and impact of ageing / failing memory over efficiency. Now, how to link memory with efficiency? At least in two ways, for one memory acts has a support of efficiency, and second memory helps to value results.

Memory as process accelerator and source of efficiency

As we experience life, our senses carry a load of feelings through our body. These batches of emotional experiences are stored in our memory. As we walk through life, our memory will then be triggered every time we need to retrieve these batches of knowledge. By doing so, memory acts as a support to speed up our day to day processes.

Example: I vomited after eating an awful shepherd’s pie when I was 6 at my school canteen. Now when I see a shepherd’s pie, my memory has created a go-to shortcut with my body to make sure than without a second thought, I avoid eating it. The outcome of: “shepherd’s pie is bad” comes faster. Memory has made my decision making faster, qualitatively constant and overall more efficient.

Memory as result assessor and auditor of efficiency

Efficiency only matters if the process’ resulting outcomes matter. Better said, if the value derived from outcomes is greater than the sum of inputs’ value. Financial efficiency aside, raw efficiency in itself is hardly measurable (as seen in humanitis) because it heavily depends on factors at stake. So we assess and evaluate the world around us through empirical comparisons.

To do so, we benchmark against our knowledge, stored in our memory. Let’s keep the shepherd’s pie example with the following question: what is shepherd’s pie flavor efficiency? Better said, has flavor improved going through the shepherd’s pie cooking process? My brain will assess flavor of raw potatoes against other ingredients based on previous memory I have, and so on with all ingredients that makes a shepherd’s pie. I’ll then assess the flavor of the shepherd’s pie, and compare with memory I have of raw ingredients’ flavor. This is the perfect example of an non measurable efficiency. But to me, the flavor of shepherd’s pie is worse than a plate of raw meat (carpaccio) and raw potato (raw potato I secretly tasted behind my mum’s back).

Some could argue this all result from a bad cook… maybe, but even so, the point here is to say that memory helps to assess the value of an outcome. So if I were to taste another shepherd’s pie from someone else, I’ll then compare it with my memory of the first one, and of the sum of ingredients. The point remains valid.

Memory, and its many batches of comparable alternatives, serves as an assessor of efficiency. It allows bench-marking the value of intrans and outcomes, for factor that are too hard to measure.

Memories’ flaws

Unfortunately, despite such a central role for efficiency, memory has many flaws, that directly impact the way we perceive efficiency. Memory is selective. It’s unstable and never complete. Worse of all, memory ages… So what it means is that:

1. we must review every now and then all go-to shortcuts created by memory, to ensure that they remain optimal. That mean questioning yourself and your automated reactions. For example, I used to hate peas too, until I ate an amazing Indian dish with peas. So maybe my taste about shepherd’s pie I no longer accurate, and I shouldn’t escape the next shepherd’s pie.

2. my empirical ruler to value the world around me is intrinsically flawed, and will become more and more flawed, so I should be humble enough to ponder all my empirical assessments before judging any process true efficiency.

Ageing memory sucks…

So yeah, memory being so vital for an optimal efficiency, contemplating memory’s decline (through ageing, disease or lack of new experience and practice) sucks… and what better way to illustrate than good old suckers: vampires!

 

G.M.