Computer Memory vs. Human Memory

So just how similar is the way a computer remembers information to the way a human does? Well, look at it this way, humans designed computers, so why wouldn't we use processes we are already familiar with? In psychology, the theory for memory involves sensory input, short term memory, and long term memory. And coincidentally enough, the computer has counterparts for all these mechanisms.

First of all, to form a memory, information is needed. For humans, sensory information is processed by our senses. what we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste contributes to this. These are all referred to as stimuli. Whatever organ picks up that stimulus, whether it be your tongue, eyes, ears, nose, or skin, sends an electrical signal to your brain through the nervous system of the body. In computers, these stimulus sensing organs are the mouse and the keyboard. They are used to input information, which is sent to the "brain of the computer".

After the message is initially sent to the brain, it is stored in the short term memory. In humans, this lasts about 30 seconds, and to prevent an information overload, much of what is sensed is filtered out. This is usually because the information isn't very important. So, after that given time, the unneeded information is forgotten, and the things we need to remember are encoded into long term memory. The computer's version of short term memory is called RAM, or Random Access Memory. Like humans, it can only store a certain amount of information. Here, it is up to the person operating the computer to select which information gets kept. And, instead of lasting 30 seconds, RAM lasts until the computer is turned off.

The final step for information storage in humans is long term memory. The information that is accessed often and important to remember is stored here. According to most psychology experts, it is virtually unlimited in capacity, and can keep information for an entire lifespan. Amazing, huh? Computers, on the other hand, have what is called hard disk memory. Things stored on the hard disk remember things for the life of the computer like we do, but, unfortunately, likely have nowhere near the storage capacity we do.

So, next time you are saving information to your computer, keep in mind that the way you "save" information isn't quite so different after all. The processes both they and we use are quite effective, huh?