The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory [ハードカバー]

In the novel "Dune" by Frank Herbert, and the movies of the same title, the future world included humans called "mentats." These were people, who with the aid of a drug, were able to highly train their brains so that they could function like human computers, that is with the precision and capacity of electronic computers. An intriguing idea.

Now to the present day: "Our understanding of the human brain has grown exponentially in the past few decades." So here are fascinating findings from that recent research, solid information, not someone's guesses. This is a cutting-edge, up to date exploration of the human brain, its limitations and potentials, scientifically based on research and testing, both the author's and that of other scientists.

Dr. Torkel Klingberg, a true leader in the field of neuroscience, in this book, points out that "all types of experience and learning modify" our brains and that "rather than being static", our brain maps are "forever being redrawn" (page. 11). This points to the human brain's "plasticity," that is, it not only changes but can be trained, improved.

Some evidence: Between 1932 and 1978, the average IQ of 7,500 test participants increased by 3 points, roughly 3% per decade. We're getting smarter.

The underlying theme is the capacity of our brains and in particular our ability to retain information, memory, both short and long-term. The current vast amount of available information is making increasing demands on our attention and our ability to process it and use it. Are we being pushed to handle too much? Are we facing a "mental meltdown"? Or, is our capacity being exercised and thereby increased? The evidence argues for the latter conclusion, that like weight lifting, we get stronger by lifting "heavier weights," that is by dealing with increasing demands.

Also, the author gives evidence that reading, chess, playing a musical instrument, and dancing (not necessarily all of these) can improve our ability to think and solve problems ("cognitive ability") if done several times a week (page 128).

This is not super-light, easy reading. On the other hand, the author writes well, and with a little effort his ideas are quite accessible. For anyone who likes to keep up on what we know about our complex and mysterious brains and what we are learning about them, this is a real find.

In the 1980s, sociologist James Flynn made a startling discovery: That the IQ score of the general population had been increasing by 3% a decade (the "Flynn Effect"). The average IQ score of 100 had persisted, but Mr. Flynn discovered the difficulty level of IQ tests had been increasing as well. In other words, an unchanged IQ test administered 60 years ago would make a star out of an average 18 year old today. Given that anatomically, the Homosapian brain is not much different than the Cro-Magnon's 40,000 years ago, to what can this rise in intelligence be attributed to?

Mr. Klingberg, a professor of developmental cognitive neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, believes the increasingly complex world and the demands put on our mental capacity is the chief culprit for the "Flynn effect".

In "The Overflowing Brain", Torkel Klingberg explores the limits of the brain and whether it's possible to enhance its capacity to better meet the challenges of today's complex world.

Early in the book, Mr. Klingberg identifies various types of attention and focuses on one: The working memory. He cites a 1956 article written by cognitive psychologist George Miller, "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two". The "Seven" refers to the number of items the fixed capacity of the brain is able to hold and process at any given time; the mental bandwidth. The working memory keeps information active for a few seconds for tasks from attention control to solving logical problems.

Mr. Klingberg's work, however, gives too much attention to the working memory and completely ignores other components of intelligence such as pattern recognition and prediction. While it's true that increasing the bandwidth of the working memory eases the bottleneck of information flow, what gets short shrift is the processes by which this information is put to use. It's not always the case that more information equals better output. Our cognitive power can undoubtedly get a boost from improving the amount of information retained and processed in our working memory, but other factors such as where and how to spot relevant information, and what conclusions to draw from this information are more important components of intelligence.

And Mr. Klingberg's proposed ideas to enhance our working memory capacity do not extend much beyond experiencing the increasing demands of the world we live in. His advice boils down to loading the working memory to its capacity and not allowing it to "overflow". It is at that point that we will perform optimally.

Ultimately, "The Overflowing Brain" suffers from an overflow of a partially pertinent idea (the working memory) for coping with our complex world, and a deficiency in practical advice on how to enhance it.

I got this book because I have been noticing that my memory has not been working as well as it used to. I came to the conclusion it was not about getting older, but about "information overload". We are presented with more information per an hour and per a day than anytime in past history and are required to memorize more than before. When I reviewed my own life, I found that I was actually holding in memory more names, more phone numbers, more summaries of what different people do (with more different kinds of specialized functions), etc. It only seemed that I was able to not recall as much, but I was actually recalling more. Quite like the metaphor of an overloaded RAM Computer memory, at one point it gets too much to process and starts function more slowly.

The book is a good summary of Brain research in regard to memory. It makes distinctions between stimulus memory and intentional memory, working memory versus short term memory (how they are different and how they are related), brain plasticity (how the brain is changing and can change), how working memory relates to things like ADHD (and whether this is a real problem or an effect of information overload, and what can be done). It reads well and is easy to understand. It is positive in that it seems that the overload challenges are forcing our brain to make good changes. There are practical suggestions about what we can do to assist the process.

I like the way the book goes into various studies that have been done and it shows ways in which working memory can be improved. Some comes from Zen Buddhism and some comes from various other ways of exercising our memory muscles. There are discussions of things like whether computer games are healthy for people to do and what the results of objective tests actually are. The book is also well illustrated with charts, diagrams, and even some humorous and relevant cartoons.