Why can we recall things from years ago yet have trouble remembering what we did yesterday?. Is memory based in the concious or subconcious mind?
I have a theory. The reason we dont use our brain to its fullest capacity is that it is mostly filled with every moment of our lives. If we could tap into that history and have total recall, it would be off enormous benefit.
Or, if we all smoked a lot of dope and didn’t remember much, we’d all have a greater brain capacity to think better, without all that useless clutter. Puff-puff.
i once said that the consciousness is like the cap of an ocean wave and that the subconscious is the the force pushing the wave. if the subconscious has enough momentum it can break the surface. just a crazy thought.
i’d say memory is based in consciousness as when we remember something/imagine something you reference the perception/conception associated with the experiance. nobody remembers what they were not thinking/experiancing at the time so the subconscious process would be less
vivid in memory as they are less vivid at the time of perception/conception. Its at the tip of my tounge but…hazy…the transition out of the "grey area"or “uncertainty” into actual conscious experiance i’d think is a process of the subconscious mind but then again someone else can jog your memory for you effectively removing some of the haze. i might be misunderstanding the nature of subconscious experiance as i’m no psychologist. but i thought that the subconscious mind was the transitory phase between uncertainty(unconsciousness) and certainty(consciousness). though i’m a novice in the subject.
Oldphil,
It sounds like you’re referring to the idea that we only use 10% of our brains. This isn’t anywhere close to being true. We use 100% of our brains, nothing less. It might refer to the idea that the average human only has used 10% of his memory? There’s no basis for that statement either, but maybe that idea is how it started.
Anyway, with that in mind, the reason we don’t have total recall is
It’s actually not that great a survival advantage in the cave-man environment. Yeah, it’d be awesome now, but based on the structure of association we evolved, total recall wouldn’t help us climb that tree any faster, or be afraid of that tiger any more so.
It takes a HUGE amount of brain space. In fact, individuals with photographic memories are almost universally significantly deficient in other areas, usually in social skills. They are often categorized as being autistic. This is because so much of the brain is required to have a perfect memory that the individual literally doesn’t use enough of his brain for other skills to be competent at them. (This is also why we have the stereotype of the forgetful, rude, socially awkward genius - Da Vinci, Beethoven, Einstein, etc. Some geniuses are socially competent, but that’s the exception, not the rule.)
So yeah, it would rule to have a perfect memory, but with our brain sizes the way they are now, you’d really have to give up a lot! We’ll just have to wait until we evolve bigger brains - or else genetically engineer bigger brains in the near future!
if there is no memory,there is no time.
Bull
You’re right, that idea about us only using 10% of our brains (or sometimes only ‘7%’ because the more specific number sounds more authoritative) is a popular one with absolutely no evidence for it. It serves it’s purpose - it justifies just about any popular mystical belief: UFOs, psychokinetics powers, the ability to predict the future, magic of all kinds…
We don’t need bigger brains, we merely need denser brains. How ironic.
You are not trying to make an evidence based arguement are you? =D>
There are some people who believe that we only use 10% of our brains. I think we should respect that belief. 
HYPOCRITE? 
how can you respect a belief that is disproved by psychology? trauma to different areas of the brain produce different effects on our consciousness/motor skills ect. different parts of the brain are responsible for
different faculties of the mind.
It is the primary center for the regulation and control of bodily activities, receiving and interpreting sensory impulses, and transmitting information to the muscles and body organs. It is also the seat of consciousness, thought, memory, and emotion. you use 100% of your brain.
psychology is the study of the physical brain and the uses of each part of the brain. There are multiple causes of mental illness. Most mental disorders are proving to be caused by differences in functional brain structure as well as neurochemistry. Chemical imbalances associated with disorders often involve the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Each disorder is likely to have its own etiology, or causation.
i’m no psychologist but psychology studys the parts of the brain and the 1st thing you realize in a psych course is that every part of the brain has its own function(i took an introductory psych coure a couple years ago)
Yep. You see, because I’m not invoking natural laws and insisting on subordinating all other beliefs systems to science (unlike you, Brother Dawkins), I’m allowed to do such things without it being hypocritical.
Respect the belief, yes. Believe it ourselves? Not necessarily.
Like I say - the more you insult and swear and get angry the more you prove correct every point that I’ve made. Feel free to try again.