Description: Is it accurate? Does it plagiarize? Does it lie? Is it dangerous? Can people use t to cheat? Is it alive? Is it sentient? Is it human? Based on these questions, what am I thinking and writing about? I am thinking about ChatGPT and other “bots” that answer questions and write essays in response… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Memory
Our Minds On Cryptocurreny
Description: I will freely admit that I am completely unable to understand (and frankly not very interested in) crypto currency. That said, I AM rather interested in how it was that so many people got deeply into things like FTX (Google it and Ponzi schemes). There is a lot of talk from the perspective of… Read more »
SuperAgers: Born or Made?
Description: Do you have an aging relative who is still remarkably sharp mentally, who can remember details of many things, is quick to respond to comments with humour and insight and who, from a mental point of view seems much younger than their years? Well, if so, there is a name for that sort of… Read more »
Old Episodic Memories and Dealing with Old Shames
Description: Once in a while I find that a memory from an earlier point in my life will pop up. Sometimes it is just a passing thing with no obvious connection to my current experience. Sometimes it is clear to me that something I am doing right now reminded me of a previous time when… Read more »
New Thoughts on Stopping Unwanted Thoughts
Description: It is quite common for people to come out of an introductory psychology course with the general belief that most of Freud’s theory is no longer considered visible or appropriate in accounting for human experience and behavior. At the same time, some concepts that were given theoretic life by Freud are now viewed as… Read more »
Remembering Music and Forgetting Everything Else?
Description: Quick! Which of these is easier to remember: a song you heard last week and really liked or what you had for lunch last Tuesday? Unless the lunch was particularly good or unique or special it is most likely you would remember the song and if you think about it you agree with that… Read more »
Psychological Drivers of Misinformation Belief: A Not So New But Critical Topic
Description: Given our direct and media shared experiences surrounding recent events such as the COVID pandemic, American elections and related capital events, climate change and much else you cannot be unaware of the phenomenon of misinformation and related beliefs. You may be aware of concerns over social media “echo chambers” that become sole sources for… Read more »
Stuff to Remember? Sleep On It!
Description: Decades ago, when I was in grade 7, we had grade-wide exams in a number of subjects. I was particular keen to do well on the science exam. One of the topic areas on the exam was the periodic table and I set out to memorize the names, symbols and atomic numbers of all… Read more »
A Neural Mechanism of Advanced Cognition
Description: Research into what happens in your brain when you try and memorize a new fact or procedure has traditionally focused upon the activity or the firing of individual neurons. One event that has been hard to explain using single neuron theories involves what happens when you teach someone a strategy or a mnemonic for… Read more »
Getting Lost While Grocery Shopping
Description: The two (same chain) large grocery stores near my neighbourhood have been undergoing renovations over the past 2 months. In both cases this has involved changes in the layout of each store and the relocation of where particular things can be found. I used to know both of these stores well. I could easily… Read more »
Books for Success!
