Re: Information Storage, Retrieval and Human Processing

[Steven Weller <stevenw@IGLOU.COM>]

Interesting information!


>This information from a lecture at the University of Maryland is worth
>snagging for your files:
>
>HUMAN INFORMATION PROCESSING
>
>4000 B.C.       Written language        300 wpm
>Today           Written language        300 wpm
>
>4000 B.C.       Visual images           100,000,000 bits per glance
>Today           Visual images           100,000,000 bits per glance
>
>4000 B.C.       Spoken language         120 wpm
>Today           Spoken language         120 wpm
>
>        The point is, despite enormous technological leaps, the human capacity
>for understanding and assimilation has remained constant.  While we have
>complexity, we suffer with confusion, overload and bottlenecks.  There is
>a definite need for reflection upon the best means to adapt and
>accommodate what the machine has to offer with human limitations.

I had heard that the actual rate of sustained *comprehension* was a fixed
50 bits per second. This is very much in line with the figures above once
you have taken into account the enormous redundancy in language and images.

So what does this say about skill and intelligence?

  * Skill is the ability to act correctly without thinking.

  * Intelligence and experience are characterized by effective filtering of
information.

Thus I can juggle only because I don't think about what I am doing. I can
analyse complex computer problems because my by brain automatically removes
all the unimportant stuff for me and lets me actually see the problem which
is always something simple.




--
Steven Weller  <Windsor Consulting Group>         +1 502 454 0054 (voice)
                                                  +1 502 451 5935 (fax)
2014 Cherokee Pkwy, Suite J, Louisville, KY 40204, USA
<OS-9 Consultancy and Software>    stevenw@iglou.com or sweller@aol.com