Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The Geometry of Forgetting: What Mathematics Reveals About the Limits of Human Perception
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The Geometry of Forgetting: What Mathematics Reveals About the Limits of Human Perception
Send us a text
📖 Read the companion essayÂ
What if your memories aren't stored files, but evolving geometric shapes in constant motion? This week, we're diving into a revolutionary kinetic model that treats memory as a dynamic system governed by mathematical forces—and reveals a stunning limit to human perception.
We explore how every memory exists in tension between two opposing forces: focusing (which sharpens concepts through learning) and forgetting (which generalizes them through absence). This isn't just neuroscience—it's geometry.
The breakthrough? Memory capacity doesn't increase indefinitely with complexity. It peaks at exactly seven dimensions, then collapses due to a phenomenon called the concentration of measure. This might explain why we have the senses we do, why working memory clusters around seven items, and why true expertise always costs flexibility.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- Why engrams are shapes, not files
- The unavoidable trade-off between receptivity and precision
- How high-dimensional spaces destroy the brain's ability to distinguish concepts
- The magic number seven—and what it means for human perception
- Why forgetting is a feature, not a bug
- The speed-complexity trade-off in learning systems
LISTEN if you're curious about: ✓ The mathematics of memory ✓ Why "more information" isn't always better ✓ The geometric limits of human perception ✓ How expertise and flexibility oppose each other ✓ What makes seven so special
Join us at Heliox, where evidence meets empathy. Independent, moderate
This is Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy
Independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter. Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas.
Thanks for listening today!
Four recurring narratives underlie every episode: boundary dissolution, adaptive complexity, embodied knowledge, and quantum-like uncertainty. These aren’t just philosophical musings but frameworks for understanding our modern world.Â
We hope you continue exploring our other podcasts, responding to the content, and checking out our related articles on the Heliox Podcast on Substack.Â
Support the show
About SCZoomers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632045180447285
https://x.com/SCZoomers
https://mstdn.ca/@SCZoomers
https://bsky.app/profile/safety.bsky.app
Spoken word, short and sweet, with rhythm and a catchy beat.
http://tinyurl.com/stonefolksongs
Curated, independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, evidenced-based, clinical & community information regarding COVID-19. Since 2017, it has focused on Covid since Feb 2020, with Multiple Stores per day, hence a large searchable base of stories to date. More than 4000 stories on COVID-19 alone. Hundreds of stories on Climate Change.
Zoomers of the Sunshine Coast is a news organization with the advantages of deeply rooted connections within our local community, combined with a provincial, national and global following and exposure. In written form, audio, and video, we provide evidence-based and referenced stories interspersed with curated commentary, satire and humour. We reference where our stories come from and who wrote, published, and even inspired them. Using a social media platform means we have a much higher degree of interaction with our readers than conventional media and provides a significant amplification effect, positively. We expect the same courtesy of other media referencing our stories.
View all episodes
By by SC ZoomersSend us a text
📖 Read the companion essayÂ
What if your memories aren't stored files, but evolving geometric shapes in constant motion? This week, we're diving into a revolutionary kinetic model that treats memory as a dynamic system governed by mathematical forces—and reveals a stunning limit to human perception.
We explore how every memory exists in tension between two opposing forces: focusing (which sharpens concepts through learning) and forgetting (which generalizes them through absence). This isn't just neuroscience—it's geometry.
The breakthrough? Memory capacity doesn't increase indefinitely with complexity. It peaks at exactly seven dimensions, then collapses due to a phenomenon called the concentration of measure. This might explain why we have the senses we do, why working memory clusters around seven items, and why true expertise always costs flexibility.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- Why engrams are shapes, not files
- The unavoidable trade-off between receptivity and precision
- How high-dimensional spaces destroy the brain's ability to distinguish concepts
- The magic number seven—and what it means for human perception
- Why forgetting is a feature, not a bug
- The speed-complexity trade-off in learning systems
LISTEN if you're curious about: ✓ The mathematics of memory ✓ Why "more information" isn't always better ✓ The geometric limits of human perception ✓ How expertise and flexibility oppose each other ✓ What makes seven so special
Join us at Heliox, where evidence meets empathy. Independent, moderate
This is Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy
Independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter. Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas.
Thanks for listening today!
Four recurring narratives underlie every episode: boundary dissolution, adaptive complexity, embodied knowledge, and quantum-like uncertainty. These aren’t just philosophical musings but frameworks for understanding our modern world.Â
We hope you continue exploring our other podcasts, responding to the content, and checking out our related articles on the Heliox Podcast on Substack.Â
Support the show
About SCZoomers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632045180447285
https://x.com/SCZoomers
https://mstdn.ca/@SCZoomers
https://bsky.app/profile/safety.bsky.app
Spoken word, short and sweet, with rhythm and a catchy beat.
http://tinyurl.com/stonefolksongs
Curated, independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, evidenced-based, clinical & community information regarding COVID-19. Since 2017, it has focused on Covid since Feb 2020, with Multiple Stores per day, hence a large searchable base of stories to date. More than 4000 stories on COVID-19 alone. Hundreds of stories on Climate Change.
Zoomers of the Sunshine Coast is a news organization with the advantages of deeply rooted connections within our local community, combined with a provincial, national and global following and exposure. In written form, audio, and video, we provide evidence-based and referenced stories interspersed with curated commentary, satire and humour. We reference where our stories come from and who wrote, published, and even inspired them. Using a social media platform means we have a much higher degree of interaction with our readers than conventional media and provides a significant amplification effect, positively. We expect the same courtesy of other media referencing our stories.