(IJCH) Your Brain - Very Sophisticated Storage Media (But Still Obeys The Same Data Management Rules As Your Ordinary Hard Drive)
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (meaning: My warped, personal opinions and musings)
From the Author
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
Human Memory And Data Storage
Whether it is computer data or human memory, the rules governing longterm storage and deletion are very similar.
And although the input mechanisms are different, there are some basic principles that you should know in order to effectively manage the storage of both data and memories.
I will present computer scenarios. But the examples are clearly analogous to human memory management.
I'm confident by the end of this article, you will see that the human brain - a very sophisticated storage media - still obeys the same basic data management rules as your ordinary hard drive.
"Delete" Does Not Mean "Erase"
The term "delete" is a misnomer.
For example, say you sent a file to your operating system's trash bin. Then you get the "delete it forever" prompt and click it. It's totally gone now - (erased), right?
Wrong.
In reality, your computer can't see it, but it's still physically there.
That's how data recovery people can resurrect what was once thought of as permanently deleted data.
Let me explain...
Gate Open Or Closed?
Deleted data is simply hidden from the system because the pointers to its physical location are no longer accessible.
Then the location is considered "open" for new data.
In other words, since the operating system doesn't have a master reference for the deleted data's physical location, the space is now considered free territory to be occupied by incoming data.
But the old data is actually still physically there.
How do you physically delete unwanted data?
How can you render it totally unrecoverable?
You must close the "gate" of the data's physical location by filling it with new data.
Simply put, you must overwrite the location's hidden, but still physically present contents.
High security protocols (e.g., NASA, NSA, FBI, etc.) will often require multiple overwrites (sometimes called "passes" or "washings") to fill the old file's location with waves of nonsensical gibberish.
Of course, the last ditch solution to prevent compromise of sensitive data is to physically or chemically destroy the storage media (e.g., crush, electrocute, microwave, immerse in corrosive chemicals, etc.).
Your Brain - Very Sophisticated Storage Media (But Still Obeys The Same Rules As Your Ordinary Hard Drive)
Just like computer data, human memory is stubborn and can't be easily "deleted", "erased" or "rendered unrecoverable" - UNLESS:
A replacement memory overrides (overwrites) the old one; usually requiring multiple "passes" too.
Physically or chemically destroy the parts of the brain.
(If not, memories can persist; or be retrieved through many different therapies and procedures.)
Parting Shot
"Don't try to erase it. It's time wasted on a futile endeavor. Replace it instead."
By JaiChai
Thanks for stopping by.
About the Author
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single father and actively pursuing his varied passions (writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - and more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.
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