High-Level Diagram of Computer Architecture
In Dr. Charles Severance's Python For Informatics: Exploring Information book 1.2 Computer Hardware Architecture p.3: The above diagram illustrates the main components of a computer design: The Central Processing Unit (CPU) to execute "decisions" and "ask the next relevant question" to manipulate from the next input and hence "compute" a 'newly present' result or "current result". The Main Memory to retrieve stored information, The Secondary Memory for long-term memory, input/output devices for the user to interact with the computer and a Network connection which connects other sources of information and in a sense memory sources too, to add to the "decision execution process" of the CPU.
Looking at the diagram it boils down to a very contained and literal decision-executing machine. However with a few core rules, the number of ways these can be combined make for powerful application to solve a variety of problems ("Turing Complete" or some such mathemagic!). In effect it's a bit like a simplified or abstracted concept of our own brains and how we go about making decisions. It's also applicable to how our national discussion of politics plays out in the News-Media who purport to report the information provided to them from our politicians.
Central Processing Unit (CPU) exists in the Present Continuous! What Next? (NOW!!)
Of course there's extra-dimensions of complexity in this compared to the simple diagram above! However as demonstrated in Strange Trails if we lack "Strong Foundations" or an "Intellectual Architecture" a lot of how we perceive and interpret information in this greater context, effectively is "short-circuited" by Prestige as per Pattern Recognition and we all know this to be true as was "calculated" concerning the relationship/ratio between democracy and time in Of Democracy and Time Dilation (Recap: 5:9 ratio General Elections: Major New Treaties with zero public vote!). We also know that the Legacy News-Media predominantly appears to be "trapped in the present" in it's reporting, devoid of context as per I've Been Expecting You... . This was extended further to demonstrating how the News-Media only shapes the argument in binary 2D: Pro-EU vs Anti-EU in Fatal Car Crash: Two Dead After Car Accident which is yet more output from an endless loop (aka "infinity loop") in Argumentum Ad Infinitum.
The "Sphere" appears as a magically changing and vanishing circle to Flatland's people
One of the features of this blog is to use Memory to recap on previous information or "take-homes" to then input into subsequent new discussion, adding greater context: Building an understanding beyond the 2-dimensional reporting of the Legacy News-Media, as exhibited in Understanding The Mountains of Madness. To use a well-known example of comparing the 2-Dimensional "stuck in the present" reporting of the Legacy News-Media to arguments built with "Total Memory Recall", ie an extra dimension we can refer to Edwin Abbott's famous Flatland Analogy (above).
In the story, Flatland a square "A" inhabits a 2-Dimensional World. He's visited by "Sphere" who appears to be a circle in flatland that can magically change his size and/or disappear at will, as depicted in the diagram above. Also "Square" cannot comprehend the concept of 3-Dimensional World unless he personally experiences it for himself. One of the repetitions in this blog has been the reference to Dr. RAE. North and Christopher Booker's history of the European Union, called The Great Deception:-
Spanning 1920's-2005; Covering 1749 References of myriad places, peoples, times and decisions & feeding into: "What Next?"
We know that the politicians "trapped in the concerns of control of the present political "reality" as per Big Ben: The Four-Faced Liar are therefore vulnerable to behaving like "Fashion Victims" in Politicians: No Taste, No Style, So Derivative! and so it shows in the "Amnesia" in our debates and the lack of progress that then allows Our Government: "Ifs, Buts, Maybes" to hedge their words and hence their inactions, against alluded to possibilities and to exploit their positions via the lack of "Total Memory Recall" driving emotional decisions based on "Quick Feelings" in people, as we can perhaps glimpse in the erratic nature of poll results: Their fickle and superficial measures of public Sentiment.
We know from biology that people are "primed" to make quick decisions based of reactions to danger as part of our evolutionary legacy to respond in a timely manner to danger. For other problems however, "Slow Thinking" over a prolonged time period is required such as the Referendum on our EU Membership that accesses our long-term memory records to input into our decision-making. Professor Steve Peters provides a useful cartoon diagram of this in his book The Chimp Paradox:-
Erratic public sentiment of EU Membership: A sign of amnesia?
We know from biology that people are "primed" to make quick decisions based of reactions to danger as part of our evolutionary legacy to respond in a timely manner to danger. For other problems however, "Slow Thinking" over a prolonged time period is required such as the Referendum on our EU Membership that accesses our long-term memory records to input into our decision-making. Professor Steve Peters provides a useful cartoon diagram of this in his book The Chimp Paradox:-
Danger/Threat and Familiarity trigger the type of "What Next?" execution we use: Fast = Emotional or Slow = Intellectual
This is another way of thinking about the Status Quo Effect: The Chimp gets to choose first if it's a danger/threat and hence voters invariably tend as a population to vote conservatively (as documented concerning Referendums). But immediately we see the importance of "The Computer" which is a symbol for our "learnt memory or experiences" to deal with a situation depending on it's familiarity. We already looked at how due to the above the government has used FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) to exploit the Status Quo Effect proactively eg "Project Fear". But there's been very little appreciation or acknowledgement of how equally important the understanding of situation via Memory input is as a major/key component in forming an "Intellectual Architecture" (eg Flatland). Various stories have taken this problem of Amnesia such as Philip K. Dick's We Can Remember It For You Wholesale adapted to Film in Total Recall:-
Our Memory creates a foundational frame of reference to our subjective experiences and hence our self-identities
Without the foundations of a complete and concrete Frame Of Reference, as was made clear in The Greatest Political Problem of Our Time we can never be sure of our own motivations, our actions and their authenticity and this itself reflects the value of memory to our core identities we have of ourselves! This can be illustrated very easily, also, in the real world reference to the tragedy of dementia and the value we question of an individual's life when particularly in old-age this disease of the brain tends to more commonly manifest.
The arguments concerning our Membership to the European Union often come down to forms of deception. They come across as such in ways that are appealing in appearance and intended to be persuasive to many. For example: The 2 extremes of the argument are currently setting up a "Cameron Fudge" of the Middle Way as explained, and yet looking at history we know this is another case of Our Government: "Ifs, Buts, Maybes" avoiding referring to the concrete rules, such as Article 50 TEU Lisbon Treaty as a universal frame of reference for both the UK and the EU. Hence we see as per Mr. Brexit (see blogroll An Independent Britain) The real 'Vote Leave' objective they won't openly admit to . Effectively what it means is that the people without "Total Memory Recall" are prey to being taken advantage of in unfamiliar or emotional contexts where they are feeling pressure to make a decision: Much like exhibited in the stupendous Glengarry Glen Ross film between Ricky Roma (Al Pacino) and James Lingk (Jonathan Pryce):-
A Faustian Pact: "Sign on the dotted line..."
The Faustian Pact arguments are subtle and sophisticated only when we are unsure of our own bearings, then the arts of persuasion appeals to our vanity and hence appears attractive to ensnare us in our own "Chimp's" natural greed and gratification:-
- It is extreme to "hold onto the past"
- The past itself, if not written-off above, repainted as ambigious and up for debate.
- What counts now is a "game-plan" to persuade more voters to out-bid (out trick the devil!) David Cameron's renegotiation attempts - if only we'll play our cards right we'll increase the number of "eurosceptics" and win!
- Reform is the socially-conscious thing to do in the EU and finally now the EU is listening! It's sophisticated and mature politics to "compromise", afterall.
- etc...
Memory defines us and translates our information into action when we refer to it to make our decisions. Coincidentally that just happens to correlate with what we have learnt guiding our actions and hence our decisions are honest and hence our own. Will you accept anything less than that in your chance to vote for the first time in over 40 years?
