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Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

science.org

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Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#51

Post by thomastjeffery »

There is a subtle, but important, difference between memory and recall.

One is data, the other is a function. I'm not sure how we could possibly measure memory directly. The only thing we can measure is some form of interaction with it, which means we are measuring the interaction itself.

Our best understanding of memory (AFAIK) is that it is constructed just-in-time by the process of recall. So does the distinction matter? How much of memory is tied to comprehension? Having a word for something is one method of comprehension, but there are others. What happens when the word is provided later?

We know that human behavior tends to be driven by narrative. I would be interested to see a similar study where unique expressions are isolated. Do people with a particular/specific way of talking about something do it differently?

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#52

Post by prismatix »

LordGrey wrote: post #24

I wonder how a group of aphantasics would affect the results. Everyones' mechanisms for remembering things is undoubtedly different, but aphantasia means you don't have mental imagery to consult. Does this mean that aphantasics rely more on linguistic cues and connections?

As an aphantasic, I anecdotally do rely heavily on linguistic cues in my memories.

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#53

Post by wilg »

PunchTornado wrote: post #9
canvascritic wrote: post #3

Man this reminds me of this trip I took to the Maldives as a kid. While spending time with locals, I learned the word "feyli," a term unique to their Dhivehi language. "Feyli" describes the feeling of sand between your toes as waves recede on a beach, a sensation familiar to many but so specific that English doesn't have a singular word for it. Before being introduced to feyli I simply enjoyed beach walks as a sum of…

as my old fried Witty used to say, the limits of my language are the limits of my world.

Do languages have limits? I mean, the poster explained the situation in English. How much does terseness matter I wonder?

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#55

Post by jerjerjer »

dfawcus wrote: post #31
canvascritic wrote: post #3

Man this reminds me of this trip I took to the Maldives as a kid. While spending time with locals, I learned the word "feyli," a term unique to their Dhivehi language. "Feyli" describes the feeling of sand between your toes as waves recede on a beach, a sensation familiar to many but so specific that English doesn't have a singular word for it. Before being introduced to feyli I simply enjoyed beach walks as a sum of…

Your simply mentioning the sensation was enough to distinctly bring it to mind. Having grown up by a beach, I've experienced it a lot, from childhood through to as an adult at different beaches around the world. While a specific word for it may be useful, I don't see how it is necessary as an aid to recall of the sensation.

Same thing as a meme - it compresses the information and allows an easier (and so more vivid) recall.

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#56

Post by canvascritic »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #51

There is a subtle, but important, difference between memory and recall. One is data, the other is a function. I'm not sure how we could possibly measure memory directly. The only thing we can measure is some form of interaction with it, which means we are measuring the interaction itself. Our best understanding of memory (AFAIK) is that it is constructed just-in-time by the process of recall. So does the distinction…

Nice. To liken it to computers, memory is a bit like storage, while recall is the act of retrieving what's stored. The concept of memory being JITed is intriguing. it's reminiscent of the dynamic nature of human cognition.

I always like to think about how comprehension influences memory. Like. Can we truly remember something if we don't understand it? Or more precisely can the data be committed to memory losslessly. And to your point about the provision of words later, it brings to mind studies on the Sapir Worf hypothesis, ie how language might shape thought.

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#57

Post by grey-area »

wilg wrote: post #53
PunchTornado wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as my old fried Witty used to say, the limits of my language are the limits of my world.

Do languages have limits? I mean, the poster explained the situation in English. How much does terseness matter I wonder?

Clearly they do have limits.

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#58

Post by flangola7 »

canvascritic wrote: post #3

Man this reminds me of this trip I took to the Maldives as a kid. While spending time with locals, I learned the word "feyli," a term unique to their Dhivehi language. "Feyli" describes the feeling of sand between your toes as waves recede on a beach, a sensation familiar to many but so specific that English doesn't have a singular word for it. Before being introduced to feyli I simply enjoyed beach walks as a sum of…

Attention is all you need!

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#59

Post by serial_dev »

dfawcus wrote: post #31
canvascritic wrote: post #3

Man this reminds me of this trip I took to the Maldives as a kid. While spending time with locals, I learned the word "feyli," a term unique to their Dhivehi language. "Feyli" describes the feeling of sand between your toes as waves recede on a beach, a sensation familiar to many but so specific that English doesn't have a singular word for it. Before being introduced to feyli I simply enjoyed beach walks as a sum of…

Your simply mentioning the sensation was enough to distinctly bring it to mind. Having grown up by a beach, I've experienced it a lot, from childhood through to as an adult at different beaches around the world. While a specific word for it may be useful, I don't see how it is necessary as an aid to recall of the sensation.

Well, now that we all know there is a word for it, we can evaluate whether our senses were calibrated and amplified for that specific thing.

We won't know it while this thread is active, but if you go to the beach in a week, and exclaim "wow, this feyli thing is pretty nice", then you'll know that your senses for feeling the "sand between your toes as waves recede on a beach" is heightened.

Re: Speakers of different languages remember visual scenes differently

#60

Post by plaguuuuuu »

hackernewds wrote: post #10
wmlive wrote: post #2

»Language can have a powerful effect on how people experience events. Here, we examine how the languages people speak guide attention and influence what they remember from a visual scene. When hearing a word, listeners activate other similar-sounding words before settling on the correct target. We tested whether this linguistic coactivation during a visual search task changes memory for objects. Bilinguals and monoli…

They say often that French are bad at quick math and Chinese are better due to the nature of their numeric system

Linguistic differences. About understanding fractions: In English it's "2 out of 5". In Chinese, Korean and possibly some other languages, it's "from 5, 2". Apparently just a quirk of language but results in a difference in ability to compute fractions, so there you go.

Also in Chinese, reciting the times tables are shorter and (unproven) probably easier to memorise, "3 1 3, 3 2 6, 3 3 9". Although I'm not sure why that can't be done in English either.

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