127 bits per second…. any references?

Hi there

Sure thing,

Mihaly Csikszentmihaly in the book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience”

Mihaly estimates that we can only consciously process about 126 bits of information per second. This was based on earlier work by Miller and Orme and von Uexkull. Miller showed you could process 7 + /- 2 chunks of information per unit of time. Then Orme showed that an “attentional unit“ of time was 1/18th of a second, based on earlier calculations by Uexkull. Therefore we can process 7×18=126bits per second of the 11 million available. The RAS (Reticular Activating System) is responsible for carrying messages between the CM and the UCM, and it filters and decides what you accept and reject based on your beliefs, attitudes and values. The information that remains in your attention forms your “internal representation (IR) or map of the world. Some people call this your awareness! Remember the map is NOT the territory.

State of flow.

Intense and focused concentration on the activity
Merging of action and awareness of the current task
The temporary loss of ability to reflect
A sense of personal control and ownership over the activity
A distortion of subjective time
The experience is internally rewarding in and of itself

When all six of these experiences are combined, then one is said to have achieved a state of flow.

Two more problems suggest themselves when thinking about this immense amount of compression. First is the problem of determining how long it takes to do the compression, and second is the problem of determining where the processing power is found for doing this much compression.

The solution to the first problem is suggested by the approximately half-second delay between the instant that the senses receive a stimulus and the instant that the mind is conscious of a sensation. (To compensate for this delay, the body has a reflex system that can respond in less than one-tenth of second, before the mind is conscious of the stimulus.) This half-second delay seems to be the time required for processing and compressing sensory input.

The solution to the second problem is suggested by the approximately 100 billion cells of the brain, each with connections to thousands of other brain cells. Equipped with this many processors, the brain might be capable of executing as many as 100 billion operations per second, a truly impressive number.

Thanks for asking the question Rebecca and brilliant answer Marc – Looking forward to seeing you in 2 months as a Virtual CA for MP Sydney 🙂

Brilliant response Mark! Love it! And if anyone wants to know a source for 7-+2 can be found in psychology journals. Here is an example:

“In the past, the quantification of limited working memory capacity, as the “magic” 7 ± 21, has fundamentally influenced the fields of psychology and cognitive science.”

Source:The Capacity of Cognitive Control Estimated from a Perceptual Decision Making Task
Tingting Wu,1 Alexander J. Dufford,1,2 Melissa-Ann Mackie,1,3 Laura J. Egan,1 and Jin Fana, 2016, in NATURE, Science Reports.

Enjoy, Gina

Thanks Conor – I’m ramping up!