BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

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TAXON MEMORY 3)5)

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Data storage in the brain through ordered listing of related items.

R. NUMELLA CAINE and M. CAINE explain: "These memories consist of items that do not depend on a specific physical context. They include prototypes or categories that represent a generiC item, such as bird or house or dog; the contents of categories, such as types of trees or cars; and routines and procedures, such as driving" (1994, p. 42)

The basic features of taxon memory are:

"1. Information in taxon memories are placed there through practice and rehearsal…

"2. Taxon learning is linked to extrinsic motivation and is powerfully motivated by external reward and punishment…

This is evident when students memorize for tests instead of seeking to understand ideas…

"3. Our taxon memories are physiologically "set" in a way that makes them quite resistant to change, as anyone who has tried to change a habit knows…

"4. Items in our taxon systems are relatively isolated. That is they exist as stable entities, such as driving a car and memorizing phone numbers, that can be called on and used in a fairly predictable manner. The items are only relatively isolated because they can be highly organized and do interact with other items stored in memory so that they can be called on as needed during ongoing events…

"5. Much of what we store in taxon systems is not initially meaningful. What matters to us is that the information can be recalled or the skills used, on demand, irrespective of the meaning… "

The authors credit J. O'KEEFE and L. NADEL (1978) for the introduction of the concept of so-called "taxon memory systems ".

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Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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