# Human Memory Lacks the Maps Computer Memory Uses by Gary Marcus > “Computer memory is much better than human memory because early computer scientists discovered a trick that evolution never did: organizing information by assigning every memory to a sort of master map, in which each bit of information that is to be stored is assigned a specific, uniquely identifiable location in the computer's memory vaults. Human beings, in contrast, appear to lack such master memory maps, and instead retrieve information in far more haphazard fashion, by using clues (or cues) to what they're looking for, rather than knowing in advance where in the brain a given memory lies.” > **— Gary Marcus**, *2011, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S COGNITIVE TOOLKIT?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Edge response](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11799) — Edge published this passage in its 2011 Annual Question collection, *WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S COGNITIVE TOOLKIT?*. - **Exact archived wording:** “Computer memory is much more better than human memory because early computer scientists discovered a trick that evolution never did: organizing information according by assigning every memory to a sort of master map, in which each bit of information that is to be stored is assigned a specific, uniquely identifiable location in the computer's memory vaults. Human beings, in contrast. appear to lack such master memory maps, and instead retrieve information in far more haphazard fashion, by using clues (or cues) to what it's looking for, rather than knowing in advance where in the brain a given memory lies.” - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2011 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2011 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. - **Editorial treatment:** The readable Reminder selects a self-contained portion of the archived passage and, where necessary, applies light punctuation or transcription repair. It does not add a consequence or increase the speaker's certainty; the complete exact archived wording is preserved above. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta]] - **Article:** [[articles/Science of Digital Consciousness|Science of Digital Consciousness]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Associative Memory|Associative Memory]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Associative Memory|Associative Memory]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Computer memory is much better than human memory because early computer scientists discovered a trick that evolution never did: organizing information by assigning every memory to a sort of master map, in which each bit of information that is to be stored is assigned a specific, uniquely identifiable location in the computer's memory vaults. Human beings, in contrast, appear to lack such master memory maps, and instead retrieve information in far more haphazard fashion, by using clues (or cues) to what they're looking for, rather than knowing in advance where in the brain a given memory lies.” — Gary Marcus, 2011, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S COGNITIVE TOOLKIT?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-gary-marcus-human-memory-lacks-maps ```