Human brain and Ontology

While there are advances in our understanding of how the human brain functions, the storage and processing mechanism of the brain is far from fully understood. We receive hundreds and thousands of sensory inputs throughout a day, and if we process and store every bit of this information, the human brain will be overwhelmed and will be unable to understand the context and respond in a meaningful way. The human brain applies filters to the sensory input it receives continuously. It is understood that there are three compartments to human memory:

• Sensory memory: This is the first-level memory, and the majority of the information is flushed within milliseconds. Consider, for example, when we are driving a car. We encounter thousands of objects and sounds on the way, and most of this input is utilized for the function of driving. Beyond the frame of reference in time, most of the input is forgotten and never stored in memory.

• Short-term memory: This is used for the information that is essential for serving a temporary purpose. Consider, for example, that you receive a call from your co-worker to remind you about an urgent meeting in room number D-1482. When you start walking from your desk to the room, the number is significant and the human brain keeps the information in short-term memory. This information may or may not be stored beyond the context time. These memories can potentially convert to long-term memory if encountered within an extreme situation.
• Long-term memory: This is the memory that will last for days or a lifetime. For example, we remember our name, date of birth, relatives, home location, and so many other things. The long-term memory functions on the basis of patterns and links between objects. The non-survival skills we learn and master over a period of time, for example playing a musical instrument, require the storage of connecting patterns and the coordination of reflexes within long-term memory.

Irrespective of the memory compartment, the information is stored in the form of patterns and links within the human brain. In a memory game that requires players to momentarily look at a group of 50-odd objects for a minute and write down the names on paper, the player who writes the most object names wins the game. One of the tricks of playing this game is to establish links between two objects and form a storyline. The players who try to independently memorize the objects cannot win against the players who create a linked list in their mind.

When the brain receives input from sensory organs and the information needs to be stored in the long-term memory, it is stored in the form of patterns and links to related objects or entities, resulting in mind maps. This is shown in the following figure:

When we see a person with our eyes, the brain creates a map for the image and retrieves all the context-based information related to the person.

This forms the basis of the Ontology of information science.