Schema and Scripts

Our brains use 20% of the total energy we consume A portion of that energy is just for cell maintenance, meaning that even when we aren’t actively thinking, our brain is burning ATP just to keep going. Thus, human brains use schema and scripts to conserve energy.

Long term memory creates schema or models of all the data it takes in Long term memory creates schema or models of all the data it takes in. Memories and skills are placed in categories or are connected to other memories and skills in a relationship Scripts are just common orders of action. Think of conversation that you have in the hall (“hello, how are you?” Fine, and you”?), the steps required to make a sandwich, or how to order in a restaurant.

Let’s look at some language memes to see how that works

PARIS IN THE THE SPRING

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. for more about this meme, read Matt Davis’s analysis.

Read the following sentence at normal speed, counting all the Fs that you see in it as you read: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENFITIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICE

These memes show a few things. We don’t read every word. It would be inefficient. If and when we do read every word (e.g., an important book, instructions, a test), it can be taxing and make us tired because we are processing more information than we usually do and because we could be creating new schema.

Lessons for Writers Lesson 1: We won’t always see our errors, so have somebody else help you proofread. Lesson 2: We produce environmental schema (place, rituals, conditions) to help us write to lower our cognitive load. Lesson 3: We can exploit (disrupt) schema/scripts as writers to have greater impact or be more memorable

Lesson 1: Have somebody else proofread your work

Lesson 2: patterns of behavior to decrease cognitive load

Experiment!

Lesson 3: disfluency http://tiny.cc/disfluency

Additional downsides of schema and cognitive economy for writers: We don’t change our minds easily. The longer the schema has been around and the more relationships they have built, the less likely we are to change our mind. This is called the “backfire effect”--the more evidence that disagrees with us, the more we are telling our brain to replace old schemas with new ones. New information is assimilated not preserved as it was presented. As such, we immediately change information we learn/acquire to make it fit with who we are and what we know.