Question

What would the experience of the world be like without iconic memory? How would its absence make life difficult? Explain in detail and give examples in 150 words or more.

Answer 1

Iconic memory is a kind of sensory memory which is taken by our the visual field (eyes). The information received at sensory memory is very brief. It lasts for only one fourth of a minute. It needs to be processed for longer to transfer it to first the short-term memory and then the long term memory.

Iconic memory can be best described as a flash of an image for one fourth a second. For instance, you are trying to plug in your phone charger in the socket next to your bed, you try for a while but you are unable to. You lean in further to turn on the lights to be able to direct the charger into the plug point. However, as soon as you turn on the light, within 10 seconds, the bulb breaks leaving you with no light. However, you would have an image that reflects in your iconic memory. You would now be able to plug in the charger without the light so that you could turn your phone on and make a call to get the bulb fixed.

If iconic memory did not exist, it would have been impossible for individuals to remember flashes of images. Yes, indeed it's absence would make life difficult.