Luca Onnis
580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
The bottleneck may be the solution, not the problem
2016, Behavioral and Brain Sciences
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Abstract
As a highly consequential biological trait, a memory “bottleneck” cannot escape selection pressures. It must therefore co-evolve with other cognitive mechanisms rather than act as an independent constraint. Recent theory and an implemented model of language acquisition suggest that a limit on working memory may evolve to help learning. Furthermore, it need not hamper the use of language for communication.
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