alt Hacker NewsPerhaps undiscussed in the paper is how the blending of memories may also be better. If evolutionary pressure encourages the structure of brain to optimise for accurate prediction, not memory, then it is quite possible that older individuals may be making better predictions than younger ones, in situations where they don't remember the details...
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chermi • 09/04/2026
My understanding is that its just straight up deterioration? A wishful view might be something like a pressure toward generalization(wisdom?) allowing for partial overwriting/grouping of specifics. Like a coarser but more predictive representation.
I'm not sure about better, unless this is the normal mechanism for generalization, but if a form of generalization (not just confusion) is the effect, then it'd be a nice form of graceful degradation, whether selected for or not.
I wonder to what extent evolution selects for longevity (& graceful degradation) past a certain point? I would think that once you are past breeding age it's generally more beneficial for the species if you die off and make way for the next generation, other than having some residual benefit as babysitters for the grandkids and leading the herd to the water source in the next drought.