Kluge

"Kluge(s): A clumsy solution that gets the job done but not with the best solution."

At the Loyola neuroscience banquet Dr. Marcus gave a very interesting talk on kluges, evolution, music and language. Dr. Marcus mentioned how many species share basic structures with minor modifications. When individuals think about evolution we realize that evolution does not think ahead, it does not have forethought. On the other hand humans also have difficulties; humans generally have difficulties remembering the exact wording of a sentence, they are generally not able to repeat exact sentences; the only reason actors and other individuals can perform this is because they practice and work towards mastering this skill. When a person tries to process a sentence parts of other sentences interfere, as a result things might look fine locally but not globally. In other words, a sentence might look grammatically correct but when said out loud it is incorrect or confusing.

In reality humans are not good at binding things together; they lack the right kind of memory. Human brains are bound by what we call the binding problem, where individuals do not have the kind of memory like a machine. Unlike humans, machines have very specific parts and locations for different information, they are able to accomplish tasks in one try. Humans on the other hand need many many trials to accomplish tasks. Sometimes the human brain is too poor to remember important things even in life and death situations. Dr. Marcus gave and example of individuals forgetting to pull the cord when they parachute. In situations like these people are very excited and are mostly thinking about their experience and what they will tell others about it. Other reasons people might forget to pull the parachute cord could be because they have experienced this so many times they cannot clearly remember if they already pulled the cord or if they are thinking about the last time they did this.

Human language is the best possible system for language, and evolution has had a big influence on how language works today. In language as well as in music we find repetition to be pleasing; we are actually able to tolerate the constant repetition of a tune in music. While language is an instinct and is something that comes automatically to humans, music is an acquired skill that requires training and technology.

I used to think that our body was always built the best way possible, but Dr. Marcus certainly changed my opinion on many things. Quite often we try to find solutions to fix a problem we have but many times we do not stop to think if it’s the best solution or if we are simply fixing a problem with a kluge.