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The Knowledge Architects: Building Wisdom in the Information Age

The Knowledge Architects: Building Wisdom in the Information Age

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 The Knowledge Architects is a free, science-based podcast exploring how we learn, remember, and organize knowledge. Each episode translates peer-reviewed research from cognitive science, neuroscience, and psychology into practical insights—helping you understand how your mind works and how to work with it more effectively. Brought to you by ElysFlow.© 2026 ElysFlow Science
Episodes
  • Episode 03 | The Magical Number

    Episode 03 | The Magical Number
    Feb 10 2026
    Episode SummaryHow many things can you hold in your mind at once? In 1956, psychologist George Miller declared that the answer was "seven, plus or minus two", a number that became one of psychology's most famous findings. But modern research tells a different story: the real limit is just four.In this episode, we explore the science of working memory, the mental workspace where thinking happens. We meet George Miller, who opened his landmark paper with the playful confession that he had "been persecuted by an integer." We discover why his key insight wasn't the number itself, but the distinction between bits and chunks: while we can only hold about four items, the size of those items depends on our expertise. A chess master and a beginner both hold four chunks, but the master's chunks contain entire game positions.We also explore Alan Baddeley's revolutionary working memory model, which replaced the simple "short-term store" with a sophisticated multi-component system that just celebrated its 50th anniversary. And we learn why working memory training programs, despite early optimism, don't seem to increase core capacity in adults, but building expertise does.Key Topics Covered- George Miller's 1956 paper "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two"- The cognitive revolution and the birth of cognitive science- The crucial distinction between bits (information units) and chunks (meaningful units)- Recoding: how we combine smaller units into larger meaningful chunks- Nelson Cowan's 2001 revision: why the true limit is closer to 4- The focus of attention and embedded-processes model- Alan Baddeley's working memory model and its components: - The phonological loop (inner voice and inner ear) - The visuospatial sketchpad (mind's eye) - The central executive (attention controller) - The episodic buffer (added in 2000)- Visual working memory studies by Luck and Vogel- How chunking expands effective capacity through expertise- Working memory training: why it doesn't transfer to general intelligence- The digital age challenge: smartphones and cognitive capacityResearchers Mentioned- George Miller (1920-2012) — Father of cognitive psychology, author of the "Magical Number Seven" paper, co-founder of Harvard's Center for Cognitive Studies, creator of WordNet- Nelson Cowan (University of Missouri) — Proposed the 4-chunk limit, developed the embedded-processes model- Alan Baddeley (University of York) — Co-creator of the working memory model, proposed the episodic buffer- Graham Hitch (University of York) — Co-creator of the working memory model with Baddeley- Herbert Simon — Reportedly told Miller "George had the right idea, but the wrong number"- Steven Luck (UC Davis) — Visual working memory research- Edward Vogel (University of Chicago) — Visual working memory, discovered Contralateral Delay Activity- Adriaan de Groot — Chess expertise and chunking (1946/1965)- William Chase & Herbert Simon — Chess expertise studies (1973)- Jerome Bruner — Co-founded Center for Cognitive Studies with MillerKey Studies & Sources- Miller, G.A. (1956). "The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information." *Psychological Review*, 63(2), 81-97.- Cowan, N. (2001). "The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity." *Behavioral and Brain Sciences*, 24(1), 87-185.- Baddeley, A.D. & Hitch, G.J. (1974). "Working memory." In *The Psychology of Learning and Motivation* (Vol. 8, pp. 47-89).- Baddeley, A. (2000). "The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory?" *Trends in Cognitive Sciences*, 4(11), 417-423.- Luck, S.J. & Vogel, E.K. (1997). "The capacity of visual working memory for features and conjunctions." *Nature*, 390, 279-281.- Hitch, G.J., Allen, R.J., & Baddeley, A.D. (2025). "The multicomponent model of working memory fifty years on." *Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology*, 78(2), 222-239.- Simon, H.A. (1974). "How big is a chunk?" *Science*, 183(4124), 482-488.Key Numbers to Remember- 1956 — Year Miller published "The Magical Number Seven"- 7 ± 2 — Miller's original estimate of memory span- 4 — Cowan's revised estimate of true working memory capacity- 23,800+ — Number of citations for Miller's 1956 paper- 6,200+ — Number of citations for Cowan's 2001 paper- 2.6 bits — Mean channel capacity for unidimensional stimuli- 1-2 seconds — How quickly phonological traces decay without rehearsal- ~2 seconds — The rehearsal window (how many words you can say predicts span)- 50 years — Age of Baddeley's working memory model (1974-2024)- 50,000 — Approximate number of domain-specific chunks experts possessMemorable Quotes"My problem is that I have been persecuted by an integer. For seven years this number has followed me around, has intruded in my most private data, and has assaulted me from the pages of our most public journals."George Miller, opening of the 1956 paper"George had the right ...
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    15 mins
  • Episode 02 | The Architecture of Memory

    Episode 02 | The Architecture of Memory
    Feb 3 2026
    Episode SummaryWhy do you instantly know that Paris is the capital of France, yet can't remember actually learning that fact? In this episode, we explore the fundamental architecture of human memory — the structural framework that governs how information flows from momentary perception to permanent storage.We dive into the landmark 1968 multi-store model by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin, which proposed that memory consists of three distinct stores: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Then we explore Endel Tulving's revolutionary 1972 distinction between episodic memory (personal experiences you can relive) and semantic memory (facts and knowledge stripped of context).Along the way, we discover why information vanishes from short-term memory in just 18 seconds, how your brain can briefly hold ALL the letters you see before the memory fades, and what patient case studies reveal about memory being not one system but an architecture of interconnected stores.Key Topics CoveredThe cognitive revolution of the 1960s and the computer metaphor for memoryAtkinson and Shiffrin's three-store model (1968)Sensory memory: Sperling's iconic memory experimentsShort-term memory: The 18-second forgetting finding (Brown-Peterson paradigm)Long-term memory and its essentially unlimited capacityTulving's episodic vs. semantic memory distinction (1972)Autonoetic consciousness and "mental time travel"The "Remember" vs. "Know" distinctionSemanticization: How episodic memories transform into semantic knowledgeEvidence from patients: K.C., developmental amnesia, and semantic dementiaResearchers MentionedRichard Atkinson (Stanford University) — Co-creator of the multi-store modelRichard Shiffrin (Indiana University) — Co-creator of the multi-store modelEndel Tulving (University of Toronto) — Episodic and semantic memory distinctionGeorge Sperling (Bell Labs) — Iconic memory experimentsLloyd & Margaret Peterson (Indiana University) — Short-term memory decayJohn Brown (Cambridge University) — Short-term memory decayFrederic Bartlett (Cambridge University) — "War of the Ghosts" study, schema theoryWilliam James — Primary and secondary memory distinction (1890)Key Studies & SourcesAtkinson, R.C., & Shiffrin, R.M. (1968). "Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes." The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Vol. 2, pp. 89-195.Tulving, E. (1972). "Episodic and semantic memory." In Organization of Memory, pp. 381-403.Sperling, G. (1960). "The information available in brief visual presentations." Psychological Monographs, 74(11), 1-29.Peterson, L.R., & Peterson, M.J. (1959). "Short-term retention of individual verbal items." Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58(3), 193-198.Tulving, E. (1985). "Memory and consciousness." Canadian Psychology, 26(1), 1-12.Bartlett, F.C. (1932). Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology.Key Numbers to Remember107 pages — Length of the original Atkinson-Shiffrin paper250-500 ms — Duration of iconic (visual) memory2-4 seconds — Duration of echoic (auditory) memory18 seconds — Time for information to vanish from short-term memory without rehearsal7±2 items — Classic short-term memory capacity (Miller, 1956)1968 — Year of the multi-store model publication1972 — Year of Tulving's episodic/semantic distinctionMemorable Quotes"Memory is not a single system but an architecture of interconnected stores, each with distinct properties, durations, and purposes.""Episodic memory makes possible mental time travel through subjective time, from the present to the past, thus allowing one to re-experience, through autonoetic awareness, one's own previous experiences."Endel Tulving"He's won every prize but the Nobel."Don Stuss, on Endel TulvingThe Big IdeaYour brain stores facts and experiences in fundamentally different ways. Episodic memory lets you mentally travel back in time to relive personal experiences, while semantic memory holds decontextualized knowledge. Over time, specific learning episodes fade through a process called semanticization, leaving behind the pure facts — which is why you know Paris is the capital of France but can't remember learning it.Next Episode PreviewEpisode 3: The Magical Number — In 1956, George Miller declared that short-term memory holds "seven, plus or minus two" items. But modern research suggests he was too generous — the real limit may be closer to four. We'll explore working memory, its multiple components, and why this bottleneck shapes everything about how we should present information.
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    18 mins
  • Episode 01 | The Forgetting Machine

    Episode 01 | The Forgetting Machine
    Jan 27 2026
    Episode SummaryWhat if you learned that within an hour of learning something new, you've already forgotten more than half of it? And that by tomorrow, you'll have lost about two-thirds? This isn't a bug in your brain's software — it's a feature.In this debut episode, we explore one of psychology's most fundamental discoveries: the forgetting curve. We travel back to 1879 Germany, where a young scholar named Hermann Ebbinghaus defied the scientific establishment to prove that memory could be measured mathematically. Through years of heroic self-experimentation — memorizing over 2,300 nonsense syllables and performing more than 15,000 recitations — he mapped precisely how we forget.We also examine the 2015 replication that confirmed his findings 130 years later, and explore the surprising modern perspective that forgetting isn't a flaw to be fixed, but an essential feature that makes our minds work better.Key Topics CoveredThe state of psychology in 1879 and why memory was considered unmeasurableHermann Ebbinghaus's revolutionary methodology and the invention of nonsense syllablesThe savings method — Ebbinghaus's ingenious way to measure memoryThe forgetting curve: steep decline at first, then leveling offThe mathematics of forgetting (R² = 0.988 — extraordinary precision)The 2015 Murre & Dros replication and the 24-hour "bump" discoveryAdaptive forgetting: why forgetting is a feature, not a bugRobert Bjork's distinction between storage strength and retrieval strengthCases of hyperthymesia: what happens when people can't forgetResearchers MentionedHermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) — Pioneer of memory research, inventor of nonsense syllablesWilhelm Wundt (University of Leipzig) — Established first psychology lab, believed memory couldn't be studied experimentallyGustav Fechner — His book Elemente der Psychophysik inspired EbbinghausWilliam James (Harvard) — Called Ebbinghaus's experiments "heroic"Jaap Murre & Joeri Dros (University of Amsterdam) — 2015 replication studyRobert Bjork (UCLA) — Adaptive forgetting, "forgetting is a friend of learning"Michael Anderson (Cambridge) — Think/No-Think paradigm, memory suppressionHarry Bahrick (Ohio Wesleyan) — Very long-term retention studies, permastore conceptAlexander Luria — Studied Solomon Shereshevsky, the man who couldn't forgetKey Studies & SourcesEbbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology (Über das Gedächtnis).Murre, J.M.J. & Dros, J. (2015). "Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus' Forgetting Curve." PLOS ONE, 10(7): e0120644.Bjork, R.A. (1989). "Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory." In Varieties of Memory and Consciousness.Bahrick, H.P. (1984). "Semantic memory content in permastore: Fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.Anderson, M.C. & Green, C. (2001). "Suppressing unwanted memories by executive control." Nature, 410, 366-369.Key Numbers to Remember1879 — Year Ebbinghaus began his experiments1885 — Year Memory was published2,300 — Number of nonsense syllables Ebbinghaus created15,000+ — Number of recitations in a single investigation58% — Retention after 20 minutes44% — Retention after 1 hour33% — Retention after 1 day21% — Retention after 31 daysR² = 0.988 — How precisely Ebbinghaus's formula fit his data130 years — Gap between original study and 2015 replicationThe Forgetting Curve DataTime After Learning | RetentionImmediate | 100%20 minutes | ~58%1 hour | ~44%9 hours | ~36%1 day | ~33%2 days | ~28%6 days | ~25%31 days | ~21%Memorable Quotes"I owe everything to you."Ebbinghaus, dedication to Fechner"A really heroic series of daily observations."William James on Ebbinghaus"The most considerable advance, in this chapter of psychology, since the time of Aristotle."Edward Titchener on nonsense syllables"Forgetting is a friend of learning."Robert Bjork"Most have called it a gift, but I call it a burden. I run my entire life through my head every day and it drives me crazy!!!" Jill Price, on her inability to forget"Psychology has a long past but only a short history."Ebbinghaus (1908)The Big IdeaForgetting is the brain's default state — and that's not a flaw. Our brains evolved not to create perfect archives but to support survival decisions. Forgetting enables retrieval efficiency (finding what's relevant), behavioral flexibility (updating outdated information), and pattern recognition (abstracting general principles from specific examples). Understanding the forgetting curve is the first step toward working with our brains, not against them.Next Episode PreviewEpisode 2: The Architecture of Memory — If forgetting is the default, how does anything...
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    15 mins
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