title: The bottleneck may be the solution, not the problem.
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.
authors: Department of Zoology,Tel Aviv University,Tel Aviv 6997801,Israellotem@post.tau.ac.il.
authors: Arnon
authors: A
authors: Lotem
authors: Department of Biology,Stanford University,Stanford,CA 94305okolodny@stanford.edu.
authors: Oren
authors: O
authors: Kolodny
authors: Department of Computer Science,Cornell University,Ithaca,NY 14853halpern@cs.cornell.edu.
authors: Joseph Y
authors: JY
authors: Halpern
authors: Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies,Nanyang Technological University,Singapore 637332lucao@ntu.edu.sg.
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Onnis
authors: Department of Psychology,Cornell University,Ithaca,NY 14853.se37@cornell.edu.
authors: Shimon
authors: S
authors: Edelman
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D007858:Learning; D008570:Memory, Short-Term