[leafboi]

Compression is the correct term.

Using symbols to represent bigger concepts is a form of compression. The representation/memory of an animal in your mind is done using symbols rather than an actual animal.

This isn't speculation. A animal exists in reality as construction of millions of biological cells each in turn made up of billions of atoms. Depending on how big the animal is it could be more atoms that make up your brain. Therefore, for the animal to exist in your mind as a memory there Must be a form of information compression. You cannot fully hold an actualization of an animal in your mind because it is too big to exist in your mind. Your brain holds symbols of the animal.

What happens with a jpeg is the exact same concept as what happens in your memory. A jpeg is a symbolic representation of the actual picture. It is a form of lossy compression because details from the original picture are lost.

[icedchai]

In some cases, yes, it is compression. What I was referring to was not, really. It's complete absence of detailed memory.

[leafboi]

In all cases memory exists as compression. If the memory is completely absent then we're talking about something that doesn't exist, there's no point.

[icedchai]

Or it may not be completely absent, just consciously. Who knows. Nobody knows exactly how our memory works. It's fun to think about though.

[leafboi]

Except we have a mathematical theory of information, and memory being information we know that it must exists within the bounds of that theory. Hence, memory is compression.

[icedchai]

As I've tried to explain 3 or 4 times, this is not what I'm talking about. Do you understand the difference between data being "deleted" and data being "compressed"? I give up.

[leafboi]

Why do you assume it's me who doesn't understand. It's you who doesn't get it.

There is no difference between losing information during lossy compression and deleting information during lossy compression. Lossy compression means that data is literally lost aka deleted.

You can compress an entire memory into a single bit or into nothing. Lossy compression is a gradient where maximum space saving involves total deletion. Medium space spacing involves partial deletion and no space saving aka lossless compression involves no deletion.

Let me put it this way. A JPEG is lossy compression, there is literally deleted information when you compress a picture into a JPEG that cannot be retrieved. Do you understand this concept about the pictures you see on the internet? If you decrease the size when saving a jpeg in photoshop you actually lower the image quality to the point where you can lose a ton of information (aka deletion).

A png is an example of compression without loss. Same with zip, tar or rar file. The original file can completely be rebuilt from a a non lossy compressed file BUT NOT a JPG because a jpeg is a lossy compression. Get it?

Please thank me for teaching you. Or don't reply because you're too mad at being wrong and not appreciative of the fact that I didn't "give up" on a you.