We learned from Dr. Mark Mattson that fasting will not only drop our calorie intake but fasting is also good for the whole body and brain. The basic idea seems to be that various body systems can use a break from their usual routines and duties. I learned from David Weinberger's "Too Big to Know" that the internet, libraries and various sources offer way more than I can read, watch or learn. Just today, my brain's overload light went on.
I cannot learn anything new. My experiencer is depleted and my mental file space is full. No further anything until I empty out some of what I currently have. I'm guessing every 2nd childhood memory could go. I've read that procedural memories, such as driving and biking last a long time. Tying my shoelaces and typing with a steady stream of typos will probably still be useful but I haven't shot a bow, nor had to use a crutch, for a long time. Maybe I will dump those bins.
My brain box is full. It is unpleasant when I get a message "Your mind is not accepting new information at this time. Please try again later." It is not like when I was a kid. I could read two books at once, one with each eye, while listening to a radio program (sort of like a live podcast, Kids). I may keep an index of what gets dumped just to try to track what I did know that I think I can get along without.
I guess I could train my brain to dump stuff on a regular basis like some email programs do. I am guessing that stuff that has not be actively used in the last five years has iffy value and might be safely forgotten. Some things are probably not available once forgotten but other things could be relearned and/or updated. As we slowly moved from college kids with no money to oldsters with a little, I used to wonder what I would do if our appliances and cars all ceased working at the same time. I worried that I wouldn't be able to afford mass replacement. It is a similar problem with learnings from a while back. Most of those learnings seem to need updating. Many parts of my learning are out-of-date but I don't really feel like checking up on everything to bring it all up to date.
