" Canned medical and legal
phrases summarize situations that correspond to circumstances on
record. When the doctor states "normal throat," the machine
spells out a text that reproduces stereotype descriptions:
"throat clear, tongue, pharynx without injections, exudate
tonsilar hypertrophy, teeth normal variant." The 1,000-word
lexicon can handle the vast majority of emergencies. Those
beyond the lexicon usually surpass the competence of the
doctor.
The subject of visual mnemonic devices used in the
interpretation of Shakespeare's plays is marvelously treated in
Frances A. Yates's book The Art of Memory (Harmondsworth: Penguin
Press, 1966). She discusses Robert Fludd's memory system of
theater, from his Ars memoriae (1619), based on the
Shakespearean Globe Theater. In ancient Greece, orators
constructed complex spatial and temporal schemata as aids in
rehearsing and properly presenting their speeches.
Functioning of Language
Research on memory and language functions in the brain is being
carried out at the University of Minnesota, Institute of Child
Development. Work is focused on individuals who are about to
undergo partial lobotomies to treat intractable epilepsy. The
goal is to provide a functional map of the brain.
"History remains a strict discipline only when it stops short, in
its description, of the nonverbal past." (Ivan Illich and Barry
Sanders, The Alphabetization of the Popular Mind, p.
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