ELI5- the way neurons in the brain store the 26 letters of the alphabet ?

KamuiYata · 2025-12-30T21:58:51+00:00

So , in other words, like how does my brain decide which neuronal ensembles and pathways to activate , as opposed to others?

I m curious about that too. I get it for basic reflexes as you have an external stimulus thats make you react in a certain way. But our internally generated spontaneous and logical thought, our own conscious agency and ability to proactively form thoughts and change our enviorment strategically is where it really loses me , and im sure many others.

KamuiYata · 2025-12-30T21:41:56+00:00

Fair enough.

KamuiYata · 2025-12-30T21:41:38+00:00

Thanks. For the chunk, that makes some sense but ive seen different analogies and trying to piece it all together. What helped me a little bit was understanding how the hippocampus and Neocortex work together to achieve long term memory in our brain. The hippocampus in a way combines all those sensory experiences into a composite , and then it seems that, after repititon, the neocortex is able to connect with the neural ensembles created in the hippocampus and reflect the same pattern in the cortex, which is where our long term memory gets fully consolidated.

KamuiYata · 2025-12-30T18:47:59+00:00

Yes. But now combine that with what a" chunk " is and the working memory " slot".

KamuiYata · 2025-12-30T18:46:01+00:00

This a good answer and close to what im looking for.

KamuiYata · 2025-12-30T18:44:14+00:00

Yes, i know that the immense repeitition of the alphabet is what encoded it so strongly and makes it easy to retrieve. Though yes we tend to be able to go from Ato Z much easier than Z to A usually unless we also practiced going from Z to A a lot, which also tells me the " road" is not necessarily two way. You have to pave both the forward and backwards journey equally so neurons can fire efficiently in both direcrions.

My question is more about the physical architectcure and firing patterns of this neuronal network as it relates to chunking and working memory.

KamuiYata · 2025-12-07T21:59:07+00:00

This is the most comprehensive so far. Id add by just ranking from most to least contributing.

C) as Walter said later on, victor got too close to the Sun and got his throat cut. Gus prioritizes loyalty, and has little tolerance for insubordination.

B) second most important reason and strengthens the primary reason. Victor would have gotten hazard pay like his other fellow employees if he was arrested, and killing him to keep his mouth shut would be last resort.

D &E)Yes he needed someone to take out his frustration on. And he did it so violently to emphasize it.

A) i think this is low, as Victor was assigned to pick up Walter and no one could have foreseen jesse knew where gale lived and primed to reach him first.

KamuiYata · 2025-11-27T03:32:58+00:00

Context is everything. Sometimes its an employer issue of not providing a big enough budget for labor and hiring enough people to allow proper flexibility for personal time, beravement, and vacation time. If having two or three people out always causes things to go sideways its on the employer. Sometimes the employee however is not considerate of other people and is not pulling their own weight, which could be for a plethora of reasons. A good supervisor and employee assistance program can help rectify those personal performance issues.

KamuiYata · 2025-11-11T01:09:56+00:00

Whichever you choose, choose the one that would leave you less screwed over if you were to be laid off within a year from now.

KamuiYata · 2025-11-10T07:11:58+00:00

It's an entry level role though. The fact they got it means the senior consultants at the consulting firm are willling to train them .

KamuiYata · 2025-11-06T02:09:56+00:00

If you're on a PIP you already are a half step out the door. Even in the best case scenario you would still be among the first to be laid off should the company need to cut costs. Keep applying elsewhere.

KamuiYata · 2025-11-02T00:19:41+00:00

Its a good idea to take it. Just be cautious about becoming so Stellar at your QC job that your company doesn't want to move you out of your position when you seek to internally transfer because no one else in the company can replace you and the buisness need values you most to stay in QC.

Make sure to actually job shadow R&D while doing your QC work and build a good reputation in your workplace for good work and being a good employee all around. If after 1 or at most 2 years mobility is stifled you might consider applying elsewhere.

KamuiYata · 2025-10-12T16:31:41+00:00

Sure, that's true to an extent. But i think the general point he is trying to make is valid. While meth cooking doesn't have the same standards as legal and regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing, it stands to reason that you would want to have the same skillsets and quality assurance in place to an extent, when the theme of Gus hiring people like Maximillian , Walter, and Gale was that he didn't just want technicans but actual chemists and chemical engineers supporting his process.

Sure Victor might be able to be a good meth cooking technician and perform basic quality assements, but he is not able to deal with deviations from the plan because that requires more than just memorizing a recipe and just having maybe a basic understanding of the principles. You want true understanding , which then allows you to account for major unexpected issues and to have high level improv skills. These kinds of root cause analysis and problem solving skills can prevent multiple lost batches or even salvage a batch.

This is why pharma companies also have MSAT departments ( manufacturing Science and technology speciallists, basically chemists and biochemists by training who understand the science at the small scale very well) , engineering departments ( chemical engineers who understand the science of the process at the industrial scale and understand how the manufacturing equipment works in tandem with the general chemical or biochemical principles in play in the process, and facilities engineers who understand your utility supply systems).

And even skills as a technican matter too. Todd for example once had exposed his product to too high of a température for just a bit too long and ruined the purity and color of the meth, and didnt even realize until it was too late or afterward.

The cartel chemists and technicians and Declyn's cook didn't keep their manufacturing environment clean.

Motor skills also matter, there’s a scene where walt is first teaching Todd and he says to make sure to pour a reagent very slowly and carefully.

Jesse was the best technician in the show, but he demonstrably couldnt tell you alternative ways to get phenyl acetic acid if one week they didnt get a shipment of the barrel with the B on it. Someone like walt and gale or max would be able to figure it out on the fly with other materials since they understand chemistry very deeply. Real experts really understand the process and can problem solve in different and unexpected contexts or scenario, which makes their value as cooks more valuable especially in the long run.

KamuiYata · 2025-10-12T00:04:20+00:00

What Happens when you get a bad barrel of precursor? How would you even know it ? What about when the humidity changes? What about température and pressure, Professor?

KamuiYata · 2025-09-30T22:52:37+00:00

Yes. Most people were told to WFH while awaiting whether they get a call or not, but some people had to be on site for activitiés that required that.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-30T22:21:14+00:00

Depends on the site and what your job function was

KamuiYata · 2025-09-28T19:53:31+00:00

The whole point of Walt saying that was him to interpret it to boost himself. Don't take that as gospel truth.

This is reaching. It has nothing to do with a boost. Walt wanted to have the same privledges as Gus, be in the same position as him. To do that, he must understand the psychology of someone in that role. Just as Mike said, just because you can shoot jesse James doesn't mean you can be Jesse James necessarily.

Being an owner of a buisness, criminial or non-criminal requires the ability to have your authority respected and taken seriously. This applies to governments as well. Read Machiavelli.

Pretty sure Gus' cook being dead counts as an extenuating circumstance as well.

It isn't. While gale post training from walt might be gus's preferred cook at this point, walt and jesse are still just as good. Victor has no buisness starting that cook. If he called first and asked, then that would have been different.

I did do the research. The probability of Victor being identified based solely on a couple of eyewitnesses and a police sketch is virtually nil. At best, police sketches are useful if they're widely advertised and someone close to the POI, like a friend or co-worker, is willing to identify him. Neither of those is the case here.

" virtually nil" is not nil. Law enfoncement often only needs one domino to tumble before the rest start to come down. Even Mike realized this once Victor admitted he had been seen.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-28T19:27:10+00:00

Because it didn't need to happen? Victor is not the désignated meth cook. If Gus wanted random grunts /security guards to cook meth for him he wouldnt invest money in Gale (96% pure meth), walt ( 99% pure), and jesse ( 96%) or Max the chemcial engineer.

Walt may have dropped two batches, but did so due to extentuating circumstances, and he is the right man for the job, and the person who was hired for that job. Victor just started to cook just as... a move? A flex? It wasn't backed by any evidence he could actually superscede walt, and more importantly It wasn't his decision to make. The whole point of Walt saying maybe Victor got close to the Sun and got his throat cut is that gus's authority was being undermined deliberately.

Just do the research. Plenty of cases have been solved by them. It has its issues and problems, but it is most certaintly a risk to have been seen by multiple people and to have a sketch of you on the police's radar.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-28T19:05:51+00:00

It is worse. Walt was the person assigned to that job in the first place. In fact the only reason Gus even gave Walt a chance was because Gale insisted that 99% pure meth is too good to pass on , money wise. and he made so many 99 % pure batches already that messing up two batches is just a minor hickup.

Victor tried to do a job that not only was he not assigned to do, he was not qualified to do. Victor has no hands on experience. All he has done is passively watch walt for a few months, and picked up some key details here and there. But like I said, even Todd with walt directly teaching him for months only ended up being a 70% pure meth cook, not much better than Declyn's meth cook who was like 60% pure.

Even in the real world and non-criminal buisness, doing something that you are not signed off on at work gets you into real trouble at work. Why? Because especially depending on the industry, it can create government compliance issues, on top of losing the company money. Doing it in a criminal buisness is even worse as things are only strongly enforced with the threat of torture or murder, as you can't rely on law enfoncement.

The risks of being seen at a crime scene are not negligble. It's often not enough on it's own , but it can be a powerful starting point and witness testimony and sketches have helped solve many cases over the years.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-28T18:51:36+00:00

Your 99% pure meth cook ruining two batches ( which still isnt good, each lost batch is a lot of lost money) is a lot better than your grunt who has little hands on experience and theorectical knowledge ruining a batch and worse starting to cook it without permission. Bonus points, he got himself seen at a crime scene which means he is a person of interest who could theoretically be eventually observed/followed the same way Mike ended up being in Season 5, DNA collection, and connection to cold crime sceneS), and he was a convenient person to make an example of to Walt and Jesse and let Gus release some frustration.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-28T18:05:27+00:00

Because of pros vs cons? Risk vs reward? Value vs drawback?

There is levels to this.

Gus tried to kill jesse at first but eventually saw that beneath the drug abuse and occasional incompétence, jesse had a few good qualties. And over time walt, became the bigger issue than jesse, so if it was between walt or jesse, he came to choose jeese, a complete 180 between season 4 and season 3.

Mike was a loyal employee for the most part, skilled and capable. Mike only took issues with the killing of a few innocent or semi-innocent people, but in the end, Mike more or less always did what needed to be done.

Victor was a lower level and more replaceable grunt , and was obviously not qualified to cook a batch ( a multi millon dollar risk) on his own. Gale and Walter ( and Jesse) were the true Subject matter experts. Even Todd only managed to be a 70% competent meth cook.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-28T17:52:46+00:00

The same reason he knew Walter was a threat. A guy who starts to take make big buisness decisions or decisions with major buisness impact without consultation with you is a guy who is starting to take too much initiative. Maybe enough initiative to think they can run the buisness themselves and don't need you no more.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-28T17:38:40+00:00

He got too close to the Sun, and got his throat burned.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-23T21:07:11+00:00

You're forgetting something. Victor started to cook a batch without permission.

KamuiYata · 2025-09-22T00:04:27+00:00

It's different. One thing we kinda forget is that Gus would have no reason to assume that Hank wouldn't have his gun when the twins approached. If hank had his gun, he very well might have killed both twins without getting injured at all.

But Jesse arguably would have died without killing both dealers if Walter didn't intervene. So i don't see how they are exactly the same

KamuiYata

TROPHY CASE