The Story Behind The Picture

This picture was taken quite accidentally (no pun intended). Only the day before, I had purchased a telescopic lens for use with my digital camera. On the way home from my local post office, I found myself caught up in an unmoving, very long line of traffic. I presumed an accident had occurred, but I could not see any of the details relating to it. To get a closer view, I mounted my new lens and zoomed in on the scene.

What I saw was the rear end of a school bus resting on top of the hood of a small car, with the school bus rear end touching, but not breaking, the windshield of the car. I kept listening for the wail of a rescue squad siren, but none came (they were already there and preparing to leave). I did not see a photographer from any of our local newspapers taking pictures of this seemingly bizarre accident in which no one was killed or injured; in fact, no blood was shed. Proof of the seemingly miraculous outcome and other facets of this accident may be obtained from the Charles County Sheriff Office, Technical Services Division, Records Management section. (In the interest of concealing the identities of those involved, I have blurred the faces of the officers, changed the hair color on one, and removed any identifier of rank. I have tried to be as conscientious of officer security as possible. Although told that identifiers on the deputy cars at the scene were not a problem, nevertheless, on advice of counsel, I had those identifiers altered.)

My first instinct was to sell the photo to the local press, but on second thought, I decided this photo should somehow be placed in all the schools, homes of parents with beginning drivers, homes with elderly and/or handicapped drivers, and even experienced drivers, showing that we must concentrate on our driving while behind the wheel. I have been in contact, informally, with psychologists, who believe that this photo, when used as a stimulus to memory, will be far more effective in altering many people’s driving habits than the standard bleeding guts images and totaled wrecks to which we have become accustomed to seeing.

This accident occurred on a dry, sunny day. The roads were clear and no wet leaves were on the road to make driving hazardous. Lack of concentration and inattention caused this accident; therefore, this photo is intended to remind all of us of our responsibilities as drivers.

Why am I devoting all this space in a website designed to promote artwork and fundraise for medical research? I would like to start a nationwide effort to change some of our driving habits, namely to attempt to make concentration on our driving automatic and instinctive. If enough of us are influenced to concentrate more on our driving, I believe we can reduce (not eliminate) the number of accidents caused by our own carelessness (i.e., lack of concentration).

Thus, I invite our institutions (insurance companies, driving schools, auto manufacturers and dealers, school boards, and individuals) and all of us who are truly interested in reducing accidents to join me in this effort.

Let us attempt to distribute this picture as widely as possible in a sincere effort to reduce accidents and to save lives.

Memory

Memory is the process by which a learning experience is retained over time. A single memory can be retrieved several times when the proper stimulus is presented.
There is no consensus on the way in which to classify memory, but two dichotomies often arise when studied by neuroscientists. The dichotomy is between procedural and declarative memory, and second dichotomy is between short term memory and long term memory.

Procedural memory in humans is related to knowledge of the rules of action and procedures, which can become quite automatic with repetition. When one studies a learning curve of some task, we can see that performance is improved (either by less errors or quicker responses or by a combination of both) with the number of repetitions of that task. Having a lot or little “practice” with certain task is procedural knowledge. Nonassociative learning and most classical consulting conditionings produce procedural memory.

Declarative memory involves explicit information about facts. To remember one’s telephone number, or the names of the parts of the neuron, does not require a set of rules and procedures; it is explicit and involves associations with other events. To put it colloquially, declarative memory is what we know consciously, and procedural memory is what we perform unconsciously. Although this dichotomy was first put forward for human memory, it is useful for classifying animal memory as well. A rat can improve on the performance in climbing a small ladder (procedural) and can remember if there will be food on top or not (decorative) if a light is tuned on or off.

Although the division of memory seem arbitrary at first, it is very useful in neuroscience since each type of memory probably has different types of neural substrates.

For instance the hippocampus and temporal cortex seem to be involved in the formation of declarative memory, but not of procedural memory. Whereas certain nuclei of the cerebellum and spinal chord seem to be necessary for the procedural memories to form, but do not intervene in declarative memory. Due to this anatomical organization, declarative memory is said to be controlled by higher brain mechanisms, which procedural memory appears to depend on lower regions and systems.

The second recurring dichotomy in the study of memory in neuroscience is between a short lasting stage and a long lasting stage. The short stage is called short term memory (STM) and is defined by the limited capacity and ability, since it usually only contains a few (less than seven) pieces of information, and can be disrupted easily with either strong or distracting stimuli, or with brain manipulation. If STM goes undisturbed, it only lasts from a few seconds up to several hours, depending on the type of learning and organism involved.

Long term memory (LTM) occurs when the information is kept for longer periods, up to the whole lifetime of organism either because of biological predisposition or by continues repletion. Usually experiences charged with a strong effective component (either reinforcing or aversive) tend to go into long term memory more often than others. This type of memory is less labile and is not easily disrupted. The most frequent reason that some information cannot be retrieved from LTM, is a retrieval problem itself, and not that the memory is lost since it can appear latter in another context. Very little restricted lesions have an effect on LTM but some major afflictions like hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the brain), trauma or electroconvulsive shock can disturb long term memories that were stored. However, most memories come back in time, and the ones that do not were the memories most recently learned before the trauma or treatment. This lack of ability the LTM suggests that the brain (particularly neurons) go through drastic changes that are almost permanent. In the case of STM, the changes probably involve just the way some neurons function, but not the drastic permanent changes.

On the neural level, a notable difference between the dichotomy between procedural and declarative memory, and the dichotomy between STM and LTM, is that in the latter there seem to be involved either higher and lower brain structures, and in some cases the same anatomical area is necessary for both STM and LTM. It is the neural mechanisms involved that are the difference underlying each.

More about myself, the accident and memory:

I am a 75 year old photographer, who has had Parkinson’s disease for more than 16 years. The research done on the field so far has been remarkable, but to date no cure has been found. When my health and the weather permit, I drive to my doctor appointments, Parkinson’s related group sessions and elsewhere knowing I must concentrate 100 percent of the time on my driving. (My driving record is a matter of public record, and I also have nearly 20/20 vision when wearing corrective lenses.) By merely identifying myself as having Parkinson’s disease and also being 75 years of age, one would be inclined to label me as a read hazard. However, nothing could be further from the truth because I concentrate on my driving 100 percent of the time that I am behind the wheel of my vehicle. Why? Because of my illness, the stimulus that I encounter daily, reminds me subconsciously to concentrate on my every movement and action, including driving.

Driving in highway traffic can be hazardous to your health and well being. Driving in the rush hour traffic is equally hazardous and possibly more stressful. The main reason driving anywhere anytime can be such a risk were outlined by Washington Post’s staff writers Dina Elboghdady and Steven Ginsberg in a front page article titled, “Drowsy, Distracted and Driving”, Friday, April 21, 2006. The reasons listed all have one thing in common-motorists’ distractions.

The article, by the way was inspiration for trying to get All of us to realize what a great responsibility we have when we are behind the steering wheel of a car, truck or other vehicles. 

But what can we do to effectively reduce many motorists’ distractions and thereby turn then into more attentive and careful drivers? I have a theory that involves something we take for granted, but is one of the protective weapons at our disposal at all times- memory. A definition of memory can be found at http://www.itisiol.unam.mx/brain/memory.htm, which says among other things, that “…memory is the process by which a learning experience is retained over time. A single memory can be retrieved several times when the proper stimulus is presented”.

So what does this bit of information have to do with reducing motorists’ distractions? Implicit in the above definition of memory is the suggestion that if someone is exposed regularly to the proper stimulus, that stimulus, after the initial exposure, will be retrieved from memory and will become eventually, a permanent part of our subconscious memory. Then, we will react automatically to that stimulus.

Remember, in the definition, a single memory can be retrieved several times when this the proper stimulus is encountered. I believe some encounter is implicit in a picture I took at an accident that occurred this past January in Charles County, Maryland. No one was injured, not a drop of blood was spilled. What caught my eyes was a school bus sitting on the hood of a car, all the way to the windshield. The driver of the car per the police report, lost concentration and ran under the school bus.

Now we’ve all seen pictures of accidents, man y of which were brutal, bloody wrecks. But, what message did they care that impressed our memory? I think we’ve become indifferent not only to seeing those pictures, but the cars police place on display at various locations to remind us to be careful. I don’t think those tactics worked as intended because none was the proper stimulus.

But, if daily you see a picture of an accident involving a school bus, with a brief, attention-getting caption, it is my belief that concentration on one’s driving would be given more and more thought and eventually reside in one’s subconscious. If my theory is correct, concentration on driving would increase and accidents and deaths from accidents would decrease. Even the stress identified with driving might be favorably affected.

My recommended caption for such picture would be:

Full CONCENTRATION on your DRIVING Will avoid this…
Or
CONCENTRATION while Driving is an Act of Love and Respect for Others
Or
Full CONCENTRATION on Your Driving Helps Protect Our Children
Or
CONCENTRATING on Your Driving Helps Others to Concentrate on Living

I believe that any person who sees the above described picture( with any of the above recommended captions) before leaving home each day will have encountered the necessary stimulus to cause him/her to start thinking about concentrating on his/her driving and , ultimately will begin to do so automatically.

Can I prove my theory? No! But I have informally solicited random off-the record opinions from various psychologists who think the logic behind my theory might work when applied within the context of the definition of memory.

Who would buy a picture of accident even if I might have a positive effect on the buyer’s driving and that of others? Neither I, nor my company, Photography: Our View, LLC, have anything to offer a potential buyer other than the possibility that in purchasing the picture, and thus testing the theory, the buyer will eventually benefit by becoming a safer, more careful driver and one who concentrates more intently on his/her driving. But, if a non-profit organization were to emphasize public safety, with the objective of contributing to the reduction of highway accidents and deaths, it would be able to offer an incentive for people to purchase the pictures in the form of a tax deduction which falls within the limits of IRS legal limitations.

In addition, for profit-organizations or private individuals may also participate if they have a vested interest in public highway safety, e.g,   insurance companies, sheriff and police associations, Boards of Education, U.S. Dept of Transportation, and State and Local governments.

The pictures are low cost, and I suggest that my interested parties first adopt a school, and then place a picture in each classroom and the home of each student.

Finally, we should all remember that concentration is a province not limited to driving.
This same picture could be used by resourceful teachers in their classroom as a tool for emphasizing the value of concentration in other fields of endeavor.

For example, students would learn how concentration would improve