Library Concept
Memory
A system's capacity to retain past states and let them shape future behavior — a basic requirement for learning, control, and computation alike.
The capacity of a system to retain some trace of its past states and let that trace influence future behavior, rather than responding to the present input alone. In cybernetics, memory is what distinguishes a system that can learn or adapt from one that merely reacts; in computation, it is the storage a state machine or Turing machine consults and updates at each step; in an instrument, it is what lets recorded material — as in digital sampling — be stored, played back, and manipulated.