Do non-words occupy less or more space than words? The universe keeps expanding. If the universe expands, then the space expands, too, because space is the universe. Unless it is not. If it is not, then it won’t expand, although the universe will (so it can happen that one day the universe will be bigger than the space it is in – it’s very exciting, isn’t it?). It is as it is. This has no impact on our considerations the only sense of which is to be a bit funny and turn our mood into a good one if it is bad or vice versa. If the universe expands then the distances between galaxies increase. But does the distances inside the galaxies, or the distances between stars, increase, too? It seems so. And if it seems so, then the distances between planets running around some of those stars should increase, too. It seems the distances between particles should increase, too, but maybe it only seems so, this is what we expect so much, because if it were so, then the planets and the stars and everything what is on and in them should grow. However it seems the planets do not grow. The Earth is of the same size. It doesn’t inflate like a balloon, like the universe. It’s disappointing, but if it were growing it would explode and disappear sooner or later. They say the universe will expand so much that it will become empty and cold, or it will be so big, so vast, that electrons and quarks and the others won’t be able to encounter. Luckily it only seems so, we don’t have to worry too much, there are plenty of more important matters. It looks like the forces pulling particles to each other are stronger than the forces expanding the universe and space, that is why the Earth remains the same and doesn’t grow, but let’s assume for a while that it’s not so, we will have more fun and that’s the point. If we assume, and there are no reason why we shouldn’t do that, that our mind is a sort of universe, then it should expand, too (of course, we should not reject the idea saying there are universes which don’t expand and our mind can be just one of them.) In the mind-universe notions are the galaxies-stars-planets. Does it mean the distances between the notions will increase constantly while the notions themselves will not enlarge? If it was so, then there would always be room for new notions and discussing the question given in the title would have no practical, or ecological, impact – what should the space be spared for when there is more and more room constantly and no threat of its lack? At the end of the day the mind will be empty and cold, because the notions will be infinitely distant each from the other, so as if they didn’t exist not at all; then one won’t be able to compose a phrase of words, a word of letters, a melody of sounds, a picture of lines and dots… But if notions expand, then the problem in the title remains valid and unsolved. They also say a mind is like a hard disc in a computer. They don’t say a mind is a hard disc, a hard drive. And they are right. We, and they, don’t know whether our, and their, mind is hard or soft. It’s known a brain is soft, that’s why a skull is hard – if a skull was soft, then a brain would have to be hard. We, and they, don’t know if a skull is a computer. Rather not. A head can be a computer. But a head is both hard and soft, it’s hard-soft. Some of its parts and areas are soft, some are hard. Like in a computer. If so, then a brain should be considered a disc, a drive. Or a mass storage. Neither hard nor soft. Then a mind would be a piece of software... Maybe it would be so, maybe not, with no doubt the hardware matters are not the main topic of this lecture. Of course, they are important, but not enough important to wander off the point... If we consider the mind-brain a drive in the computer-head, then we should discuss the following problem: a computer memory is limited. Of course, it can be cleared from time to time to save new files, but this doesn’t mean the memory has infinite capacity. Any computer memory has limited capacity which is named in specific numbers of specific units. Is the mind’s memory like that? Nobody knows. The fact it seems infinite and limitless doesn’t mean it is really so. Forgetting has been invented for some reasons. Nevertheless we don’t know if forgetting is an irrevocable erasing or just throwing something into a recycle bin. If we, in any case, succeeded to count the capacity of mind’s memory and found it is infinite, then our deliberations would turn out senseless. If we found the mind’s memory is not infinite and has a specific capacity which can be named in specific numbers of specific units, this would mean one day it would be full to the brim and then the answer to the question in the title would be of extremely significant value. It is crucial to indicate the moment when memory ends. Maybe its capacity is defined in a way it won’t have been filled by the end of our life even absorbing the monstrous amounts of information as it happens nowadays. But these problems are not exactly the point, either. If we put an equality sign (or of identity, or great similarity) between a mind and a hard disc (or a mass storage) then a word would take much less space than an image or a sound. The word kettle would take less space the its image (the image of any kettle takes incomparably less space than a real kettle, but a real kettle is beyond the mind so let it be there). Also the word C-major takes less room than an audio file and not only the word but the idea of a scale as well. But a description of a song, or of a sonata, could take more space than this song, or this sonata – certainly the full description, of every single sound, every single note and of all sounds and notes together, of the entire composition... Does the mind remembers (saves) words, sounds and images exactly in the same way like a computer does? It seems not. It seems it does this differently. It seems it does this in a way that the size of mind files is of no importance at all. It seems as if all mind files were of the same size, or of no size at all. Which confirms once again this lecture has no sense and it is yet another lecture that can be easily omitted. <<<