I accept that working memory may not be clearly understood (at least by us ) but if it is what you can hold in your head while you work on a problem or something similar (regardless of the model) I don't see it as something that can be compensated for completely by a good long-term memory or by use of external aids.
I would tend to agree with this idea. It seems to be more than remembering a list of digits.
Here's what the
Wikipedia says about working memory:
Most theorists today use the concept of working memory to replace or include the older concept of short-term memory, thereby marking a stronger emphasis on the notion of manipulation of information instead of passive maintenance.
It seems reasonable to think that people with good working memory as defined above would have an advantage when doing word problems or when trying to solve a thorny problems involving a lot of factors. These tasks involve identifying important information and ideas that you've known for a longer time, holding them separately (presumably in your working memory), and relating them to new information. If you can do this in your head at one time and then manipulate the information in your mind to find new relationships, you probably have an advantage over someone who has to write stuff down (because you're constantly drawing on information in your mind and adding and removing ideas from memory. This is hard to duplicate on paper).
