Quotes:
“Today we have books, photographs, computers and an entire superstructure of external devices to help us store memories outside our brains, but it wasn’t so long ago that culture depended on individual memories. A trained memory was not just a handy tool but also a fundamental facet of any worldly mind. It was considered a form of character-building, a way of developing the cardinal virtue of prudence, and by extension ethics” (Foer, 2011).
“Rehearsing the cue in the context in which it will need to be recalled is crucial” (King-Friedrichs, p. 78).
Question: Can you improve your memory capacity? Williams James discusses memory and its significance in learning. He claims that there can be “no improvement of the general or elementary faculty of memory” (p. 61). This assertion is in direct conflict with the Foer article we read this week. Did Foer improve his memory capacity or did he just learn techniques to actually use all of his memory capacity? I still do not believe someone can increase their memory capacity (i.e. – muscle) but I do believe you can learn/train yourself to better ways of remembering, just as Foer did in his article.
Direct Connection: I found Foer’s story fascinating and really enjoyed reading it. While I was reading it and reflecting upon it I couldn’t help but think about myself and wondered if I could do something like that; I don’t know that I could, I really don’t. I find it amazing people have trained their brains and memories to be able to remember and retrieve such a vast amount of (random, useless) knowledge. I have trouble remembering the things I think are important, much less the trivial stuff I hardly pay attention to on a daily basis. This article reminded me of a class I took directly after high school. The summer before my freshman year in college, my mom had me sign up for a “Becoming a Master Student” course which was taught at UK. The course taught us tricks for remembering like chunking and other mnemonics. It also emphasized good study skills and really stressed the concept of “be here now,” meaning that if your mind is wandering then you won’t pick up on what your professor is saying. This course was really interesting. Too bad I didn’t remember all the tips from it!
I think this link will take you to more information about Becoming a Master Student
Indirect Connection: This week’s readings really made me think about the oral traditions which are being lost as we move to rely on more technologies for memory storage. I thought about how everything used to be passed down orally; recipes, family traditions, business information, records, etc. Everything we store today in/on a computer used to be shared orally. This tradition was strong in Appalachia and I wonder if it is being maintained in a deliberate sense anywhere. The Hindman Settlement School came to mind while thinking on this, but I’m not sure if they focus on oral traditions. I also thought a lot about the languages that are lost each year. With the loss of these native languages, many oral histories can also be lost. I hope technology is helping to save these important (oral) artifacts before they are gone forever.
References:
James, W. (1899/2001). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. Mineola, NY: Dover.
King-Friedrichs, J. (2001). Brain-friendly techniques for improving memory. Educational Leadership, 59(3), 76-69.
Foer, J. (2011, February). Secrets of a mind-gamer: How I trained my brain and became a world-class memory athlete. New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/20/magazine/mind-secrets.html?hp.
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