MEMORY

 

  

                                     MEMORY

PREAMBLE

Quite often we encounter situations when we suddenly feel that we are unable to recall something vital for that occasion. This is not unusual or seriously bad in human life. But if the phenomenon turns a routine, one may face a serious debacle in life. What causes this? Is there a way out? These are frequently raised questions which do not elicit ready or easy answers. Obviously memory is a faculty whose amplitude varies between persons and as such any common answer may not help every one for every occasion. Necessarily memory needs being cultivated through simple exercises which put mild pressure on mind to ‘draw’ from the store. To cite an example, it is like locks and keys routinely used versus those that are rarely used. The latter version fails to open up even after strenuous efforts. Like all gadgets, memory also serves us right if we put it to use. A number of questions is attendant in analyzing the issues involved. Earnestly I do not visualize giving any major suggestion. However, I may try saying what could be done to improve and one can improve on the improvement further.

Conditioning:

Like all human acts, memory needs being honed. Honing the memory is a simple exercise of a regular or habitual training. Mind is the faculty that registers events, utterances, happenings and retains them almost ad infinitum. However, it is not as if this ability is of uniform relevance to all instances of life. On the contrary, the most enjoyable and the bitterest experiences in life get deeply entrenched and effortlessly so. To drive home this point, one can consider how often we recall jocular pieces we have read somewhere. We lose track of from where we gathered the item but not the item itself.

Likewise, all items of light reading and “not-so-important” ones stay fresh in memory. It is quite paradoxical that, we tend to forget things that we should not.  Less relevant details stay etched in memory.

This is the general trend in any average person’s attitude to memory. It cannot be permitted to take deep roots, if we desire regulating our faculty for long term advantages. Repeated practice or indulgence in a routine constitutes conditioning. It also implies that, like the body the mind can also “take” a certain load. So, it can be gradually raised to higher limits. Interestingly, memory does not suffer fatigue. No one ever feels tired of remembering things without any specific obligation. But, people cry hoarse of having to remember “so much” for an examination.

Things that are well understood stay anchored. Examination material is forcibly thrust in to the head without a clear understanding. Therefore the message turns volatile and the memory for these fades off with time. Jokes and stories are understood during the reading session itself and do not invite a second reading. This is the essential basic criterion which determines the capacity for retention. At this juncture, I reiterate that there is physically no limit for retention. Simply recall how many people, places, phone numbers, initials of friends’ names, movie songs / sequences we remember, without any obligation. Only when it comes to ‘holding’ material for examination our memory seems to shrink. Could it be real? The obvious mistake is, we have not taken the right approach to “conditioning” our ability to retain information. Can we do it now? Is age a serious constraint?

To continue              Prof. K. Raman