fundamentals of memory development

FUNDAMENTALS OF

MEMORY DEVELOPMENT

D R . CA M E R O N B . R O W L IN GS O NS y racus e U nivers i ty ; College of O s teopathic P hy s icians

and S urgeons ; M ember of the S ocietyof A pplied P sy chology .

S E CO N D E D I T IO N

R evised and E nlarged, with an A dded S ection on

HO W T O S T U D Y E F F E CT IV E L Y

U N IV E R S IT Y P U BL ISHIN G CO

L O S A N GE L E S , CA L IF O R N IA

F O R E WO R D

Memory is the foundat ion on which yourmental storehouse i s bu i lt . A poor memoryis l ike a foundat ion of sand— sh i ft ing, un

rel iable , uncerta in . A good memory i s l ikea foundat ion of rock— secure , certa in , en

dur ing . Successful men are men w ith goodmemories . The man w i th an accurate and

dependable memory i s the man who is

marked for advancement .These lessons are the result of study and

research extending over a per iod of more thanfour years . The a im has been to make thecourse conc ise by omitt ing useless stunts andother impracti ca l mater ial ; a t the same t imeto make it complete by includ ing a ll of thebas i c principles of memory development ; inshort , to make i t clear , understandable , andpractical , y et thoroughly sci ent ific .

5

LESSON I

GEN ERA L CONSID ERATION S

I t i s important at the outset to understandj ust what memory is and what i s a imed atin its development, for unless we knowwhere we are go ing, we shall be l ike the manin the song

,

“ I don’t know Where I’m go ing,but I’m on my way .

'

A very good defin i t i on of memory is theone given by the Century Dict ionary : “Thementa l capac ity of reta in ing unconsc ioustraces of consc ious impress ions or states , andO f reca ll ing these traces to consc iousness w iththe attendant percept ion that they ( or the i rObj ects ) have a certa in relat ion to the past .

'

Locke’s defin it ion i s a lso good : “Thepower to revive aga in in our m inds thoseideas which , a fter impr int ing, have disappeared, or have been , a s i t were , la id asideout of s ight, i s memory .

' In otherwords , memory i s the knowledge of a factor event which , having d is appeared fromconsc iousness , at a later t ime reappears , together with the additiona l consciousness thatwe have thought or exper ienced it be fore .Since the quali ty and quantity o f bra inti ssue in a given person remains practi callyfixed , i t follows that no system of memorytra ining can enlarge what may be called the

the individual . Theadvancement must come in mental hab i ts andin methods of l earning ; T hese are capab le O f‘W —M fi a

almost unl im i ted improvement . Many badmemor1es are merely

i '

b‘

adi

hab its .

Y our body i s controlled by your nervoussystem , compri s ing bra in , spinal cord , andbranches extending to every part o f the body.

It i s now an accepted p rinciple in sc ience thatthe bra in may be regarded as a storage-battery , storing a form of energy in many re

spects l ike electri ci ty, but which may be callednervous energy . Every activity of the bodyrequires energy, and thi s energy i s suppli edfrom the bra in storage-battery . Not the

s lightest activity of any part of the body cantake place unless energy is sent to that partover the nerves , which may be compared tothe wires go ing out from a central power station and carrying electri cal energy to all partso f a city . When nervou s energy arr ives at amuscle i t i s transformed into mot ion — a process correspond ing to the transformation intomotion of the electrica l energy arriving in amotor over the w ires from the power-house .Every purpose ful act o f l i fe wh ich 13 re

peated at greater or less intervals 13 a hab it ,formed by the nervous current flow ing re

peatedly through a certa in series of nervewires and meeting with less resi stance to itsflow each time . The process may be veryroughly i llustrated in thi s way : i f you walkacross a freshly p lowed field, there is consid

8

FU N D A M E N T A L S O F ME MORY DEVELOPMENT

crable res istance to your passage the first t ime ;but i f you repeatedly walk over the samecourse , a path i s soon formed wh ich makeswalking easy . Any act o f mind or body whichyou repeat from t ime to time wears a path

, so

to speak , in your nervous system ,and thus

forms a habi t . It is ea si ly seen from thi s thatyou mus t have hab its , whether you want themor not ; you cannot escape them . Whether thehab its you have are to be a help to your progress and your ach ievement , or whether theyare to be the reverse , depends on you . Y ou

can make of yoursel f what you will , by directing your hab i t format ion . Form hab its of

remembering, and you w i ll have a goodmemory . I f you have formed wrong hab itsand you want to get rid o f them , you have adifli cult task ; but will-power and perseverancecan accompli sh i t . Form right hab its o f study ,of work , o f play, O f all the various act iv it ieso f l i fe , and you can atta in any goal w ith inreason that you may set for yoursel f .These lessons give you methods for remem

bering . The first time you try to apply anypart icula r method , you may find it hard , foryou are forc ing nerve currents over paths theyhave never traveled before . 'eep at i t ; eachrepeti ti on wears the path smoother and makesthe method easi er . Once the habi t of remember ing i s establ ished

,it becomes as easy as

not remember ing .

Our knowledge comes to us through thesenses . Each thing that we learn ar

9

FU N D A M E N T A L S OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT

rives in the bra in through one or moreO f these five channels , or paths : Seeing,hearing, smell ing , tasting or feel ing . O f

these , the first two bring us the greater partof our intellectual knowledge .Some persons remember best the th ings

they see ; such persons are sa id to have thevisua l type of memory . Others rememberbetter the things they hear ; these are saidto have good audi tory memory . In somepersons the relative activity of the two typesis about even . In addit ion to these types ofmemory, there i s sti ll another in which themind reta ins i ts impressi ons best when theperson either speaks aloud or writes the informat ion wh ich is to be memor ized . Thisis known as the motor type O f memory .

In beginning the development of the memory, you should discover as soon as possiblewhether your memory i s predominantly vi sualor auditory. One of the best ways to goabout thi s is to revi ew in your mind a number o f facts which y ou have acqu ired in thepast few weeks or months , and in each casetry to recall whether you first acqui red thefact through your eyes or through your ears .G iven facts of as nea rly as possible the samecomparative importance , the method of ac

quisit ion which has the greatest number of

facts to its credit , i s the one which i s bestdeveloped in you .

Another method of determ in ing this po int ,and one which will give an indi cation of the

1 0

FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT

part played by the motor memory in yourcase , i s a s follows :Have a fri end or member of your fami ly

make three l ists , each conta in ing fi fteen un

related words , on three separate sheets ofpaper . Read the first l i st once ca refully,then w ithout referring to the paper, see howmany y ou can repeat . Have someone readaloud , once , the second l i st, and see howmany you can remember . Then take thethi rd l ist , write each word once , and testyoursel f as before . Following i s a l ist o fwords wh ich you can use for the last test

' c i ty nat iveocean bookhat calml ion cha irship excellent

When you have determined wh ich is yourpredominant type O f memory, that i s themethod you should use most frequently, forby so do ing y ou are making the most of yournatural faculties . None O f the methods ,however, should be neglected , and the moreo f them you use for any given fact, themore certa in you are of remembering thatfact .

1 1

automobi lemagaz inelawyersimplel ight

LESSON I I

IMP RESSION ,ATTENTION , INTEREST

I f you will refer to the defin it ions of

memory given at the beginning , you willnote that in each O f them occurs the idea O f

the fact or event being aga in in consciousness . Many people fa i l to remember becausethey never acqu ire a first impression . Without a first impression , the best memory in theworld i s helpless . I f you are to remember afact, that fact must previously have

'

existed inyour consciousness for a measurable period o f

time : there must have been a first impress ion .

No system of memory culture can give you amagi c power o f making someth ing out O f

noth ing .

The impress ions which are best remembered are those wh ich are

( I ) New or startl ing,

( 2 ) Most interesting,

(3 ) Clearest or most vivid ,

(4 ) Frequently repeated ,

(5 ) Most recently a cquired .

( 1 ) One of the chie f reasons why we re

member the experi ences O f ch ildhood so muchbetter than those of Our later years i s thatduring this period the mind is fresh and

12


even ord inary facts and events are sur

pri sing .

( 2 ) Most persons who say they havepoor memori es are usually found to haveexcellent memori es for some part icular kindof facts— and i t i s always for someth ing thati s of speci a l interest to them . A womanmay have a very poor memory for poli ti calfacts , but an excellent one for the deta i ls ofa dress which she admi res . In the case of

a man , this might be reversed . Some persons have a good memory for numbers but apoor memory for words , and v ice versa .

There a re many young Office clerks whosememory for business facts i s so poor thatthey never ri se above mediocrity

,who never

theless exhib i t an amazing capaci ty for re

ta in ing baseball scores and batting averages .I f these same young men would take acorresponding degree O f interest in the irwork , and would spend a s much t ime studying and thinking about i t , advancement in

pos1t IO n and salary would take care of itsel f .To rise above the other fellow , i t i s onlynecessary to do better work than the otherfellow .

(3 ) I t i s a m istake to blame the memorywhen the real trouble l i es in poor Observati on . Can you tell the relative posmon O f

the horns and cars on a cow' Which waydoes the head face on a two-cent postagestamp' I f you cannot answer such questionsas these correctly , i t i s not because y ou have

1 3


not seen,but because you have not observed

- because you have not acquired an impres

s iou .

The power O f observation can be wonderfully developed . Readers O f 'ipl ing’s “'im'

will recall the amazingly deta iled descriptionby the native Hindu boy of the fi fteenprecious stones which were shown to him fora few minutes only, and then put out of hiss ight . Y ou can develop y our power of oh

servation by practi ce . As you walk along abusiness street where there are stores

,stop a

few minutes before some w indow containinga number of small articles . A j eweler’s window is good . Look over the di splay carefully, examining each Obj ect separately first ,then the entire window as a whole . Thenpass on and try to recall what i s in thewindow.

Another excellent means of developing thepower of observation i s by drawing on papera s imple p i cture of some ordinary obj ect suchas an inkstand or a vase . Y ou need not bean arti st to do thi s and the result Of youreffort may have no artisti c value , but thatdoes not matter . Y ou will probably be surpri sed at the deta i ls you will notice that youhad not observed before .In cultivating the power of Observation , a

l ittle practi ce repeated every day i s muchmore effective than a great effort followed bya per iod of inact ion Set yoursel f a l i ttle

1 4:

FUN DAM ENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPM ENT

dai ly task of Observing something carefully,picturing i t in the mind in all its deta i ls . Onthe following day call up the p icture , reproducing i t as clearly as you can , and then compare the original Obj ect , and note any inaccuraci es . Five minutes a day given to th isis one of the best investments of time you canmake

,and the resulting development of your

powers of observat ion— and consequently,of your memory— will repay y ou many t imesover . Accurate Observation gives the cl earmental impress ions which are so essentia l togood memory.

(4 ) Frequent repet it ion Of an impress ioni s the method which i s perhaps more at thecommand o f the individual than any other .Every mental impress ion cannot b e new or

startling ; all cannot be equally interesting,and certa inly every impress ion cannot be mostrecent . We can , however, repeat ideas toourselves as much as we wish . P robablyeveryone has heard the Old saying,

“Repet it ion i s the mother of learning .

' This i sonly another way of saying that repetiti oni s the mother of memory . Facts whi ch wefind dull but wh ich we nevertheless find itnecessary to remember, can be reta ined bythi s method .

( 5 ) The only way we can keep recentthe impress ions we wish to reta in i s by repetit ion . When we w i sh to memorize poetryor any other l i terary matter word for word

,

repetiti on i s the method we must employ.

1 5


Newly learned facts are reta ined bestwhen no new mental activity follows theperiod of acquis i tion . The new memory material must figuratively settle down ,

' and i sapt to be lost i f i t i s st irred up by othermental engagements .

ATTEN TION A N D INTEREST

We have already seen that in order tohave memory, we must first have an impress ion . The first step in acqui ring an impression is a t tent ion . The word attention comesfrom two Latin words meaning to stretchtoward . We must s tretch our mind . toward

the fact or obj ect we wish to remember . I fwe are in teres ted in the fact or Obj ect , giving attent ion i s easy ; i f not, It is more di thcult, and i t becomes necessary to bring our

will-power into play to keep the attentioncentered , or else find something to which theObj ect i s related , that we are interested in .

The part played by interest in the mechani smof memory is an exceedingly important one.

In itsel f, the average ra i lroad time-table i s arather uninteresting obj ect , but when one

begins to plan a trip , and wants to know thetime of arrival and departure of tra ins , thatsame time-table takes on a very decided int erest . I f one i s interested in one’s work , notonly i s i t easi er to do that work than something

'

in which one i s not interested,but one

will be more successful in i t than in the uninterest ing work .

1 6

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

LE S S O N II I

CONCENTRATION A N D ASSOCIATION

The word concentrate comes from theLatin , and means l iterally to center together .“ In concentration , the consciousness i s held toa single image ; the whole attention i s fixedon a S ingle point

,without wavering or

swerving . The mind— which runs continuallyfrom one th ing to another, attracted by external Obj ects and shaping itself to each inqui ck succession— i s checked

,held in , and

forced by the will to rema in in one form ,

Shaped to one image , disregarding all otherimpress i ons thrown upon i t .At the beginning Of concentration , two

di fficulti es have to be overcome . Fi rst, thi sdi sregard of the impress ions continuallybeing thrown on the mind . The m ind mustbe prevented from answering these contacts

,

and the tendency to respond to these outs ideimpressIO nS must be resi sted ; but this necess itates the parti al directi on of the attention torespond to the act O f resi sting, and when thetendency has been overcome , the res istance itself must pass . P erfect balance i s needed ,neither res i stance nor non-res istance , but asteady qui etude so strong that impressionsfrom outs ide w i l l not produce any result, not

18


even the secondary result O f the consciousnessof something to be res i sted .

“Second , the m iiI'

dM

i tself must hold a s soleimage , for the time , the Obj ect O f concentration ; i t must not only refuse to mod i fy itsel fin response to impacts from without, butmust also cease its own inner activity wherewith i t is constantly rearranging its contents ,th inking over them , establ i sh ing new relations , discovering hidden l ikenesses and nu

l ikenesses . It has n Ow to confine its attentionto a S ingle Obj ect

,to fix itsel f on that . It

does not , O f course , cease i ts act ivity, butsends i t a ll along a S ingle channel . Waterflowing over a surface w ide in compar i sonwi th the amount O f water , w il l have l ittlemotor power . The same water sent along anarrow channel , w ith the same init ial impulse , w i ll carry away an Obstacle . Withoutadd ing to the strength O f the m ind , theef ect ive strength of it is immensely increased .

Imposing th is inner sti llness on the m ind i seven more difficult than the ignor ing O f out

s ide impacts , be ing concerned w ith its own

deeper and fuller l i fe . To turn the back on

the outs ide world i s eas ier than to qu iet theinner, for th is inner world i s more identifiedwith the Self— that part of our be ing whichd irects the

'

act ivit ies of the mind . But keepat i t and success will reward your efiorts .

“When the mind loses hold of i ts Obj ectas it w ill do , time a fter time— it must bebrought back , and again d irected to the

1 9


Obj ect . O ften at first i t will wander awaywithout the wandering being noti ced and thef

’

student suddenly awakens to the fact that hei s th inking about something quite other thanthe proper Obj ect of thought . Th is wi llhappen aga in and aga in , and he mus tpati ently bring i t back— a weari some andtrying process , but there is no other wayin wh ich concentration can be ga ined .

“ It is a use ful and instructive mental exercise when the mind has thus sl ippecfiwaywithout noti ce , to take i t back aga in by theroad along wh ich i t traveled in i ts strayings .Th is process increases the control of the riderover his runaway steed , and thus dimin ishesits incl inat ion to escape .Sj’ “

Consecut ive thinking, though a steptoward concentration , i s not identi cal w ith i t ,for in consecutive th inking the mind passesfrom one to another of a sequence of images ,and i s not fixed on one alone . But as it i sfa r eas ier than concentration

,the beginner

may use it to lead up to the more di ffi cultt ask .

“The un iversal compla int wh ich comesfrom those who are beginning to practi ceconcentration i s that the very attempt to concentrate results in a greater restlessness of them ind . To some extent this i s true , for thelaw of act ion and reaction works here aseverywhere , and the pressure put on themind causes a corresponding react ion . Butwhi le adm itt ing this , we find on closer study

20

I


that the increased restlessness i s largelyillusory . The feel ing of such increased restlessness i s ch iefly due to the oppos ition suddenly set up between the Sel f, will ing steadi

ness , and the m ind in its normal cond it ion ofmobil i ty. The Sel f i s accustomed to be ingcarr i ed about by the mind in all its sw i ftmovements , as a man i s ever be ing carr i edthrough space by the wh irling earth . Heis not conscious O f movement ; he does notknow that the world i s mov ing, so thoroughlyi s he part of i t, moving as i t moves . I f hewere able to separate himsel f from the earthand stop his own movement without beingshivered into pieces , only then would he beconscious that the earth is moving at a h ighrate Of speed . So long as a man i s y ieldingto every movement of the mind , he does notreal ize its continual act iv ity and restlessness ,but when he stead ies himsel f, when he ceasesto move , then he feels the ceaseless mot ionOf the m ind he has h itherto obeyed .

I f the beginner knows these facts,he w i ll

not be discouraged at the very commencement of hi s efforts by meeting w ith th i s universal experience but will , tak ing i t forgranted , go qu ietly on with h i s task .

“When a man concentrates h is mind , hi sbody puts itsel f into a state o f tens ion , andthi s i s not not iced by him

,i s involuntary so

far as he i s concerned . This following O f them ind by the body may b e noti ced in manythings : an effort to remember causes a

21


wrinkling of the forehead , fixing of the eyes ,and draw ing down O f the brows ; anxiety isaccompan ied by a characterist ic express ion .

F or ages , effort o f the mind has been followed by effort O f the body, the mind beingdirected entirely toward the supply of bodi lyneeds by bodi ly exertions , and thus a connection ha s been set up which works automat ically .

“When concentrat ion is begun , the body,according to its wont, follows the mind andthe muscles become rigid and the nervestense ; hence , physi cal fatigue , muscular andnervous exhaustion and headache , sometimesfollow in the wake o f concentrati on , andthu s people are led to give i t up , bel i evingthat these effects a re inevitable .

“A S a matter o f fact, they can be avo ided

by a simple precaution . The beginner shouldnow and again break off hi s concentrationsuffi c iently to noti ce the state of his body,and i f he finds i t stra ined , tense , or r igid , heShould at once relax it ; when this has beendone several t imes , the connect ion w ill bebroken , and the body will rema in pl iant andresting while the mind i s concentrated .

“Concentration should be practi ced very

spar ingly at first , and should never be carri edto the po int O f bra in fat igue . A few minutes a t a time i s enough for a beginn ing, thet ime be ing lengthened gradually as the praet ice goes on . But however short the t imewhich is given , i t should be given regularly .

22

FUND AM ENTALS O F ME M OR Y D EV E LOPM E NT

Steady and regular, but not prolonged praeti ce ensures the best results and avoidsstra in .

'

(Besant . )

ASSOCIATION

The word associ ate comes from the Latin ,and means to un ite to . Our thoughts or

i deas are united to one another .“Every thought involves a whole system

of thoughts , and ceases to exist i f severedfrom its various correlatives . As we cannoti solate a s ingle organ of a l iving body, anddeal with i t a s though i t had a l i fe independent of the rest, so, from the organ izedstructure of our cogn itions , we cannot cut outone and proceed as though it had surv ivedthe separat ion . The development of formless protoplasm into an embryo is a special izat ion of parts , the distinctness of wh ich increases only as fast as the i r comb ination increases ; each becomes a dist ingu ishableorgan only on condit ion that it is bound upwith others , wh ich have s imultaneously b ecome distingu ishable organs ; and s imilarly,from the unformed mater ia l of consc iousness , a developed intell igence can arise onlyby a process wh ich in making thoughts defined , also makes them mutually dependentestabl ishes among them certa in v i ta l connect ions , the destruction of which causes instantdeath of the thoughts .' Spencer . )The elementary law of assoc iat ion may bestated a s follows :

23

FUNDAM ENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT

When two ideas have been present in them ind together “

or in immediate succession,

one of them , on recurr ing, tends to revivethe other.While from the standpoint of the psy chologist, associ ation i s between ideas , from apract ica l standpo int i t i s more sati sfactory tospeak o f the assoc i ation of obj ects or ofqual it ies .Associat ion may be divided into three

general classes

Assoc iat ion by

( I ) Inclus ion , or s im i larity

( 2 ) Exclusion , or contrast ;(3 ) Concurrence , or coexistence .

( I ) U nder the head of inclusion we havethe follow ing relat ions :

( a ) Whole and part ( ship , rudder . )(b ) Genus and speci es ( animal , dog . )( c ) Abstract and concrete ( cold , i ce . )( d ) S imi lari ty of sound (bell , dell ) .

( e ) Any other relation in which therei s something in common betweentwo obj ects or qual i t ies .

( 2 ) The relat ion of exclus ion or contrastis one of the strongest and most powerful ofall the associ at ion networks in consciousness .It i s invar iably present, and tends to becomepredominant . Things may be unlike m ( a )time

, (b ) relat ion , ( c ) space relation , or inall three . When anything is thought of , theoppos ite state o f m ind is a lmost consc i ous .

24

FUNDAM ENTALS OF MEMORY D EVELOPMENT

exper iences wh ich have been rece ived at thesame time tend to return in consciousnesswhen one of that series is brought to con

sciousness . F or example , if you see a person

y ou have not seen in years , i t brings backmemor i es o f what happened on the day theperson was s een years ago . This law i s onewe make use of in reviving the memor ies ofa parti cular day . We also make use of i tin decid ing whether certa in memori es arereal or invented .

Assoc iation by concurrence also includes therelation of cause and effect . Certa in th ingscause other things . In the ordinary courseof events , one th ing produces another : effectfollows cause . The percepts result ing fromour observation of nature are rece ived in acerta in definite order . I f the relation of

cause and effect i s observed , when the causecomes to consc iousness , the effect comesto consciousness . Or, when the relat ion iswell establ ished , i f the effect i s seen , thecause i s thought of . In this connect ion , however, i t i s to be noted that S ci ence deals notwith ult ima te causes , but with proxima te

causes , based on sequence rela tion . Our system of education weakens the cause and effectassoc iation . The average adult past the ageof twenty-five or th irty seldom thinks o f causeand effect.

26

L E S S O N IV

How T O REMEMBER NAME S,F A CE S A N D

E RRAND S

A good memory for names and faces isa valuable asset to anyone whose bus inessbrmgs h im in contact with people . Thesalesman w ith a poor memory for names andfaces has a hand icap wh i ch restr icts h i s ad

vancement . Every successful pol it ic ian findsit necessary to develop th is faculty .

To remember faces y ou must observe faces ,compare faces , study faces . When you meeta person for the first t ime , one or two glancesat h is face will not be suffi cient to insureyour remember ing h im— that i s , unless youhave a well-developed talent a long th is l ine .When a young man meets a young womanto whom he at once takes a l iking, or v iceversa , there i s no trouble about recogn it ionat the second meeting of the two . Why'He is interested in her

, or She in h im .

T ake an interes t in the face of every person you meet ; not ice the nose , the eyes , theeyebrows , the mouth , the chin , the ears , theforehead , the color of the skin , and anypecul i arit ies in the form of any of these features . Remember the princ iple that a clearfirst impression i s the first essential o f memory .

27


The same holds true in regard to names .Those who compla in that they have a poormemory for names are those who give butl i ttle attent ion to names . When introducedto a person they are more or less sel f-consc ious and have the i r m ind on saying “ I’mpleased to meet you ,

' or some sim ilar phrase ,and are l i stening to what the stranger saysin return S O that they do not get a clear firstimpress ion of the name The way to overcome th is difficulty is to forget yoursel f, and

concentrate your attention on the stranger’sface and name . It i s much more importantthat you get a clear first impression of hisname than to hear the words he uses inacknowledging the introduct ion . I f the person making the introduction does not pronounce the name clearly, or it is an unusualname , ask him or the stranger to repeat i t .It i s better that the owner of the nameshould repeat it, for th is will a i d y ou in associat ing his face and h is name . Then youshould repeat the name aloud yoursel f— thusbringing your motor memory into play .

If you meet several persons during a dayor evening, i t i s an excellent plan , beforego ing to bed at n ight, to s i t down and goover each introduction , recall ing the surround ings , the person introduced , h is appearance , and h is name . Wri te each name , andspeak i t aloud

,at the same t ime trying to

form a mental p i cture of the person . I fyou will do this fa ithfully, you Will soon find

28


your memory for names and faces greatlyimproved .

REMEMBERING E RRAN D S

P robably everyone knows how easy i t i sto forget to ma i l a letter . The remedy forth i s i s as follows : When start ing out withthe letter

,impress on the m ind that the letter

i s to be put in a street ma i l-box, and that theS ight of a mai l-box w i ll recall the ma i l ing ofthe letter . Then by developing the power o fobservation , you w i ll not fa i l to see one ormore ma i l-boxes when pass ing along thestreet , and see ing the ma i l-box w i ll rem indyou of the letter.I f one has a number o f errands to do , i t

i s hardly worth while to attempt to remember them by sheer memory effort, for i t i s nota case of something you want to reta in in them ind permanently . When the errands havebeen done , the necessi ty for further mentaleffort has passed , and in such a case i t ismuch more rat ional to rely on a wr ittenmemorandum .

29

LE S S O N V

NU MBERS,D ATE S

,P RICES

,E T C .

There are various ways of rememberingnumbers , dates , prices , and other figures , butall are based on the fundamental laws of at

tention , interest, concentration , and assoc iaM w

tion . Some persons have a remarkable memory for figures , without seeming to use anyspec ia l method or exerting any particula reffort . Most such persons are strongv isualizers and remember by what m ight becalled mental photography of thefiguresthey form strong mental images of the numbers and reta in them easily . T o those notthus naturally gi fted , more conscious efforti s necessary .

The volcano of F uj Iy ama,'apan , isfeet high . By observing that the first twoand last three figures represent respectivelythe number of months and the number o f

days In a year, an association is formed , andthe number Is not forgotten . Suppose i t isdes ired to remember the number I 352 ; notethat the first two figures represent the number of playing cards in any given sui t ( 1 0spot cards plus 3 court cards ) , while thelast two represent the total number of cards

so


in the pack ( exclus ive of the j oker ) . Suchco inc idences , of course , are not always to bedi scovered , but continued practi ce will revealthem more frequently than might be sup

posed .

If a reasonable amount of thought fa i ls torevea l an external a ssoc iation for a number ,internal relations Should be sought for. Thus ,P ike’s P eak i s feet h igh : note therepet It IO n of I 4 and that 7 i s half of 1 4 .

The population of P rovidence (R . ac

cording to the 1 9 1 0 census , i s2 times 2 are 4, 3 t imes 2 are 6. Relationswhich y ou discover for yoursel f wi ll be moreeas i ly remembered than those discovered bysomeone else .Y ou should adopt the method o f reta in

ing numbers wh ich y ou find eas i est . I f e itherof the forego ing methods seem d iffi cult a ftera fa ir tri al

,the vi sual i z ing method may be

tried . Employing the instructions given inLesson 2

,concentrate the attent ion on the

number and form as clear and viv id a mentalp icture of i t as poss ible .F or histori cal dates , an excellent plan i s

always to think of the event and the datetogether, S O as to establ ish a firm assoc iati on ;thus , the battle of Waterloo should alwaysbe thought of a s “Waterloo thebattle of Hastings a s “Hastings 1 0 66, andso on . The “Declarat ion of Independenceshould never be thought of w ithout thinkingalso , I f numbers are connected w ith

31


events in thi s way, the associ ation will be aseasy to recall as the associati on betweenGeorge and Wash ington , or between Abraham and L incoln .

I f you have a naturally good memory forwords , but a p oor memory for figures

,you

can use to advantage thefigure-alphabet , bymeans of which ordinary Engl ish words aremade to stand for numbers . This i s done byass igning a figure value to each consonantsound . As a number of the consonants areS im i lar in sound

,these are grouped together ,

so that the number o f distinctly different consonant sounds i s reduced to ten— one for eachof the ten digi ts . The vowels a , e , i , o , u , the“ sometimes vowels' w and y, and all S i lentletters are enti rely d i sregarded and are notgiven figure values .The first step in mastering thi s system is

to memorize one consonant for each figure .This i s not difficult i f the follow ing assoc iat ions are used

I i s T because T has I down stroke .2 i s N because N has 2 down strokes .

3 i s M because M has 3 down strokes .

4 i s R because R i s the last letter in theword four .

5 i s L because in Roman notat ion L standsfor 50 ; d i sregarding the 0 , wehave 5.

6 i s I because I i s 6 reversed .

7 i s 'because ' follows I in the alphabet .

32

FUND AME NTALS OF MEMORY D E VE LOPME NT

It is of prime importance to keep in mindthe fact that the translation from letters tofigures or vice versa i s a lway s made by s ound .

Thus sugar i s 674 , not 0 74 ; As i a i s 6, not 0 ;ratio i s 46, not 4 1 .

The letter h has no figure value alone . Iti s considered only in the comb inations th ( 1sh and ch At a ll other t imes it i sdisregarded and treated as a S i lent letter

(which i t sometimes actually is ) . P k with thesound of f i s translated 8, in accordance withthe rule that translation i s a lways made bysound . The ending ing i s regarded as a uni t ,and i s always translated 7, not 27. Thus ,dancing i s 1 2 0 7, king i s 77.

Double consonants are transl ated as ifs ingle ; appeal i s 9 5 (b ill i s also 9 5 ) w itnessi s 1 20 ; miller i s 354 .

A ll words can be translated into numbers ,but there are some numbers of 3 or morefigures for wh ich there are no equivalentEngli sh words . This apparent difficulty i se as ily gotten around by breaking large numbers up into groups of two or three figures .Thus

,1 574 i s

“dull care' ; 650 0 4 is“ j olly

C i cero' ; 2 1 868 i s nat ive chef .'

34

FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPM ENT

Following i s an equivalent word for eachnumber from 1 to 1 0 0

1 hat 27 yankee

2 hen 28 navy

3 haymow 29 nap

4 weary 30 mouse

5 lay 3 1 meadow

6 hatch 32 m ine

7 egg 33 mummy

8 h ive 34 hammer

9 bee 35 ma i l

1 0 daisy 36 image

1 1 deed 37 hammock

I 2 tw ine 38 muff

I 3 dime 39 map

1 4 wa iter 40 rose

1 5 hotel 4 1 road

1 6 d ish 4 2 ra in

1 7 dog 43 room

1 8 th ief 44 rear

1 9 depot 45 rule

20 noise 46 arch

2 1 night 47 rug

22 noon 48 ree f

23 enemy 49 robe

24 Nero 50 lace

25 inhale 5 1 lady

26 enj oy 52 l i on

35

53 lamb

54 lawyer

55 l ily

56 lodge

57 lake

.58 ohvc

59 l ip

60 chess

6 1

62

Shed

cha in

gem

cha ir

j elly

judge

j oke

ch i e f

ship

case

coat

queen

game

car

eagle

cage

keg

cave


9 5 bfl l

9 6 page

9 7 book

9 8 pufi9 9 P IP

.

6

1 0 0 dIS ease

To find a word or words which w i ll translate any given number

, set down the figureswith some space between , and under each one

the consonants which represent it , thus

Hav ing the consonants in place , vowels toform words are easi ly filled in . In the aboveexample , several words can be made : LO ADRO C'S i s one possib i l i ty .

Whenever possible , words should be foundwhich can be associa ted in some way withthe fact w ith which the number i s connected .

Another plan o f translation is to make upa sentence of as many words as there arefigures , and assign a figure value only to thefirst consonant

'

sound in each word . TheM is si ss ippi R iver i s 4382 miles long : R iverM i ssi ssippi V ery Wa ndering .

36

7 O

' 'hard C soft Chard G S'

FUNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPM ENT

On first reading, some may th ink that thefigure alphabet is a remedy worse than thedi sease ; but i f your word-memory i s good ,and yourfigure-memory poor, i t wi ll pay youto spend the t ime necessary to master i t . Careful study and frequent practi se w ith themethod will make you so fam i l i a r w ith i t thatits use Wi ll be easy .

37

L E S S O N V I

V ERBATIM M EMORI'ATION O F P OETRY A N D

P ROSE,REMEMBERING CONTENTS O FBOO'S A N D ARTIC L E S

The method of memoriz ing poetry andprose which i s about to be described i s sucha rad ical departure from the time-honoredmethods that many on first making its ac

qua intance are incl ined to be skeptical .Actual experience with the method , however,usually converts such persons into enthus iasti cadvocates .The method i s so S Imple that it can bestated in a very bri e f space . It consi sts inreading aloud the entire poem or selection ,starting at the beginning and read ing throughto the end , keeping the attent ion on the sub

ject-matter, and fully understanding the meaning of each word and sentence . Havingcompleted one reading aloud , start at the b eginn ing and read aloud to the end aga in .

Repeat aga in , reading aloud as before , making three t imes in all . Read the poem orselect ion aloud three t imes , tw ice a day atintervals of at least S ix hours . A convenientway i s to do it the first thing in the morn ing,and aga in at n ight . In a few days you w illfind that you can begin to repeat parts of theselection without looking at it. Encourage

38


yoursel f in doing thi s , but not unt i l y ou aresure of saying i t right while not looking . Infrom ten to twenty days you w i ll knowthe selection perfectly, and will be able torepeat i t w i thout hes i tancy . Furthermore ,a fter the occas ion for i ts use is past , i t willnot be forgotten in a few weeks

,as is the

case with matter learned in the old way .

With an occas ional repeti t ion,you can reta in

i t for years . The author of these lessonscan sti ll repeat passages from Shakespearelearned by thi s method more than ten yearsago .

T o insure success , i t i s only necessary toobserve the follow ing three s imple rules :

( 1 ) Always read aloud .

( 2 ) Read through from beginn ing to endeach t ime . I t matters not whether the selecti on is one you can read ( aloud ) in threeminutes , or whether i t takes an hour ; therule i s to be followed j ust the same .

3 ) Don’t let the m ind wander . 'eep

i t on the subj ect-matter of the selection .

The t1me requ ired for learning vari es w iththe ind iv idual , w ith the degree of concentrati on , and with the nature of the s el ection .

Rhythmi c poetry i s more qu ickly learned thanprose . I f it i s necessary to learn someth ingwith in a week, th i s can be done i f the selecti on (5i s short, by reading aloud four t imes at eachs itting instead of three

,and do ing it three

times a day instead of tw ice .

39


REMEMBERING CONTENTS O F BOO'S A N D

ARTICL ES

I f you are to remember what you read , thefundamental principles of attention , interest,concentration , and associ ation must be broughtinto play . I f you want to master the contents of a book or magaz ine article withaccuracy, i t i s best to make a wr itten abstract

( or concise summary ) of i t . A chapter canusually be summed up in a paragraph ; aparagraph ( of the book ) in a sentence .Read over your abstract care fully from timeto time so that the knowledge w i ll becomea part of your mental organ izat ion .

CONCL U SION

Memory being a function of the mind , asound memory goes with a sound mind anda sound body . The hab itual use of alcoholor drugs i s incompatible with a dependablememory . Good memory work cannot bedone when there is great mental or bodi lyfatigue , and it should not be attempted atsuch t imes .

“T he secret of a good memory i s the

secret of forming diverse and multiple associat ions w ith every fact we care to reta in .

What is thi s but thinking about thefact as much as possible' The man whothinks over his experiences most and weaves

40

HO W TO S T U D Y EFFE CT IV E L Y

In order to study or do any other form of

mental work effect ively, you must be in goodphysical cond ition . I t i s true that the mindhas a certa in influence over the body, but inaccordance w i th the law of act ion and reac

tion , i t i s equally true that the body has aninfluence on the mind .

Look first, therefore , to your health . I f

you have phys ica l defects such as decayingteeth , defective eyes ight, obstructed nasalbreathing, or any other trouble which interferes with clear mental acti on , have i t attendedto by a competent physic ian . Adopt rationaland normal ways of eat ing, sleeping, working,playing, and resting. In Seeking gu idance onthese th ings , beware of the diet cranks , foodfadd ists and extrem ists o f all kinds . Thei rnumber i s legion . P in your fa i th to those whoare accepted as leaders by the maj or ity ofrational men ; whose teachings are based onreal sc ience and not on pseudo-sc ience . “Howto L ive ,

' by Fi sher and Fi sk , and“P ersonal

Hygiene,by P yle , are two books e ither of

which i s a safe gu ide to the hygi ene o f m indand body .

The whole man , however, i s more thanmind and body. He is also sp i ri t, and spi ri tmust not be ignored . I f you have been ignoring sp ir i t

,you should by all means read “ In

42


Tune w i th the Infinite , by Tr ine , and“The

Li fe o f Real ity,' by Randall .

In order to study effectively, you must proV ide certa in external condit ions which arefavorable to th i s work . A qu iet place , a tem

perature of 68°

to 70°

F . with suffic i ent moi sture in the a i r

,good light, a comfortable cha i r ,

a desk or table of su i table he ight— all thesethings contribute to effect ive study . Whenyou begin a period of study, take on the attitude of attention , and concentrate your mindon your work .

Study w ith the intent to learn and to re

member permanently . I t has been found thatthe intent which accompani es the le arning process affects the length of t ime of retention . Iti s well known that material crammed beforean examinat ion is forgotten soon a fterward .

There are two reasons for th i s : first , the factsa re taken into the m ind accompan ied by thefeel ing tha t i f they a re reta ined unt i l the exam inati on i s over, that i s sufli cient ; and second, permanent memory depends on the lawsof assoc iat ion , and when facts a re crammedrapidly, there i s not suffici ent t ime to formassoc iat ions .Don’t study under the delus ion that y ou

are doing it for the teacher. Y ou are doingi t for your own advancement . Have a motive

, or several motives . These may be arecognition of the future va lue of the subj ect,a des ire to excel or to w in approval ; it mayeven be a desi re to get your money’s worth out

43


o f what you are paying for . The stronger theincentive , the better work you will do .

Before beginning to study advance work,review the previous lesson . When studyingnew materi al , put the most time and thoughtto the po ints y ou find hardest to grasp . Allmental impressions fade with t ime : in viewof thi s fact, the learn ing o f important partsof your lessons must be carr ied beyond thepoint necessa ry for immedi ate recall . I f youhave difficulty in accurately recall ing a factor a group of facts immediately a fte r youhave been studying them , you may be surethat you have not learned them well enoughto recall them at some time in the future .Th ings that are important and tha t you wantto be sure of reta ining for future use youshould learn so well that on try ing to recallthem immed ia tely a fterward you can do so

eas i ly,accurately, and without hes itancy.

'eep ing in mind the princ iple that newlylearned facts a re reta ined best when no newmental activi ty follows the period of acquis ition , take peri ods of rest at intervals , especially a fter learning someth ing the futurevalue of which you recognize .Think over your study work Talk abouti t. If you th ink you might bore your fri endsor members of your family by tell ing whatyou learn to them , tell i t to an imaginaryl istener

,in the quiet of your room with the

door closed . Draw p ictures or d iagrams ofanyth ing that can be thus represented . Work

44

F UNDAMENTALS OF MEMORY DEVELOPMENT

out for yours el f spec ific examples o f all general rule s and princ iples . When the subj ectmatter of your study is complex , make a wri tten outl ineo f i t . Lea rn definitions thoroughly,and be sure that you understand them . Avo idan atti tude of mere acqu is i ti on : th ink o f yourbra in not as a receptacle into wh ich somethingi s poured , but as an interlac ing of mult itudi

nous fibers,w ith infin ite possib i l it i es of inter

connection wh ich no one ever exhausts . Seekother relations between facts than those givenin the books you study.

The runner, near ing the po int a t wh ich i tseems that he can run no longer , gets a

“sec

ond w ind , and i s able to fin ish the race .Sim ilarly the bra in worker, i f mental appl i cat ion be pushed past the firs t fe el ing of fat igue ,gets a mental second w ind : he taps new levelsof energy wh i ch enabl e him to continue studyw ith renewed v igor . This does not mean thatrest i s never needed , but it does mean tha t oneneed not stop work at the fi rst feeling offatigue .Finally, and perhaps most important of a ll ,

make practical appl icat ion of your knowledgeas soon as poss ible , and as o ften as poss ible .U s ing or express ing knowledge fixes it in themind and gives a feel ing of mastery whichcontribute s to the sel f-confidence that playssuch a large part in

45 ;

fundamentals of memory development

Documents