The Secrets of Your Memory
Memory expert Jemima Gryaznov answers some of the most common questions about memory.
1 Why can I remember events in my childhood but not what happened last week?
We remember things that have strong connections in our mind, especially emotional connections. Childhood memories are often very emotional. This is because when we experience things for the first time, we often have strong feelings of fear or excitement. Also, interesting or funny stories from our childhood are often told again and again. As a result, we remember them much better, as retelling events helps fix experiences in our memories. What can we learn from all this? When remembering something new, try to connect it to our emotions. It is important to connect it with what we already know. Also, we can try to retell what we have learnt to a few others.
2 Do some people really have a photographic memory?
A person with a photographic memory could remember every detail of a picture, a book or an event many years later, but no one has proved that there are such people who really have photographic memories. Yet, there are some people who do have amazing memories. For example, Daniel Tammet can remember the first 22,514 digits of pi (π) and Stephen Wiltshire can draw a detailed picture of a city from memory after flying over it in a helicopter. They are both good at remembering particular things for a limited time. As most of us do not have amazing memories like them, when memorizing detailed learning materials, we simply need to focus on the important ideas and be curious about what we learn. Asking questions about what we learn also helps with memorisation. Another effective technique to remember things is to group similar ideas or information together so that they can be easily connected to things that are already known.
3 Why do I forget the new words learnt yesterday?
Don't worry. This is natural for many people. In 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus published a book called Memory and presented a famous forgetting curve. According to him, the sharpest loss of memory occurs during the very early period after learning. This means timely review during this period, with a few revisits to what is learnt, can significantly help us to remember the information. Therefore, one of the golden rules to increase how much we remember is to review the material periodically, especially during the first day after learning. This “spaced review” soon after learning helps build stronger memories and it is more effective than waiting to review everything before exams.
4 I'm 16, but I sometimes forget things. Is my memory getting worse?
Definitely not. Our memory reaches its full power at the age of 25. At that point, we can remember up to 200 pieces of information in a second. After this age, however, the brain starts to get smaller. By the age of 40, we lose 10,000 brain cells every day. By middle age, our memory is significantly worse than when we were young. So take it easy. You are at a good age in terms of your memory. Make good use of it!