“If we remembered everything we should on most occasions be as ill off as if we remembered nothing.” ~William James
My memory fascinates me. Why do I remember some things and not others. How does Pi = 3.142 sit in my brain and has instant recall while it takes a whole day to remember the word for Pathologist?
Psychblog have compiled ten fascinating facts based on Prof Robert A Bjork about our memories and how they work. My favourite from the article is 9 Memory, Re-loaded – which explains that for long-term retention, memories are more easily recalled if learning is mixed up rather than intensive in one area. This is just as true for both motor learning, like tennis, as it is for declarative memory, like what’s the capital of Venezuela. Truly amazing. I need to respect my memory much more.
http://www.spring.org.uk/2012/10/how-memory-works-10-things-most-people-get-wrong.php