Zach Porter
03/13/2017
Have you ever known someone who has a 'photographic' memory? Someone who can memorize speeches, exam notes or numbers, someone who just seems to remember everything and wished that you had a mind like that? Well according too some new studies performed by Radboud University in the Netherlands, lead by Martin Dresler, your mind (yes yours!) is capable of just that.
All of us learn new and different skills throughout our lives, which actual end up changing our brains as we go along. A taxi driver in New York City or London for example develop more gray matter in the memory portions of their brain (Hippocampi) since they need to learn and know how to navigate the vast and expansive amount of streets and buildings. But could any regular person become truly great at memorization like some of the worlds elite memory athletes who are capable of memorizing decks of cards or hundreds of digits in a mere matter of minutes? Dressler did not believe that it was anyone's brains fault, but that there was something else going on. He devised an experiment where he took a group of 23 elite memory champions and matched them with people of the same gender, age and IQ and then took several scans of their brains using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) which showed the activity of their brains and what he found was interesting. The subjects brains were not any different from these memory champions, but the way that the brains showed connectivity during resting and task-based scans did. Then they took 51 subjects who had never done any memory training and split them into three groups, an experimental group, and two controls. The experimental group did intense memory training for six weeks (using the loci strategy) which was what many of the memory athletes used. One of the other control groups received a non long-term memory training called the n-back, and the other control received no training. After this training these groups were all tested on the same memory tests, and the experimental group (that had received the loci training) improved significantly from the six weeks before, whereas the control groups stayed relatively at the same levels. Showing that these people were actually able to change the way that their minds thought, processed and memorized information. After just some training and thinking in different ways, the way that the mind connected within itself was actually changed. Dressler believes that this research will spark others to go on with similar experiments on human memory capacity and change the way that we see the world.
I was very interested in this article because I have always wondered what it would be like if had been born with an 'amazing mind' or 'photographic memory' like you always read about in stories or see on T.V. I was so impressed with this article that I actually did a lot more further research into the Loci strategy that the experimental group was trained on (which focuses on association between familiar places and objects and information), and I was amazed to find that after orienting myself with how it works and practicing it for just maybe 15-20 minutes I was able to memorize a to do list of 15 different things of a completely random person that has no connection to me! I am even more shocked now, because I can still remember that entire list even 10 hours after doing that using the loci memorization strategy. I think that knowledge of this could change the way that we look at memorization and even learning itself, especially if everyone knew that by chaniging the way that they view and think about things, they too could be a 'memory champion'.
(source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dont-forget-you-too-can-acquire-a-super-memory/ )
Zach, thanks for sharing your knowledge about improving memory! I found your personal experience with using the Loci strategy to memorize a to-do list to be very interesting. I'll have to try using that technique for my upcoming tests! I remember listening to a Ted Talk about memory! It was very similar to the article you discussed. The thing that stood out most, in my opinion, was that smartphones, tablets, iPads, and computers are making if easier for us to externalize memories. We have little need for memorization with information at our fingertips! So my question is: do you think technology has changed us cognitively regarding memory? RS
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting point about how technology at our fingertips can affect our memory, but I find your question subjective. In some ways, yes, I do think it changes some of what used to be known and memorized information (I no longer have phone numbers memorized for one example), but in other ways I don't see it as a major setback. It all depends on how we individually use our computers and devices. My main use for a computer or smartphone is to learn new things. A lot of the things I look up on my devices are things that I want to stick with me, so I am still memorizing information, just not the same information that used to be useful. JR
DeleteRS and JR, thank you both for your interest in my post! You both bring up some good points about this question "Is technology changing us cognitively regarding memory" I think that really the answer to this could go either way depending on how you look at it and how that person individually uses technology. For example a Doctor can use technology (a tablet or computer) to help him narrow down a diagnosis for an illness or analyze a patient. But if that Doctor got too complacent on relying on that technology instead of knowing or having memorized specific medications to illnesses and how to treat certain things himself, what if one day that technology was not available? The same goes for things such as smartphones and google. Smartphones have amazing capabilities for memorization, for example using an app like quizlett you can literally carry around thousands of digital flashcards in your pocket all the time, which could be used for memorizing almost anything. Likewise language apps make learning a foreign language and memorizing words and grammar concepts easier and more accessible than ever. On the other hand, people could just use their smartphones to play games or other fun, but not very educational programs. Google (and other search engines) has changed the way that we look for and research information every day, giving us instant answers and info at the push of a button. Long answer short, I believe that these tools if used in engaging and educational ways actually help to boost our cognitive memory function. But, it all depends on how we personally use that technology in our lives.
Delete-ZP
This was a great article. In response to the question asked by RS, I do think technology effects our memory. Like JR, I immediately thought about how I used to know all my friends' phone numbers by heart. I still, 24 years later, know my best friends old home phone number. I think what technology does is it effects how we think all together. It effects how we use logic and deductive reasoning. I was having a conversation with my uncle recently, he's an odd thinker, and we were discussing something a little over my head. Instead of talking about what I knew and trying to figure out things on my own, my immediate response was to google it. I also think it effects our ability to store things in our long term memory, because there is no need to do so anymore, so we really don't try to learn.
ReplyDeleteAH
I love your post on the ability to improve memory, and the following comments on the use of electronics and their potential effects on cognitive development. Since I am about a generation older than most of my college classmates, I probably rely a little less on technology and more on my brain to do the work. To me, there is still something satisfying about reasoning without 'googling' for the answer, because in the end it's not about finding the right answer, but more about developing critical thinking skills. I feel the same way about memorizing information. If the information I am trying to memorize is relevant to me, it will stick because I can associate it with a feeling, and if it's not then I might have to rely on mnemonics, like the loci strategy. Either way I believe it's extremely important to rely on our brain power and to attempt to keep it sharp, as more and more studies demonstrate the positive and negative impacts of technology, we will have a better idea of how it interferes with our lives. In the meantime, I am one of those that air on the side of caution, and that attempts to find the balance between both worlds…
ReplyDeleteK.L.
I love this post and have always been fascinated with photographic memory. I have always wondered why some individuals seem to have it whereas others do not. I personally don't have a full photographic memory but I have learned through personal experience that the more I practice memorizing, the sharper and quicker my memory becomes. I like this article and will definitely research the Loci method. Thank you Zach for sharing.
ReplyDelete-MJ