Blog Post #9 - Memory

Memory can help shape a person into what and who they are as they grow older each day. From the day you are born until the day you die, you memorize things all the time. If memory was nonexistent this earth would be drastically different. How would a person carry on their day without memory? It would be almost impossible for memory to not exist because each day carries over into the next. Clive Wearing was a talented musician who suffered from anterograde amnesia. He is unable to transfer memories from working memory to long-term memory. His memory only lasts from 7 to 30 seconds and he spends every day waking up every 20 seconds restarting his consciousness. If I was his wife, there is no way I would be able to be that patient unless I was completely in love with him. I give her so much credit for sticking by his side and making it through each day with him. She has tried hard to help him each day and he still greets her with excitement every time they meet whether or not they were together five minutes before. If I was Clive Wearing's wife, I have no a clue what I would do with myself. You have to be so patient each day and I honestly don't think I would be able to handle that. If he was my husband and I loved him that much, I would try my hardest to work at things and make each day better for the both of us. This makes me realize just important memory is to me. People never wake up and think about what it would be like to not have their memory. Most people, myself included, take it for granted. It makes me think twice about what I should think about more and just how true my memory actually is.

I never realized just how specific and intense the process for memorization actually is. Memory is an unconscious process that can be narrowed down to a three stage model. It begins with information to be retrieved by your senses and registers in your sensory memory. We then encode the information into working or short term memory through rehearsal. From there the information moves into long term memory for retrieving later. We can encode the information automatically, such as what shirt you wore yesterday, or with effort, such as studying for a test. This makes me wonder just how and why I memorize the things I do. Obviously there is no way a person can memorize everything so what sticks out for each item that is memorized. When we did the activity in class when Mrs. Olson read the list of things and I thought she said words she didn't and could only remember certain words. It makes me wonder why I memorized the ones that I did and why not the others? When I did the exercise called "Short Term Memory:Encoding and Rehearsal" it says how most people would memorize words that are spokin that are seen. However, I was able to memorize the words that were written down better than the spoken words.

I found chunking to be very interesting. It is something we use everyday and don't even realize we are doing it especially in school. Chunking is the organizing of items into familiar, manageable units. Chunking can also be used as a mnemonic technique to recall unfamiliar material. The example from the book is ROY G BIV, which helps you memorize the colors of the rainbow. I have used chunking and mnemonic techniques in many of my classes to help me remember and understand concepts for tests and assignments. It is important because people don't even realize they are grouping things together but really it is helping them to recall phrases and words better.