If we think back of all the things that we learned at school, isn’t it appalling to realise how little we remember? We devoted years and years to mathematics but with exception to those who became mathematicians or engineers we are stunned if someone does not ask for help in solving a simple equation.
If you still go to school, you can not apply this statement to yourself; but ask your parents whether it is correct in their case, or think of something you studied several years ago and which you have not repeated in the meantime.
However, there are some subjects which we remember very accurately, and we remember not only the lesson but very often the way in which it was presented, the voice of the teacher, his instructions and examples, and sometimes even the answers given by our classmates.
And what are just stated for school, holds true for everyday life, business or social. For instance, there is one day of a certain holiday which still stands out clearly in our mind while the rest of the holiday is shrouded in fog. There is one conservation with Miss Tina of which we remember every word; and there are hundreds other conservations, most of them more recent, more important, more significant and yet their content is entirely forgotten.
Why? For all this there must be reason. It is the same brain that is working, it is the same mind that received all the impressions, and there is nevertheless so much differences in remembering!
Of course, there is an answer. But this answer is not as simple as you and I wish it were. It is rather complex and instead of one reason we must accept scores of different reasons some of them working in the same direction, others working in opposite
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So, it is not the object itself that can be blamed it must be something, which is subjective- that is in our minds although of course in someway connected with the object in question. This something may be called “interest”. It is interest, which compels us to give undivided attention to certain objects and to concentrate on the exclusion of other thoughts that might interfere.
Thinking back to school days again, you will realise that there were some objects, which interested you very much and which you, still remember. There are others, which did not interest you at all, and you have forgotten almost everything you ever knew about them.
It is the same in everyday life after school. If somebody makes you a proposition that may be vital to your career, you listen very carefully, your mind does not wander to other things, and you concentrate on the issue in question.
Whether or not you accept it, you will remember it for years to come. Form all this we can draw the conclusion that one of the most important fundamentals of memory and memory training must be the creation of interest. To concentrate on something without being interested is very difficult for everybody and then, impossible for many.
If you are honest with yourself, you must admit experiences like this. You read something that does not interest you very much, and your mind starts wandering around while your eyes still follow the letters and the lines. When the chapter comes to an end, you have only a vague idea about its content; perhaps directions and still others without any visible connection at all.
Let us start with the object we wish to remember.
Although this object to obviously the last thing to blame for our remembering or forgetting it. The lake ,surrounded by mountains and trees, which we passed last year in our car remains the same inspite of the fact that Raj remembers it in minute details and Kumar has forgotten all about its existence.
Therefore, before we go further make it your rule to stop reading this book the moment your interest begins to flag. All the experiments described in the following chapters require your full concentration, and only undivided attention will lead to success. There is no point in going further if you fail in any one of these exercises. It may be necessary for you to repeat an experiment two or three times, but do not skip anything or go ahead without mastering any chapter as you go along. It will do you no good to skip or jump.
If you proceed slowly, each new experiment will hold your interest, you will watch the improvement of your memory faculties with keener concentration than the horse race, and you will make the most out of every new chapter.
The formula for achieving a successful relationship is simple:
you should treat all disasters as if they were trivialities, but never treat a triviality as if
it were a disaster.
-Quentin Crisp you may even have no idea at all.
Then, as a contrast, think of yourself being virtually interested in horse races. You go to the races and you bet a fairly high sum on horse no.7. The race starts and your horse is far behind. He catches up and after the first lap there are only two horses ahead of him. Then he falls back, then catches up against. He outruns the third horse, the second and finally the first. You collect a considerable amount of money and you and your family have a grand time. I am sure you agree that such an incident will be remembered for a long time. The main reason, of course is the concentration, the undivided attention with which you followed the race and the interest monetary and otherwise-that you took as the outcome.