Why your memory depends on books

I'm not going to claim to be an expert in the field of medicine, nor neurology. Hell, I'm not even an expert in the field that I should be an expert in. I am, however, an observer and commentator of my own experiences. Be Bryanized.

I have been given special privelege in the past to be able to read books on a daily basis. Even more special, that privelege has been taken away from me. It was then that I started to realize how much books affect your memory and daily thoughts, and adversely when taken away. Here's why:

1) There are three types of memory in the human brain: short-term, middle-term, and long-term memory. Books help stimulate your brain's ability to constantly convert short-term memories into middle and hopefully long term memories.

Short-term takes place immediately after learning a new fact. Generally, the average human can remember 7 +-2 facts before being unable to remember more things. This also has been shown to be the deciding factor in how people remember things more than others: those who can tend to put images next to facts. Books help conjure those images.

Go ahead and try to read a list of 30 items, and then recite them in order. By the same token, read that list again but put yourself in a story mode in your head, thinking of places and things where the list of those 30 things make sense in your mind, and recite the order. I will guarantee that the latter method works umpteens better.

This is what books do: they force you to conjure up images to push short-term facts into middle and long-term territory. Biologically, we think that a short-term memory is formed from a chemical response in our brain, linking a synapse formation with the ability to complete detailed memories. Books are an excellent source of mental stimulation to initiate that chemical response.

There is no known limit to the long-term memory, a.k.a., people are thought to be able to remember ungodly amounts of data. There are now 4 or more people confirmed to have such a gift as remembering every date, time, and detail of every event in their life, dubbed and ultra- rare "super memory". They are currently being scanned and tested to help under the biological differences between "normal" people and themselves.

2) Depending on what you read, you will have the book topic fresh in your head for days, if not, weeks afterward. The written word tends to have the keen ability to pour fresh loads of story and intellect into a person's long term memory. This is the key.

3) If you read a non-fiction story, or a cookbook, or a book about sharks, the stimulation differs. This is a great way to mix up the brain's response to factual data (ie. prevent brain boredom).

4) Alzheimer's patients have no ability to learn new facts via the short-term memory. Yet, their long-term memories remain intact. Their brains no longer have the ability to make new memories. Books help make new memories.

5) If you don't use it, you lose it.

This is the most important thing to understand: making memories cannot be taken for granted. It is an ability. Some people have a greater ability than others. Like the ability to throw a baseball, or shuffle cards, making memories get better with practice.

Posted via email from bryanize's posterous