I Remember

The brain.  I am obsessed with the brain.  It is the body’s computer, or operating system.   And like the computer, the more information we store in our brain, the harder it becomes to access specific information.  Why?  I believe everything we see, hear, touch, smell, taste, and learn—absorb in any way—is stored in files in the brain much the same way a computer stores data.  And there are multiple files stored within larger files stored within even larger files.  Therefore, recalling information that is stored in sub-files takes longer.  As we age, our ability to remember things begins to slow down.   This makes perfect sense.  Children learn at lightning speeds because their computer storage space is virtually empty.  No files within files.  They remember everything quickly and easily because the information is stored in a first major file: the first math file, the first English file, the first music file, etc.   (So kids are not smarter than us; they just have fewer files to work with.) 

We have all experienced the phenomena of “spontaneous response.”  What do I mean by that?  A spontaneous response is an answer to a question you have posed that did not come to mind at the time you asked it.  Rather, the spontaneous response pops into your head out of nowhere at some later date—within a day, a week, a month.  Your memory failed you when you posed the question, but your brain continues to search for the answer even after you have forgotten the question.  Your brain literally insists on retrieving the data and is essentially proving to you that your memory is in perfect working order; it has merely slowed down due to the many files.  A simple example of this: you are watching a movie and for the life of you, you cannot remember the star’s name.  Three days later, Johnny Depp pops into your head while you are reading a novel.  And then you realize you were trying to remember his name a few days ago.   

At this point you could argue, for example, I studied algebra in grade seven and I cannot solve an algebra problem right now to save my life.  My brain does NOT remember algebra!  There is no algebra file in my head!  Sometimes your brain needs to be stoked a bit.  If you picked up an algebra text book and went through it right now, you would be surprised how quickly you could relearn it.  Your brain does in fact remember algebra, but it cannot remember a new algebra problem.  That is where deductive reasoning comes in. 

These are my ideas regarding the brain and memory.  Can we improve our brain’s memory and acuity?  Research suggests that we can, and I do believe we can improve our ability to reason, to deduce and to solve problems.   I do not agree that we can improve our memory.  As I’ve already stated, the brain does remember everything it has absorbed; its rate of retrieval necessarily slows down over time.  Memory games are mental gymnastics; they give the brain a good workout.  But excelling in memory games will not help you to remember the name of the actor starring in that movie you are watching.

I saw a movie about Alzheimer’s disease that stated that those afflicted can remember their youth very well; they cannot remember the present or recent past.  Their brains have basically become trapped in the sub-files of their younger days (again, my theory).  Can Alzheimer’s be avoided by playing memory games?  Perhaps, yes.  Playing these games keeps your brain in the present, in a current file.  That has to be good.