What is memory and why does a person need it? Essay “Does a person need memory?” How memory is formed

Why do you need to improve your memory?

Funny question, you say. After all, everyone knows what a good memory is. However, many people perceive their memory in an extremely simplified way, and therefore do not understand how its development affects other abilities.

Their logic boils down to the following arguments: Will the ability to memorize improve? But I already remember everything I need. I have already fully adapted to my abilities, phone numbers are stored in my cell phone, if you need something more complex, you can write it down.

Since the memory problems have already been somehow resolved, there is no need to waste time on it. In the end, the main thing is not memory, but thinking, intelligence, and the ability to process information.

Most people think that by improving their memory they will turn their head into a camera or tape recorder, and do not see other advantages.

But the development of memory is not only memory, but also thinking, imagination, attention, and much more, without which effective human mental activity is unthinkable.

So, what does a person achieve by training his memory?

1. Attention

The need to control the course of your thoughts, constant concentration on objects of memorization leads to improved attention. As a result, it becomes easier for a person to concentrate on current affairs and problems; his life becomes much more organized and less susceptible to interference.

2. Thinking

The development of memory also improves thinking due to the fact that you constantly have to work with mental objects and come up with associations connecting them. As a result, associative thinking develops—responsible for generalization and abstraction and visual-figurative use—which helps a holistic perception of reality and intuitive problem solving.

Well, of course, just the ability to memorize helps thinking. If all the necessary facts are at hand, then in the process of thinking there is less need to linger on solving secondary problems to obtain the necessary information. It’s no secret: by the time you find the information you need, you’ll forget why it’s needed. Especially if you are looking for it using the Internet, you come across so many interesting things along the way that the search process turns out to be “more important” than the result, and when you find what you are looking for, you already forget where it all began.

3. Imagination and creativity

The associations invented by the mnemonist are often unusual and absurd. By connecting objects you have to create the incredible. Already after some time after starting classes, you can notice that when solving your problems you begin to use methods that previously seemed too non-standard. And intractable problems suddenly get a simple and elegant solution.

4. Protecting the human brain from age-related changes

What we don't use, we lose. This is clearly seen in the example of human physical abilities. No matter how good your physical shape you are, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not give your body physical activity, then after a while the muscles will atrophy and become flabby, shortness of breath will appear, and a bunch of other problems related to the heart, blood pressure, etc. If you lead an active lifestyle, take long walks, go to the pool or gym, then health problems can be avoided.

The same applies to the mental capabilities of the body. It is widely believed that a person's mental abilities decline with age. Research shows that this is often what happens. But the deterioration of human abilities is not so irreversible.

If you continue to use your brain and give it a workout, then at least its condition will not worsen. The deterioration of brain abilities can be prevented by solving crossword puzzles or logic problems. By performing exercises to develop memory, you can also prevent the deterioration of mental abilities - memory, concentration, thinking and other things.

As we can see, the development of memory helps not only memory, but also contributes to the harmonious development of other human abilities. You can learn all this and more at the “School of Speed ​​Reading and Information Management by L.L. Vasilyeva.”

Speed ​​reading programs help develop not only reading speed but also memory. With the help of special exercises and techniques, you can significantly improve your memory.

Why does a person need a good memory?

So little time, so many good books. Sometimes it is sorely lacking even for planned activities, not to mention even books. And the reading process itself, although fascinating, also takes time. If you want to master popular and effective speed reading techniques that will help you literally “swallow” even the largest books, we offer several of them.

There are many things that we simply don’t notice in the rush and bustle of life. Which of us rejoices every morning that he has two arms and two legs? And who rejoices in the fact that he remembers his name, the names of all his loved ones, their habits, preferences, his promises? It is no exaggeration to say that memory is what a person’s life rests on. Personal life, career, health... basically everything.

Hence the logical conclusion - the more developed your memory is, the higher the quality of your life will be.

It is not difficult to achieve success in any field; you just need to make sure that your memory does not fail you at the right time. And it will not let you down if you decide to start studying courses on speed reading and memory development, and perform a variety of exercises to develop memory .

Nowadays it is no longer enough to own information approximately and partially. Requirement modern peace - tenacious mind, good memory , the ability to quickly absorb and process new information.

If you solve a problem and do not find its solution for quite a long time, then you need to change the solution method or set a different problem. There are no exercises to develop speed reading skills, but there are exercises to enhance interest in life.

People are lazy and don't want to use a search engine. Ready to pay for nonsense instead of asking a question and getting it from the know-it-all - Google.

Constructing internal and external monologues so that they are interesting and artistic is also a very valuable practice. speed reading for children

Learning foreign languages ​​is a valuable practice. By mastering foreign languages, you master your native language. At the same time, you master effective reading and fast reading.

We all read differently and using different technical means.

Let's say you are reading the fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs." It can be presented in the form of three paintings: 1) three little pigs in a clearing (without a roof over their heads), 2) three houses and 3) the final scene with a wolf. To these pictures you can add two or three other key scenes. Be sure to imagine the last picture of the story - the triumph of the piglets.

As practice shows, having mastered this simple technique, people can retain in memory and easily reproduce anything in a conversation - a presentation, business stories, etc.

There is another similar memorization option. The famous scientist Luria studied Shereshevsky, who has phenomenal memorization abilities. Shereshevsky used a very simple technique: he imagined a street that he knew to the smallest detail, and mentally placed along it what he wanted to remember.

While reading the Ukrainian text, I realized that I was using the same reading strategies as when reading in Russian. For example, I noticed that I read in blocks of words. Possibly in Russian and partly in something familiar to me English language, but completely unacceptable for Ukrainian.

Fast reading does not come on its own through individual practice. It comes to those who lead a creative life, communicate in every possible way with others and with themselves, and in the process of this communication develop all aspects of their mind, their soul.

So, why do you need to improve your memory? Funny question, you say. After all, everyone knows what a good memory is. However, many people perceive their memory in an extremely simplified way, and therefore do not understand how its development affects other abilities. Their logic boils down to the following arguments:
Will your ability to memorize improve? But I already remember everything I need. I have already fully adapted to my abilities, phone numbers are stored in my cell phone, if you need something more complex, you can write it down. Since the memory problems have already been somehow resolved, there is no need to waste time on it. In the end, the main thing is not memory, but thinking, intelligence, and the ability to process information.

Most people think that by improving their memory they will turn their head into a camera or tape recorder, and do not see other advantages. But the development of memory is not only memory, but also thinking, imagination, attention, and much more, without which effective human mental activity is unthinkable.

So, what does a person achieve by training his memory?

1. Attention. The need to control the course of your thoughts, constant concentration on objects of memorization leads to improved attention. As a result, it becomes easier for a person to concentrate on current affairs and problems; his life becomes much more organized and less susceptible to interference.

2. Thinking. The development of memory also improves thinking due to the fact that you constantly have to work with mental objects and come up with associations connecting them. As a result, associative thinking develops - responsible for generalization and abstraction and visual-figurative use, which helps to perceive reality holistically and intuitively solve problems. Well, of course, just the ability to memorize helps thinking. If all the necessary facts are at hand, then in the process of thinking there is less need to linger on solving secondary problems to obtain the necessary information. It’s no secret: by the time you find the information you need, you’ll forget why it’s needed. Especially if you are looking for it using the Internet, you come across so many interesting things along the way that the search process turns out to be “more important” than the result, and when you find what you are looking for, you already forget where it all began.

3. Imagination and creative activity. The associations invented by the mnemonist are often unusual and absurd. By connecting objects you have to create the incredible. Already after some time after starting classes, you can notice that when solving your problems you begin to use methods that previously seemed too non-standard. And intractable problems suddenly get a simple and elegant solution.

4. Protecting the human brain from age-related changes. What we don't use, we lose. This is clearly seen in the example of human physical abilities. No matter how good your physical shape you are, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not give your body physical activity, then after a while the muscles will atrophy and become flabby, shortness of breath will appear, and a bunch of other problems related to the heart, blood pressure, etc. If you lead an active lifestyle, take long walks, go to the pool or gym, then health problems can be avoided. The same applies to the mental capabilities of the body. It is widely believed that a person's mental abilities decline with age. Research shows that this is often what happens. But the deterioration of human abilities is not so irreversible. If you continue to use your brain and give it a workout, then at least its condition will not worsen. The deterioration of brain abilities can be prevented by solving crossword puzzles or logic problems. By performing exercises to develop memory, you can also prevent the deterioration of mental abilities - memory, concentration, thinking, etc.

As we can see, the development of memory helps not only memory, but also contributes to the harmonious development of other human abilities.
You can learn all this and more at "School of Speed ​​Reading and Information Management Vasilyeva L.L."

- Every time you can’t remember a name or the name of a place, make a note in your diary.
- What if I can’t remember about the diary?..

In this article, we will introduce you to the principles of memory, talk about techniques for memorizing and retrieving memories, share exercises, recommendations from scientists, and unexpected facts about memory. You will definitely remember this :)

How memory works

Did you know that the very word “memory” misleads us? It makes it seem like we're talking about one thing, one mental skill. But over the past fifty years, scientists have discovered that there are several different memory processes. For example, we have short-term and long-term memory.

Everyone knows that short term memory used when you need to hold a thought in your mind for about a minute (for example, a telephone number you are about to call). At the same time, it is very important not to think about anything else - otherwise you will immediately forget the number. This statement is true for both young and old people, but for the latter its relevance is still slightly higher. Short-term memory is involved in various processes, for example, it is used to track changes in numbers during addition or subtraction.

Long term memory b is responsible for everything that we need in more than a minute, even if during this period you were distracted by something else. Long-term memory is divided into procedural and declarative.

1. Procedural memory concerns activities such as riding a bicycle or playing the piano. Once you have learned to do this, subsequently your body will simply repeat the necessary movements - and this is controlled by procedural memory.
2. Declarative memory, in turn, is involved in the conscious retrieval of information, for example when you need to retrieve a shopping list. This type of memory can be either verbal (verbal) or visual (visual) and is divided into semantic and episodic memory.

• Semantic memory refers to the meaning of concepts (particularly people's names). Let us assume that knowledge of what a bicycle is belongs to this type of memory.
• Episodic memory- to events. For example, knowing the last time you went on a bike ride appeals to your episodic memory. Part of episodic memory is autobiographical - it concerns various events and life experiences.

Finally we got to prospective memory- it refers to things you are going to do: call a car service, or buy a bouquet of flowers and visit your aunt, or clean the cat's litter box.

How memories are formed and returned

Memory is a mechanism that causes impressions received in the present to influence us in the future. For the brain, new experiences mean spontaneous neural activity. When something happens to us, clusters of neurons come into action, transmitting electrical impulses. Gene work and protein production create new synapses and stimulate the growth of new neurons.

But the process of forgetting is similar to how snow falls on objects, covering them with itself, from which they become white-white - so much so that you can no longer distinguish where everything was.

The impulse that triggers the retrieval of a memory - an internal (thought or feeling) or external event - causes the brain to associate it with an incident from the past. works as a kind of predictive device: it constantly prepares for the future based on the past. Memories condition our perception of the present by providing a “filter” through which we look and automatically assume what will happen next.

The mechanism for retrieving memories has an important property. It has only been thoroughly studied in the last twenty-five years: when we retrieve an encoded memory from internal storage, it is not necessarily recognized as something from the past.

Let's take cycling for example. You get on a bike and just ride, and clusters of neurons fire in your brain that allow you to pedal, balance, and brake. This is one type of memory: an event in the past (trying to learn to ride a bike) influenced your behavior in the present (you ride it), but you do not experience today's bike ride as a memory of the first time you managed to do it.

If we ask you to remember the very first time you rode a bicycle, you will think, scan your memory storage, and, say, you will have an image of your dad or older sister who were running after you, you will remember the fear and pain from the first fall or the delight that you managed to get to the nearest turn. And you will know for sure that you are remembering something from the past.

The two types of memory processing are closely related in our daily lives. Those that help us pedal are called implicit memories, and the ability to remember the day we learned to ride is called explicit memories.

Master of mosaics

We have short-term working memory, a slate of consciousness, on which we can place a picture at any given moment. And, by the way, it has a limited capacity where the images present in the foreground of consciousness are stored. But there are other types of memory.

In the left hemisphere, the hippocampus generates factual and linguistic knowledge; in the right - organizes the “building blocks” of life history by time and topics. All this work makes the memory “search engine” more efficient. The hippocampus can be compared to a jigsaw puzzle: it connects individual fragments of images and sensations of implicit memories into complete “pictures” of factual and autobiographical memory.

If the hippocampus is suddenly damaged, for example due to a stroke, memory will also be impaired. Daniel Siegel told this story in his book: “Once at a dinner with friends, I met a man with this problem. He politely told me that he had had several bilateral hippocampal strokes and asked me not to be offended if I went away for a second to get myself some water and he didn’t remember me later. And sure enough, I returned with a glass in my hands, and we introduced ourselves to each other again.”

Like some types of sleeping pills, alcohol is notorious for temporarily shutting down our hippocampus. However, the state of blackout caused by alcohol is not the same as temporary loss of consciousness: the person is conscious (although incapacitated), but does not encode what is happening in explicit form. People experiencing such memory lapses may not remember how they got home or how they met the person with whom they woke up in the same bed in the morning.

The hippocampus also shuts down when angry, and people who suffer from uncontrollable rage are not necessarily lying when they claim not to remember what they said or did in this altered state of consciousness.

How to test your memory

Psychologists use different techniques to test memory. Some of them can be done independently at home.

1. Verbal memory test. Ask someone to read 15 words to you (only unrelated words: “bush, bird, hat”, etc.). Repeat them: people under 45 usually remember about 7-9 words. Then listen to this list four more times. Norm: reproduce 12–15 words. Go about your business and after 15 minutes repeat the words (but only from memory). Most middle-aged people cannot reproduce more than 10 words.
2. Visual memory test. Draw this complex diagram, and after 20 try to draw it from memory. The more details you remember, the better your memory is.

How memory is related to the senses

According to scientist Michael Merzenich, “One of the most important conclusions drawn from the results of the recent study is that the senses (hearing, vision, and others) are closely related to memory and cognitive abilities. Because of this interdependence, the weakness of one often means, or even causes, the weakness of the other.

For example, it is known that patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease gradually lose their memory. And one of the manifestations of this disease is that they begin to eat less. It turned out that since the symptoms of this disease include visual impairment, patients (among other reasons) simply do not see food...

Another example concerns normal age-related changes cognitive activity. As a person ages, he becomes more and more forgetful and absent-minded. This is largely explained by the fact that the brain no longer processes sensory signals as well as before. As a result, we lose the ability to retain new visual images of our experiences as clearly as before, and we subsequently have trouble using and retrieving them.”

By the way, it is curious that exposure to blue light enhances the reaction to emotional stimuli of the hypothalamus and amygdala, that is, the areas of the brain responsible for organizing attention and memory. So looking at all shades of blue is helpful.

Techniques and exercises for memory training

The first and most important thing you need to know to have a good memory is. Studies have shown that the hippocampus, responsible for spatial memory, is enlarged in taxi drivers. This means that the more often you engage in activities that use your memory, the better you improve it.

And also here are a few more techniques that will help you develop your memory, improve your ability to recall and remember everything you need.

1. Go crazy!

Memory- one of the mental functions and types of human mental activity, designed to preserve, accumulate and reproduce information.

The ability to store information about events in the external world and the body’s reactions for a long time and repeatedly use it in the sphere of consciousness to organize subsequent activities (Wikipedia).

According to statistics, memory problems bother every third inhabitant of the earth. Moreover, memory impairment is typical for all ages.

Why do you need to improve your memory?
Funny question, you say. After all, everyone knows what a good memory is. However, many people perceive their memory in an extremely simplified way, and therefore do not understand how its development affects other abilities. Their logic boils down to the following arguments:

Will your ability to memorize improve? But I already remember everything I need. I have already fully adapted to my abilities, phone numbers are stored in my cell phone, if you need something more complex, you can write it down. Since the memory problems have already been somehow resolved, there is no need to waste time on it. In the end, the main thing is not memory, but thinking, intelligence, and the ability to process information.

Most people think that by improving their memory they will turn their head into a camera or tape recorder, and do not see other advantages.
But the development of memory is not only memory, but also thinking, imagination, attention, and much more, without which effective human mental activity is unthinkable.

So, What does a person achieve by training his memory?

1. Attention. The need to control the course of your thoughts, constant concentration on objects of memorization leads to improved attention. As a result, it becomes easier for a person to concentrate on current affairs and problems; his life becomes much more organized and less susceptible to interference.

2. Thinking. The development of memory also improves thinking due to the fact that you constantly have to work with mental objects and come up with associations connecting them. As a result, associative thinking develops - responsible for generalization and abstraction and visual-figurative - the use of which helps a holistic perception of reality and intuitive problem solving. Well, of course, just the ability to memorize helps thinking. If all the necessary facts are at hand, then in the process of thinking there is less need to linger on solving secondary problems to obtain the necessary information. It’s no secret: by the time you find the information you need, you’ll forget why you need it. Especially if you are looking for it using the Internet, you come across so many interesting things along the way that the search process turns out to be “more important” than the result, and when you find what you are looking for, you already forget where it all began.

3. Imagination and creative activity. The associations invented by the mnemonist are often unusual and absurd. By connecting objects you have to create the incredible. Already after some time after starting classes, you can notice that when solving your problems you begin to use methods that previously seemed too non-standard. And intractable problems suddenly get a simple and elegant solution.

4. Protecting the human brain from age-related changes. What we don't use, we lose. This is clearly seen in the example of human physical abilities. No matter how good your physical shape you are, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not give your body physical activity, then after a while the muscles will atrophy and become flabby, shortness of breath will appear, and a bunch of other problems related to the heart, blood pressure, etc. If you lead an active lifestyle, take long walks, go to the pool or gym, then health problems can be avoided. The same applies to the mental capabilities of the body. It is widely believed that a person's mental abilities decline with age. Research shows that this is often what happens. But the deterioration of human abilities is not so irreversible. If you continue to use your brain and give it a workout, then at least its condition will not worsen. The deterioration of brain abilities can be prevented by solving crossword puzzles or logic problems. By performing exercises to develop memory, you can also prevent the deterioration of mental abilities - memory, concentration, thinking, etc.

As we can see, the development of memory helps not only memory, but also contributes to the harmonious development of other human abilities.

What kind of memory will we develop?

Saying the phrase “I have bad memory” people often mean completely different things. For some it is the inability to remember phone numbers, for others it is people’s faces. Some struggle with absent-mindedness - constantly forgetting keys and documents, missing appointments, etc. And there are people for whom a good memory is an opportunity to quickly learn a large amount of information for an exam. Once you figure out what exactly you need, you can save a lot of effort and time.

Depending on what kind of memory you are going to develop, there are three ways to develop memory. Let's look at them in more detail:

1. Memory for events or everyday memory. The name is quite conditional, it allows us to separate the memorization techniques that are used mainly in everyday life and boil down to “not forgetting something.” You may forget to take your keys when leaving the house because someone interrupted you with a phone call just before leaving. You may forget to go into a store while passing by it, thinking about something of your own. You may forget documents simply because you forgot. You may forget your cell phone in a cafe.
Books or articles on the Internet often contain techniques for developing this type of memory. I recommend one book that is almost entirely devoted to this type of memorization - “The Language of Memory” by Douglas Herman and Michael Grunberg. Much of the book describes situations in which two memory experts kept forgetting something. An interesting book, with a description of a large number of facts from life.

2. Memory as a mental function. What is often called natural memory. This method includes performing exercises to develop attention and memory itself, controlling breathing, organizing a diet to improve your mental abilities.
It must be said that although individual elements of this method of memorization are found quite often, in a systematic form this is only in one source - the audio course by Ivan Ivanovich Poloneichik “Principles and methods of memory development.” The development of this type of memory allows you to remember a variety of information without much effort.

3. Mnemonics or artificial memory. Probably the oldest and effective method memorization. How about memorizing a few thousand digits, like the signs of pi? Or remember, close to the test, the contents of a thick book filled with a bunch of facts, information, numerical data? Or a list of laws, the meaning of which may be difficult to understand even when reading?
Mnemonics, mobilizing the possibilities of thinking, attention, imagination, allows you to remember all this. Although, of course, mastering it requires time to do memorization exercises and regular training. And the biggest paradox is that by mastering mnemonics and using it, your memory does not get better. Using mnemonics allows you to memorize, but does not develop memory.

So, these are the three main methods of memory development. Which one is better? Hard to tell. It’s better to approach from the other end - what do you need from your memory? What are you missing at the moment? What problems does your own memory hinder you in solving? Think about it and the answer will appear on the surface.

In the meantime, I offer you an exercise to train your memory:

For many adults, poor memory becomes a real stumbling block: problems with remembering, forgetfulness, inattention, etc. What can we say about elderly people, whose problems with the blood vessels of the brain often affect their memory.
Memory training exercises help quickly solve this problem.

Develop your memory and be healthy and happy!