Memory
Many people fear that a crucial skill is being lost as Google replaces memory. Can someone with exceptional memory, who can quickly recall hundreds of digits, teach us how to do the same?
Champion of memory Katie Kermode Despite having a great memory for names during contests, I occasionally forget them in everyday situations. Photo by Guzelian/Lorne Campbell
Alex Mullen possesses a remarkable talent: he can recall the precise sequence of a deck of cards after only 16 seconds of flipping through it. The 26-year-old medical student first used memory strategies to aid with his academic work, but he picked them up so rapidly that soon he was competing and finally won the world memory championship in 2015. In categories such as card sequences, names, faces, and dates of historical events, “memory athletes” compete to recall the most in the shortest amount of time during the championships, which are held once more this December.
“Winning my first world title was incredibly weird. Although I worked hard in the gym, Mullen claims that winning was never truly on his mind. “I didn’t really absorb it when I won by practically one second on the tenth and final event. Nevertheless, he went on to win the championships once more in 2017. He is currently rated No. 1 in the world and is the holder of several recall records.
In a future where computer databases, with much larger retention capacities than our own, progressively replace human memory, individuals like Mullen present significant issues. Would we lose our ability to remember information if we were no longer required to make a mental note of numbers, dates, or other details?
We are aware of the brain’s malleability. A research conducted in 2000 revealed that London taxi drivers had bigger hippocampi than the general population. This difference may be related to the fact that cab drivers were required to learn and maintain “knowledge” on the fastest ways to navigate the city’s streets.
The internet hasn’t been a significant part of our lives for long enough, according to Emma Ward, a senior lecturer in psychology at Middlesex University, for scientists to completely understand its long-term impact on people’s minds. The basic premise of memory training is repetition and rehearsal, which strengthens brain connections, she continues, adding that there is data to support its benefits.
One can contend that our memory processes grow less effective as we depend more on technology for reminders and memory aids. It will be interesting to look at kids who grew up with such accessible technology in the future to see how it affects their memory and cognition.
Alex Mullen at the Chengdu, China, 2015 World Memory Championship. Snapshot: Alex Mullen
Author and neuroscientist Dean Burnett is of the opinion that memory training is necessary. As with other biological functions, he explains, “not utilising it would imply it’s less robust and less trustworthy than in someone who uses it regularly.” “Since memories are simply connections between neurons, it is generally accepted that these connections must periodically be ‘activated’ in order to maintain them. One activates a memory by retrieving it. He does, however, issue a warning against the notion that since we have outsourced our memories, we are somehow “losing” them: “It’s not that they fade away, deteriorate, or anything like that; it’s simply that our brains struggle to find them if they are infrequently utilised.”
According to Ward, technology may have more subtle effects on humans. She mentions a research in which subjects were presented a fabricated image of themselves as kids in hot air balloons, and they later “remembered” the untrue experience. She explains, “Memories are not like file cabinets. In order to understand the world around us, our brains adapt a lot of what we go through, and as a result, many of our memories are either representations of or distortions of reality. Online information and image overload might lead to the production of “false memories.”
For example, it’s easy to be able to record your entire vacation on a smartphone, but research have shown that if you do this, you may not be paying attention to your surroundings. When you are preoccupied, your brain’s neuronal connections are not being used in a way that would enhance your memory, making it more susceptible to errors.
However, there is some good news regarding our dependency on Google and company. It may help with problem-solving and short-term memory, according to other research. The brains of “internet ignorant” and “internet knowledgeable” older persons were compared by UCLA professor of psychiatry and biobehavioural sciences Gary Small, who discovered that the naive group’s neuronal activity rose after a week of online searching. We saw notable improvements, especially in the frontal lobe, which is the thinking brain and regulates working memory.
He compares memory to muscles and thinks that this study demonstrates that people may become more cognitively efficient. It’s comparable to what occurs when you exercise at a gym. Lifting weights initially requires a lot of energy, but with practise you can lift much more while using less.”
The memory athletes claim that anyone can learn their methods if they feel the need for some of this training. Mullen claims that his recall was ordinary prior to setting world records. After reading Moonwalking With Einstein, Joshua Foer’s memoir about his bid to win the US memory championship, that began to alter. Mullen advises that you practise a lot. Simply stated, it depends on how much effort you’re prepared to put out.
The “method of loci,” sometimes referred to as the “memory palace” by viewers of the Sherlock television series, is the strategy most frequently utilised by memory athletes. The goal is to correlate a picture with each item on a list—such as a to-do list—when you memorise it. The pictures are then placed in the rooms of your “castle,” which is usually your house or another well-known structure. The pictures can be as ludicrous as you wish. You see moving from one room to the next as you recollect the list.
The world records for memorising 318 random words in 15 minutes and 105 names and faces in 5 minutes, respectively, are both held by Katie Kermode of Cheshire. She explains, “I have a trip that circles my house and other houses I’ve lived in. “I put two words in each area, and I basically visually connected those two words. Then, when I mentally retrace my steps along the various pathways, I can recall the phrases I saw.
The world’s best memory athlete and Dutch neuroscientist Boris Nikolai Konrad claims to have “60 or 70” memory palaces. He continues, “One is at Buckingham Palace, one is on the Thames in London, and one is my old student residence in Reading. However, he used a different strategy to memorise lengthy strings of numbers, making an image for each pair of digits using a person-action-object mnemonic. For instance, a giraffe may be used to symbolise the number 19 by eating leaves from a tall tree (the “person”) (the object). A narrative or trip develops when one picture is followed by another, making it easier for someone to remember the entire long string of numbers.
Mullen employs a similar apparatus, but each picture corresponds to three numerals instead. He requests that I give him six arbitrary digits. I give you 876518. Mullen compares 876 to a huge palm tree, the kind you’d often find on a beach. And the number 518 is a Twinkie, a beloved American food. As a result, the coconuts are pressing down on the trunk of the palm tree, which is entirely constructed of Twinkie, and the creamy inside is seeping out.
Wintersoul, Yanjaa “People think this is a ridiculous party trick,”
Yanjaa Wintersoul, often known as Yanjaa, is a Swedish memory athlete with Mongolian ancestry who currently calls New York home. She is one of the more captivating individuals in a discipline that isn’t exactly spectator-friendly. Konrad described the championships as being “a little bit like a school test with everyone sitting at their desks gazing at paper.” Yanjaa, like Mullen, became interested in memory games after reading Moonwalking With Einstein. She still thinks the methods can be useful in other contexts. She claims that while it initially seems intricate and difficult, it is ultimately automatic and quicker than anything else you could accomplish. People think of this as a strange party trick, but it’s actually quite beneficial for attention and mental wellness.
She has firsthand experience with that. “In my situation, the struggle was against anxiety and sadness. If you pick the right images, you’ll spend the whole memory training exercise thinking of pleasant things.
Even Kermode’s five-year-old can memorise grocery lists with the appropriate technique. If bread is the first thing on the list, Kermode explains, “I tell her to picture that on her head.” The next item, she envisions on her eyes, and the following one, on her nose. simply move down the list. She can explain to me why we went to the business when we arrive.
That must make going to the grocery store more enjoyable. But do the strategies used by the memory champions have a more substantial impact? Would it be beneficial for all of us to retrain our brains? Burnett is not persuaded. He claims that it “doesn’t really help you grasp anything.” “All it does is aid in memory. You will become highly proficient at crosswords if you do them daily.
That doesn’t imply your brain is better; it merely means that because of its ability to specialise in this way, it is now adept at solving crossword puzzles.
Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist, contends that youngsters should learn how to connect the dots rather than merely recollect them. What is more important, she queries? Understanding the significance of a fight or recalling its date? We must not equate comprehension with such rapid memory methods. If something is understood, understanding it is automatic and doesn’t require any effort on your part.
Even memory champions acknowledge the limitations of their tenacious skills. Mullen and Kermode claim that if they don’t consistently practise certain of their talents, they start to deteriorate over time and that they still have memory lapses. Despite having a great memory for names during contests, Kermode admits that she occasionally forgets them in everyday situations. “The other day, not only did I forget the individual’s name, but I wasn’t even sure it was the same person.”
Even the sceptics can’t argue with one advantage, though. Yanjaa claims that memory training has made it much easier for her to recall where she left her keys.
• On November 13, 2018, this item was changed to make it clear that the five-year-old who was referenced was Katie Kermode’s kid.