I think having a good memory is an important thing. Especially when judging the abilities of people I meet. People who could be considered to have high powered, or important jobs. I see them in action and then wonder how on earth they got their job, what quality did they have. Many may have been in the right place at the right time, but this coincidence goes on and on. So I then get to figure out it is also their ability to perform well in an interview. Interviews can be difficult things, especially when preparing. There is so many potential questions to go over, so many points of view, so much to consider. Particularly for the serious candidate. The individual who is going to put time and effort into studying and preparing for the interview. How is it possible to pull together a mass of information when needed? Memory. If you can remember it you are more likely to get additional brownie points while sitting before the interview panel. Whereas if interview anxiety kicks in then stress and in turn memory becomes like a leaking bucket on a walk through the sahara desert. Here comes the value of over learning, over revising, and over preparing. Lets not be misguided to think memory is everything, because it certainly is not. Confidence would be another factor, but it could be if you are happy with recall then confidence in turn improves.
One thought I have got to believe applies to long established organisations, a number of people in the hierarchy of power should not be there, it is as though their getting the job was a mistake. But a perpetual mistake. As years go past, one after the other, nothing is done to remove them. They stay there and can actually be a liability to the organization. Put another way, I've come to believe high powered individuals are as equally poor decision makers as anyone else in a lower position. Memory doesn't make you a good decision maker, but being able to recall the salient points of a debate would stop you from making basic errors. Therefore the value of having a memory is massive. It goes beyond anything anyone can estimate.
Consider the annual earnings of an individual, multiply this by the number of years they are likely to be in a job and the value of recall in the interview process is now very high.
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Why we forget
In trying to remember the reasons why we forget I've probably forgotten some, but there are many reasons, some physical some mental and some between the two.
1. Because the brain leaks. I don't know if this is true but I think of the film called The Navigator, where a small boy is taken in an alien space craft only to find the space craft had momentarily kidnapped him to put maps in his head. His brain was fallible and they crashed, because the maps leaked.
2. There isn't enough motivation. But I'm not sure if this is a valid reason. You could be motivated with a golden pot to remember something but still not remember it. It's all about a)storage, b) coding and c)retrieval.
3. The engram is not strong enough. One theory is for every memory a physical trace exists in the brain termed an engram. If this physical trace is not excited enough by the process of remembering it fades away.
4. The memory is there but, it's a retrieval problem. In trying to remember something you may have to think around the item needed to remember. It's like a word you don't use much in your vocabulary but when you want to pull it out of memory it just doesn't pop up. Otherwise known as being on-the-tip-of-your-tongue. Thinking about something can side step into the item needed. The Critical Incident Interview (CIT) method is one way to help witnesses recall and event by focusing on a variety of factors which surround the event.
5. Repression. Likely an explanation with psychoanalytic origins. The mind (unconscious mind) pushes a memory out of consciousness, because it doesn't like it and chooses not to think about it. This is a coping mechanism for unpleasant things. Psychoanalysis helps to bring these to the surface, a safe environment is necessary and a willingness to face something unpleasant.
6. Suppressed memory. I must admit to suppressing a memory once, this is something you consciously and willfully do. It is chosen unlike repression which is not chosen. I did this to remove from my memory the phone number of one of my first girlfriends. I thought about it and made myself forget it, I wanted to get her and it out of my mind. I could not forget her but I sure as hell forgot her phone number and it didn't take too long either. I suppose some items of memory can never be forgotten, but at least with the hindsight of maturity their meaning or pain diminishes a lot.
7. Poor memory cues. Like the CIT method, a memory is still there but the issue is retrieval, because there is not a strong enough thread it can't get pulled out of your mind. In open brain operations where patients have had their cortex stimulated they have been able to recall events they had long since completely forgotten. This may suggest in fact everything which ever happens to an individual is stored as a memory in the brain. The film Rain Man comes to mind, this was based on a real savant who could remember everything but knew the meaning of nothing. e.g. could recite a pack or multiple packs of shuffled cards with ease but not tell you the price of a hamburger in understanding the concept of money.
8. State related memory. Sometimes it helps to be in the same emotional, psychological or physical state as the memory was created to recall it. There is a Charlie Chaplin film where he makes friends with a millionaire drunk, but as Charlie was himself drunk at the time he only realises the drunk is his friend when intoxicated again.
Well these are most of the items which came to mind at the time of writing this BLOG, I've tried to put them into easy to understand terms because most of the technical terms I've forgotten, but can easily be picked up from an internet search or an enquiring mind. I should of remembered to create a mnemonic, unfortunately the effort of doing mnemonics is still too much. Luckily my head is screwed on.
1. Because the brain leaks. I don't know if this is true but I think of the film called The Navigator, where a small boy is taken in an alien space craft only to find the space craft had momentarily kidnapped him to put maps in his head. His brain was fallible and they crashed, because the maps leaked.
2. There isn't enough motivation. But I'm not sure if this is a valid reason. You could be motivated with a golden pot to remember something but still not remember it. It's all about a)storage, b) coding and c)retrieval.
3. The engram is not strong enough. One theory is for every memory a physical trace exists in the brain termed an engram. If this physical trace is not excited enough by the process of remembering it fades away.
4. The memory is there but, it's a retrieval problem. In trying to remember something you may have to think around the item needed to remember. It's like a word you don't use much in your vocabulary but when you want to pull it out of memory it just doesn't pop up. Otherwise known as being on-the-tip-of-your-tongue. Thinking about something can side step into the item needed. The Critical Incident Interview (CIT) method is one way to help witnesses recall and event by focusing on a variety of factors which surround the event.
5. Repression. Likely an explanation with psychoanalytic origins. The mind (unconscious mind) pushes a memory out of consciousness, because it doesn't like it and chooses not to think about it. This is a coping mechanism for unpleasant things. Psychoanalysis helps to bring these to the surface, a safe environment is necessary and a willingness to face something unpleasant.
6. Suppressed memory. I must admit to suppressing a memory once, this is something you consciously and willfully do. It is chosen unlike repression which is not chosen. I did this to remove from my memory the phone number of one of my first girlfriends. I thought about it and made myself forget it, I wanted to get her and it out of my mind. I could not forget her but I sure as hell forgot her phone number and it didn't take too long either. I suppose some items of memory can never be forgotten, but at least with the hindsight of maturity their meaning or pain diminishes a lot.
7. Poor memory cues. Like the CIT method, a memory is still there but the issue is retrieval, because there is not a strong enough thread it can't get pulled out of your mind. In open brain operations where patients have had their cortex stimulated they have been able to recall events they had long since completely forgotten. This may suggest in fact everything which ever happens to an individual is stored as a memory in the brain. The film Rain Man comes to mind, this was based on a real savant who could remember everything but knew the meaning of nothing. e.g. could recite a pack or multiple packs of shuffled cards with ease but not tell you the price of a hamburger in understanding the concept of money.
8. State related memory. Sometimes it helps to be in the same emotional, psychological or physical state as the memory was created to recall it. There is a Charlie Chaplin film where he makes friends with a millionaire drunk, but as Charlie was himself drunk at the time he only realises the drunk is his friend when intoxicated again.
Well these are most of the items which came to mind at the time of writing this BLOG, I've tried to put them into easy to understand terms because most of the technical terms I've forgotten, but can easily be picked up from an internet search or an enquiring mind. I should of remembered to create a mnemonic, unfortunately the effort of doing mnemonics is still too much. Luckily my head is screwed on.
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