Most people have seen movies or read books or at least heard of the famous Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christies Hercules Poirot and stood fascinated by their intellect and their stories in general. I suppose by that example was created “Mentalist” – also a detective series with lead character Patrick Jane, also a man with a great mind and intellect which leaves you with a question mark above your head. How? Aside from their excellent deductive and inductive skills as well as intuition, their ability to extract important, along with unimportant information from their “mind palace”, as Sherlock Holmes calls it, it’s rather fascinating. I have come to learn that Patrick Jane (Mentalist) and Sherlock Holmes use mnemonic strategies to remember things to solve criminal cases they are working on. Even though it sounded a bit like science fiction, given the fact I have heard of it only from the movies and series, I was intrigued and wanted to see a bit more into it.
Mnemonic techniques are strategies to improve memory, and to recall large pieces of information. “Since the ancient Greeks, mnemonic techniques have been used to facilitate accurate recollection of information when external sources of reference were unavailable.” (Yates, 1966) There are many mnemonic techniques that exist, they are only limited by the each user’s imagination. The nine basic mnemonic techniques; Music, Name, Expression/Word, Model, Ode/Rhyme, Note Organization, Image, Connection, and Spelling Mnemonics. “Of the large number of existing mnemonic strategies, one of the oldest and most effective is the Method of Loci (MOL; also known as the ‘memory palace’ technique, Spence, 1984).“ (Legge, Madan and Enoch 1) Lots of memory contest champions...
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...puters. Every new information we can store. We can search for that information anywhere because we are always connected to the internet. These days we think our phones make us smart, they are just devices that give information. We search for the information, we use it for some purpose we need, and then we just forget it. We rely too much on our technology. We should ask ourselves questions; Why don’t we improve our minds? Why we started to trust technology more than our brain? Should we do something about it? If we continue like this with technology, our brains will become useless.
Works Cited
Foer, Joshua. CNN. 11 June 2012. .
Legge, Eric L.G., et al. "Building a memory palace in minutes." Acta Psychologica (2012): 380-390.
Yates, Frances. "The Art of Memory." London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966.
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We live in a time where technology is at the center of our society. We use technology on a daily basis, for the simplest tasks, or to aid us in our jobs, and don’t give a second thought to whether these tools are actually helping us. Writers such as Kevin Kelly and Clive Thompson argue that the use of technology actually helps us humans; whiles writers such as Nicholas Carr argue that technology affects people’s abilities to learn information negatively.
Humans have been creating tools that allow us to be do things that would be otherwise impossible since the beginning of our existence. The ability to use and develop new tools is what sets us apart from all other animals. Yet it seems that ever since these tools started being created there were also people that feared these new tools and claimed that they are bad for the human race. The present fear of new technology is illustrated in the essay “Is Google Making us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr. In this essay Carr argues that the internet and other new technologies are changing the way we think in a negative way. Carr claims that new technology is making our generation stupid. In opposition the article “Smarter Than You Think” by Clive Thompson
Memory can be defined as the mental system for receiving, encoding, storing, organising, altering and retrieving information (Coon & Mitterer, 2012). Many a time one is able to remember something, example how to drive a car, yet they are unable to remember a mathematical formula for an examination. People vary in their ability to remember certain things, and research conducted has proven that even infants differ in their memory abilities (Fagan & Singer, 1963). It was discovered by psychologists that memory is not static, but rather it is influenced by ones internal factors and situational happenings to a large effect (Huffman, Vernoy & Vernoy, 1997). This essay will attempt to discover which method of study is most suitable, by listing and explaining various memory strategies, as well as indicating how each method will improve memory efficiency. The process of memory is made up of three operations. The first being Encoding, this is the conversion of information into a form which enables it to be retained in memory (Coon & Mitterer, 2012). The second operation is called Storage, this is the keeping of information until it is later needed. The third and final operation is known as Retrieval, and this is the recovering of information from Storage (Hoeksema, Fredrickson, Loftus & Wagenaar, 2009). These formerly mentioned operations each represent a stage in the process of memory (Sternberg & Sternberg, 2012).
In his original essay, titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr explains how our brains have changed with the technology that we are using at the time. He ends his essay stating, “As we come to rely on computers to mediate out understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence” (328). Carr is describing here that our minds are changing to meet the technology we are using. As we move towards artificial intelligence, we risk sinking into nothing more than robots. This statement represents the theme of his essay because it is indicative of the way humans’ minds change with the technology they are using. The author cites many examples of the earliest forms of technology used today to support his argument, but does not accurately describe what technology is. His essay brings up technology such the printing press and how it changed peoples’ minds by giving them access to information, and how Friedrich Nietzsche’s use of the typewriter made his writing change from persuasive speaking to basic communication. Carrs’ writing is very clear, but he does not clearly define technology. Providing an explanation will make it easier to see how it has affected the human mind throughout history. In short, technology is the invented and innovated tools that aid in the completion of everyday tasks in measurement and recording, communication and labor.
Technology has played a vital role in human progression over the past century, with new advancements like computers, smart phones, and orbiting satellites paving the way for a world more connected than ever before. The ease of accessing knowledge via these devices ensures that individuals can have the world at their fingertips, as any and all questions they may have can be answered in only a matter of seconds. Such a free flow of information requires little mental aptitude to understand and access, and some observers of this relatively new phenomenon are starting to ponder if technology is actually hurting us rather than aiding us. One such
Tulving, E., & Thomson, D. M. (1973). Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory. Psychological Review, 80(5), 352–373. doi:10.1037/h0020071
Since memory is a puzzling part in the brain, it has been studied over the years.
Experiment 1 represents a replication of an experiment done by Bransford & Johnson in 1972. During their experiment they invoked a schema which is an organizational or conceptual pattern in the mind. They gave their participants different titles, some received a specific title and some received a non-specific title, some participants were given the title before the passage was read and some after the passage was read. After determining who got which title they read them a passage looking to see how many different ideas from the passage they could recall. They came to the conclusion that those who were given specific titles and that had them given to them prior to the passage was read were able to recall more then those that received a non-specific title or those that were given the title after the passage was read. The results do show that schemas do help with recall depending on how they are used and when. For our first replication of the experiment we decided to use one of their techniques of experimenting, which involved giving a specific title and a non-specific title.
Memory is a powerful tool required for one to grow as an individual and gain knowledge. Memory is defined as “the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned and retained especially through associative mechanisms” (Webster). One’s memory can be compared to a computer 's information processing system. When we need to remember an event, we gather the information into our brain, which is known as encoding, and then we store the information and are be able to retrieve it. There are many ways for one to improve their memory. Mnemonic device is a popular memory recall skill. “Mnemonics are memory devices that help learners recall larger pieces of information, especially in the form of lists like characteristics, steps, stages,
One of the first psychologists to research memory was James in 1890. James was the first person to make the distinction between primary and secondary memory, which corresponds with short-term, and long-term memory, without this distinction then the MSM could not have been created.
Learning and memory are fascinating. The world could not function without either. They both are used in many different fashions in a wide variety of places. Learning and Memory have been carefully studied by professionals but are also well known and used by the common people on a daily basis. I am one of those common people, a student who is constantly learning and making the most of my memory. Since enrolling in The Psychology of Learning and Memory class I have come to the realization that I encounter situations in my life that exemplify the very concepts I have studied. I have also learned that it is beneficial to apply the lessons learned in class to my everyday life. Positive reinforcement, learned helplessness and serial recall are a few among many of the learning and memory models that have come to action in my life and in my final reflections surrounding the course.
The element of memory is defined as the ability to recall previous experiences and is a part of the cognitive process that is vital in the process of learning. In its relation to psychology, it includes the mental activity that is connected to attention, planning, rational thought, and making meaning in an activity. The process is divided into the lower-level neurological base and the higher-level tools such as the retention of literacy, logical, and language aspects of learning. Once some information is obtained, memory is responsible for the retention of the details such as the description, location, and name. That means that the person does not require an external influence to recognize an idea or object that he/she ever saw
Learning to tie shoes and ride a bike requires the encoding, storing, and retrieving of past observations of the procedure. With a lot of practice, children master these skills so well that they are able to remember them the rest of their lives. Memory is the storing of information over time. It is one of the most important concepts in learning; if things are not remembered, no learning can take place. As a process, memory refers to the "dynamic mechanism associated with the retention and retrieval of information about past experiences" (Sternberg 260). We use our memory about the past to help us understand the present. The study or memory in psychology is used in different ways, as well as there are many different ways to study how memory works in humans. In psychology there are many tasks used to measure memory, and different types of memory storages that human's use, such as sensory storing, or short term storing. There are also a lot of techniques that humans use to improve their memory, which they can use to learn, such as mnemonic devices. All these things can be classified as important issues in the study of human memory and ways of learning.
Nowadays people use technology from everything from business to education to entertainment and much more. Almost everything we do and every aspect of our lives is affected by modern technology. With all the advantages of technology it is not surprising that we rely on it for almost everything in our daily lives, but how much is too much? People’s over-use computers and other modern technology is causing vital skills to be lost as technology replaces traditional ways of doing things. We are losing communication skills, memorization skills, and ……..?????????. And with the loss of these skills, what happens when technology fails?