Memory
01
Memory is how our brains store and recall information. It is an important part of the cognitive functions of human brains. Without memory, we might not learn new things and get lessons from past experiences.
While how does the brain remember information? Scientists find that when people receive information, initially, they will analyze it, break it down into small parts and then try to memorize them. Through the process of encoding and decoding, people can store and retrieve the information when needed.
02
According to scientific study, different people have different styles of remembering things, and basically, there are three types, visual, auditory and kinaesthetic, which is to learn things by doing and practicing again and again.
A friend told me that after many years of probing and reviewing her road of learning English, she eventually realized that she is a visual learner. That is why no matter how hard she listened to the English broadcast, she can only fully understand the content after seeing the transcripts.
That is also the reason why some people can learn to dance much faster than the others because they are kinaesthetic learners.
03
Memory can be deteriorated due to aging or other reasons, for example, diseases like Alzheimer’s can affect one’s brain which leads to worsening of memory. In the end, patients will lose cognitive functions completely. And that is the unsolved problem for mankind nowadays with the aging of society.
Scientists around the world are working hard to find out the underlying mechanism. Besides, scientists also look at ways to improve our memory. The following are some recommendations.
A good night sleep, keeping health, moderate stress, and eating healthy diets are all critical components for improving one’ s memory.
04
A professor of psychology from the University of Leeds said on the BBC program that drawing will help us memorize things easily and efficiently. The theory beyond the perception is that when we draw we have to observe the object in a great level of detail.
Comparing with just writing the word, again and again, our brain can grab more details from drawing. It makes a contextual representation of the object, what it is, where it is used and how it is used for. Drawing helps the brain associate the object with the situation where it usually is. It promotes an intuitive sense in our mind.
These scientific findings are helpful when thinking about our own learning style, maybe not only should we follow our heart, but also follow learning style, whether we learn by eyes, by ears, or by doing. That is a question that needs to scrutinize deeply.
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