There is no such thing as recovering your memory, because the memory is always there and it is up to the individual to sharpen it. You cannot really classify memory as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but rather as ‘trained’ or ‘untrained’. It is a fact that people over the age of 45 or 50 may not remember as well as they once did, and it is possible that, with age, five per cent of the brain cells responsible for retaining memory wither away. But it is also true that some older people have phenomenal memories.

“You invariably remember all the names of your bosses over the years, but do you remember the names of your subordinates? You remember what you want to and age is not a justification or license to forget!”

There are several kinds of memory. For example, some people are good at remembering telephone numbers but bad at recollecting names and recognising faces. “For instance, in my filing index in my mind, I remember as a sales and marketing manager, the different customization done for the software of a particular client, who has come to my office, but perhaps I do not know the person’s name.

When people complain they have a bad memory, what they really mean is that they do not have memory recall. There are three methods to develop memory or sharpen this recall. The first is called the Judicious method and relies on what is called the four wives and one husband theory. On each subject matter, you must be able to answer the questions ‘When’, ‘Why’ ‘What’ ‘Where’ and ‘How’. If you keep these short, one-word answers in mind, you are bound to recollect the whole.

The second method is called the Mechanical method and is used for something you cannot have judicious thinking for. This is something you just have to learn by heart. There is a way to learn a subject matter by rote. For instance, if an 11 year-old boy is given a week to learn a poem, there is not much use in him trying to learn it the Sunday before the test. He should learn it on the first day, repeat it on the second day and revise it again, throughout the week. “ This is called the Ebbinghaus technique, named after Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist who developed experimental methods for the measurement of rote, learning and memory.”

The third method is the artificial method or the method where ingenious techniques are used. Linking and pegging are used to aid memory. “Linking is like the key chain principle and you can learn and remember over one thousand words in that chain. For instance, if you have a chapter to study on the Independence of Mauritius, you will find that each paragraph portrays a particular idea or concept. Hence, there must be a central word, which will remind you or jog your memory about the entire contents of that paragraph. If the student can identify these 25 “key” words in the chapter and hook them to each other like a chain, then all he needs to do just before the exam is to check that he knows the key words, which will help him remember the whole chapter.

The pegging method involves creating spaces in the brain in which you can keep different items. “ This can be compared to your having a fixed place for the items such as your car keys, your shawl, or files when you go home. In the morning, when you leave for work, you pick them up automatically. This is similar to what is termed visual imaginary techniques. A person goes back from his auditory memory to his visual memory, which is the permanent and sophisticated one. As they say, seeing is believing. Similarly, one thousand words is equal to just one photograph or picture.”

The impact of the system is supposed to last as long as it is practised. If you practise it every day of your life, you should be able to call upon it at any time to remember. “For me it is similar to a knife. As long as you sharpen it and keep it in use, it works well. If you neglect it, it becomes blunt and rusty.” Pegging should be practised twice a week. And it helps not just your memory but also your ability to concentrate. These exercises are similar to mind expanding experiences.

These techniques can be applied to our daily life and at our work place. As a trainer, I believe children should be introduced to these techniques at about 10 years of age. “It will hold them in good stead for their exams and for everything they do in life.”“What you study is not important; what you remember of what you have studied is more important.”

<B>by Sandya LUCHOOMUN BOYGAH</B>