Page 39 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

Page 28
CHAPTER 2

How Your Brain Remembers— and Forgets

MEMORY STORAGE IN THE BRAIN is not like a videotape that we can wind or unwind at will. New
learning, old information, and the links between them are constantly formed and destroyed in a
dynamic process.

Implicit versus Explicit Memory

Memory can be classified into implicit and explicit categories. When you open your car door, turn on
the ignition, and start driving, do you actually make a conscious effort to remember how to perform
this sequence of actions? Of course not. The memory of how to drive a car is already hardwired and
automatic, and you usually don't need to pay any attention to it. The memory of how to drive a car
required conscious ‘‘explicit” mental effort when you first took driving lessons, but it is now
“implicit” or automatic. This “macro” memory with many hardwired components has room for
flexibility— for example, when you drive a rental car or a friend's automobile. It takes you a couple
of moments to adjust to the new vehicle, to identify the positioning of the dashboard and driving
controls, but soon you get the hang of it and you're off without a care in the world. But your macro
memory of how to drive a car cannot make huge shifts, as any automobile driver