Page 287 - Use Your Memory

USE YOUR MEMORY
Now check the way in which your own memory worked: as a
general principle, people remember more of what they learn at the
beginning and end of a learning period, many more things that
were associated with each other, and always more items that stand
out in some way.
Thus, the words in this test that are commonly remembered are
the first three to five words; the last two or three words; and, o/and
the (remembered because of repetition and linking to themselves),
and Leonardo da Vinci, because it stands out from the rest. In
addition, people will remember their own specially associated
groups of words within the list, as well as words that for some
personal reason are outstanding to them.
It is important to observe what was not remembered: anything
that was not at the beginning or end of the learning period, that
was not associated with other parts of the learning period, and that
was not in any way outstanding. In many cases, this means that the
entire bulk of the middle section of the learning period can be
forgotten. Relating all of this to yourself and to time, ask yourself
the following question: if you had been studying a difficult text for
forty minutes, had found your understanding fairly poor
throughout, and had noticed that during the last ten minutes of
your reading your understanding had begun to improve slightly,
would you: stop your studying immediately and conclude that as
you had started to do well you could now stop and have a rest; or
carry on, assuming that now your understanding was flowing more
smoothly, you'd be able to keep it going until it trailed off, and then
take your break?
Most people choose the latter of these two alternatives, assum-
ing that if their understanding is going well all other things will
also be going well. It can, however, be seen from the results of the
test you have just taken, and from your own personal experience,
that understanding and recall are not the same. They vary in
amounts enormously, and the factor that defines their difference
is your own time management.
What you understand you do not necessarily recall, and as time
progresses while you learn, you will recall less and less of what you
are understanding if you do not in some way solve the problem of
the large dip in recall that occurs during the middle of the learning
period (see graph page 167). This Basic Memory Rhythm applies
no matter what you are learning, and that includes the learning of
memory systems. What you are looking for is a learning situation
in which both recall and understanding can work in maximum
harmony. You can create this situation only by organising the time

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