Studying speed reading, I realized, that in the process of reading memory is a key. Just imagine, that at the level of consciousness in one session you can perceive up to seven (or even more) bits of information! Researches of scientists proved, that cells of a human brain can store six times more information than a whole volume of an encyclopedia. There are no exact numbers at the moment, but the “free space” in the brain is estimated at 1 petabyte (1000 terabytes), which is quite capacious.
Our brain is essentially a computer in which we store information. As necessary we retrieve the “files” – we recall the name of a classmate, the name of the sort of apples, the names of favorite book movie characters. Scientists also confirmed, that the brain stores absolutely every information element, that enters through a visual or hearing aid. During the experiments related to hypnosis, it was revealed, that some people can remember even those languages that have not studied or those cases of life that happened to them even in infancy!
Why is it so difficult to remember the lecture given the other day or the content of the article studied the day before?
Psychologists distinguish two types of memory – short-term and long-term.
Short-term memory is capable of holding material that is not directly related to the fingerprint of sensory information. In this case, the stored information is not expressed in a literal display of events that occurred at the level of perception, but directly the interpretation of these events. I will give an example. You have read a certain piece of text. You don’t memorize syllables and letters, but only a general meaning or individual words. As a rule, short-term memory allows you to capture only 5-6 elements of the text. For example, from the phrase “Short-term memory is capable of holding material that is not directly related to the fingerprint of sensory information,” you are most likely able to repeat only a few words. Conscious effort aimed at repetition of the material, you can hold it in memory for an indefinitely long time.
Long-term memory is the most important and most complex of human memory systems. There is a clear distinction between the memory of an event that just happened and those events that happened a long time ago. The capacity of short-term memory is significantly limited: several storage units. Of course, some boundaries of long-term memory exist, since the brain is not an infinite device. The brain consists of 10 billion neurons, each of which is able to hold a huge amount of information. It is so large that it can practically be considered that some scientists come to the conclusion, that the memory capacity of the human brain is not limited. All that is held in memory for more than a few minutes is sent to the department of long-term memory.
The main difficulty associated with long-term memory is the problem of searching, finding and extracting information. The amount of information contained in the memory, as I said above, is infinitely large, therefore, is associated with serious difficulties of "storage". Our task is to learn how to find and use the information received.
Why is it important to remember information? Because it needs to be used. Imagine, that you bought an encyclopedia, which contains everything, absolutely all knowledge of the world. If it gathers dust on the bookshelf, the sense will be zero. The same thing happens during a speed reading – material that you learned should remain available for use. The application of knowledge gained in practice is the meaning of reading!
At its core, the process of memorizing reading consists of two stages:
For this, I offer my readers a number of exercises.
Scatter a few matches on the table (or pins or toothpicks). Close your eyes and try to restore the arrangement of the matches, how they are scattered, what shapes formed. Starting with a few pieces, increase the number and complicate the task.
Multiply in memory two-digit or three-digit numbers. This practice won’t only improve your mathematical and analytical abilities, but also improve attention and concentration ability. The more you train, the more perfect the short-term memory will be, and after a few weeks the training will be long-term.
There are also several tricks and tricks that help to fix the text in memory:
Just before reading a book or magazine, spend some time thinking about the purpose of reading. You can put into practice thinking, how you can apply information in work or everyday life. The better you present the end goal, the more you prepare for reading and tune in to memorizing useful information. Just think, how sometimes it’s important not to memorize information, but to get the opportunity to properly use it. Use, for example, this method – draw a map on a piece of paper and follow the specified route. As soon as you reach the finish line, throw away the drawing. This will help to understand the principle of reading.
Remember, that thinking about the purpose of reading programs the subconscious to search for the necessary information. It is worth spending on drawing up the formulation of the goal and its visualization for a few minutes so that the brain receives the necessary energy and correct installation.
People often remembers information, that is associated with certain emotions better. That’s why fiction is much easier to memorize – text can make us laugh, upset or even frighten. I noticed, that in a stressful situation I memorize events much better. For example, during an important and responsible meeting, it’s enough for me only to glance at the figures of the report, and I can immediately reproduce them.
Try to practice your memory in some difficult situations. For example, you can read a book, sitting on a cliff, or in a crowded bus. At this point, concert the attention at the maximum – the brain will get an interesting experience, which afterwards can be transferred to the practice independently.