This article is from the WeChat public account: Mr. L said (ID: lxianshengmiao) , author: Lachel
Many students often ask me: Why is your memory so good? Is there any way to improve memory?
I want to talk about this today.
Of course, learning and memory are a huge topic. This article is just a first look. I hope to help you open up some horizons and clear up some confusion.
One
First, let’s take a look at the brain’s first memory system.
As we all know, the memory system can be roughly divided into short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory is equivalent to “memory”, and long-term memory is equivalent to “hard disk”. When we receive any piece of information, we must first put it into short-term memory and let the brain “recognize it” before we can write it into long-term memory and let the brain “remember” it.
That is, how much we can remember depends on how much information ends up in long-term memory.
But the brain has a huge disadvantage compared to computers: our long-term memory can be huge, but the short-term memory has a poor capacity.
How many? Everyone must have heard of “7 + -2”-this is data from the last century. In fact, according to the 2001 Cowan study, the more accurate data is: 4 units.
What is 4 units? In simple terms, it is 4 words, or 4 phrases. In other words, when you read the previous paragraph, your brain is busy doing many things: breaking a sentence into several phrases, first putting 4 into short-term memory, identifying them; then clearing out, repeating4 new phrases come in and recognize. Back and forth.
The problem here is that recognition is much faster than “memory.” In other words, after these 4 phrases are recognized by you, they are likely to fail to form a memory and will be immediately cleared out to welcome the new 4 phrases.
What did you get in the process? You actually get nothing. A large amount of information is cleared during this “entering → leaving” process, and cannot be truly “remembered” by the brain. What you get is just a series of “I know!” Moments.
For example, this is like a thief, sneaking into a castle to steal something, grabbing a bunch of treasures and stuffing it into a pocket, but a big hole in the pocket, he still doesn’t know-what is the result? How many plugs leak. The only thing left is the “false ecstasy” of “there is treasure here”, “there is also here” and “they are all mine”.
So, why do we read a lot of books and articles and feel “wonderful” when reading them, but ca n’t make much impression after reading them? This is why.
So, how do we get the treasure we stole-no, it is the information we read that can be retained to the greatest extent and written into long-term memory from short-term memory? We need to study the next system.
Second
Think about this: What did you eat last night?
This question is not difficult. I believe most people can answer it immediately. If not, then … you may have too much in your head, please relax yourself.
So, answer one more question: What did you eat last Wednesday night?
I believe there are not many friends who can answer this question.
So, why did you remember what you ate last night? But what you ate last Wednesday was not remembered? Here, “What did you eat last night”, is it short-term memory or long-term memory?
Obviously, it is long-term memory. Because the short-term memory information will be continuously erased, and can only be held for a few seconds to tens of seconds.
But even long-term memory is complicated. In long-term memory, there is a buffer area called “live area”. It refers to the information that has been written into long-term memory in the recent period.
How long is this “recent period”? It varies from person to person, and there is no clear research result, but it is generally considered to be more than 6 hours and less than 1 day.
We can “remember” the information within the living area without any effort. But once the information leaves the living area, it is difficult to recall.
So, combining these two systems, we now have such a model: Information → Short-term memory → Long-term memory (Fresh zone) → True long-term memory.
Next, let’s look at their neural basis.
Three
We always say “memory” and “storage” … but is there something in the brain, like the computer’s memory and hard disk, dedicated to storing data?
No, actually.
In our cerebral cortex, there are about 16 billion neurons. All memories are characterized by these 16 billion neurons.
How do you characterize it? Each neuron can be connected to other neurons. And these 16 billion neurons, their “connection state” state, every moment is different. When you read the previous paragraph, the neuron cluster A is in the A1 state; when you read the next sentence, the cluster A is in the A2 state … this is the essence of “storage memory”.
In other words, what happens in your brain when you recall the first paragraph? In essence, it is to let the neuron cluster A build the A1 state again.
This is a very interesting thing: The brain cannot “store” any information-it can store only the state of its own neurons when certain information is obtained. The so-called “memory” is essentially “playback” out of this state.
Okay, after understanding this, let ’s take a look:
What is the nature of short-term memory? It is to make a bunch of neurons temporarily connect to each other to form state A1.
The essence of long-term memoryWhat is it It is to let this bunch of neurons, through long-term connection, produce chemical changes, let them “glue” together, and fix this A1 state-this is called “synaptic plasticity.”
What about the “live zone”? It refers to a state in which these neurons are highly sensitive to each other, and it is particularly easy to “play back” A1; but at the same time, their “adhesion” is not strong enough to last Cure to form long-term memory.
Why does the information in the live area disappear after a while? Because the “high sensitivity” of these neurons disappeared. You can understand that they are left, and no one sticks them together, so they are cold, lose their sensitivity to each other, and become the same as before.
From here, you can actually get an inference: What is the nature of learning? In fact, it is through this “synaptic plasticity” that the structure of the brain is changed to have a new thinking mode.
That is to say, a very intelligent person may not have a large brain capacity and may not have any very special brain circuits, but his brain must have richer and more complex neuron connections than ordinary people. It is these complex connections that allow his mind to move freely and without hindrance.
Learning a field, learning a series of knowledge, learning a skill … Essentially, it’s all the same, all changing the internal connection of the brain.
Four
Here we can think about it.
When we say a person has good memory, what do we mean? In general, there are two meanings:
1) What he has seen can be recounted almost without any omission.
2) He can recall information that he read a long time ago, and events that he experienced.
The first refers to the ability to effectively write information from short-term memory to long-term memory to avoid loss; the second refers to his rich and complete long-term memory, which can easily ” Playback “shows a certain state.
Obviously, the second kind is based on the first kind–only long-term memory can be enriched continuously.
Then our question is: how to develop the ability to “write information from short-term memory to long-term memory”?
Actually, the psychology community really has an experimental method called the “n-back test”.
What do you mean? For example: If you stare at a screen, numbers on the screen will constantly appear randomly from 1-9. All you have to do is look at the current number and compare it to the “previous nth number”. If yes, press Yes; if no, press No.
For example, the number displayed on the screen looks like this: … 1, 4, 3, 4, 2 …
Now, the number you see is 3, assuming n = 2, then you need to remember, what is the first 2 number? It’s 1, not the same, so press No.
The next number is 4, and you keep thinking back, what was the first 2 number? Yes 4, consistent, OK, press Yes.
The next number is 2, continue to recall, the first 2 numbers are 3, inconsistent, press No …
Is it difficult? You know, n = 2 is the simplest case. (There are also n = 1, that is, “compared to a number.” Patients with memory disorders) . Difficulty going up, there are n = 3, n = 4 …
Many studies have suggested that the n-back test can improve memory to a certain extent, and thus improve fluid intelligence. In many experiments, the n-back test is also often used to measure memory level: the fewer mistakes you make, the higher the number of correct answers, and the better your memory.
But do we have to use the n-back test to exercise memory in our daily life? Actually not. What we have to do is to explore the principle behind this simple method.
Five
It is not difficult to find out, what is the principle of n-back test? In fact, it is “forcing” your brain to let it spend more energy to “hold” a piece of information in the short-term memory.
In short: since recognition is much faster than memory, and because of this, the information is cleared out before it is “remembered”-so we artificially keep it a bit longer Isn’t it effective in strengthening memory?
Make an analogy: you reach out and hold a handful of sandSon, what will happen to it? Will drain from your fingers. How can I take this handful of sand away? You have to close your fingers tightly, close your hands, and turn your hands into a closed space, “binding” the sand inside.
Similarly, how can a piece of information be remembered? You need to spend energy to let the brain “pack and compress” a complex piece of information in short-term memory and process it.
How does it work? That’s what I said before: Establish a connection between neurons, and let this information take root in your mind. This is called “fine machining”.
In a process:
“Pack and compress” a complex piece of information into short-term memory, concentrate on keeping it for a period of time, fine-tune it during this period, and establish as many connections as possible.
So, to improve memory, there are two abilities to exercise:
1) The ability to compress and maintain a complex piece of information
2) The ability to make information more relevant
So, based on this principle, what kind of exercises can we do in ordinary life to exercise them?
Share a few easy ways.
1. “What did I just read?”
When I read and watch videos, I have a habit that has been formed for many years: Every time I see a new paragraph, I ask myself: What have I read before?
This “new paragraph” may be a page or two, a subtitle, or a transition of a video, and so on.
What are the benefits of doing this? There are two points. One is to improve one’s ability to “pack and compress” so that short-term memory can accommodate more and more complex information. The other is to remind yourself that some information has been missed? Can I get them back?
Try it: When you read this, think back to the full text of this article and ask yourself: what does the article say? Can I repeat the previous idea?
Let the information go through the brain, not let it flow away-so that you can truly absorb the information you have acquired.
2. “Its internal logic iswhat? “
When I read an article, a book, an interesting point, or a point of knowledge, I will let myself think about it: what is its internal logic?
What is internal logic? For example: if a point can be divided into three small points, I will not just remember these three small points, but I will think: What is the basis and standard for such a division? What is the principle and support of each point? Is it logically related to what I said before?
What’s the benefit of doing this? You don’t just stay at the “what is it” level. You can understand it from deeper logic through phenomena: why is it like this?
In short, in this way, the connection between knowledge points can be continuously established, and it can be transformed from a simple tree structure into a dense and complex “network”.
Improving memory always means not remembering it forcibly, but remembering it through thorough understanding.
3. “What can I think of about it?”
When I come across some new knowledge or a topic or topic, I will do some “rumination”. That is, temporarily shutting down external information input, and using this theme as an introduction, let yourself develop associations.
Why do you do this? On the one hand, it can activate those sleeping neuron nodes in the brain and wake them up again (refer to my Why do we increasingly like being alone? “) . On the other hand, it is equivalent to expanding the connection between the old knowledge network and the new node, making the new node less difficult to lose.
In other words, it is essentially a method of turning to the inside, combing, maintaining, and cleaning up your own internal knowledge network.
Of course, it also comes at a cost: you always seem to be fascinated, always like immersed in your own world.
So, if you want to try this method, I would suggest that you have a period of undisturbed time every day, it is best to set aside after work and watch some things aimlessly while watching Let your mind relax, diverge associations, and record what you think of.
4. “Can I tell it to others?”
This is a very classic and very effective method. Under what circumstances can you be regarded as a master of knowledge? When you can tell it to others and let others understand it.
The principle is very simple: when you teach it, you will call various relevant nodes of the brain for all-round “fine processing”. You may need an analogy, you may need an example, or you may need to refine its key information and reconstruct its logic and structure …
All these are constantly strengthening the brain’s memory of it.
So why do I highly recommend writing? The reason is exactly the same. Output is the best learning.
Six
These are my daily experiences and experiences, I will share with you. You can also explore and try out the exercise method that suits you based on the previous principles.
In addition, briefly talk about a few things that may be counter-common sense.
1. Is the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve useful?
No.
Ebbinghaus’s research took place at the end of the 19th century, when experimental psychology had not yet been established (he was the pioneer of experimental psychology), and lacked an effective paradigm, so his research results were simple and did not consider In terms of semantics, connection, and other factors, the whole experiment is also very rough and strictly not scientific.
Academic circles are no longer using the results of Ebbinghaus. If you see a product under the banner of “Ebbinghaus” on the market, just ignore it … their knowledge update may be a bit lagging.
2. Is the memory palace method useful?
No clear research shows its usefulness. However, you can also know from the previous principle: if it is useful, then it is nothing more than relying on things you are very familiar with to “make connections”——It is also a kind of fine processing. There is nothing particularly magical in its essence.
Also, the memory palace is more used to memorize text and vocabulary, but do we have to remember a lot of text and vocabulary? Actually not. Life is not a test question. What we need more is a high-dimensional, high-level “global memory”. It is a rich knowledge system, rather than repeating details.
So, my attitude towards it is: neither advocate nor oppose. Use it if you like, but don’t expect too much.
3. Are a series of memory methods such as image memory, storytelling, etc. useful?
No clear research has shown that they are useful. But again, if it is useful, it is actually because of two things: first, to maintain information; second, to establish contact.
After all, you have to make a piece of information into a story, imagine a picture, or put it in a memory palace, then … you have to “hold” it in your brain for a while? During this time, they should be processed repeatedly, and how to remember them.
So, the attitude is the same: no comment. Friends who like it can use it, but it is a fine processing method.
Seven
Finally, there is one more question.
I don’t know if you have thought about it: under normal circumstances, our memory is not very good, it is easy to make mistakes, and it is easy to forget details-then the question comes, why should the brain be designed like this? Why can’t you store all the information faithfully like a computer and just read it when needed?
The reason may be very complicated, but there is one important point: The essence of memory is not to make you “remember the past”, but to make you “face the future” better.
What do you mean? I mentioned in the cognitive iceberg that the nature of the brain is a Bayesian model. We face a probabilistic judgment in the face of various events in this world. This allows us to understand daily life more efficiently, and to avoid dangers and solve problems more effectively.
Memory is actually the feedback of this Bayesian model: we experience various events in daily life, extract “information that the brain finds useful”, and incorporate them into the model to improve probability judgment and improveProbability library-this information is memory.
So, memory never needs to be 100% restored, because it’s quite enough now.
Because of this, I have always emphasized that the brain is used for thinking, not for memory.
But does this mean we “don’t need to remember” things? of course not. What is its most accurate understanding? We don’t need to “force memory” things, but by understanding things, we can extract the characteristics and patterns of things and incorporate them into our existing knowledge system.
In short, it’s 8 words: Summarize the outline, with dots and faces.
Do you need to remember the details of a complex theory? Need to remember that it can be subdivided into several points, and each point can be subdivided into several small points? No need. What you need to remember is:
What characteristics does it have? Where is it in the entire system and framework? What types of questions might you need to think about? What is the connection with other issues and concepts? How can I call it?
Only if you disassemble, restructure, reconnect, and weave your knowledge into a web, can you really understand and remember them.
Similarly, this is the only way. When you need to start from a certain node, you can extract the entire knowledge network through the connection between the nodes.
This is the true “memory”. It is also a more valuable and effective “memory”.
I’m my main player.
Everything you go through is really worthwhile when they form “a part of you.”
This article is from the WeChat public account: Mr. L said (ID: lxianshengmiao) , Author: Lachel