Myth: Memory cannot be improved

Myth

Pessismists claim that we cannot improve memory by training. Optimists claim memory is infinite. Even William James in his genius book The Principles of Psychology (1890) wrote with certainty that memory does not change unless for the worse (e.g. as a result of disease)

Fact

If considered at a very low synaptic level, memory is indeed quite resilient to improvement. Not only does it seem to change little in the course of life. It is also very similar in its action across the human population. At the very basic level, synapses of a low-IQ individual are as trainable as that of a genius. They are also not much of an improvement over those of a mollusk Aplysia or a fly Drosophila. The best way to keep synapses healthy is to lead a healthy lifestyle with plenty of sleep. However, there is more to memory and learning than just a single synapse. The main difference between poor students and geniuses is in their skills to represent knowledge for learning, and in their prior knowledge. A genius quickly dismembers information and forms simple models that make life easy (see: Abstract knowledge). Simple models of reality help understand it, process it, and remember it. What William James failed to mention is that a week-long course in mnemonic techniques dramatically increases learning skills for many people. Their molecular or synaptic memory may not improve. What improves is their skill to handle knowledge. Consequently, they can remember more and for longer. Learning is a self-accelerating and self-amplifying process. As such it often leads to miraculous results

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