General instructions. In this chapter, we shall call your attention to certain of
the general principles already mentioned in the preceding chapters, for the purpose of further
impressing them upon your mind, and in order that you may be able to
think of and to consider them. Independent of the details of the special phases
of memory. This chapter may be considered in the nature of a general review
of certain fundamental principles mentioned in the body of the work. Point one,
give to the things that you wish to memorize as great a degree of concentrated
attention as possible. We have explained the reason for this advice in many places
in the book. The degree of concentrated attention bestowed upon the object under consideration
determines the strength, clearness, and depth of the impression received and stored away
in the subconsciousness. The care chatter of these stored away impressions determines the degree
of ease in remembrance and recollection. Point two. In considering an object to
be memorized, endeavor to obtain the impressions through as many faculties and senses as
possible. The reason for this advice should be apparent to you if you have
carefully read the preceding chapters. An impression received through both sound and sight is
doubly as strong as one received through but one of these channels. You may
remember a name or word either by having seen it in writing or print,
or else by reason of having heard it. But if you have both seen
and heard it, you have a double impression and possessed two possible ways of
reviving the impression. You are able to remember an orange by reason of having
seen it, smelt it, felt it, and tasted it, and having
heard its aim pronounced. Endeavor to know a thing from as many sense impressions
as possible, Use the eye to assist ear impressions, and the ear to
assist in eye impressions. See the thing from as many angles as possible.
Point three. Sense impressions may be strengthened by exercising the particular faculty through which
the weak impressions are received. You will find that either your eye memory is
better than your ear memory, or vice versa. The remedy lies in exercising
the weaker faculty so as to bring it up to the standard of the stronger.
The chapters of eye and ear training will help you along these lines.
The same rule applies to the several phases of memory. Develop the weak ones,
and the strong ones will take care of themselves. The only way to
develop a sense or faculty is to intelligently train, exercise and use it.
Use exercise and practice will work miracles in this direction. Point four. Make
your first impression strong and firm enough to serve as a basis for subsequent ones.
Get into the habit of fixing a clear, strong impression of a thing
to be considered from the first. Otherwise you are trying to build up a
large structure upon a poor foundation. Each time you revive an impression, you
deepen it. But if you have only a dim impression to begin with,
the deepened impressions will not include details omitted in the first one. It is
like taking a good, sharp negative of a picture that you intend to enlarge
afterward. The details lacking in the small picture will not appear in the enlargement,
but those that do appear in the small one will be enlarged with the
picture. Point five. Revive your impressions frequently and thus deepen them. You
will know more of a picture by seeing it a few minutes every day for
a week than you would by spending several hours before it at one time.
So it is with the memory. By recalling an impression a number of times,
you fix it indelibly in your mind in such a way that it may
be readily found when needed. Such impressions are like favorite tools, which you
need every little while. They are not apt to be mislaid, as are
those which are but seldom used. Use your imagination in going over a thing
that you wish to remember. If you are studying a thing, you will
find that this going over in your imagination will help you materially in disclosing the
things that you have not remembered about it. By thus recognizing your weak points
of memory, you may be able to pick up the missing details when you
study the object itself the next time. Point six. Use your memory and
place confidence in it. One of the important things in the cultivation of the
memory is the actual use of it. Begin to trust it a little,
and then more, and then still more, and it will rise to the
occasion the man who has to tie a string around his finger in order to
remember certain things soon begins to cease to use his memory, and in the
end forgets to remember the string or what it is for There are many details,
of course, with which it is folly to charge the memory, but
one should never allow his memory to fall into disuse. If you are in
an occupation in which the work is done by mechanical help, then you should
exercise the memory by learning verses or other things in order to keep it in
active practice. Do not allow your memory to atrophy. Point seven. Establish
as many associations for an impression as possible. If you have studied the preceding
chapters, you will recognize the value of this point. Associations memories, method
of indexing and cross indexing. Each association renders it easier to remember or recollect
the thing. Each association gives you another string to your mental bow. Endeavor
to associate a new bit of knowledge with something already known by and familiar to
you. In this way, to avoid the danger of having the thing isolated
and alone in your mind without a label or index, number and name.
Connect your object or thought to be remembered with other objects or thoughts by the
association of contiguity in space and time, and by relationship of kind, resemblance,
or oppositeness. Sometimes the latter is very useful, as in the case
of the man who said that Smith reminds me so much of Brown, he's
so different. You will often be able to remember a thing by remembering something
else that happened at the same place or about the same time. These things
give you the loose ends of recollection, whereby you may unwind the ball of
memory. In the same way, one is often able to recollect names by
slowly running over the alphabet with a pencil until the site of the capital first
letter of the name brings the memory of those following it. This, however,
only when the name has previously been memorized by sight. In the same
way, the first few notes of a musical selection will enable you to remember
the whole air, or the first words of a sentence the entire speech or
selection following it. In trying to remember a thing which has escaped you,
you will find it helpful to think of something associated with that thing, even
remotely. A little practice will enable you to recollect the thing along the lines
of the faintest association or clue. Some men are adept memory detectives following this
plan. The loose end in memory is all the expert requires. Any associations
furnish these loose ends. An interesting and important fact to remember in this connection
is that if you have some one thing that tends to escape your memory,
you may counteract the trouble by noting the associated things that have previously served to
bring it into mind with you. The associated thing, once noted, may
thereafter be used as a loose end with which to unwind the elusive fact or
impression. This idea of association is quite fascinating when you begin to employ it
in your memory exercises and work, and you will find many little methods of
using it. But always use natural association and avoid the temptation of endeavoring to
tie your memory up with the red tape of the artificial systems. Point eight.
Group your impressions. This is but a form of association, but is
very important. If you can arrange your bits of knowledge and fact into logical
groups, you will always be master of your subject. By associating your knowledge
with other knowledge along the same general lines, both by resemblances and by opposites,
you will be able to find what you need, just when you need
it. Napoleon Bonaparte had a mind trained along these lines. He said that
his memory was like a large case of small drawers and pigeon holes in which
he filed his information according to its kind. In order to do this,
he used the methods mentioned in this book of comparing the new thing with the
old ones, and then deciding into which group it naturally fitted. This is
largely a matter of practice and knack, but it may be acquired by a
little thought and care aided by practice, and it will repay one well for
the trouble in acquiring it. The following table will be found useful in classifying
objects ideas, facts, etc. So as to correlate and to sociate them
with other facts of a like kind. The table is to be used in
the line of questions addressed to oneself regarding the thing under consideration. It somewhat
resembles the table of questions given in chapter seventeen of this book, but has
the advantage of brevity. Memorize this table and use it. You will be
delighted at the results. After you have caught the knack of applying it query
table, ask yourself the following questions regarding the thing under consideration. It will
draw out many bits of information and associated knowledge in your mind. One what,
two, whence? Three? Where? Four? When five? How?
Six? Why? Seven whither. While the above seven queries are given
you as a means of acquiring clear impressions and associations, they will also serve
as a magic key to knowledge if you use them intelligently. If you can
answer these questions regarding anything, you will know a great deal about that particular
thing. And after you have answered them fully, there will be but little
unexpressed knowledge regarding that thing left in your memory. Try them on one thing.
You cannot understand them otherwise unless you have a very good imagination