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. Thecharacter 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
nos 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 way one will be enlarged with the picture.
Zero 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. Zero 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 health helps, 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. Zero 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. Association is
memory's 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 non 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 pre obviously 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 these 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 a 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 pigeonholes,
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, et cetera, so as to correlate
and as 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,