Question and Answer: How to Improve Your Memory

My memory is very poor. How can I improve my memory?

Memory is the retention of information over time, and is usually divided into sensory register, short-term memory, working memory, long-term memory, visual memory and auditory memory.

Roughly speaking, the sensory register concerns memories that last no more than about a second or two. If a line of print were flashed at you very rapidly, say, for one-tenth of a second, all the letters you can visualize for a brief moment after that presentation constitute the sensory register. Iconic memory refers to visual sensory memory, and echoic memory to auditory sensory memory.

When you are trying to recall a telephone number that was heard a few seconds earlier, the name of a person who has just been introduced, or the substance of the remarks just made by a teacher in class, you are calling on short-term memory, or working memory. This lasts from a few seconds to a minute; the exact amount of time may vary somewhat. You need this kind of memory to retain ideas and thoughts as you work on problems. In writing a letter, for example, you must be able to keep the last sentence in mind as you compose the next. To solve an arithmetic problem like (3 X 3) + (4 X 2) in your head, you need to keep the intermediate results in mind (i.e., 3 X 3 = 9) to be able to solve the entire problem.

The distinction between short-term memory and working memory is an ongoing debate. The terms are often used interchangeably. Many scholars, however, claim that some kind of manipulation of remembered information is needed in order to make the task a working memory task. According to Cowan, short-term memory refers to the passive storage of information when rehearsal is prevented with storage capacity around four items. When rehearsal is allowed and controlled attention is involved, it is a working memory task and the capacity is closer to seven items. Repeating digits in the same order they were presented would thus be a short-term memory task, while repeating them backwards would be a working memory task.

Long-term memory lasts from a minute or so to weeks or even years. From long-term memory you can recall general information about the world that you learned on previous occasions, memory for specific past experiences, specific rules previously learned, and the like.

Visual memory is a person’s ability to remember what he has seen, while auditory memory is a person’s ability to remember what he has heard. While visual memory deficiencies are inclined to affect reading and spelling, students with auditory memory deficiencies will often experience difficulty developing a good understanding of words, remembering terms and information that has been presented orally, for example, in history and science classes.

Research has shown that, on average, within 24 hours one forgets 80% of what one has learned. Therefore it is no wonder that people are seeking ways to improve their memory skills.

Human Memory Can Be Trained

The Greeks, and later the Romans, developed some of the most prodigious memories the civilized world has ever seen. Memory was ranked as one of the most important disciplines of oratory, a flourishing art at the time. Speeches were committed to memory; lawyers depended on their memory in court; and poets, whose roles in society was paramount, regularly drew on their enormous powers of recall to recite long passages of verse.

Your memory can be trained and developed too. Unfortunately, though, there is no magic wand. Things like sleep learning and dietary supplements have shown to have little or no impact. Like physical fitness can only be acquired through physical exercise, mental fitness can only be achieved through mental exercise.

If a product promises significant cognitive improvements without much mental effort on your part, be suspicious! That is like saying you can improve your physical fitness without lifting a finger.

Compublox Develops Human Memory

Compublox contains a series of mental exercises, designed to develop, practice and improve a variety of cognitive skills, including memory — sensory register, short-term memory, working memory, long-term memory, visual memory and auditory memory.

Since the Compublox exercises are automatically adapted to the intellectual level of the user, it is equally suitable for schoolchildren, students, business people, and the retired.

You can download a sample exercise — the Pattern Exercise — at the bottom of this page.

Once installed, select "Trial Student" and click the "OK" button. Next, click on "Pattern".

In the Pattern exercise, you will be shown a pattern of blocks on the screen for a brief period. Your aim in the exercise is to repeat the same pattern that has been shown to you, by taking blocks out of the "Box of Blocks" and placing them on the Pattern Grid.

In order to complete the pattern, you need to put blocks of the correct colors in the correct place in the grid.

To assist you, some blocks will be left behind on the screen, and you only need to replace the blocks that have been removed.

This is a timed exercise, so you will need to complete the pattern before the Timer runs out.

Pattern Grid:

This is where you need to place the blocks:

Box of Blocks:

Click on a colored block in the "Box of Blocks" with the mouse to pick up blocks, and click again in the pattern grid to drop them in the squares.

Click on a colored block in the "Box of Blocks" with the mouse to pick up blocks, and click again in the pattern grid to drop them in the squares.

Trash Can:

If you have picked up the wrong color simply click on a new block in the "Box of Blocks". Alternatively, you can drop the incorrect block in the Trash Can, before picking up a new one.

Here’s My Answer:

When you believe that you have the correct answer, click on the "tick".

Re-center Pattern:

If you find that you are running out of space at the edge of the grid, press this button, and your pattern will be moved to the center of the grid.

Timer:

The timer shows how much time is left. When time is close to running out, a hooter will sound to warn you.

Click Here to Download the Pattern Exercise!!

Click on "Run" - not "Save"