George Sandford

English language guide to memory

1. An Introduction to Memory

Forgetting

I have a good memory, but short’

Popular Polish saying

This saying highlights the fact that most people consider that they have a poor memory. We notice the times that we forget important information or can not recall where we have left our phones; a birthday is forgotten and we can’t bring to mind the name of an actor which sits frustratingly on the tip of our tongue. We many forget peoples’ names in meetings or overlook to return a phone call. But things are not as bad as they seem. Firstly it is good to forget! If we remembered every time we’d brushed our teeth or bought a carton of milk, how tiresome life would be. Furthermore, it would be chaotic as we would be like obsessive hoarders, unable to move freely through our minds for all the useless clutter in the way. Some poor souls actually suffer from a condition, called blabla in which every small detail of almost every day, remains locked securely in their memory. Ironically, they are often unable to transfer this capacity to new learning.

to highlight

to focus on, to go over in bright colour

to recall

to remember

to bring to mind

to be reminded of something

on the tip of your tongue

almost able to remember but not quite

to overlook

to forget or not notice

obsessive

to do something to excess, excessive focus on one idea

to hoard

to keep everything

clutter

many items in a mess

Glossary

to highlight – zwracać uwagę, podkreślać

to recall – przypominać sobie

bring to mind – przywodzić na myśl, przypominać

on the tip of one’s tongue – na końcu języka

overlook – przeoczyć, nie dostrzegać

obsessive – chorobliwy, obsesyjny

hoarder – osoba gromadząca rzeczy, (przenośnie) chomik

clutter – nieład, rupiecie

capacity – zdolność, predyspozycje

Luckily, the majority of people are ‘programmed’ to forget trivia because of the way that new information is processed. Our short-term memory holds information long enough to perform a simple task; for example:

‘What’s Ron’s extension number?’

‘4792’

Initially, we only need to hold the information long enough to dial the number. If we want to remember Ron’s number permanently, we will need to do something to transfer it to our long-term memory. Remembering involves the three stages of input, storage and recall. Poor management of any of these areas will lead to memory failure. Furthermore, there is a difference between recognition and recall; for example, in language terms, passive and active vocabulary. In passive, you recognise a word when you see it and in active, you have the word in your grasp, ready to use.

trivia

small facts of little importance

short-term memory

temporary, working memory

permanently

forever

long-term memory

stable, fixed, permanent memory

recognition

to remember after seeing or hearing something

in your grasp

within your reach, achievable

Glossary

trivia – drobiazgi, błahostki

to process – przetwarzać, przerabiać

short-term memory – pamięć krótkotrwała

initially – początkowo

permanently – trwale, na stałe

long-term memory – pamięć długotrwała, pamięć trwała

failure – niepowodzenie, porażka

recognition – rozpoznanie

in your grasp – mieć w ręku, do dyspozycji