Hugh's comments on the strengths and weaknesses of this as an assessed piece. The book has been likened to 'an hors d'oeuvre that whets the appetite but leaves one craving for more'. More recent work confirms the helpful effects of schooling. However schooling is not the only factor or even the most important factor when it comes to memory abilities. Indeed members of a culture tend to excel in skills that their culture encourages.
Memory serves the purpose that the specific culture needs.
These cultures are better at remembering things than people in cultures with written traditions. This effects seems localised however to remembering meaningful material rather than a list of words. The topic area can not be found in one or two specific journals, rather it appears in a vast range. Its main emphasis is on empirical research. The subjects are from at least two different cultural groups.