Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-08-12
HOW TO MEMoRIzE NAMES.
Secretary Shaw Says It's Simple if One
Knows How.

Secretary Shaw chatted with the CORE
spondent of down-east paper about re-
memberng the names of persons whom
he meets for the first time. He regrets
that he is losing the faculty under the
custom in his office of the announcement
by name of visitors by his private secre-
tary before admitting them, by which
the secretarys mind gets no training in
catching onto and holding these elusive
designations He always advises his
young friends, he says, to form Il habit
of remembering names, for there is
nothing more pleasing or ilattering than
to be called by name, particularly if the
acquaintance has been brief or inter-
rupted.p
The announcement Of the visitors
name before the latter is admitted, he
explains gives the mind mo chance to
discover the identity of the visitors The
more exercise the brain has in recal Hing
names the better it is for the memory"
All of which shows that the secretary
has not been unaware or unappreciative
of one of the tricks familiar to polti-
clans.
Most persons have retentive memories
for faces and far less for the names that
designate the faces. Probably this is due
to the artifciality of names; their total
lack of relation to the face; their mere
unrelated arbitrarness. No two Smiths
look alike, and there are millions of
Smiths We readily remember and iden-
tify Smiths features, but his name has
slipped off the memory. Anyhow. what
ever the psychologic cause, the fact re-
mains, often to the annoyance, some
| times to the modification, of the forget
| full one and the chagrin of the forgotten
one. 1t is very embarrassing to have
| forgotten name at moment when an
| introduction is essential to good man
| e.,
in being obliged 10 ask the name and
apologize for forgetting it.
| While some fortunate persons are On
| dowed with II memory that retains faces
and names and the relation of one to
the other, any memory can be trained by
Il simple process into rctentivencsS and
identification. 1t involves nothing NOR,
than an application of the method by
which Oriental priests drill their pupil.
i'll memorizing those parts of their rita
ais which are not committed to writing
/ The first word of Il sentence is repeated
four times by the class; then the secon1
i'll connection with the first four times
the third with the first and second fou
times, and SO on through the sentence
/ One with that defect of memory, thrus
suddenly into political work, mortified u.
his inability to recall names, sensible o
the detriment in his work caused by II
bethought himself of the Buddhist
method, and, when introduced, mentall
repeated several times during the tall
the visitors name, associating il witt
his face and residence. His eXperienc,
justified the method. The process fas
tened the name, face and residence :,
firmly in memory that after an interyu
of years he found no difficulty in salut
) ing his chance caller by name, Il recogai
/ ton that carried with il, as the sccrt,
tary says a mild but effective fattery
We pass this along to other young mel
who are troubled with memories 1,
which names do not stick readily-pi1tS
: burg Dispatch.