The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-11-12
Memory Lessons
Lesson No. 1.
BY r. r. FOSTER.
Copyright. 1908, by II. r. FOSTER.

Lesson No. 4.
The first and most important thing for
the pupil to understand is the difference
between what we call memory" and
what scientists distinguish as ''recollec-
ton"
Memory Is divided into two parts, one
being a memory of the muscles. and the
other a memory OF the senses. The first
enables us to learn to swim and to ride
a bicycle: the second enable US to hold
one word of a sentence In the mind until
We hear the next one, or TO recognize q
cantaloupe by the smell.
Recollection Is the power OF recalling
things to the mind at will. 1t is this fac
ulty which enables rs to hum a tune that
we have heard, to tell a PERSONS name.
or TO describe something we nave seen.
Tn first Is involuntary; the second is
always voluntary. The outside world
forces things upon the memory: our in
ner consciousness forces things upon our
recollection.
Both act when the proper stimulus In
applied: neither OF them without It. The
memory acts whether we want 1t to or
not. n often in spite of ourselves. Rec
objection requires the impulse OF the will.
the stimuli being applied by our W
mind. .I
In order to illustrate this point, the Inn
portance of which will be seen later, let
us suppose that you visit a place which
you ave not seen for some time. At first
almost everything will be strange: but
the moment you recognize one object
others will begin TO fit In with IL until
n scene is familiar enough to recall
persons and incidents long since for
gotten. "..
That is memory, because you do ret
know OF anything that you are going to
recollect when you look around you.
When things begin to come back to
you" as we say, under the stimulus OF
the first object recognized, they are not
the things you were thinking about be-
~forehand, but things suggested by your
surroundings. You have no idea what
your memory will bring back to you .
But If a friend is with you and wishes
to bring something to your recollection,
he must know some incident that will be-
call the place to your mind. He must
supply the timulus that you are unable
TO supply yourself, or else he must wait
until YOU recognize something. Suppose
he mentions some incident, and you say
you don't recollect anything about 1t.
Yes, you dc" " he insists, and then he
mentions something which happened
about the same time, or to the same per-
son, n then II 'all comes back to you"
Although I a never seen you, and
nave no means of communication with
you except through this printed page, my
knowledge that the memory acts in this
way enable me to make you think of @
persons name, and this without mention
ing whether he is dead or alive, what
country he belongs to, what his business
was, or anything about him. All / will
give you as a stimulus for your recollec-
ton Is the name of something that you
can buy in any hardware store, and you
will Immediately think of the name l have
in mind. What name springs to your
recollection IL I mention a little ratchet?
AL impressions can be revived by the
application OF the proper stimulus. When
we cannot recollect anything. 1t is be-
cause we do not know the stimulus to
apply. When we know that we shall
want to recollect a certain thing at q
given time, we should provide the stim-
illus in advance. The truth of this rin-
ciple is recognized by those who tie
strings round their fingers to remind them
to do certain things.
People who do not know how to use
their memories Alright fish around for
stimuli when they cannot recollect. any
hin You sit down to write to a man
whose initials you have forgotten. How
are you going to recall them? Sometimes
you have the greatest difficulty in recall
ing a persons anne, although you
thought you knew 1t las well as your
own. LII your. GIIOElS I'D TGChn IT YOU
try the effects OF various stimuli, hoping
that some of them will hit II. Perhaps
you begin with the first letter OF the al
phabet and go through 1t, one letter at a
time, asking yourself If the name begins
with hat letter. Perhaps you have an
idea that, the name is something like
williams, or Wilson, or Wilcox, until
you finally hit upon wilkins. which is the
name o want.
. 49, nnn hoe ho1 49,
sitting down and trying to recall some
thing that they thought they knew per-
fectly we'll. Sometimes a matter which
was quite distinctly before the mind a
moment before has completely disap-
peared. One often suddenly remembers
something that should be said or done
and Immediately afterward forgets II,
How often do you get an idea In he midi
die of q conversation while another per-
son is speaking. When the pause comes
your idea is gone. what was I going
to say?" is about all there Is left of 1t.
Now, two very important conclusions
may be arrived at from the consideration
OF these simple facts. The first is that
nothing ever comes to the mind by itself.
The second IL that the particular thing
we want to recall will not come back I'M
less the proper stimulus is applied.
1t Is fortunate for US that such is the
case, because If things did not come to
the mind in sequence, one following upon
the suggestion of another hundreds OF
things might rush upon our consciousness
at the same time, resulting in a confu-
sion which would be worse than madness.
1t is also fortunate that we a recollect
things only under the proper stimulus, be-
cause that enables us to control our
mental processes. But for this, the sight
of a bird might recall the name cigar"
or a threatening sky night suggest oat-
meal crackers instead OF rain, or some
such absurdity as that. What a terrible
thing it would be II any person we met
suggested the names of every person we
had ever known! That Is why each rec
objection m be stimulated in a different
way. .
In the next lesson we shall see how
these principles are applied to the prob
lem of improving the memory. In the
mean time you may begin your exercises
by observing how each matter that comes
to your memory is recalled by something
else, and notice particularly what things
make you think of other things. Stop
occasionally, when you have a few min