Memory Quickstart

Learning is memorization. To some this is a controversial statement but the fact is, if you cannot remember something, can you claim to have you actually learned it? To that end, let’s take a high-level look at some features of memory/memorization and see how you can apply those to learning Japanese.

Memory Is Associative

Our memory works by forming connections or associations between pieces of information, ideas, experiences, and sensory perceptions. These associations allow us to retrieve information from our memory by triggering related or connected thoughts or memories.

A few key aspects of this include:

1. Linking Information: When we experience or learn something, our brain doesn’t just store it in isolation. Instead, it connects this new information to existing knowledge and experiences. These connections are often based on similarities, contrasts, or relationships between the different pieces of information.
2. Neural Networks: In the brain, these associations are thought to be represented by neural networks. Neurons (nerve cells) communicate with each other through synapses, which are the connections between them. As we learn and remember, these synapses strengthen, forming a network of interconnected neurons that represent our memories.
3. Recall by Association: When you try to remember something, your brain often uses these associations to help you retrieve the information. For example, if you’re trying to recall the name of a person you met at a party, you might remember what they were wearing, where you were standing, or who introduced you. These contextual cues are associations that help trigger the memory.
4. Spreading Activation: The process of recalling information through associations is often described as “spreading activation.” When you think about a particular concept or memory, it activates related concepts in your mind. This activation spreads through the neural network, making it easier to retrieve associated information.
5. Hierarchical Structure: Associations in memory can be organized hierarchically. For example, you might associate a specific dog with the concept of “pets,” and “pets” with the broader concept of “animals.” This hierarchical structure helps organize and retrieve information efficiently.
6. Semantic Networks: One model of associative memory is the semantic network, which represents concepts as nodes and their connections as links. For instance, in a semantic network, “apple” might be connected to “fruit,” “red,” “sweet,” and so on. When you think about “apple,” it activates related nodes in the network.
7. Emotional Associations: Memories can also be strongly linked to emotions. Emotional experiences and associations can have a powerful impact on memory formation and recall. Strong emotions can make memories more vivid and easier to remember.

Memory Is Visual

Memory is, in fact, multi-modal, but for most people visual memory is one of strongest modes and as such, visual cues and imagery can be powerful tools for encoding and retrieving information. You can probably remember the appearance of a loved one’s face or the layout of your childhood home quite well, for example. A very effective memory technique called “The Method of Loci” (a.k.a. “Memory Palace”) is based on this principle, in which one visualizes a walk through one’s home in order to encode and recall information.

Memory Loves Novelty

Novelty plays a significant role in enhancing memory because our brains are naturally inclined to pay attention to and remember things that are new, unusual, or different. When you want to memorize something, you can use the following to increase “novelty” and build stronger associations:

• Vivid, Cartoon-like Imagery. If you’re creating a mental image to connect into your visual memory, can you make it like a cartoon, using vivid colors, strange proportions, frenzied physics-defying motion, anything that makes the image surreal?
• Exaggeration. Can you make the thing “larger than life?” For example, if you are memorizing something to do with an egg, can you substitute a gigantic ostrich or dinosaur egg? If visualizing something moving quickly, like running, could you make it go supersonic?
• Strong Emotion. If you can layer in a strong emotional aspect like love, hate, fear, etc. as well, this helps strengthen memories. I used to skydive when I was in college and I can still, more than forty years later, vividly remember every sensation associated with leaping out of a perfectly good airplane with nothing but an Army-surplus 7-TU parachute strapped to me.
• Storytelling / Narrative. There’s a reason that throughout the vast majority of human history, knowledge was passed from generation to generation via stories: they naturally create associations from one element to the next. A great technique for memorizing multiple items at the same time is to weave them into an interesting tale.
• Surprise and Humor. Similar to strong emotion, integrating aspects of surprise and humor into your story line can boost novelty and thus memorability.
• “Adult” Content can also create memorable associations if you’re doing it right. Enough said. 😉

Memory Needs Reinforcement

Spaced repetition is an effective technique for building strong memories. It is based on the principle of reviewing and revisiting information at increasing intervals over time. Here’s how spaced repetition works and why it’s effective:

How Spaced Repetition Works:

1. Initial Learning: When you first encounter new information or concepts, you study and learn them as usual. This is the initial exposure.
2. Review Schedule: Instead of reviewing the material in one or two concentrated sessions, spaced repetition employs a review schedule that spreads out the reviews over time.
3. Increasing Intervals: The key to spaced repetition is that the intervals between review sessions gradually increase. You review the material shortly after the initial learning session, then review it again a bit later, then even later, and so on.
4. Active Recall: During each review session, actively recall and test your memory of the material. This process of retrieval strengthens your memory.

Why Spaced Repetition is Effective:

1. Optimized Learning: Spaced repetition is based on the psychological principle of the spacing effect, which suggests that information is better retained when learning is spaced out over time. This optimized learning strategy enhances memory retention.
2. Memory Consolidation: The intervals between review sessions are designed to align with the “Forgetting Curve” — the rate at which information fades from memory (as first conceptualized by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus) . By reviewing at the right moments, you reinforce and extend the retention of the material.
3. Efficient Use of Time: Spaced repetition allows you to focus more on the material you find challenging or have trouble remembering. You don’t waste time reviewing information you’ve already mastered, making your study or learning sessions more efficient.
4. Adaptive Learning: Some spaced repetition systems, such as Anki and other flashcard apps, use algorithms to adapt the review schedule based on your performance. Cards you struggle with are reviewed more frequently, while those you recall easily are reviewed less often.
5. Retrieval Practice: Active recall during review sessions strengthens your memory through the retrieval practice effect. This involves actively recalling information from memory rather than simply re-reading or re-watching it.

Memory Loves A Challenge

The last bullet point above merits expansion. In contrast to the way many have studied by highlighting textbooks and re-reading those “important” parts over and over again, testing oneself through retrieval practice builds stronger memories faster. Rereading builds feelings of fluency, i.e. your brain recognizes that you’ve seen something before and takes that as a sign you’ve learned it.

Research based on real-world observations demonstrates that practicing the act of recalling information is significantly more effective for long-term learning than simply reviewing the original material. This phenomenon is often referred to as the “testing effect” or the “retrieval-practice effect.” Even pre-testing yourself on material before you’ve actually studied it has been shown to improve learning and retention after studying, compared to jumping in cold without pre-testing.

And as noted above, for maximum impact, it’s important to repeatedly engage in retrieval practice, spread out over several sessions (spaced repetition, anyone?). The goal is to make the recall process a cognitively demanding activity rather than a mechanical repetition. This repeated recall process facilitates memory consolidation in the brain. Additionally, it strengthens and diversifies the neural pathways through which the information can later be retrieved.

Conclusion

I will elaborate more on specific memory techniques in subsequent articles, but first I wanted to set the stage and prime you for what’s to come. In the interim, when you have something new to learn/remember, try the following:

• Create a visual representation of it, if possible;
• Make that representation vivid, exaggerated, cartoon-like, even a little naughty if that helps;
• Include other senses whenever you can;
• Associate the imagery to some related concept you already know well;
• Practice recalling the underlying target word/concept periodically.