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Show Science Discovers Why We Remember Certain Things So Well By Dr. Leonard Keene Hirshberg A. B., M. A, M. D. (John Hopkins.) RECENT psychological . experiments have proved that memory is a combination com-bination of elemental things, each of which Is developed, trained, disciplined nd augmented by experience and reading.. To 6ense or perceive anything, to have nn idea or notion of it. to recall it at will, to recognize it as previously known or experienced, are each separate and distinct dis-tinct activities of parts of the body and brain grouped under the general and loose terms "memory," "recollection,- "remembrance," "remem-brance," and the like. Moreover, some people have better memories mem-ories of things seen than others whose memories are stronger with regard to things heard. Visual memories and auditory audi-tory memories are usually inferior to muscular mus-cular and tactile memories. Another important discovery not to be found in books is that memory and imagination imag-ination are blood brothers closer in intellectual intel-lectual bondage than were the Siamese twins physically. Indeed the frontiers ivhVh afmarata-aiyqusc'"'! me:rnrvf-.j imagination is illustrated every day by practically all mankind. Many ideas which pop into your mind which you think are original, which you will fight for as truly and brilliantly imagined by yourself, will be found in nearly every instance to be resurrected and unconscious memories. Many examples of plagiarism are accounted ac-counted for In this way. The poem written writ-ten by Helen Keller and printed In a magazine, mag-azine, only to be recognizee far and wide as an old verse, is an example. H was very difficult in this Instance for Miss Keller Kel-ler or those always with her to find precisely pre-cisely when and where the versa first came to her. No one was more surprised than st:e when It ws ultimately discovered that the verse had bean read to her once in childhood many years before on a country visit. 'Memory, it has been determined, is composed com-posed not only of m;iscu!ar, auditory, visual vis-ual and other sensory elements, hut may be analyzed also into three funda r.ental qualities, to wit. rtt.tiou. recoy-ai-ii.-r. and recall. Furthermore, there are disiirct and separate capacities and strength for tacli-ii tiese. Retention, too, is divided Into emotional, attentive and Inattentive retention. In plain rpeech, your power to retain the experience ex-perience of being caught in the great subway sub-way accident or in the Titanic disaster Is greater than your power to retain in mind the number and kind of jewels, neckwear nd millinery in a department store window. win-dow. Emotional stress interest, fear, pleasure, pleas-ure, pain and incentive cf gain ail cause in experience to be retained and impressed im-pressed upon your thourtt.s. Here you become be-come wide awake and aggressively aware or conscious of ail that is ltatT)enjn!T round about. The reason why oM men always say "the Winters wer colder when I was a hoy" Is because the experiences impressed im-pressed upon their youthful minds, the things best retained, were the beautiful snow-covered rnds: 'te slctdinc, seating and intensely bunriled-up clothing. The intervening rainy, pl'-ast-iit an! mild days of every Winter mar no in.nrr-sFn.n upon their tissues and were therefore not reamed. re-amed. Similarly, the other two important elements ele-ments of memory, namely, your ai-ilSty to call up at will, to recollect or recall what Is retained, and the third power to recognize recog-nize what you once went through are distinct dis-tinct entitles. The useless term "subconscious" "subcon-scious" is not taken seriously, nor is. it ever used by experimental psyctioio-lst.:-;. They merely admit once for ell that there are myriads of e.vpcriences which have been stamped Into your cosmos of wilier, you are wholly unaware. You are "unconscious" "uncon-scious" of stuh memories, and certain whips or stimulants Inaugurate these a?a;n as iU'Tcories which suddenly hob up Into you thoughts and become recognized by you as reminiscent or previous occurences. Tha commonest example of thse "un-ronscious" "un-ronscious" parts of memory are tunes. You hoar a ballad or an op"ra. go home and promptly fortret all 2'oout it. Then you go to another opera or hear mother F.one, mayhap both supposedly new and superficially original. Vet somehow trtere la a ring of familiarity about it, all. F'tddenly you realize tnat you could have composed these new ones yourself. It If teraiis" m:i remember the old ones you heve hr-arti. Recent experiments show that tho nower to recall an event or words Is ?reater if tho period is shorUT. In line, you run at will recall more truth but never the whole truth af ter a few minutes a after a few hours; after one day. than after one week: afira week than months. Kverybody is alile to p'eoKnize nmtiy more word., things or experiences which they once encountered thun th'-y are cut able voluntarily to recall. Girls and women wom-en p.reatly excel both boi and men in their gift of recollection. They recall mote things more easily. This may he diis to the fact that Kir's are sentimental and more emotional and weave their feeitnci about words and cxpr ri'mres. which are prncI" nnd m-itter of fn'-t for men. Contrary to these discoveries is the fart that the power to recognize what bad once occurred Is decidedly superior lu the maia sex. Many persons whose memories nre very poor In the way of recalling what they once experir need or b-ained tire very clever at reru ejnil.ioti. Often the 'eversi. ig the truth, vhile mont people thrirufvi inck or knowledge f)- t 'e:;r new facio ai e want-lng want-lng in both capacities 7 |