Blog Post # 9

Hello,

Memory is very important in defining who we are as human beings. Without memory I wouldn't know who I am or my family or friends. We would all be the same boring people. None of us would have personality or be able to fall in love. Our memories define us, they make us who we are today. Good and bad memories shape our life. Our world would not have any advancements like technology, acting, music, food, and pretty much everything else. If we don't know who we are, how we got here, or even our names we would be nothing. Our world would cease to exist. First of all Clive's wife loves him and I'm sure it is really hard for her to deal with this, but just because he has memory damage doesn' t mean that she changed the way she feels about him. She probably gets very frustrated because she isn't able to help him or talk to him without him losing all recollection. I bet that she tries every day to get through to him and has tried several applications. If I were in her shoes I would try my best to help him and I would not forget all the memories that we had together before and during the memory damage. I understand that my memory capability is not limitless and I can store tons of material in it but it can become cluttered. Our memory has persisted over time and can be stored and retrieved for later times.

I don't think about how it works differently because I won't be able to change the way I remember things. I don't think of my memories any differently because I have not come to a time that my memory was needed so significantly yet. I think that some of my memories are not accurate, I'm sure I only think about them being the way I thought they were. I know that most of my memories are broad but I can remember some specific detail. I tend to only remember big experiences not the little ones. I enjoy reminiscing about the past because it's fun to remember and to hear others memories. I learned from the interference exercise that everyday we experience interferences that diminish our abilities to remember. Even the president would have a hard time saying his oath if others were talking or interrupting him. I trust my memories because most of them have happened with others and they remember the same things. I think I have a fairly good memory because I can remember certain things for tests and what I ate for breakfast last week. I learned from the short term memory exercise that I remember a lot more things easier if someone tells me, then if I see is written or illustrated. I scored higher on the listening test. I think I am a better listener which helps me store things.

I learned about interference or something that hinders or is in the way of another thing. I thought it was interesting that as we collect more and more information, our brain never fills up but everything gets cluttered. The ability to tune out all the clutter and distractions helps us focus and concentrate. There are two types of interference. The first one is proactive interference which is the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information. For example if two people are giving me their phone number at the same time I will most likely not remember it. If only one of them is giving me their number at a time I will most likely be able to recall it. The second type is retroactive interference which is the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information. Information that is presented about an hour before sleep is protected from retroactive interference because there is less of an oppurtunity for interfering events. Researchers have found that the information commited an hour before a good night's sleep is easily remembered. Interference is a very important cause of forgetting things.