I have decided, after reading our text’s discussion of the fourth canon of rhetoric, that if effectiveness as a rhetor relies on memory, I am in deep trouble. I am afraid age, time, information overload, and a number of other factors have had a serious impact on my memory (I appreciated the article on p. 388 that tells us that sleep facilitates memory consolidation, which, I guess, implies what sleep deprivation might do to memory). I must admit that I have listened intently to one of my teenagers’ stories from school, complete with names of people I don’t know, only to realize that later I cannot recall a specific detail of the story they have relayed, much to their disgust. It is not that I have not listened; rather, I believe, this situation represents a purposeful selectivity regarding what is transmitted to memory. Since I have evaluated the information provided and found it to be limited in its capacity to be useful later, I allow it to be quickly and easily forgotten.
So too, if I give credence to the key elements of memory that Crowley and Hawhee point to (concentration, repetitive exposure and association/classification) (379), one can see why these stories do not hold much weight when it comes to my remembering them, as my engagement in these activities during the storytelling is minimal.
I see this at work in my tendency to not remember things told in passing (gossip). Again, because such information seems unimportant, I do not take the time or make the effort to focus, review, or associate the information with something that might relate. This does not mean, however, that if someone mentions some part of the story later I won’t remember, but I would probably not be able to generate the story, or at least the details of it, on my own.
And yet, this chapter did trigger my memory when it came to the discussion of methods recommended for enhancing one’s artificial memory. A number of years ago I was employed part time at a post-secondary technical school, working with underprepared students. Part of their preparation for attending school involved an intensive two-week program of study strategies. Among the topics addressed in the course was memory strategies. Many of the suggestions provided in our text were among the techniques I incorporated in the class. For example, the association process of placing the items to remember in certain locations, which our chapter talks about, was akin to the Memory Walk exercise demonstrated in the class. Students were instructed to envision a familiar place (like a bedroom) and place the ideas or items they wanted to remember in a specific spot in the room. Later, by taking an imaginary walk around the room, they could remember what (and, of course, where) each item was.
Another technique that seems to mimic the concept of ordering that was discussed in our text was a grouping activity we did. Students on one side of the room were given a list of random words and had 2 minutes to study and remember as many as they could. Students on the other side of the room were given the same words and the same amount of time; the difference, however, was that the words with this second group of students were grouped by categories: fruits, weapons, animals, and so on. As one can guess, those with the categorized version of the list had a much higher rate of word recognition than the group with the random list, although those that had the random list who were able to identify categories also did well with their recollections. When I revealed why the students on the one side of the room did better on the task, students saw firsthand the power of memory and the potentiality for training one’s memory.
Still, my favorite memory trick was something called the Peg Method, an association/imagery method, again, similar to those discussed in our text. This method also seems to relate to the idea of organizational memory (382), as it uses a numbering system to order the items and help locate them at a later time. With this technique the rhetor already has a list of key words (pegs) upon which that which he wishes to remember will be hung: One, bun; two, glue; three, tree; four, door; and so on. The incorporation of a rhyme scheme also helps with the memory process. Let’s say I want to remember items to pick up on the way home from work. I would draw a picture in my head as I make an association between my peg and what I want to remember. Let’s say my list includes ketchup, bread, lettuce and bananas. I might imagine a bun (one, bun) filled with ketchup (the hotdog is missing). To remember the bread I would see myself with slices of bread stuck to my body (two, glue – the slices are glued to me). The lettuce would be the leaves on the tree (three, tree), and the bananas might be imagined as a wreath hanging on the door (four, door). As the text notes, “Teachers recommended that the images be vivid and strange enough to be remember easily…” (378), and these examples tend to satisfy this suggestion.
I usually demonstrated this technique to my class by asking them to give me twelve different items at the beginning of our class on memory. I didn’t tell them why. Using the Peg Method, I created my memorable associations for the words I was given. About three hours into the four-hour class, I would go to the whiteboard and write the 12 words on the board, much to the amazement of the class. When I then gave them the explanation of how I was able to remember these random items, they quickly realized that they too could train themselves to remember in this way. This method is one I still use when I have a number of things to remember, particularly if they are unrelated. I supposed that even though my gray matter is getting grayer, it, too, can still be trained.
The importance of artificial memory rings true for me when I consider my mother. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a number of years ago, her natural memory fails her more and more each day. To help her maintain some memory capacity, she attends sessions daily where she is taken through activities that help to stimulate artificial memory. These activities utilize some of the same key elements of memory that were discussed in chapter 11 and which are the basis of many of the memory techniques mentioned: concentration, repetitive exposure, association, classification, visual stimulation.
Moving on to other ideas from the chapter, the notion of memory as invention made a lot of sense as well (376). As I read this section of the chapter, I immediately thought back to when my children were little and would ask me to tell them a story. From my memories, constructed heavily by both narratives of my own experiences and what Crowley and Hawhee refer to as cultural memory (380), I could locate story ideas, interpret them in a way that would be meaningful for the children, organize them logically, and expand them in such a way as to create an entertaining tale.
I am often called to do something similar in the classroom when I need an example that will help clarify a concept I am teaching. Drawing on memory, I am able to locate a fitting example, interpret it as it relates to the concept, expand on it in an effort to make the message as clear as possible and present it in a manner that is organizationally sound. This example of the inventive nature of memory also seems to tie in well with the idea of kairos and memory that Crowley and Hawhee address. This particular moment/need for an example allows me to pull on the information that I have gathered previously, recognize its relevance to the current situation, and use it effectively to make my point. This inventive process is possible through our reliance on memory. I even think this inventive feature of memory is, in part, what allowed us to handle the laborious task of figuring out the maxims we looked at in last week’s class despite the challenging, unfamiliar wording.
And while today we do have the ability to store massive amounts of information through both written and electronic forms, I cannot stop thinking that such literate and electronic memory systems affect our natural ability to remember. How often do we hear the adage use it, or lose it. A trip to the grocery store will provide an apt example of what can happen when we allow ourselves to rely on these literate or electronic memory systems (consider the clerk who can’t make change when the electronic memory system is faulty). Likewise, when the need for a specific piece of information arises, one does not always have the time or the proper electronic equipment at the given moment to be able to look the needed information up. So while these literate and electronic memory systems have sort of taken the pressure off our personal memory systems, natural and artificial memory systems are still vitally important.
In concluding my comments on this chapter, I return to the story presented at the beginning of chapter 11. I cannot recollect (proof of my natural memory’s failings perhaps) where I had heard or read the story of Simonides, but I immediately recognized my familiarity with it. While fable-like in its presentation, it certainly summarizes well the most prominent theme of this chapter: the power of memory.
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