I have to say that I liked this chapter a lot. I found it very empirical. I could easily relate many of the artificial memory strategies to my daily life. I could do this either because I found them really helpful or because I have used them myself before.

It especially made me think a lot about my daily struggle with memory. For example, I struggle to remember all the things that I have to complete in one day, or to make a phone call, or to bring my grocery list to the grocery store. Before I go to the store, I usually write a list. But, I always forget to bring the list with me. So, since I did not memorize the items I needed (because I wrote them) I always forget something. Crowley and Hawhee’s discussion of organizational memory on page 382 was extremely useful. Next time, I will definitely organize the items alphabetically, and then I will memorize the number of items. That way I can make sure I have all what I needed and it liberates me from the need to remember to bring the list! Another aspect in my life where these strategies can be helpful is with my migraines diary. I suffer from migraines, so I keep a diary of migraines. But every time I get a migraine it is hard for me to write down the details of it. Then, when I go to the diary, many times I have forgotten about it. Thus, I am going to try either organizational memory or the association with images and places.

I also found interesting the importance of repetition and cultural memory. I remember in elementary school, having to memorize the catholic prayers…. It was a requirement for Religion class. I remember struggling to memorize the credo the longest prayer of all. But I finally made it, and I think it was through repetition. Since I used to go to the mass every Sunday, I must have memorized it by repeating it every week. Now, it has been a long time since I don’t go to church, but when I go I still can pray most of prayers, even the longest ones, out of my memory.

This chapter also reminded me of a story that my great grandmother used to tell me. I never memorized it and I have been trying to find it for a very long time with no luck. I remember very well her telling me the story. I remember that I loved to hear it and I remember that it was extremely sad. She had memorized it…. Every time I would ask her to tell me the story she would start telling it without looking at any book. I do not even recall her saying “what was next?”, “hmm… let me think”. Nowadays I regret not having memorized it. Reading this chapter made me regret it even more… I could have used these strategies to memorize it…

When I got to the electronic memory system, I realized that my email is my electronic memory system. I send myself an email every week with my assignments for the week, I create to do lists that I email to myself as well, and gmail has a great tool call tasks. Plus, it also has a calendar tool. My email is my storage for my daily professional and student life. Moreover, it is also the memory of my personal life. It contains emails that I have sent to my closest friends telling them news about my life, or conflicts and difficult situations that I have had to face… It also contains emails where I discuss with my sister issues concerning our family. Since these days everyone has an email address, we could say that each one of us is telling the story of their own lives and storing it in the electronic memory called email account.

Though nowadays we have so many electronic memory tools and they have become intrinsic parts of our lives, I agree with the authors when they say that “it is more accurately to think of electronic memory as a supplement to, or expression of, human memory” (387). I think they are just tools that we use to support our own memory, just like the ones used by Simonides. I don’t think our use of memory will ever disappear. As I have learned in my philosophy class about memory and imagination, memory is at the core of our mental activity, and is fundamental for human experience. Being able to recall our previous experiences and emotions give depth to our daily life.