Curious About Memory

PODCAST 224: CURIOUS ABOUT MEMORY

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, JANUARY 15TH, 2023

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  I WAS BORN MORE THAN 15,000 DAYS AGO.  I’VE EXPERIENCED A LOT IN ALL THAT TIME, BUT THERE IS VERY LITTLE I REMEMBER FROM MY CHILDHOOD.  I’LL SHARE ONE STORY WITH YOU FROM WHEN I WAS AROUND OLIVIA’S AGE.  I WANTED TO BE IN THE BAND IN SCHOOL.  ONE DAY, THEY GATHERED ALL OF THE KIDS IN THE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM AND THEY HANDED EACH OF US INDEX CARDS.  THEN, THEY ASKED A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT MUSIC BASICS TO SEE IF WE UNDERSTOOD SOME OF THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF MUSIC.  WE WROTE OUR ANSWERS DOWN ON THE INDEX CARDS.  AFTER THEY WERE DONE TESTING OUR MUSIC KNOWLEDGE, THEY ASKED US TO LIST THREE INSTRUMENTS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE INDEX CARD.  THE LIST WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE THREE INSTRUMENTS WE WANTED TO PLAY THE MOST, WITH OUR FAVORITE INSTRUMENT AT NUMBER ONE, AND OUR BACK UP OPTIONS AT TWO AND THREE.  MY TOP CHOICE WAS THE SLIDE TROMBONE.  WHAT AN AWESOME INSTRUMENT!  IT LOOKED LIKE SO MUCH FUN TO PLAY.  IT TURNS OUT THAT I HAD A GREAT SCORE ON THE MUSIC TEST, SO THEY WELCOMED ME INTO THE BAND.  THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS THIS.  THE MUSIC INSTRUCTOR TOLD ME THAT MY ARMS WERE TOO SHORT TO PLAY THE SLIDE TROMBONE.  FOR THAT REASON, THEY GAVE ME MY SECOND CHOICE, THE CLARINET.  EVEN THOUGH THIS HAPPENED TO ME WAY BACK IN THE 1980’S, I STILL REMEMBER IT PRETTY CLEARLY.  WHAT IS IT ABOUT THAT EVENT THAT STILL STICKS OUT IN MY MIND?  WHY DO WE REMEMBER SOME THINGS AND NOT OTHERS?  LET’S LEARN MORE.

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HELLO, NEW LISTENERS AND THANKS FOR ALL THAT YOU DO.  WE ARE FROM FLORIDA, AND BROOK (AGE 8) AND LEAH (AGE 6) LOVE LISTENING TO THE EPISODES ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL AND ON LONG ROAD TRIPS.  WE ARE CURIOUS ABOUT MEMORY - HOW DOES IT WORK?  COULD YOU DO AN EPISODE ON THAT?  THANKS!”

O:  WE SURE CAN DO AN EPISODE ON THAT.  WE CAN’T WAIT TO LEARN ALL ABOUT MEMORY FOR BROOK AND LEAH THIS WEEK.

D:  OLIVIA, YOU ARE GIFTED WITH A GREAT MEMORY.  I CAN’T BELIEVE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU ARE ABLE TO REMEMBER.  DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS A COMPETITION FOR MEMORY CALLED THE WORLD MEMORY CHAMPIONSHIPS?  THEY HAVE BEEN HELD SINCE 1991, AND THEY ARE DESIGNED TO TEST HOW QUICKLY PEOPLE CAN MEMORIZE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT IS THE WORLD RECORD FOR SPEED CARDS?  SPEED CARDS CHALLENGES SOMEONE TO MEMORIZE THE EXACT ORDER OF A SHUFFLED DECK OF PLAYING CARDS.  THAT IS 52 CARDS TOTAL.  

D:  I DON’T KNOW IF I WOULD BE ABLE TO PULL OFF THAT MEMORY CHALLENGE IF I WAS GIVEN AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME.  MEMORIZING THE ORDER OF 52 CARDS MUST BE INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT.  DO YOU THINK YOU CAN GUESS THE RECORD TIME FOR COMPLETING THIS AMAZING MEMORY TRICK?  WHILE YOU’RE THINKING, LET’S LEARN ALL ABOUT MEMORY.

O:  MEMORY IS SOMEONE’S RECORD OF THEIR PAST EXPERIENCES.  IT IS THE ABILITY OF THE BRAIN TO HOLD ONTO INFORMATION TO BE USED AT A LATER TIME.

D:  THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF MEMORY, KNOWN AS SENSORY MEMORY, SHORT TERM MEMORY, AND LONG TERM MEMORY.  

O:  SENSORY MEMORY IS THE FIRST STAGE OF MEMORY AND IT IS SUPER INSTANTANEOUS.  IT COMES AND GOES VERY QUICKLY.  

D:  SENSORY MEMORY CAN BE DIVIDED EVEN MORE INTO FIVE TYPES OF SENSORY MEMORY, CALLED ICONIC MEMORY, ECHOIC MEMORY, HAPTIC MEMORY, OLFACTORY MEMORY, AND GUSTATORY MEMORY.  ICONIC MEMORY IS THE BRIEF STORAGE OF VISUAL INFORMATION.  IF YOU LOOK AT AN OBJECT AND THEN CLOSE YOUR EYES, YOU MAY STILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE OBJECT IN YOUR MEMORY FOR A BRIEF AMOUNT OF TIME.  ICONIC MEMORY USUALLY ONLY LASTS FOR ABOUT A HALF-SECOND.

O:  ECHOIC MEMORY IS THE BRIEF STORAGE OF SOUND INFORMATION.  ECHOIC MEMORY INFORMATION MAY ONLY LAST FOR THREE OR FOUR SECONDS.

D:  HAPTIC MEMORY IS THE BRIEF STORAGE OF TOUCH INFORMATION. 

O:  OLFACTORY MEMORY ALLOWS YOU TO REMEMBER THE SMELL OF SOMETHING, FOR EXAMPLE THE SMELL OF YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER.

D:  GUSTATORY MEMORY ALLOWS YOU TO REMEMBER HOW SOMETHING TASTES.  DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT CHOCOLATE TASTES LIKE?  IF SO, IT’S THANKS TO YOUR GUSTATORY MEMORY. PEOPLE ONLY PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO SOME ASPECTS OF THEIR SENSORY MEMORIES.  DOING SO WOULD ALLOW A SENSORY MEMORY TO BECOME A SHORT TERM MEMORY.

O:  SHORT TERM MEMORY IS INFORMATION THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY THINKING ABOUT, AND THAT IS WHY IT IS OFTEN CALLED ACTIVE MEMORY.  A LOT OF THE INFORMATION STORED IN ACTIVE MEMORY WILL ONLY BE KEPT FOR ABOUT 20 TO 30 SECONDS.  

D:  IF SOMEONE GIVES YOU A PHONE NUMBER, AND YOU DON’T HAVE A PEN AND PAPER AROUND TO WRITE IT DOWN.  YOU MAY REMEMBER THE PHONE NUMBER LONG ENOUGH TO ENTER IT IN YOUR PHONE TO MAKE THE CALL.  THAT WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF SHORT TERM MEMORY. 

O:  STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE NUMBER OF ITEMS SOMEONE CAN ACCURATELY STORE IN THEIR SHORT TERM MEMORIES IS ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE.  THAT NUMBER CAN BE INCREASED USING SOME DIFFERENT TRICKS, INCLUDING SOMETHING CALLED CHUNKING.

D:  CHUNKING JUST INVOLVES BREAKING INFORMATION DOWN INTO CHUNKS.  TAKE THE PHONE NUMBER EXAMPLE THAT WE JUST GAVE.  PHONE NUMBERS ARE OFTEN BROKEN DOWN INTO CHUNKS.  THE FIRST CHUNK IS THREE DIGITS, ALSO KNOWN AS AN AREA CODE, THEN ANOTHER THREE DIGITS, AND FINALLY ANOTHER CHUNK OF FOUR DIGITS.  HAVING PHONE NUMBERS IN THIS FORMAT ALLOWS US TO REMEMBER THEM EASIER, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE REMEMBERING TEN ITEMS OR DIGITS, A LOT MORE THAN THE FOUR OR FIVE ITEMS WE CAN TYPICALLY REMEMBER IN OUR SHORT TERM MEMORIES.        

O:  INFORMATION THAT IS IMPORTANT USUALLY CHANGES FROM A SHORT TERM MEMORY INTO A LONG TERM MEMORY.  OUR SENSORY AND SHORT TERM MEMORIES ARE VERY TEMPORARY, BUT OUR LONG TERM MEMORIES CAN STORE AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF INFORMATION, AND CAN STORE THAT INFORMATION FOR AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME.

D:  IT WAS ONCE THOUGHT THAT OUR MEMORIES HAD A CERTAIN CAPACITY, AND THAT ONCE OUR MEMORIES WERE FULL, WE COULD NO LONGER ADD THINGS TO OUR MEMORIES.  THEY USED TO THINK OF OUR MEMORIES LIKE A REALLY BIG FILING CABINET.  ONCE YOU FILL IT UP WITH FILES, YOU CAN’T ADD ANY MORE.  IT TURNS OUT THAT OUR MEMORIES ACTUALLY HAVE NO CAPACITY, AND WE CAN ALWAYS CONTINUE TO ADD MORE INFORMATION TO OUR MEMORIES.  

O:  PEOPLE USE DIFFERENT TRICKS TO REMEMBER DIFFERENT THINGS, AND MAKE SURE THEY END UP IN OUR LONG TERM MEMORY.  THOSE TRICKS ARE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS MNEMONIC DEVICES.  EVEN THOUGH THAT TERM MIGHT BE NEW TO YOU, CHANCES ARE THAT YOU’VE USED A MNEMONIC DEVICE BEFORE.

D:  THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF MNEMONIC DEVICES.  ONE THAT WE MIGHT ALL BE FAMILIAR WITH IS A MUSIC MNEMONIC.  

O:  HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY WE SING THE ABCs?  IT’S BECAUSE IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR US TO REMEMBER.

D:  IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HARDER TO REMEMBER THE ABCs IF WE JUST SPOKE THEM, BUT THEY ARE EASIER TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU SING THEM.  ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A MNEMONIC DEVICE IS A NAME MNEMONIC.  DOES THE RIDICULOUS WORD ROYGBIV MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?

O:  ROYGBIV REMINDS US WHAT THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW ARE, BECAUSE EVERY LETTER CORRESPONDS WITH A COLOR THAT STARTS WITH THAT LETTER, SO R IS FOR RED, O FOR ORANGE, Y FOR YELLOW, G FOR GREEN, B FOR BLUE, I FOR INDIGO, AND V FOR VIOLET.  IT MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER TO REMEMBER THE COLORS IF YOU SIMPLY REMEMBER ROYGBIV.

D:  WHEN I WAS A CHILD, WE USED THE PHRASE “MY VERY EXCELLENT MOTHER JUST SERVED US NINE PICKLES” TO REMEMBER THE NAMES OF THE PLANETS FROM CLOSEST TO THE SUN TO FURTHEST FROM THE SUN.  THE FIRST LETTER OF EACH WORD OF THE PHRASE CORRESPONDS TO A DIFFERENT PLANET.  THERE IS ONE PROBLEM, THOUGH.  PLUTO IS NO LONGER A PLANET.  IT WAS KICKED OUT OF THE PLANET CLUB.  I THINK THE NEW MNEMONIC IS “MY VERY EXCELLENT MOTHER JUST SERVED US NACHOS”.

O:  SPELLING MNEMONICS ARE ALSO USED TO REMEMBER DIFFERENT SPELLING RULES.  A COMMON ONE IS “I BEFORE E, EXCEPT AFTER C”.  SO, IF YOU ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPELL THE WORD RECEIVE, YOU COULD USE THE SPELLING MNEMONIC TO REMEMBER THAT E COMES BEFORE I IN THE WORD RECEIVE.  

D:  THERE IS EVEN A MNEMONIC FOR SPELLING THE WORD MNEMONIC, BECAUSE IT HAS A TRICKY SILENT LETTER IN THE WORD.  THE MNEMONIC IS “MEMORY NEEDS EVERY METHOD OF NURTURING IT’S CAPACITY”.  ONCE AGAIN, THE FIRST LETTER OF ALL THOSE WORDS COME TOGETHER TO FORM THE WORD MNEMONIC.  

O:  MEMORIES ARE CREATED IN A THREE STEP PROCESS.  THOSE PROCESSES ARE CALLED ENCODING, STORING, AND RETRIEVING.

D:  WITH ENCODING, INFORMATION WE SENSE IS CHANGED INTO A FORM THAT WE CAN USE.  ONCE IT IS CHANGED, OR ENCODED, IT CAN BE STORED IN OUR BRAINS.  FINALLY, WE CAN RETRIEVE THAT INFORMATION WHEN WE NEED TO USE IT IN THE FUTURE.  

O:  WITHIN OUR BRAINS, MEMORIES ARE FORMED BY CHANGES IN BRAIN NEURONS, WHICH ARE NERVE CELLS.  MEMORIES ARE MADE BY STRENGTHENING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE NEURONS IN OUR BRAINS OR BY CREATING NEW CONNECTIONS.  REVIEWING INFORMATION OVER AND OVER HELPS STRENGTHEN OUR MEMORIES EVEN MORE.  THAT’S EXACTLY WHY PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

D:  IT’S TOTALLY TRUE.  LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.  I GREW UP IN STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK.  I LIVED THERE UNTIL THE YEAR 2006.  SINCE 2006, I’VE LIVED IN NEW JERSEY.  MY PARENTS ALSO MOVED TO NEW JERSEY JUST A FEW YEARS AFTER I DID.  I STILL REMEMBER THE HOUSE PHONE NUMBER FOR THE HOUSE I HAVEN’T LIVED IN FOR 17 YEARS, AND I HAVEN’T HAD TO DIAL IN WELL OVER A DECADE.  HOW DO I STILL REMEMBER THAT NUMBER?  I REMEMBER IT BECAUSE I USED IT SO MUCH WHEN I WAS YOUNGER.  

O:  I GET THE SAME WAY WITH SONG LYRICS.  SOMETIMES, I’LL HEAR A SONG I HAVEN’T HEARD IN A LONG TIME, BUT I WILL REMEMBER THE WORDS BECAUSE I USED TO LISTEN TO IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN A FEW YEARS AGO.  

D:  OUR MEMORIES ARE TRULY AMAZING, BUT THEY DON’T ALWAYS WORK EXACTLY THE WAY WE WANT THEM TO.  SOMETIMES, WE FORGET THINGS.  I’M ADMITTEDLY PRETTY BAD AT REMEMBERING PEOPLE’S NAMES.  

O:  THERE ARE FOUR EXPLANATIONS FOR WHY PEOPLE FORGET THINGS.    

D:  FIRST, THERE IS FAILURE TO STORE.  EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE WE’RE FORGETTING SOMETHING, SOMETIMES WE FAILED TO STORE IT IN OUR LONG TERM MEMORIES IN THE FIRST PLACE.  IF YOU ARE STUDYING FOR A TEST BY READING FROM A BOOK, BUT THEN YOU HAVE TROUBLE REMEMBERING A PART OF THE BOOK WHILE YOU’RE TAKING THE TEST.  THAT COULD BE BECAUSE YOU NEVER STORED THE INFORMATION IN THE FIRST PLACE.  THERE COULD BE A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT MAYBE YOU WERE DISTRACTED WHEN YOU WERE READING THE BOOK.  

O:  INTERFERENCE IS ANOTHER REASON WE MAY FORGET.  THAT’S WHEN INFORMATION IN YOUR BRAIN INTERFERES WITH OTHER INFORMATION STORED IN YOUR BRAIN.  THIS OFTEN HAPPENS WHEN THERE ARE BITS OF INFORMATION IN YOUR BRAIN THAT ARE SIMILAR.  FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MIGHT HAVE A MEMORY FROM SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED DURING A PARTICULAR HOLIDAY.  THEN YOU COULD BE DISCUSSING IT WITH SOMEONE ELSE, WHO MIGHT REMIND YOU THAT THE MEMORY ACTUALLY HAPPENED DURING A DIFFERENT HOLIDAY.  

D:  THERE IS ALSO SOMETHING CALLED RETRIEVAL FAILURE.  THAT’S WHEN YOU TRY TO REMEMBER SOMETHING, BUT YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE RETRIEVING, OR GETTING BACK, THE MEMORY.  MEMORIES HAVE THE TENDENCY TO FADE A BIT OVER TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE MEMORY ISN’T BEING USED, OR CONNECTED WITH NEWER MEMORIES.  EVEN IF THE MEMORY WAS SUPER IMPORTANT TO YOU LONG AGO, YOU MAY EVENTUALLY FORGET IT IF LOTS OF TIME PASSES.

O:  FINALLY, THERE IS MOTIVATED FORGETTING.  THIS HAPPENS WHEN YOU TRY HARD TO FORGET SOMETHING AND YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL AT FORGETTING IT.  THIS OFTEN HAPPENS WHEN YOU WANT TO FORGET SOMETHING UNPLEASANT, LIKE A CAR ACCIDENT FOR EXAMPLE. 

D:  THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE ARE WAYS TO IMPROVE MEMORY.  YOU CAN PRACTICE, OR REHEARSE, THINGS YOU HAD STORED IN YOUR MEMORY SO YOU DON’T FORGET IT.  I OFTEN DO THIS WHEN I PLAY PIANO.  I WILL CHALLENGE MYSELF TO PLAY A SONG I HAVEN’T PLAYED IN A LONG TIME.  SOMETIMES IT TAKES A FEW TRIES TO GET IT JUST RIGHT, BUT I’M USUALLY ABLE TO REMEMBER HOW TO PLAY IT PRETTY QUICKLY.

O:  THERE ARE OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP YOUR MEMORY, LIKE EATING HEALTHY, AVOIDING STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, AND GETTING PLENTY OF SLEEP.  

D:  ALRIGHT OLIVIA, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE OUT THERE WITH SUPER DUPER MEMORIES, AND MANY OF THEM COMPETE IN SOMETHING CALLED THE WORLD MEMORY CHAMPIONSHIPS.  WHAT IS THE WORLD RECORD FOR HOW QUICKLY SOMEONE WAS ABLE TO MEMORIZE THE ORDER OF A SHUFFLED DECK OF 52 PLAYING CARDS.  

O:  THE WORLD RECORD IS 12.74 SECONDS.  THAT IS JUST BONKERS.  IN ORDER TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU PROBABLY NEED LOTS OF PRACTICE.  

D:  I BET YOU DO.  I WOULD PROBABLY START WITH FOUR OR FIVE CARDS, AND THEN SLOWLY ADD MORE, SO I CAN TRAIN MY BRAIN TO REMEMBER THE SEQUENCE OF THE CARDS IN A DECK.  CHALLENGING YOUR BRAIN WITH DIFFERENT MEMORY EXERCISES LIKE THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BRAIN.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  224 - MEMORY.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB BROOK AND LEAH FOR AN EPISODE TOPIC WE WON’T SOON FORGET.  BEFORE WE GO, WE WANT TO THANK VERY SPECIAL LISTENERS FOR A VERY THOUGHTFUL FIVE STAR REVIEW.  IT SAYS “OUR ENTIRE FAMILY’S FAVORITE PODCAST!  MY NAME IS TARA.  MY HUSBAND AND I LOVE CURIOUS KID PODCAST JUST AS MUCH AS OUR THREE CHILDREN DO!  THEY ASK FOR IT EVERY TIME WE ARE IN THE CAR, AND WE LOVE SAYING HELLO AND MAILBAG TOGETHER WITH JACOB AND OLIVIA!  AS A HOMESCHOOLING FAMILY, IT HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE AND INSPIRES US TO GET CURIOUS AND CREATIVE AT HOME TOO.  WE HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM THE PODCAST, BUT WHAT REALLY MAKES IT SPECIAL IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JACOB AND OLIVIA (THE FATHER AND DAUGHTER HOST OF THE SHOW), AS THE LOVE BETWEEN THEM SHINES THROUGH IN EVERY EPISODE.  THANKS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK AND TIME YOU BOTH PUT INTO PLANNING, RESEARCHING, AND RECORDING THIS GREAT PODCAST!  YOUR BIGGEST FANS!

O:  THAT WAS SUCH A HEARTWARMING REVIEW.  WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH, BUT WE WANT TO TRY.  IF YOU LEFT US THAT REVIEW, PLEASE SEND US AN EMAIL TO LET US KNOW.  I WOULD LOVE TO SEND YOU A VIDEO PERSONALLY THANKING YOU FOR THE INCREDIBLY MEANINGFUL REVIEW.  

D:  IT’S REALLY THE LEAST WE COULD DO FOR SUCH A BEAUTIFUL REVIEW.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK, WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT QUICKSAND FOR LISTENERS IN LONDON, ENGLAND AND OREGON.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.