Assimilative Memory Part 20

5. Will not a decided benefit ensue to those who have acquired a great power of attention?

Where a great power of Attention has been renewed or originally acquired, it requires considerable effort to _continue_ that power. The unnumbered objects of thought which civilization constantly brings before the mind, without giving any opportunity for a mastery of many of them; the fierce rivalries of interest, and the enervating habits of body which are constantly being formed or perpetuated--all alike and together tend to break down an acquired power of Attention. It is said that Alexander Hamilton used to go through the demonstrations of Euclid's Geometry before the commencement of each Session of the early Congress. For what purpose? In order to be able to make use of geometrical knowledge in debate? Certainly not. He reviewed this study to stiffen the back-bone of his power of Attention. And he possessed this power in an extraordinary degree by nature. I am not suggesting any such severe course of self-discipline. But if the pupil whose _attention was formerly weak_ will never allow a date to come before him without fixing it in mind by my method, and if he will also occasionally learn by heart a pa.s.sage of prose or poetry by my _a.s.similating_ methods, he will train his Attention in a pleasanter and more effective way than Hamilton did his by his studies in Euclid--besides making himself conspicuously accurate where most men are notoriously inaccurate.

[It is a most misleading mistake to suppose that the principles of the following or either of the previous chapters are to be _consciously and constantly_ used by the pupil, whether he be a student or a man of business. It is only used at all during the training period--rarely afterwards. But during the training period, I desire the pupil to make as much use of the devices and principles of the system as he possibly can--and the more he uses them the sooner he no longer has occasion to use them.]

1. Does it require any effort to _continue_ that power?

2. What tends to break down an acquired power of attention?

3. What suggestion is here given the pupil in regard to this?

4. Is this method easier and less severe than Hamilton's?

5. Is it not more effectual?

THOUGHTIVE UNIFICATIONS.

CONNECTING THE UNCONNECTED.

A Congressman could not remember the name of Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States, but he could always readily recall his nick-name, "Rough and Ready." In this case there was no _revivable_ connection established in his mind between the _name_ Zachary Taylor and the idea or image of the _man_ known as Zachary Taylor--but there _was_ a revivable connection in his mind between the name "Rough and Ready"

and the idea or image of that man. Now the thing to be done to enable this Congressman to readily recall the name Zachary Taylor was to _establish_ or _make a revivable connection_ between the name Zachary Taylor and the image of him, or some characteristic of him, as it was known to that Congressman; or to connect the well-remembered name "Rough and Ready" to the usually forgotten name Zachary Taylor. This would be a _device_ for helping him to revive this. .h.i.therto unrecallable name. But another and better way to aid him would be to STRENGTHEN his REVIVING POWER GENERALLY, so that he could readily recall the name Zachary Taylor as well as his other previous experiences; for there is no doubt that he had a _record_ in his mind of the name Zachary Taylor; for whenever he failed to recall it, he _recognised_ it the moment he saw it, or it was mentioned in his presence. This proved that he _knew_ the name but could not _revive_ it.

1. What difficulty did the Congressman have in connection with Z.

Taylor?

2. What caused it?

3. What would have been his best aid to remember the name?

HOW TO HELP THE MEMORY.

There are therefore two ways of helping the memory. (1) By a device resorted to in each separate case to help make a more vivid First Impression. Nearly all Memory Systems. .h.i.therto taught have only been such Devices; of little benefit except in the cases where they have been _actually applied_--mere temporary appliances, and many of them of doubtful value, devoid of any strengthening power. (2) By a Method of Memory TRAINING. This is the unique character of my System. It is used as a device during the process of developing the latent powers of the Memory and the Attention, but the _result of its use_ is to so strengthen the Memory that, as a Device it is no longer required. As a trainer my System operates in three ways. (1) It increases the general _Impressionability_, so that all First Impressions must be more vivid than they have ever been before. (2) It increases the general _Revivability_, so that First Impressions are more under the control of the will, and can be afterward recalled when desired. (3) It compels the Intellect to stay with the senses and thereby it abolishes mind-wandering.

1. Did he have a _record_ of the name in his mind?

2. How many ways are there of helping the memory?

3. What is the first way?

4. The second?

5. What is meant by Memory Training?

6. What is the unique character of my system?

7. What is the result of its use?

8. In how many ways does my system operate as a Trainer?

9. What are they?

A one-sided view of the Memory proclaims that if vivid First Impressions are made in all cases, that is enough. This opinion implies a limited acquaintance with the different kind of memories. In some cases where a person is troubled with chronic forgetfulness, a vivid First Impression may be received, and no recollection of it will long survive. That a vivid impression was received is proved by the fact that, shortly after the occurrence, his memory of the details of it is possibly nearly perfect, and yet, after the lapse of a few days, or weeks, or months, the recollection of every trace of the occurrence has vanished. After the total oblivion of the matter in his waking moments, he will sometimes recall all the details of the affair in a dream. This is demonstration irresistible that the trouble in this case lies, not in receiving vivid First Impressions, but in the weakness of his reviving power. In fact, some memories are much oftener weak from deficiency in reviving power than from feebleness of first impressions. If, however, Impressionability be increased to the highest degree in all cases, and Revivability be strengthened to the same extent, all memories will be good, however bad some of them may theretofore have been in any or in all respects.

MODES OF ESTABLIs.h.i.+NG CONNECTIONS.

RECOLLECTIVE a.n.a.lYSIS is used to memorise a series of words or facts between every pair of which the relation of In., Ex., or Con. exists. It equally applies to a single pair of such words or facts.

RECOLLECTIVE SYNTHESIS OR THOUGHTIVE UNIFICATION is used where _no relation exists_.

A _revivable_ connection is established in such cases by means of a Correlation which always consists of one or more unifying intermediates.

And the words, hitherto un-united, which are thus cemented together, are called Extremes.

We had experience in learning the Series in the first chapter that the application of the Laws of In., Ex., and Con. enable us to memorise those Series in much less time than it would have taken had we not known _how to make use of_ those Laws. Many people could _never_ have committed to memory such Series by mere _rote_ or _repet.i.tion_, and not one in a hundred could have learnt to say them backwards by _rote_ alone. Yet my Pupils easily learn them both ways, because a.n.a.lysis affords the highest possible AID to the Natural Memory. In fact, the _deepest_ and _most abiding_ impression that can be made upon the Natural Memory is by impressing it with _relations_ of In., Ex., or Con.; because these are the Memory-Senses (if the phrase be allowed), these are the Eyes, Ears, Touch, Taste, and Smell of the Memory: and we have only to impress the _Memory_ according to the laws of its own nature and the _Memory_ will RETAIN the impression. This is exactly what my Art does: for I translate every case of Synthesis into an a.n.a.lytic series by supplying one or more _Memory-intermediates_ that grow out of the "Extremes," each one of which is an instance of In., Ex., or Con.--Thus, every example of Synthesis is a =developed or extended a.n.a.lysis=. To make this translation from Synthesis into a.n.a.lysis requires no intellectual ingenuity--no constructive power of imagination--but only a _recall to consciousness_, through In., Ex., or Con., of what we already _know_ about the "Extremes." I call a specimen of developed a.n.a.lysis a Correlation, because the Intermediates sustain the _direct_, _immediate_, and _specific_ relation of In., Ex., or Con. to the "Extremes" (having nothing in common, in principle or nature, with the old-fas.h.i.+oned Mnemonical "Links," or "Phrases").

1. When is Rec. a.n.a.lysis used?

2. Rec. Synthesis?

3. How is a revivable connection established?

4. Have you carefully read every question at the bottom of the previous page, and _thought out_ or written out answers to them?

5. Since questions are valuable helps to the learner, will you faithfully read all the questions hereafter in this lesson, and write out or think out the answers thereto?

6. What have the laws of In., Ex., or Con. enabled us to do?

7. Could all people have learned them by rote?

8. What affords the highest possible aid to the natural memory?

9. How are the deepest and most abiding impressions made on the Natural Memory?

10. What are the Memory-Senses?

EXAMPLES OF CORRELATIONS.

Make your own Correlation (different from mine, given below) between each of the following seven pairs of Extremes:

[_In._ may be represented by 1, _Ex._ by 2, and _Con._ by 3]:

1. ANCHOR (1) Sheet Anchor (1) Sheet (1) Bed (1) BOLSTER ---- (3) Capstan (1) Night-cap (3) Pillow (3) ---- ---- (3) Roadstead (1) Bedstead ---- ---- (3) Sea Bed (1) ---- 2. PEN (3) Ink (1) Ink-bottle (1) Smelling-bottle (3) NOSE ---- (1) Pensive (2) Gay (1) Nosegay ---- ---- (3) Wiper (3) ---- 3. SLAIN (3) Battle (3) Joshua (3) MOON ---- (1) Struck-down (1) Moon-struck (1) ---- ---- (3) Fallen (2) Risen (3) ---- 4. TEA (1) Teaspoon (1) Spooney (1) LOVER ---- (3) Sugar (1) Sweet (1) Sweetheart (1) ---- 5. ARROW (3) Tell (3) Apple (3) Cider Mill (1) TREADMILL ---- (3) Flight (3) Arrest (3) Convict (3) ---- 6. BEE (1) Beeswax (1) Sealing-wax (3) t.i.tle deeds (3) ATTORNEY ---- (1) Queen Bee (1) Queen's Counsel (3) ---- 7. LASH (1) Eye-lash (1) Gla.s.s Eye (1) Subst.i.tute (1) VICARIOUS

Children and Adults, who have thoroughly learned Recollective a.n.a.lysis and practised its exercises, find no difficulty in making Correlations, unless they are so afflicted with Mind-Wandering that they have never _digested_ the impressions they have received, or unless their intellectual operations have been twisted out of the natural order by perversities of early education; but even in these cases the _diligent_ student will be able--usually before these pages are finished--at once to correlate any word whatever to any or all the words in any dictionary. A learned Professor declared that no person unacquainted with astronomy could correlate "Moon" to "Omnibus." He did it thus: MOON--(3) Gibbous [one of the phases of the Moon]--(1) "Bus"--(1) OMNIBUS. I asked a pupil then present--a girl nine years old--to connect them. She promptly replied, "MOON--(1) Honey-moon--(3) Kissing--(1) Buss--(1) OMNIBUS." A moment after, she gave another: "MOON--(1) Full Moon--(1) 'Full inside'--(3) OMNIBUS." Once more: "MOON--(1) Moonlight--(1) Lightning--(3) 'Conductor'--(3) OMNIBUS." Another pupil imagined it would be _impossible_ to correlate the following _letters_ of the alphabet to _words_ beginning with the same letters, as "A" to "Anchor," "B" to "Bull," "C" to "Cab," "D" to "Doge,"--as well as "Cooley" to "The." There are, however, no words which my Pupils cannot soon learn to correlate together with the greatest readiness, as:

"A" (1) First Letter (1) First Mate (3) s.h.i.+p (3) "ANCHOR"

" (1) Aviary (3) Bird (3) Flew (1) Fluke (1) ---- "B" (1) Bee (3) Sting (1) Sharp Pain (1) Sharp Horns (1) "BULL"

" (1) Below (1) Bellow (3) ---- "C" (1) Sea (3) Ocean Steamer (1) Cabin (1) "CAB"

"D" (1) "D.D." (1) Clerical t.i.tle (1) Venetian t.i.tle (1) "DOGE"

"COOLEY" (1) Coolly Articulated (1) Definite Article (1) "THE"

1. What must we do in order to make the memory retain the impression?

2. Does my Art do this?

3. Into what do I translate every case of Synthesis?

4. What does it then become?

5. What is a correlation?

6. Are correlations difficult to make?

All possible cases to be memorised can be reduced to (1) ISOLATED FACTS, where each fact is correlated to some fact in its surroundings through which you must think as the _Best Known_, in order to recall it--many instances will be given in this lesson:--or, (2) SERIAL FACTS, which must be remembered in the _exact order_ in which they were presented to the mind--ill.u.s.trated by many examples in this Lesson.

NEVER FORGET that this System serves two distinct purposes: (1) That it is a Device for memorising any Isolated Fact or Serial Facts by means of mere a.n.a.lysis, otherwise called Instantaneous a.s.similation or memorised Correlations, as well as by other means. (2) And that by memorising and repeating for a considerable period a.n.a.lytic Series, and especially by _making_ and _memorising_ one's own Correlations, it is an unequalled system of Memory-TRAINING. Let the ambitious Pupil =learn as many examples as I give in the lessons in order to so strengthen his natural memory that he will no longer have to use the _device_ for memorising, his natural memory permanently retaining all he desires to remember=.

This result comes only to those who carry out ALL the directions with genuine alacrity--not s.h.i.+rking one of them.

1. Do all persons find them easy?

2. What persons do not?

3. Can such persons become expert in making them?