The Forgetful Weekly Update
Now, where was I?
Ever wonder why you forget what you were about to do after stepping into a new room? Can’t seem to focus on work as well at the kitchen table as in the office? Can’t recall the list of words you memorized before diving underwater wearing scuba gear?
When we learn something in one context it is more challenging to remember it in a new context. Now, where was I?
Ever wonder why you forget what you were about to do after stepping into a new room? Can’t seem to focus on work as well at the kitchen table as in the office? Can’t recall the list of words you memorized before diving underwater wearing scuba gear?
When we learn something in one context it is more challenging to remember it in a new context.
Our favourite demonstration of this phenomenon is from work by Godden and Baddeley, who had SCUBA-diving students memorize lists of words above water and below. Lists memorized on land were more easily recalled on land; lists memorized underwater were more easily recalled underwater. 1975 was a great year for psychology.
Most people experienced the effects of context-dependent memory during the first lockdown in March. It was harder to focus in our new makeshift workspaces, harder to bring to mind all those thousand little details and routines that make for efficient work. Over time though, we relearned our working habits in the new space and learned another thousand little details necessary to do our jobs, this time tying these memories to our new workspaces at home.
No less of an authority, Q 107.5 Classic Rock in Albany, New York, has reported on memory loss. They cite a study by Post-It brand from 3M who found that the average person forgets four things a day. (This proves it. I am above average!)
The study was conducted with 2,000 adults. In total, most of the respondents were found to have forgotten over 1,400 things in a year. What are the most common things forgotten by people? Some of the top 50 include:
1. Forgetting what you went into a room for
2. Misplacing your keys
4. Not recalling people’s names when you’re introducing them
9. Forgetting what you’re searching for online or on the computer
10. Forgetting where the car was parked
23. Looking for glasses/sunglasses when they’re on your head
27. Anniversaries – uh oh
31. Picking up the phone and forgetting who you were about to call
Why would Post-It conduct such research. It’s obvious, really,
“Whether you’re forgetting big meetings at work or smaller things like leaving your lunch in the fridge, writing reminders on Post-it Notes can be key to keeping a hold on daily life.”
(This is not sponsored content, but maybe that was an oversight on our part. We could have made a few pennies from 3M for this clear plug of their product.)
In the vein of we-don’t-make-money-on-sponsored-content, computer memory makes a big difference on productivity.
This is “A close-up of the 6-core Westmere die at the heart of the Xeon 5600-series.” It might as well be ancient Greek. At least it’s pretty.
The extra time it takes for an older computer (one that’s more than five years old) to boot up, load web pages, and run programs can have an impact on your bottom line. One study commissioned by Intel found that older, slower computers can make an employee as much as 29% less productive, which could cost an employer up to $17,000 in lost productivity for each older computer in the workplace. The same study also estimated that waiting for an older PC to start up each morning can waste up to 11 hours a year. (Nicole wonders if that includes the older person at Stormy Lake whose initials are also PC. She estimates that waiting for him to start up each morning can waste up to 11 hours a year…more if the espresso machine breaks.)
And how many things can we forget in 11 hours? It’s scary.
Preventing memory loss focuses on the classic healthy living advice that can seem quite unhelpful:
Don’t smoke (very hard to stop)
Don’t drink too much (too subjective)
Get regular exercise (in winter??)
Eat plant forward with lots of fish (not for everyone)
Maintain social interactions (how?)
Challenge your brain (not with TV?)
If you are feeling more forgetful than usual recently, it might be that we’ve been living the last eight months in ways that do not support good memory.
So why does this matter?
Imagine you’ve just created a corporate training program that represents the pinnacle of your career. As you flash the last slide, the audience breaks into rapturous applause and your hard-to-please boss flashes you a thumbs up. Sit with this for a moment.
Within one hour, people will have forgotten 50% of the information you presented, 70% within 24 hours and 90% in a week. Some people remember more or less, but in general, the situation is appalling.
It seems counterintuitive, but this failure of memory aids the brain in its usual spectacular success at processing information. At this moment, thousands of sensory inputs are inundating your brain and your brain is busy ... ignoring them. This process is highly adaptive because, by suppressing most information, you are now free to focus on what you think are the one or two more essential pieces of information.
As our brain suppresses active sensory inputs, it also needs to suppress active memories. The problem, however, is that in the process of all of this memory purging, our brain often forgets important information (like your anniversary?).
One key to improve memory is to break apart learning across time – distributed practice. Rereading material over and over again in one night isn’t an effective way of making it stick. Instead, reading material and then recalling it a few days later, say prompted by a series of questions, will more deeply embed the learning.
Yes, this is that nightmare grade school phenomenon – the pop quiz. It worked then and it works now. Sorry.
What brought this topic to mind this week is our collective social memory embodied in Remembrance Day. The loss that people felt not being able to gather together was almost as powerful as the solemnity of the day itself.
I only hope it does not become Hallmark-ized like every other holiday we celebrate.
Lest we forget.