tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23683658.post6976635689099841743..comments2024-03-25T05:23:41.171-04:00Comments on Bilbo's Random Thought Collection: The Decline of MemoryBilbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213505386288233192noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23683658.post-51897700947778139142008-02-08T06:56:00.000-05:002008-02-08T06:56:00.000-05:00My high school maths teacher had his own rules of ...My high school maths teacher had his own rules of maths on the wall, and number two was "The mind is a muscle and must be exercised."<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure that it's a bad thing <I>per se</I> that people store information like phone numbers etc in PDAs and phones (except that it makes it all the more important to keep an eye on your phone so that it doesn't get stolen), but I think that it's important that people do mental activities and puzzles to keep their minds active.<BR/><BR/>I quite like crosswords (though not cryptic ones) and all week I've been buying The Times just for their puzzles page (crosswords, sudoku and a puzzle called a polygram which is quite neat).<BR/><BR/>Has Agnes ever tried Killer Sudoku puzzles? www.killersudokuonline.com has a huge selection of free puzzles that you can play online or download as pdfs and print.NathanRyderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17963023116440525852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23683658.post-46716778946009847832008-02-07T13:18:00.000-05:002008-02-07T13:18:00.000-05:00True story. A friend of mine was a election judge ...True story. A friend of mine was a election judge last Tuesday. An 80 year old lady comes up to the table. He askes her, "democrat or republican?" She say's,"democrat! I'd rather have sex in the White House than a war!"Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00017192454403363349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23683658.post-66445413349906757492008-02-07T12:54:00.000-05:002008-02-07T12:54:00.000-05:00My brain hurts.......cqMy brain hurts.......<BR/><BR/>cqcraziequeenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15098227916486173799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23683658.post-75273017901265406582008-02-07T09:40:00.000-05:002008-02-07T09:40:00.000-05:00I definitely agree with working your brain. I grew...I definitely agree with working your brain. I grew up memorizing a lot of things as a child because of the school systems here in Malaysia. While I don't recommend that style of learning, it did teach me to remember a lot of things. Memorizing was second nature but as I have grown older and started relying on my cell phone or email address book, I find that I can't do it as well anymore and have recently started to consciously work my brain in all sorts of ways. <BR/><BR/>....I find blogging a good exercise too amongst all those you have listed....Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03542715899155247984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23683658.post-12620392656521678762008-02-07T08:54:00.000-05:002008-02-07T08:54:00.000-05:00Your most telling comment and scariest is that sch...Your most telling comment and scariest is that schools don't demand memorization. It is possible that this traditional (and hated by students)teaching technique is critical to brain development, and without that form of brain exercise at a young age, people will lose cognitive and memory skills--perhaps permanently. For example, I remember being force to memorize classic American poetry, Longfellow mostly. "Beneath the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands. The smith, a might man is he, with large and sinewy hands." Miss Booth forced those opening lines in to my brain nearly 60 years ago, and I will know I have Alzheimer's when I cannot recall them. But she may have been opening channels in my brain (and let me tell you, they are clearly weakening now, perhaps because I don't have to memorize all that I used to.) Henderson 3, 4840, my grandparents' phone number, disconnected 42 years ago. Can you remember your bosses' cell phone number, which you called yesterday? Of course not. Your phone does.<BR/><BR/>Bilbo, you may have revealed a serious threat to Western Civilization. Freedom and the very substance of our lives depend on memory. And without practicing rote memorization, especially your times tables (who needs it, my phone has a calculator?) we may all lose this critical ability.<BR/><BR/>Signed, the man that wasn't there, because he couldn't remember it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23683658.post-87262879477740210522008-02-07T06:24:00.000-05:002008-02-07T06:24:00.000-05:00The BBC did an interesting series on Memory Skills...The BBC did an interesting series on Memory Skills back in the 80's. Greg Proops hosted it. It was great. I'll have to hunt down that tape again.The Mistress of the Darkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16923975714269274370noreply@blogger.com