Not long ago, I was talking to an individual who did programs to help people with their memory. They taught various seminars, and they had written a few books. I was intrigued, because I like to think I have an excellent memory, and judging by the other people I meet, I noted my memory is quite a bit better actually, still as most I'd like it to be even better.
We got to talking about how his business was doing, and he told me he was doing excellent, and I had to ask why. He told me that he thinks it's because of the Internet, and people don't have to remember things anymore, so they don't. After all, you don't have to remember the names and dates of anyone important in history, because you can look it up anytime you want on Wikipedia or Google.
Likewise he said you don't have to memorize phone numbers anymore, because they are all pretty programmed into your cell phone.
In an article titled "The Shadows" by futurist Patrick Tucker published in the July-August Futurist Magazine it discusses the challenges with reliance on the Internet and human ability to think, reason, and memorize important facts. He makes some good points about how we use search engines, and how heavy online use destroys (albeit slowly) our abilities to take the information and relate it to problem solving, or entice us to remember key data points.
Why? Because it's always there, no need to memorize it. And that gets me to my next point; in that your brain is a device which works best when it is used, and if you don't use it. Well you are going to eventually lose it, it operates in that respect just like a muscle in your body, say neuroscientists.
Therefore, I have concluded that we are all going to need memory training now, specifically for the reason my acquaintance had mentioned - all the personal tech devices we have today. I hope you'll please consider this.
