LL-L "Memorization" 2011.02.20 (02) [EN]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 20 February 2011 - Volume 02
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From: Ed Alexander <edsells at cogeco.ca>
Subject: LL-L "Memorization" 2011.02.20 (01) [EN]


> From: Obiter Dictum <obiterdictum at mail.ru>

At 02:03 PM 20/02/2011, Sandy wrote:

 You seem to be asking about the neurological aspects, but since I don't
know about that I'll just make a few remarks.

People who memorize pi to thousands of decimal places generally swear by the
rhythm method - they just say it in their heads or out loud over and over
again until the sound sinks in and acquires a perceived rhythm (which I
imagine is imposed by them rather than actually in pi, since pi is in some
sense random).

So it would seem that the constructed rhythms of poetry make it memorizable.



SOCRATES: [There is a story that the Egyptian god Theuth, who invented the
art of writing, said to the then king of Egypt] "Here, O king, is a branch
of learning that will make the people of Egypt wiser and improve their
memories; my discovery provides a recipe for memory and wisdom." But the
king answered and said, "[You] have declared the very opposite of its true
effect. If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls;
they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is
written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but
by means of external marks. What you have discovered is a recipe not for
memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your
disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things
without teaching them you will make them seem to know much, while for the
most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not with wisdom, but with
the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to their fellows."  Phaedrus
(274c-275b).

Even to this day in India, members of the priestly caste will memorize huge
amounts of text.  A lesser student will learn only the Rg Veda
(eka-vedavit), while some have been know to memorize as many as two more
(tri-veda-vit).  I don't know if there are any who have memorized this
Mahabharata or the Ramayana, but the Mahabharata is ten times longer than
the Illiad and Odyssey combined.  At the time of St. Paul, if one was on the
track to become a rabbi, it was expected that one would have memorized the
Torah by age 8, and the greater and lesser prophets and lyrical books by
one's late teens.  Of course, all of this was necessary because there was
nothing really like a book until around 600-500 B.C.E., and nothing you
could check out of the library or order on line until Gutenberg.

The Vedas were memorized simply on their lyrics, without any regard
whatsoever for meaning.  Once memorized, one had lots of time to meditate on
their meaning.

I have spent a lot of time as a Free Mason memorizing text, and I guess you
just say it over and over until it is implanted, then you move on to the
next bit, but continue to review what you have learned previously.  Once it
is memorized, it very quickly comes back years later with just a quick
review.

My own opinion is that it was received knowledge was memorized by succeeding
generations, often in the form of "poetry" or "drama," which were invented
as means of facilitating the memorization.

Ed Alexander



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