Week #15 - Arushi Naidu - Number and Memory
My memory is filled with the numbers of my childhood. My mother had sat me down on the purple Tinker Bell table in the corner of the kitchen of my Chicago home and she said to me: “Arushi if you are ever in an emergency, remember these two phone numbers.” I spent the next 10 minutes transforming my mother and my father’s phone numbers into song. Like all of you, the memory of my parents’ phone numbers just another reminder that no matter what situation I am in, no matter how I feel, anxious, excited, dejected, that I will always be able to call them because I don’t think those those two phone numbers will ever escape my memory.
The dates of my own, my family’s and my best friends’ birthdays: 10/28, 6/26, 6/23, 2/14, 7/31, 8/12…the best part about knowing these dates at such a subconscious level is that I recognize these numbers everywhere. When I see the time 10:28, I am immediately taken back to my birthday from the previous year and the excitement of the year to come. On FaceTime with my mother, she likes to point out her birthday time and squeal. The way our brain makes associations with the numbers that we have memorized so early on in our childhood. The numbers that are important to us are ingrained in our memory are also a way that we can remember the little things for the people that we love.
When I started throwing shotput and discus in freshman year, I still remember my first PRs by the inch, the most significant ones from my sophomore year. Remembering these marks are a measure of my progress, of how far I have come. The memorization of numbers, so effortless and mindless, say a lot about what our brains choose to retain and the way they hold a special value in each of our lives.
Your theory regarding how easily we memorize numbers is interesting, but I have an alternative explanation. I believe that the reason why you memorize these numbers easily is not just because they are numbers, but rather because you’ve been repeatedly exposed to them—and memory is based on repetition.
ReplyDeleteFor example, you mentioned how you converted your parent’s phone numbers into song—which involved repeating those numbers as you formed a melody. Birthdays occur every year, which is why I think it was easy for you to memorize birthdays—they’re repeated often.
Admittedly, this repetition idea is not as easily applied to your shotput and discus record memorization—but I have a theory. Since you’re doing track and field, I’m guessing you’re tracking your growth and improvement and comparing your performances to your PRs. When I was on the swim team, I would always compare my race times to my PRs. Because I kept repeating that, I was able to memorize my records. However, since I’ve stopped doing swimming, I can’t remember any of my times—I’m no longer repeating them, so I’ve forgotten them.
Hi Arushi! Your blog topic is quite unique, and I like the way you associate numbers with progress and how these numbers ingrained in our memory can be used to remember the little things. Memory is definitely an amazing component of our brains, and consolidating numbers with value helps to remember the people we love on a subconscious level. I like how you explain the relationship you have had with numbers throughout your life, like first remembering the phone numbers of your parents, to remembering PRs in your sports and other facets of life that grow as you grow up. I have never really felt a real value to numbers, but your blog has shown me that miniscule numbers and random combinations of these letters can hold enormous value to people, and that these numbers hold the birthdays and achievements of billions of people across the world. Even though memorization can be mindless, remembrance is what matters, and remembering these numbers show that our minds hold value for the people we love, even if we know it or not. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Arushi! I always love reading your blogs because of all your interesting personal stories. It was actually very smart of you to turn your parents’ phone numbers into songs. Songs are fun to sing and so much easier to remember than basic text. I wish my childhood self thought to do that! Numbers are something I am especially horrible at remembering. When I was a child, I often got my parents’ numbers mixed up since they were so similar. Though I know the birthdays of people closest to me, I often need to write down special dates like mothers day and fathers day in my calendar in order for me to remember them. The analogy you make about the memorization of numbers being easiest when they hold a special value is so true. I really enjoyed reading about the way your mother gets excited over it being her birthday time. It seems like such a sweet and happy memory for you. Your blog was very well written. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Arushi, I never really thought about this, but now that I do, it's definitely true. We're so easily addicted to memorizing numbers and I'm wondering why. There's definitely some psychology behind it... As you mentioned, I of course still have my parents phone numbers (even old ones) memorized, as well as close family's birthdays, anniversaries, etc. What's funnier though is that I still remember a lot of my friends' video game gamertags by heart even 5, 6, even 9 years after I was told them. I remember countless Fortnite usernames, Xbox accounts, and most memorably my second grade friends ST-Math (penguin one) username and password. His user was yk2609 if anybody was wondering...
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