Chapter 70 Memory is basically the process of associating

General or basic memory cannot be enhanced, we can only strengthen it by linking together things that have special meaning. I have already said how to add methods of "getting vivid impressions," "repetition," and "connecting our facts together."But memory is basically a process of association, as James pointed out: "General or basic memory cannot be enhanced. We can only strengthen memory by connecting things that have special meaning together." For example, reciting a quote from Shakespeare every day may gradually increase our memory of literary quotes to some astonishing extent.After every famous sentence enters our mind, we will find that there are many contents that can be combined with each other.But memorizing all of Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Romeo, doesn't necessarily help us remember facts like the price of cotton in the market or the process of ironmaking.

Let me stress one last point: If we use the laws of nature discussed in this chapter in conjunction, we can improve our "method" and "efficiency" in remembering anything.But if we don't use it, memorizing 10 million facts about baseball won't help us remember the stock market one iota.Such irrelevant information cannot be associated together. Remember: "Basically, our mind is an associative machine."