Here you will learn How to develop, train and use your memory
Page 11 of
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CHAPTER IX.
TRAINING THE EYE.
Before the memory can be stored with sight impressionsbefore the mind can
recollect or remember such impressionsthe eye must be used under the direction
of the attention. We think that we see things when we look at them, but in
reality we see but few things, in the sense of registering clear and distinct
impressions of them upon the tablets of the subconscious mind. We look at them
rather than see them.
Halleck says regarding this '' sight without seeing" idea: "A body may be imaged
on the retina without insuring perception. There must be an effort to
concentrate the attention upon the many things which the world presents to our
senses. A man once said to the pupils of a large school, all of whom had seen
cows: 'I should like to find out how many of you know whether a cow's ears are
above, below, behind, or in front of her horns. I want only those pupils to
raise their hands who are sure about the position and who will promise to give a
dollar to charity if they answer wrong.' Only two hands were raised. Their
owners had drawn cows and in order to do that had been forced to concentrate
their attention upon the animals. Fifteen pupils were sure that they had seen
cats climb trees and descend them. There was unanimity of opinion that the cats
went up heads first. When asked whether the cats came down head or tail first,
the majority were sure that the cats descended as they were never known to do.
Any one who had ever noticed the shape of the claws of any beast of prey could
have answered the question without seeing an actual descent. Farmers' boys who
have often seen cows and horses lie down and rise, are seldom sure whether the
animals rise with their fore or hind feet first, or whether the habit of the
horse agrees with that of the cow in this respect. The elm tree has about its
leaf a peculiarity which all ought to notice the first time they see it, and yet
only about five per cent of a certain school could incorporate in a drawing
this peculiarity, although it is so easily outlined on paper. Perception, to
achieve satisfactory results, must summon the will to its aid to concentrate the
attention. Only the smallest part of what falls upon our senses at any time is
actually perceived."
The way to train the mind to receive clear sight-impressions, and therefore to
retain them in the memory is simply to concentrate the will and attention upon
objects of sight, endeavoring to see them plainly and distinctly, and then to
practice recalling the details of the object some time afterward. It is
astonishing how rapidly one may improve in this respect by a little practice.
And it is amazing how great a degree of proficiency in this practice one may
attain in a short time. You have doubtless heard the old story of Houdin, the
French conjurer, who cultivated his memory of sight impressions by following a
simple plan. He started in to practice by observing the number of small objects
in the Paris shop windows he could see and remember in one quick glance as ho
rapidly walked past the window. He followed the plan of noting down on paper the
things that he saw and remembered. At first he could remember but two or
three articles in the window. Then he began to see and remember more, and so on,
each day adding to his power of perception and memory, until finally he was
able to see and remember nearly every small article in a large shop window,
after bestowing but one glance upon it. Others have found this plan an excellent
one, and have developed their power of perception greatly, and at the same time
cultivated an amazingly retentive memory of objects thus seen. It is all a
matter of use and practice. The experiment of Houdin may be varied infinitely,
with excellent results.
The Hindus train their children along these lines, by playing the "sight game"
with them. This game is played by exposing to the sight of the children a number
of small objects, at which they gaze intently, and which are then withdrawn
from their sight. The children then endeavor to excel each other in writing down
the names of the objects which they have seen. The number of objects is small
to begin with, but is increased each day, until an astonishing number are
perceived and remembered.
Rudyard Kipling in his great book,'' Kim,'' gives an instance of this game,
played by "Kim" and a trained native youth. Lurgan Sahib exposes to the sight of
the two boys a tray filled with jewels and gems, allowing them to gaze upon it
a few moments before it is withdrawn from sight. Then the competition begins, as
follows: " 'There are under that paper five blue stones, one big, one smaller,
and three small,' said Kim in all haste. There are four green stones, and one
with a hole in it; there is one yellow stone that I can see through, and one
like a pipe stem. There are two red stones, andand give me time.' " But Kim had
reached the limit of his powers. Then came the turn of the native boy. " 'Hear
my count,' cried the native child. ' First are two flawed sapphires, one of two
ruttes and one of four, as I should judge. The four rutte sapphire is chipped at
the edge. There is one Turkestan turquoise, plain with green veins, and there
are two inscribedone with the name of God in gilt, and the other being cracked
across, for it came out of an old ring, I cannot read. We have now the five blue
stones; four flamed emeralds there are, but one is drilled in two places, and
one is a little carven.' 'Their weight?' said Lurgan Sahib, impassively. '
Threefivefive and four ruttees, as I judge it. There is one piece of old
greenish amber, and a cheap cut topaz from Europe. There is one ruby of Burma,
one of two ruttees, without a flaw. And there is a ballas ruby, flawed, of two
ruttees. There is a carved ivory from China, representing a rat sucking an egg;
and there is lastAhha!a ball of crystal as big as a bean set in gold leaf.' "
Kim is mortified at his bad beating, and asks the secret. The answer is:'' By
doing it many times over, till it is done perfectly, for it is worth doing."
Many teachers have followed plans similar to that just related. A number of
small articles are exposed, and the pupils are trained to see and remember them,
the process being gradually made more and more difficult. A well known American
teacher was in the habit of rapidly making a number of dots on the blackboard,
and then erasing them before the pupils could count them in the ordinary way.
The children then endeavored to count their mental impressions, and before long
they could correctly name the number up to ten or more, with ease. They said
they could "see six," or "see ten," as the case may be, automatically and
apparently without the labor of consciously counting them. It is related in
works dealing with the detection of crime, that in the celebrated "thieves
schools" in Europe, the young thieves are trained in a similar way, the old
scoundrels acting as teachers exposing a number of small articles to the young
ones, and requiring them to repeat exactly what they had seen. Then follows a
higher course in which the young thieves are required to memorize the objects in
a room; the plan of houses, etc. They are sent forth to "spy out the land" for
future robberies, in the guise of beggars soliciting alms, and thus getting a
rapid peep into houses, offices, and stores. It is said that in a single glance
they will perceive the location of all of the doors, windows, locks, bolts, etc.
Many nations have boys' games in which the youngsters are required to see and
remember after taking a peep. The Italians have a game called "Morro" in which
one boy throws out a number of fingers, which must be instantly named by the
other boy, a failure resulting in a forfeit. The Chinese youths have a similar
game, while the Japanese boys reduce this to a science. A well trained Japanese
youth will be able to remember the entire contents of a room after one keen
glance around it. Many of the Orientals have developed this faculty to a degree
almost beyond belief. But the principle is the same in all casesthe gradual
practice and exercise, beginning with a small number of simple things, and then
increasing the number and complexity of the objects.
The faculty is not so rare as one might imagine at first thought. Take a man in
a small business, and let him enter the store of a competitor, and see how many
things he will observe and remember after a few minutes in the place. Let an
actor visit a play in another theatre, and see how many details of the
performance he will notice and remember. Let some women pay a visit to a new
neighbor, and then see how many things about that house they will have seen and
remembered, to be retailed to their confidential friends afterward. It is the
old story of attention following the interest, and memory following the
attention. An expert whist player will see and remember every card played in the
game, and just who played it. A chess or checker player will see and remember
the previous moves in the game, if he be expert, and can relate them afterward.
A woman will go shopping and will see and remember thousands of things that a
man would never have seen, much less remembered. As Houdin said: "Thus, for
instance, I can safely assert that a lady seeing another pass at full speed in a
carriage will have had time to analyze her toilette from her bonnet to her
shoes, and be able to describe not only the fashion and quality of the stuffs,
but also say if the lace be real or only machine made. I have known ladies to do
this."
But, remember thisfor it is important: Whatever can be done in this direction by
means of attention, inspired by interest, may be duplicated by attention
directed by will. In other words, the desire to accomplish the task adds and
creates an artificial interest just as effective as the natural feeling. And, as
you progress, the interest in the game-task will add new interest, and you will
be able to duplicate any of the feats mentioned above. It is all a matter of
attention, interest (natural or induced) and practice. Begin with a set of
dominoes, if you like, and try to remember the spots on one of them rapidly
glanced atthen twothen three. By increasing the number gradually, you will
attain a power of perception and a memory of sight-impressions that will appear
almost marvelous. And not only will you begin to remember dominoes, but you will
also be able to perceive and remember thousands of little details of interest,
in everything, that have heretofore escaped your notice. The principle is very
simple, but the results that may be obtained by practice are wonderful.
The trouble with most of you is that you have been looking without seeinggazing
but not observing. The objects around you have been out of your mental focus. If
you will but change your mental focus, by means of will and attention, you will
be able to cure yourself of the careless methods of seeing and observing that
have been hindrances to your success. You have been blaming it on your memory,
but the fault is with your perception. How can the memory remember, when it is
not given anything in the way of clear impressions ? You have been like young
infants in this matternow it is time for you to begin to '' sit up and take
notice,'' no matter how old you may be. The whole thing in a nut-shell is this:
In order to remember the things that pass before your sight, you must begin to
see with your mind, instead of with your retina. Let the impression get beyond
your retina and into your mind. If you will do this, you will find that memory
will "do the rest."
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