{"id":5051,"date":"2014-09-01T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?p=5051"},"modified":"2020-01-15T10:48:32","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T18:48:32","slug":"the-gmat-learning-and-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/the-gmat-learning-and-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"The GMAT, Learning, and Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"

A student recently asked: “Most of the time it happens that, when I keep moving forward in my GMAT studies, I forget some topics I had learned in past.\u00a0 I need some tips regarding it please<\/em>.”\u00a0 This merits a discussion of memory<\/strong>.\u00a0 Of course, folks who are preparing for the GMAT<\/a> are trying to learn material, and, of course, what it means “to learn” involves a few cognitive skills, including\u00a0long-term memory.\u00a0 If I can’t remember something, even several weeks later, then I haven’t really “learned” it.\u00a0 What can a GMAT student do to improve their memory?<\/p>\n

The capacity for memory<\/h2>\n

The human capacity for memory is vast, and we often fail to appreciate this.\u00a0 I think of us modern humans as memory idiots, at least compared to folks in ancient cultures.\u00a0 In ancient Greece, part of a young man’s education was to be able to recite\u00a0entire Iliad<\/em><\/a>\u00a0from memory.\u00a0 Similarly, in many Moslem countries, folks could\u00a0recite from memory all or most of\u00a0the\u00a0Qur’an<\/em><\/a>, and in ancient India, people\u00a0could recite most or all of the great Indian epics, the Mahabharata<\/em><\/a> and the Ramayana<\/em><\/a>. \u00a0This may be surprising, but genetically and physiologically, our brains are not any different from the brains of humans\u00a0a couple thousand years ago.\u00a0 We are capable of the same feats of memory.\u00a0 It’s just that, with all our modern reminders and memory substitutes (written reminders, electronic alarms, etc.), we don’t exercise memory, and so we have trouble with it.\u00a0 Memory is like a muscle: if you don’t exercise it, it becomes weak.<\/p>\n

Imagine a future dystopia in which nobody walked, and everybody rode around in personal carts.\u00a0 Of course, everybody’s leg muscles would atrophy, and anyone who could walk even a mile would seem like a demigod.\u00a0 We would be astonished that, in the then-past, people could run marathons or hike 15 miles in a day.\u00a0 That’s analogous to our current situation with memory: we have become so accustomed to weak memory usage that we mistake our poor memory as inherent.\u00a0 The first step in improving memory is to recognize that the norm for which we all settle is far\u00a0below our potential.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Improving memory \u2014 Use it or lose it<\/h2>\n

What can one do to improve one’s memory? \u00a0Like many parts of the body, memory has a “use it or lose it” quality.\u00a0 If you want to improve your overall memory, start using\u00a0opportunities to remember things. Force yourself to remember everyday things without writing them down, or use the written record only to test yourself.\u00a0 Make memory tests for yourself every day, several times a day.\u00a0 If there is anything that means a great deal to you \u2014 a short poem or song lyrics or an inspiring quote \u2014 then commit it to memory, so you can recite it.\u00a0 I have dozens of poems memorized.\u00a0 My highly literate friend Chris<\/a> has memorized the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 he can recite the entire list.\u00a0 I recommend committing to memory historical aspects of your own country & culture.\u00a0 For the United States, I would recommend trying to remember all the presidents in order, or the twenty-seven amendments to the Constitution<\/a> in order.\u00a0\u00a0 For someone Chinese, I might recommend remembering, say, all the Chinese dynasties in order. If you are religious, memorize some long passages from your sacred text, passages that you consider particularly meaningful. Every country has a history on which to draw, and every culture has cultural icons one can learn more about. \u00a0Consistently exercising one’s memory will bring noticeable progress over time.\u00a0 If there are lists of relevant GMAT strategies or formulas you need to know, practice reciting all of them from memory.\u00a0 If you can recite an entire list without any hints or prompting, then you really own it.\u00a0 Practice remembering as much as you can.\u00a0 Use it or lose it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Focus and Attention<\/h2>\n

Another very important part of memory is one’s capacity for focus and attention.\u00a0 If I study on automatic pilot, passively letting the information pass in front of my eyes, then chances are very good that I will not remember it.\u00a0 The more one can bring laser-like focus and unwavering attention to any task, the more one will remember.\u00a0 How does one develop attention and focus?\u00a0 Well, the ancient disciplines of mindfulness<\/a>, especially mindfulness of one’s thoughts<\/a>, and meditation build attention and focus when practiced over time.\u00a0 When you’re calm and centered, you\u00a0remember more deeply than when you’re\u00a0stressed and distracted.\u00a0\u00a0 Many of the lifestyle recommendations<\/a> that would enhance memory, attention, and focus run counter to the way most people live their lives today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Repeated exposure<\/h2>\n

Long-term memory is reinforced by repeated exposure.\u00a0 This is one of the advantages of mixed practice<\/a>, because during mixed practice, one sees every kind of problem, and thereby, every topic is regularly given a little bit of review.\u00a0 It can help to create opportunities for repeated exposure.\u00a0 Suppose on Monday you\u00a0reads a chapter or watches some videos on a\u00a0GMAT topic.\u00a0 It can helpful to see how much you\u00a0can recall a few days later without any hints.\u00a0 Can you\u00a0remember all the important points of those lessons, without any hints?\u00a0 The more you\u00a0drill yourself, trying to remember something cold, the stronger the memory connections.\u00a0 This is the value of flashcards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don’t just memorize<\/h2>\n

You\u00a0learn more deeply and remember more thoroughly when your\u00a0truly remember<\/em>, rather than simply memorizing<\/a>.\u00a0 What’s the difference?\u00a0 When I memorize a mathematical formula, I am trying to remember that one individual factoid in isolation.\u00a0 By contrast, when I understand the underlying logic, and am able to follow the derivation of the formula from fundamental principles, then I can more quickly\u00a0remember the formula. In fact, even if I\u00a0forget the formula itself, I\u00a0could re-derive it from the underlying logic. If one\u00a0can do that repeatedly, then one really understands a formula deeply.\u00a0 It’s important to strive for that standard in every aspect of math, and as much as possible with verbal information as well.<\/p>\n

A huge part of one’s memory is one’s emotionality.\u00a0 One’s primary memory apparatus<\/a> is located in the limbic system<\/a>, the brain’s emotional center.\u00a0 When events are emotionally charged, we remember them with no problem.\u00a0 When we are emotionally flat, remembering anything becomes considerably more challenging.\u00a0 The more you\u00a0can generate in genuine feelings of enthusiasm and curiosity<\/a> for your\u00a0studies, the more effectively your\u00a0will remember. \u00a0You\u00a0have to get “pumped up” for and excited about studying every single time you return to the material.\u00a0 If nothing else, let yourself get excited about how much you’ll be able to remember!<\/p>\n

Finally, as long as we are talking about the brain, the brain state that is singularly most important for memory consolidation is REM-sleep<\/a>.\u00a0 To get enough REM sleep, we need to get eight hours of sleep every single night.\u00a0 Sleep comes in 90-minute cycles, and the REM phase comes toward the end of that cycle, after deep, dreamless sleep.\u00a0 Furthermore, the REM phases get longer and longer with each cycle, with the longest phase coming in the last sleep cycle.\u00a0 If you\u00a0get 6-7 hours of sleep, you\u00a0cut off that last sleep cycle with its long REM phase, thus depriving your\u00a0brain of one its most potent natural opportunities to encode memory.\u00a0 If you rely on caffeine and energy drinks, those will make you feel awake and less tired, but they do absolutely nothing to replace the lost opportunity of the memory-enhancing function of REM-sleep.\u00a0 There is absolutely no substitute for eight hours of sleep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

The human capacity for memory is enormous, more than enough you would ever need to learn the information for a dozen different tests as hard as the GMAT.\u00a0 By following these recommendations, you can improve your memory over time, and, in doing so, learn more deeply and more thoroughly.\u00a0\u00a0 Continue to practice this throughout your life, and the relative advantages will multiply over time.\u00a0 You have the potential to master a skill at\u00a0which the vast majority of modern people are minimally competent.<\/p>\n

If you have some experience with building memory or other exercises that would help build memory, we would love to hear from you in the comments sections below.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A student recently asked: “Most of the time it happens that, when I keep moving forward in my GMAT studies, I forget some topics I had learned in past.\u00a0 I need some tips regarding it please.”\u00a0 This merits a discussion of memory.\u00a0 Of course, folks who are preparing for the GMAT are trying to learn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13209],"class_list":["post-5051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe GMAT, Learning, and Memory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Preparing for the GMAT requires that you make significant improvements to your ability to retain and recall information.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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Beyond standardized testing, Mike has over 20 years of both private and public high school teaching experience specializing in math and physics. In his free time, Mike likes smashing foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY Mets. 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He was also featured as \"member of the month\" for over two years at <a href=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/mike-mcgarrys-gmat-experience\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GMAT Club<\/a>. Mike holds an A.B. in Physics (graduating <em>magna cum laude<\/em>) and an M.T.S. in Religions of the World, both from Harvard. Beyond standardized testing, Mike has over 20 years of both private and public high school teaching experience specializing in math and physics. In his free time, Mike likes smashing foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY Mets. 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