Memory: How to Develop, Train, and Use ItAtkinson, William Walker
Science
Memory: How to Develop, Train, and Use It
Atkinson, William Walker
Memory
The way to develop this phase of memory is akin to that urged in the
development of other phases--the cultivation of interest, and the
bestowal of attention. Faces as a whole are not apt to prove
interesting. It is only by analyzing and classifying them that the study
begins to grow of interest to us. The study of a good elementary work on
physiognomy is recommended to those wishing to develop the faculty of
remembering faces, for in such a work the student is led to notice the
different kinds of noses, ears, eyes, chins, foreheads, etc., such
notice and recognition tending to induce an interest in the subject of
features. A rudimentary course of study in drawing faces, particularly
in profile, will also tend to make one "take notice" and will awaken
interest. If you are required to draw a nose, particularly from memory,
you will be apt to give to it your interested attention. The matter of
interest is vital. If you were shown a man and told that the next time
you met and recognized him he would hand you over $500, you would be
very apt to study his face carefully, and to recognize him later on;
whereas the same man if introduced casually as a "Mr. Jones," would
arouse no interest and the chances of recognition would be slim.
Halleck says: "Every time we enter a street car we see different types
of people, and there is a great deal to be noticed about each type.
Every human countenance shows its past history to one who knows how to
look.... Successful gamblers often become so expert in noticing the
slightest change of an opponent's facial expression that they will
estimate the strength of his hand by the involuntary signs which appear
in the face and which are frequently checked the instant they appear."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account