Memory and Learning

Learning depends on memory, and memory depends on input. Every word you read and everything you see is input to your brain. The role of memory is to interpret that input. Your brain decides what input is worth keeping and where it should be "placed" in relation to previous knowledge that has already been stored.

Memory is not like an alphabetical filing system. If I ask you, "What was the name of the actress who starred in Gone with the Wind?" you can't just look under "Names" and pull out the one you need. Memory depends on meaning and association. So your brain might go fishing around for scenes from the movie, or picture the person with whom you saw the film, or think of the game Clue that has a character named Miss Scarlett, and all of a sudden it comes to you...Gone with the Wind...Scarlett O'Hara... Vivian Leigh!