The Amazing Things That Working Memory Can Do For You By Sharon Bell At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Did you know that a person is more likely to remember numerical figures if they are composed of only a few syllables? This is the reason why, pilots and radio operators read a number like 450 as four five zero instead of four hundred fifty. The chance that the fellow on the other end of the line will remember the number or code is higher than if the numerical figure is read using the more formal way.

What does it have to do with you? Well, if you are a businessman, you might rethink the way you price your goods or services. Your customers will be able to remember your prices more--thus, set aside money and consider buying your products more than those of your competitors--if your prices have only few syllables when being read.

This is a fine example of the working memory. This concept states that the human memory has a short-term and a long-term component. Your working memory represents your short-term capacity to store information. A strong working memory is valuable in your overall thinking capacity. Here are the various areas where a good working memory comes in handy.

Reading And Comprehension

Remember the IQ tests that you took all your days as a student? Your working memory was tirelessly at work with you untangling all the reasoning and cognitive tasks handed down by the examiner. Unlike long-term memory which serves largely as your brain's archive, your working memory can coordinate all your mental assets to perform multiple tasks like reading and comprehending what you have just read.

Reading is never a simple mental task. In reality, reading involves a lot of other mental functions that enable you to comprehend what you are reading. From breaking the words into understandable elements to determining their specific order in a sentence, your brain's working memory is performing complex tasks simultaneously in a lightning-fast pace. Without the short-term memory, these tasks will never be done and you will never understand what you have been reading.

Mathematics

The role that is being fulfilled by the brain's working memory can not be overemphasized. This part of your thoughts is not only responsible for allowing you to speak, read, and write; it is also up and running whenever you are solving numerical problems. If you are doing rows and rows of addition or subtraction operations without the help of calculators, your short-term memory is the one that allows you to remember how to do the basic mathematical operations, it is also the mental component that stops you from adding or deducting a certain digit for more than once.

For the ordinary shopper who is in a tight budget, being able to keep tab of the total cost of the goods in the shopping cart is important. As for the road warrior, knowing when to refill the fuel tank during a coast-to-coast trip is important if he does not want to spend the night by the roadside. All these seemingly simple tasks are the end results of having good working memory.

For some experts, the short-term memory is utilizing the same system as that of your long-term retention. Others say that these to types of memories are totally different from but closely integrated with each other. Still, other scientists believe that short-term memory is an intricate group of subsystems and not just a single memory component. Whatever it is, having a powerful short-term memory or working memory is a boon to the way you work and live your life.

Come to think of it, the working memory is the standard on which one's intelligence can be judged upon. Having problems with your working memory can put you in a tight spot. To enhance your memory, never put your brain on a downtime; keep reading and learning.

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