the shelves inside my mind

[anotheranon]

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Right Brain (44%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (58%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

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My sister has a Shelf Theory of Mathematical Retention, to wit: The part of your mind that remembers mathematical calculations has only a limited amount of space, rather like a bookshelf. The amount of shelf space is different for everyone, but it always works the same way: at one point or another, the addition of a "final straw" of advanced math will knock the math you first learned off of the other side.

The result is that you might be able to do, say, advanced calculus, but the second you truly understand it, basic addition and subtraction will fall off the shelf. Hence, my sister got through calculus and then some in college, and hasn't been able to remember her multiplication tables since high school.

Me, my shelf is much smaller - I lost addition/subtraction when I gained geometry and fractions, a fact which came to the fore today when I had to do a bunch of subtraction/addition the old fashioned way: 60 minus 49 equals 6 5, carry the one, 10 minus 9.... with the aid of pen and paper, mind, I can't do this in my head anymore!

Ask me to half a recipe or calculate fabric yardage, I'm your girl. How many minutes to bake the cake? Let me get a calculator :P

I think the shelf theory can also be applied to other forms of memory, namely retention of names, dates, and appointments. I thought I had the date shelf under control, but the addition of new dates (when to take my car into the shop, appt. to get my hair cut, etc.) has knocked a few birthdays and probably anniversaries clean off. And my name shelf was never more than about 6" wide at best, I am lucky when I can remember my OWN name :P

Anyone know any brain pushups or similar?

Comments

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

LOL!!!!! I can most definitely relate to this ... my life has been a continuous series of mental crashes and thumps as nonstop stuff going onto one end of the "shelf" shoves stuff off the other end. Dunno about brain pushups, but I've heard from many reliable sources (including medical) that crossword puzzles and anacrostics are good for honing memory and mental agility (we're talking something a little more challenging than the one in the back of the TV Guide ***grin***). The only other thing that I know of is lecithin (soybean extract) ... primary purpose is to help scrape cholesterol deposits off of blood vessel walls, but one of the side effects is stimulation of a brain chemical that helps memory.

Pluses to trying either of these: they're both cheap, non-threatening to health, and legal. :-)