Assimilative Memory Part 1

a.s.similative Memory.

by Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette).

PREFACE.

Prof. A. Loisette wishes to call the attention of those who are now for the first time becoming acquainted with his System of Memory Training, that he was the first teacher of a Memory System to announce and to insist that Memory is not a _separate faculty_ whose office it is to carry the recollective burdens of the other faculties--but that Memory is a Physiological and Psychological property of each mental act, and that such act retains the traces and history of its own action, and that there are as many memories as there are kinds of mental action, and that, therefore, Memory is always concrete, although, for convenience sake, we do speak of it in the abstract, and that consequently all Memory improvement means _improvement of the Action_ or _Manner_ of action of the Mental powers, and that what he imparts is the right way to USE the Intellect and Attention--and that hence his System does make and must make better observers, clearer and more consecutive thinkers, and sounder reasoners as well as surer rememberers; that in short the fundamental principle of his System is Learn by Thinking, and that his achievements as a mind-trainer are completed when he has helped the student of his System to acquire the Habit of Attention and the Habit of Thinking on that to which he is attending on all occasions, which two Habits combined const.i.tute the Habit of a.s.similation, and that when this Habit of a.s.similation is thus established in the pupil's mind, the System as such is no longer consciously used.

a.s.sIMILATIVE MEMORY.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.

What is the basic principle of my system? It is, _Learn_ by _Thinking_.

What is _Attention_? It is the will directing the activity of the _intellect_ into some particular channel _and keeping it there_. It is the opposite of mind-wandering. What is thinking? It consists in _finding relations_ between the objects of thought with an _immediate awareness_ of those relations.

What is the Sensuous memory? It is a.s.sociation through the eye or ear of a _succession_ of sights or sounds without any reflection or consideration of the units of the succession, or what they stand for, or represent. It is learning by _rote_--mere repet.i.tion--mere brainless or thoughtless repet.i.tion--a mode of learning that is not lasting--and always causes or promotes mind-wandering.

What is a.s.similative memory? It is the _habit_ of so _receiving_ and _absorbing_ impressions or ideas that they or their representatives shall be _ready for revival or recall whenever wanted_. It is learning through relations--by thinking--from grasping the ideas or thoughts--the meaning and the comprehension of the subject matter. This mode of learning promotes attention and prevents mind-wandering.

What are the two stages of the Memory? Let me ill.u.s.trate: Last week, month, or year you saw a military procession pa.s.s along the streets.

Note how your mind was affected. Into your eyes went impressions as to the number composing the procession, their style of costume or dress, the orderliness or otherwise of their march, the shape and form of the musical instruments in the hands of the band, and the appearance of the officer in charge on horseback. Into your ears went impressions of the sound of the tramp and tread of the soldiers, the tune played by the band, and any commands uttered by the officer. These impressions commingling in your brain made up your experience of the pa.s.sing of the procession--your first and only experience of it at _that_ time. I call this the First Stage of the Memory--the stage of the _First Impression_, which is always the precursor of the Second Stage.

What is the Second Stage of the Memory? This moment you recall what? Not the procession itself; for it is no longer in existence. You saw and heard it then, but you do not see or hear it now. You only recall the impression left upon your mind by the procession. A ray of Consciousness is pa.s.sed over that impression and you re-read it, you re-awaken the record. This is the Second Stage of the Memory--the _revival_ of the previous experience--the recall to consciousness of the First Impression. The First Impression with no power to revive it afterward, gives no memory. However great the power of Revival, there is no memory unless there was a First Impression. There are three conditions of memory--(1) Impression. (2) Its Preservation. (3) Its Revival. We are mainly concerned here with the Impression and its Revival.

There are (_five_) kinds of memories rising from the natural apt.i.tudes of different individuals--(1) First Impressions are apt to be feeble and the power to revive them weak--a poor memory. (2) First Impressions are usually weak but the power to revive them is strong--still a poor memory. (3) First Impressions are usually vivid but the power to revive them is weak--a poor memory. (4) First Impressions on all subjects are strong and the power to revive them is strong--a first-cla.s.s memory. (5) First Impressions in some particulars are very strong and the reviving power in regard to them is very strong--a good memory for these particulars, or a memory good for mathematics, or music, or faces, or reciting, or languages, &c., but usually weak in most other respects.

SINCE WE ARE TO LEARN BY THINKING WE MUST AT THE OUTSET LEARN THE DEFINITION OF THE THREE LAWS OF THINKING.

THREE LAWS OF MEMORY OR OF THINKING.

_The first and princ.i.p.al thing the pupil requires to do in this lesson after learning the definition of the following Three Laws--is to be able to clearly understand the examples under each Law, and whether they verify or ill.u.s.trate that Law._

I. INCLUSION indicates that there is an _overlapping_ of _meaning_ between two words, or that there is a _prominent idea_ or _sound_ that belongs to both alike, or that a similar fact or property belongs to two events or things as, to enumerate a few cla.s.ses:--

WHOLE AND PART.--(Earth, Poles.) (s.h.i.+p, Rudder.) (Forest, Trees.) (Air, Oxygen.) (House, Parlor.) (Clock, Pendulum.) (Knife, Blade.) (India, Punjab.) (14, 7.) (24, 12.)

GENUS AND SPECIES.--(Animal, Man.) (Plant, Thyme.) (Fish, Salmon.) (Tree, Oak.) (Game, Pheasant.) (Dog, Retriever.) (Universal Evolution, Natural Selection.) (Silver Lining, Relief of Lucknow.) (Empress Queen, Victoria.) (Money, Cash.)

ABSTRACT AND CONCRETE.--[The same Quality appears both in the Adjective and in the Substantive.]--(Dough, Soft.) (Empty, Drum.) (Lion, Strong.) (Eagle, Swift.) (Courage, Hero.) (Gla.s.s, Smoothness.) (Gold, Ductility.) (Suns.h.i.+ne, Light.) (Fire, Warmth.)

SIMILARITY OF SOUND.--(Emperor, Empty.) (Salvation, Salamander.) (Hallelujah, Hallucination.) (Cat, Catastrophe.) (Top, Topsy.) [Inclusion by sound is not punning.]

SIMPLE INCLUSION embraces cases not found in either of the foregoing cla.s.ses, but where there is _something in common_ between the pairs, as (Church, Temple.) (Pocket, Black Hole.)

II. EXCLUSION means _Ant.i.thesis_. One word excludes the other, or both words relate to one and the same thing, but occupy opposite positions in regard to it, as (Riches, Poverty.) (Hot, Cold.) (Old, Young.) (Damp, Dry.) (Life, Death.) (Love, Hate.) (Joy, Sorrow.) (Courage, Cowardice.) (Health, Sickness.) (Righteous, Wicked.) (Beauty, Ugliness.) (Peace, War.)

III. CONCURRENCE is the sequence or co-existence of impressions or ideas that have been either accidentally or causally together.--It is either the accidental conjunction of experiences or the operation of cause and effect; since even in the latter case, it is merely the sensuous facts of immediate succession that we know about, as (Gravitation, Newton, Apple.) (Dives, Lazarus, Abraham, Bosom.) (Pipe, Tobacco.) (Michaelmas, Goose.) (Columbus, America.) (Bartholomew Diaz, Cape of Good Hope.) (Grandmother, Knitting.) (Socrates, Hemlock.) (Bruce, Spider.) (Nelson, Trafalgar.) (Demosthenes, Seash.o.r.e, Stammering, Pebbles.) (Job, Patience.) (Wedding, Slippers, Cake.) (Wellington, Bonaparte, Waterloo.) (Depression, Fall of Silver.) (Lightning, Thunder.)

[In the case of the following pairs, one word has been so often appropriated to the other, that there seems to be something in common in the meaning of the terms--but it is not so, they are mere cases of Concurrence, but of almost indissoluble Concurrence. For instance, a man might examine a "spade" in all its parts and might even make one after a model, and not even know what "dig" means. The mention of "dig" is as likely to make us think of pickaxe as of spade. "Spade" does not mean "dig," nor does "dig" mean spade. "Dig" merely means the _action_ of the "spade," or the _use_ to which it is put. Hence this pair of words does not furnish an example of Inclusion. But as "dig" is frequently appropriated to "spade"--as we have often thought of those words together--this is a case of strong Concurrence. The term "swoop" is almost exclusively applied to "eagle." A certain action or movement of the eagle is termed swooping. But "eagle" does not mean "swoop," nor does "swoop" mean "eagle." We always think of "eagle" when we think of "swoop," but we do not often think of "swoop" when we think of "eagle."

It is not In., but Con.]

(Spade, Dig.) (Razor, Shaving.) (Coffin, Burial.) (Chair, Sitting.) (Scythe, Cut.) (Sword, Wound.) (Pen, Write.) (Ears, Hearing.) (Road, Travel.) (Food, Eating.) (Paper, Write.) (Wine, Drink.) (Worm, Crawl.) (Bird, Fly.) (Eagle, Swoop.) (Hawk, Hover.) (Ram, b.u.t.t.) (Teeth, Gnash.) (Wheel, Turn.)

THE BRAIN TONIC EFFECT OF THE LAWS OF MEMORY RIGHTLY APPLIED.

FIRST LAW OF MEMORY.

=Building.= } In. by G. & S.

=Dwelling.= }

If we examine the _meaning_ of these two words--Building and Dwelling, we find that both indicate _structures made by man_. This idea is _common_ to both. Now when we find that two words express the same thought, either completely or partially, we say that it is a case of Inclusion, because the pair of words contains or includes the same idea.

Inclusion is the first law of memory.

There are several kinds of Inclusion. What variety have we here? Let us see. Building applies to many kinds of structures; _house_, _stable_, _church_, _depot_, _store_, etc. It is applicable to all of these in a general way, but it designates none of them. But dwelling means a _special_ kind of structure--_a building occupied by man_--a place to live in. This pair of words therefore ill.u.s.trates Inclusion by Genus and Species, indicated by the abridgement, In. G. & S. or simply by In.

Other examples: "Planet, Mars;" "Mountain, Vesuvius;" "River, Mississippi;" "Building Material, Potsdam Sandstone;" "Fruit, Peaches."

We may for convenience include in this cla.s.s, cases of the Genus and the _Individual_ as "Man and George Was.h.i.+ngton;" "Judge, Hon. John Gibson;"

"New Yorker, Hon. W. W. Astor;" and cases of Species and the Individual, as, "Frenchman and Guizot;" "American, Abraham Lincoln." And also Co-equal Species under a common Genus, as under "Receiver" we may include "Can" and "Bin"--under carnivorous birds we may include the Eagle and the Hawk. "Head-Covering, Hat, Cap;" "Hand-covering, Gloves, Mittens;" "Foot-covering, Boot, Shoe."

=Dwelling.= } Synonymous In.

=House.= }

_Inhabitability by man_ is the thought common to both of these words.

Being _nearly alike_ in meaning, we call them a case of Synonymous Inclusion, indicated by "Syn. In." Other cases: "Near, Close to;"

"Likeness, Resemblance;" "Lift, Raise;" "Meaning, Signification;" "John, Jack;" "James, Jim;" "Elizabeth, Bessy;" "Margaret, Maggy;" "Gertrude, Gertie;" "Ellen, Nellie."

=House.= } In. by Whole & Part.

=Parlor.= }

Another case of Inclusion. House is the whole containing as it does the _parlor_, _dining-room_, _kitchen_, _bedroom_, etc. Parlor is a _part_ of the whole house. Hence this pair of words ill.u.s.trates Inclusion by Whole & Part designated by In. W. & P., or merely by In. We may include in this cla.s.s for convenience _the material and the product_ as "Bureau, Oak;" "Tower, Brick;" "Harness, Leather." Other cases: "Wagon, Wheel;" "Razor, Blade;" "Table, Legs;" "United States of North America, New York;" "State, County;" "City, Street;" "Bird, Feathers;"

"Year, Month;" "Week, Sunday;" "Engine, Boiler;" "100, 50;" "10, 5," &c.

=PARlor.= } In. by S. & s.

=PARtridge.= }

Here we see that there is nothing in common in the _meaning_ of the words, but there is the syllable "Par" belonging to both alike. It is the same in _spelling_ in both words, and virtually the same in _p.r.o.nunciation_, the same by Sight and by sound, represented by In. by capital S for In. by sight, and In. by small s for In. by sound, or merely by In. Examples: "Nice, Gneiss;" "Pole, Polarity;"

"Popular, Popgun;" "Jeffer_son_, Madi_son_."

=Partridge.= } In. by W. & P.