Saturday, November 10, 2007

Memories

memories


"Do not trust your memory; it is a net full of holes; the most beautiful prizes slip through it." [Georges Duhamel] Around 1250, the word "memory" was recorded. The Latin word for memory is memoria. The prefix "memor" stands for "mindful, remembering." The suffix "pie" stands for "think." Memory is important in many people's lives. It helps to recall daily chores and past experiences. Memory is simply the retention of information via processes of brain neurons, although the idea of losing one's memories can be unnerving and terrifying.Memory classify into three groups: sensory, short-term, and long-term memory. Sensory memory refers to the first stage of memory. It recalls details of an object for a fleeting moment, such as a briefly viewed image. The amount of information retain by sensory memory is limited. Because of the fleeting moment of time, sensory memory is associated with perception. Within sensory memory, there are two subgroups: iconic memory and echoic memory. Iconic refers to the visual image while echoic refers to the memory of sound. The second stage of memory is short-term. Short-term memory is similar to sensory memory in that information held is very limited. Although, the duration that information is held is longer than sensory memory. The final level is long-term memory; these memories are essentially permanent. Long-term memory helps to recall past events and knowledge. Understanding various memory disorders assist in defining memory and the realization of the preciousness of memories. The ability to retain information decrease with age, which is a natural occurrence. Small details of the past are lost while the overall image is retained. For example, a person remembers riding on a ferris wheel for his birthday, but cannot recall the color of the ferris wheel. Another example would be a woman remembering her childhood and her walks to the park, but does not remember the name of the park. Memory loss is a symptom of Alzheimer's. People with severe symptoms cannot perform minor activities. Loss of language comprehension, recognition of close friends and family, and objects are due to the reliance on long-term memory. President Ronald Reagan lived through ten years of Alzheimer's. Memory loss is also an effect of amnesia. Long or short period of memory could be lost. In Anastasia, Anya suffered from amnesia and as a result, could not remember the first eight years of her life.Even though memory is just the act of storing and recalling information, when memory loss does occur, one ceases to the same person again. "I am grown old and my memory is not as active as it used to be. When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it."

1 comment:

Jasper said...

This reeks of plagiarism. Do not copy and paste a text and turn it into a post. You can use some text from others and then talk about it, but this is just copy and pasting. Furthermore, please change all links into Thai links.

A. Jasper