From My Inbox: Making Memory

I'm musing on memory this week, in light of the Baltimore bridge disaster. I was reading how harbor pilots as part of their professional qualifications "have to draw the charts that they would be using in the pilotage waters – from memory." From memory. Their expertise is not simply "how to pilot a 1000 foot ship from here to there" but how to pilot said 1000 foot ship through specific harbors, so precisely, they can draw the details of those harbors from memory.

As someone who can hardly recall a phone number, other than her own, I wonder how do we strengthen memory when so many memories are outsourced (to GPS, our smartphone, Siri, Alexa...) and what is the impact, subtle and not so subtle, outsourcing has on who we are, what we're capable of, and the ways we navigate around each other, and this world.

💡Contextual memory and the role of place cells: How your brain creates maps of abstract spaces (YouTube)

💡Relying on GPS is shrinking your gray matter: Habitual use of GPS negatively impacts spatial memory during self-guided navigation (Nature)

💡Why learn a poem? 'Cause it is exercise for your brain (which is a muscle, after all): I outsourced my memory to AI for 3 weeks (Business Insider)

💡Getting lost, a mildly uncomfortable, but definitely a brain enhancing, activity: Get lost - it could be good for you (John C Silcox). Equally brain enhancing is embracing wonder.

💡On memory...we most definitely do remember a social affront or slight: An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub (Aeon)

💡Total recall: the people who never forget (The Guardian)

💡And as I always seem to find a networking angle...How To Be Memorable When Networking (BYDN blog)

💡Plus the article which sparked my musing for this newsletter...I’ve captained ships into tight ports like Baltimore, and this is how captains like me work with harbor pilots to avoid deadly collisions (The Conversation)

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