Crunching numbers to save memory

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE

Before readymade garments took my fancy, I was a loyal customer of a particular tailoring shop in my hometown. Every time I visited the shop, either to give fabric or to collect my dress, I would be awed by the tailor’s unfailing memory for measurements. He would retain all the data on body dimensions in his memory till he had completed taking all the measurements in one go. He never erred in recalling all the sizes when he subsequently jotted them down on his pad.

Now, 30 years later, I continue to marvel at the tailor’s aptitude, especially as I struggle to remember a 6- or 8-digit OTP for a couple of seconds. I have to flip back to the SMS screen twice or three times before I can enter the OTP. I can’t use my advancing age as an alibi for memory loss because the tailor back then was as old as my present age or even older.

After deep contemplation and research, I learned there are nuances and layers to memory; it may be broadly categorised as “general” and “specific.” Tailors possess “specific” memory that is transaction-based. They develop this skill with practice as they repeatedly retain in their memory the measurement figures of body contours for a couple of minutes. I am sure the tailor forgot the numbers soon after he wrote them down. Likewise, another variant of “specific” memory is episode-based. This latter category has subjected me to embarrassment quite often.

I start looking frantically for my reading glasses, only to be pointed out by my amused spouse that they are resting on my forehead. I would have lifted the specs from my nose to rest on the upper rim of my forehead for a brief break from reading. And then it skips my mind altogether. I often forget to switch off the motor that is on to pump water to the overhead water tank until somebody alerts me to the overflow.

In fact, a protocol was enforced in the office I worked last to tackle specific memory loss. Whenever a boss summoned any junior, the latter was required to come armed with a pad and pen to jot down the boss’s instructions. This procedure had evolved on the assumption that employees were absent-minded and would fail to remember what was specifically told to them, even for a short time.

I also realised that “specific” memory, like other life skills, can be sharpened with practice: I have now memorised many numbers, including my bank account, credit card, passport, Aadhaar, and of course the mobile number of my wife, for instant retrieval from memory as and when required.