Developmentally we can perceive and recognize before we can name.

Temporary failures of naming are much more common than failures of identification.

In forming memories, a picture really is more informative than a thousand words.

Memory is the premier determiner of who we are and how we think. As Samuel Johnson put it in 1759, “Memory is the primary and fundamental power without which there could be no other intellectual operation."

One has to spend only a few minutes in conversation with someone unfortunate enough to be suffering from Alzheimer’s or one of the other dementias affecting memory to appreciate the accuracy of Johnson’s statement. Serious memory lapses interfere with the ability to recall past events, put current happenings in context, or imagine possible future scenarios. When we lose our capacity to do any of these things, our memory falters and, if the brain dysfunction is sufficient, disappears altogether.

Fortunately, we can exert considerable control over our memory powers. Systems for memory enhancement, while traceable at least as far back as the Greeks, are all based on three principles.

First, we can’t remember anything clearly unless we pay attention to it. “The true art of memory is the art of attention,” as Johnson described the process.

Second, pictures or other visual depictions are more easily remembered than verbal descriptions. Think of a parrot, for instance. Now describe it for me. Your description will be based on your best efforts,........

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