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"ATTENTION !"
From the Latin "ad tendere" to tend
towards.
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| "Without attention, there
is no memory"
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Paying attention means bringing into play the eyes, the
ears, nose, taste, hands or the whole body, when one sees,
listens, smells, tastes or touches.
In this way, the mind, the intelligence, the emotions are
set in motion.
When we use our attention, we are fully mobilised.
Attention is a whole; we cannot pay attention by halves.
Why associate attention and memory ?
Because without attention,
there is no memory.
In most cases, it is not memory that is lacking, but
attention.
A simple exercise :
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Take paper and pencil
and from memory try and draw both sides of a one-euro
coin. The result is likely to be unambiguous. We can use
that coin, but we have never really looked at it
attentively. The attention needed to use
it is not the same as that required to
memorise !
And what does the other side look like ?
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Argument for less attention
:
Impossible to retain everything that our
eyes see and that our ears hear all the time !
Habitual
inattention is a factor in protecting ourselves against the
constant flood of information we perceive but do not solicit.
Not seeing or hearing is a good way to avoid permanent
information overload.
But the other side of the coin is this :
by constantly ignoring this information, we get
used to a permanent state of superficial attention, and we
don't really notice anything. Our memory becomes a sieve,
without our even being aware of it. If we are reminded, we are
capable of recognising memories. If we are asked to remember
them without help, we cannot do it.
Perception is not
memorisation.
Not everything we perceive is intended to be
committed to memory :
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I did see the posters in the street, I did
hear the song on the radio. But I am incapable of
recalling them a few moments later.
This information was processed by my
perception, but not by my attention. It did not undergo
the process of memorisation.
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"What was it they were singing
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Memorisation starts with
perception, but only really occurs afterwards. It
happens after a conversation, a programme, when I stop to
think about it and begin the real work of memorisation.
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The book I just read interested
me. I gave it my attention. The real job of memorising
will begin when I find my own words to discuss it with
someone else. Thereafter it is by using my own
words that the book is committed to memory. And that the
memory is fixed permanently.
"The work starts when we close
the book"
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Unless I read or listen with the firm
intention of remembering. So I must be interested or have to
convey to others what I am seeing or reading. The prospect of
conveying information to others completely changes the way I
perceive it. My perception becomes attentive.
Most of our memory problems are not due
to lack of memory, but to poor memorisation.
A little test :
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Try and reconstitute the content of the
news bulletin you heard last night. Is it forgetfulness,
lack of interest or of attention ?
There seems to be a lot of empty space.
Listen to the next news broadcast with the idea of
passing on the items as fully as possible to a sick
friend who is relying on you. You will notice that your
attention will awaken during the broadcast. The mental
work of memorising will be done when you repeat the
information, with your eyes closed, after the programme,
and even with another reminder during the day. So you
have really gone from perception to attention, which
sets off the process of committing to memory.
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"There
seems to be a lot of empty space in my head"
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After work, rest.
After 90 minutes of real work, a
few minutes' pause is needed to enable your brain to
continue functioning freely without becoming overtired,
which affects its performance.
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