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The law of vital functions can be stated as follows:
"A function wears out only if it is not used"
This simple aphorism, which contradicts the slogan used for batteries "which wear out only when they are used", is a practical reality for us all:
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"Exercise is needed to retain what has been learnt." |
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Regular mental exercise is necessary to retain our physical abilities, for skiing down slopes and for playing the piano pieces we learned years ago. Skills, once learned, must be repeated to be maintained. This involves both physical memory and the mental recollection of the actions we had learned.
The French studied at school but not spoken for many years will come back to us in the end, but we will have to speak it for days before we regain our fluency.
Certain distant memories, some of them more emotionally charged, seem to stay with us throughout our lives.
But we should not dwell on this. It is in the nature of things learnt to be lost if they are not maintained.
When asked how she memorises long monologues, the actress Suzanne FLON says that she "sticks to them"; "You have to repeat and repeat until it stays with you." There is no secret: the memory functions in old age as long as we do not stop using it.
| "But where did I put my glasses ? Decidedly, there is no age for that !" |
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After a few years of calling less on their memories, when people want to start learning again, be it another language or a part in a play, they have a hard time of it: the task seems impossible. Then gradually the effort of learning is rewarded, and what pleasure it gives !
This law of functions is also valid for biologists: they state that:
Synaptic paths only stay open if they are kept open by regular use. We have vast quantities of synaptic nodes which can be opened if we add new experiences or new skills.
This means that there is no biological limit for learning. People can learn until their dying day. The lazy arguments that use age to justify difficulty in learning often hide a declining desire or inclination rather than any biological impossibility. This is valid at any age. We easily remember what we want to remember..
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"We can activate synapses until
our dying day" |
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