I've been reading some books recently about memory and the brain. Something which is often mentioned is that when you're committing information to memory, you don't just store what you want to retain, but the entire context. Therefore, it's easier to remember things if you put yourself in a context that matches the original one as closely as possible.
There is a nice illustration of this principle from my own experience. As I'm addicted to music, it's obviously linked to that.
I've been a Mike Oldfield fan since 1983, when it was the chance discovery of his music (the marvellous double album "Incantations") that slowly drew me from classical music into progressive and other rock. So when in the summer of 1995, we went on vacation to Austria, I obviously took with me a tape recording of his then latest album, "Songs from Distant Earth" (these were pre-mp3, Walkman days). And during our stay, I listened to this album over and over again, mostly while resting in my room.
So since then, whenever I put on the album (as I did again right now to write this entry), I'm immediately transported back to that room in Hotel zur schönen Aussicht in St. Johann. I see the hotel garden, the mountain landscape around it, and all kinds of other memories and sensations come back to me. Quite a powerful experience.
A few years later, in 1997, I had a similar experience with the sublime Camel album "Harbour of Tears", which is now forever linked to Hotel Zugspitze in Lermoos. When I hear that music, I again see that horse across the road in front of my room window...
Comments