信息碎片化的時代，如何提升記憶力？

When the sum total of human knowledge rests an arm’s length away in each person’s pocket, why do we have to remember anything anymore?

當全人類的知識都被裝在每個人的口袋里、唾手可得的時候，我們?yōu)槭裁捶堑迷儋M心去記任何東西?

On an average day most of us check our smartphones 47 times, and nearly double that if we’re between the ages of 18 and 24, which might explain why some of us have such a hard time processing the information we take in to form memories. Smartphones alter the way we way walk, talk and think, and we’re barely keeping up.

平時，我們大多數(shù)人每天會查看智能手機47次，年齡在18歲至24歲之間的人次數(shù)幾乎會多出一倍。這或許可以解釋，我們中的一些人為什么會覺得，處理自己吸收進來的信息并形成記憶這件事如此困難。智能手機改變了我們走路、交談、思考的方式，而我們難以跟上。

“Everything is available through a Google search almost instantaneously, so what motive do you have to store useless info?” said Joseph LeDoux, who directs New York University’s Emotional Brain Institute.

“通過谷歌搜索引擎幾乎可以立即搜到一切，那你還有什么動力去儲存無用的信息?”紐約大學(New York University)情緒腦研究所(Emotional Brain Institute)所長約瑟夫·勒杜(Joseph LeDoux)說。

Mr. LeDoux, whose work focuses on how the brain forms memories, said this instant-fact setup clouds our judgment on what information to filter and store. Since we’re no longer weighed down by having to retain trivial data, we are left with greater cognitive space. But how do we select what we remember?

致力于研究大腦如何形成記憶的勒杜說，這種即時的設置攪亂了我們的判斷，不知該過濾和儲存哪些信息。由于不再因為必須保留瑣碎的數(shù)據(jù)而不堪重負，我們有了更大的認知空間。但我們該如何選擇，什么樣的東西才是應當記住的?

He said there are two main kinds of memories: explicit, which are created through conscious experience, and implicit, which form when past experiences affect us, sometimes without our knowledge, as in reacting with fear in dangerous situations or getting sweaty palms when you see a dog if you were once bitten.

勒杜說，記憶主要分為兩種：一種是外顯記憶，它通過意識體驗形成;另一種是內(nèi)隱記憶，在過去的經(jīng)歷影響我們之時形成，有時候內(nèi)隱記憶的形成是不知不覺的——比如在情況危急時做出驚恐的反應，或者如果你被狗咬過，看到狗時手心就會出汗。

Memory is a fallible thing, changing over time. Recalling a long-term memory brings it back into our short-term memory, which essentially gives it new context. Memory is therefore a reconstruction, not a photographic recording, and for economic purposes, our brains — unlike computers — are forever rerecording those memories, making them far more error prone.

記憶是一種容易出錯的東西，會隨著時間的推移而改變。回憶的時候，長期記憶回到我們的短期記憶之中，這其實是給了它新的關聯(lián)。因此記憶是一種重新構造的過程，而不是用照片把事情記錄下來;而且，出于合算的目的，我們的大腦——不同于計算機——會一直重新記錄這些記憶，從而讓記憶更加容易出錯。

On top of that, we now live inside dual screens and endless browser tabs, headphones streaming music, smartphones buzzing, co-workers chatting with us on Slack — all while we should be performing the actual jobs we’re paid to be doing.

此外，我們現(xiàn)在生活在兩塊屏幕和無窮盡的瀏覽器標簽頁之中，耳機中播放著音樂，智能手機嗶嗶作響，同事在Slack上跟我們聊天——所有這一切都發(fā)生在我們應該對得起自己的薪水、好好工作之時。

“Many people seem unaware that they might accomplish more with sustained, uninterrupted attention to one task,” said Nelson Cowan, a working memory specialist at the University of Missouri. “It can be exhilarating to flit from one conversation to another on Facebook, but people don’t realize what’s missing in the process. It’s like having a delicious soup poured on your head. Often the people who think they’re the best at sharing attention between tasks are actually missing the most.”

“很多人似乎都沒意識到，如果不受干擾地持續(xù)專注于一項任務，他們可能會取得更好的成果，”密蘇里大學(University of Missouri)工作記憶專家納爾遜·考恩(Nelson Cowan)說。“在Facebook上從一場對話跳到另一場對話會令人興奮不已，但人們沒有意識到在此過程中失去了什么。這就好像一道美味的湯被灑在頭上。自認為最善于同時關注不同任務的人，其實常常漏掉很多東西。”

Mr. LeDoux added: “The brain does have limitations to what it can process or handle.”

考恩補充說：“大腦在處理或應對信息方面的確是有局限的。”

They’re both right, but there are still things we can do to improve our memories.

他們倆都是對的，但我們還是可以采取一些行動來改善記憶。

Repeat After Me

重復溫習

As simple as it sounds, the repetition of tasks — reading, or saying words over and over — continues to be the best method for transforming short-term memories into long-term ones. To do that, we have to retrain our minds to focus on one task at a time. Sadly, most bypass this formula because we’re already convinced we’re productive.

和聽起來一樣簡單，重復執(zhí)行任務——一遍又一遍地閱讀單詞或將其念出聲——仍然是把短期記憶轉化為長期記憶的最佳途徑。這樣做的時候，我們必須保持注意力的集中，每次執(zhí)行一項任務。可悲的是，我們大多數(shù)人都忽略了這一準則，因為我們已然相信自己可以一心多用。

New connections are made in your brain when you learn. To remember what you learn, do what you probably did in your youth: Repeat words, thoughts and ideas over and over until you get them right. It’s the easiest brain game there is.

學習的時候，新的連接會在你的大腦中形成。要記住學的東西，就得做你年少時大約做過的事情：反復記單詞，反復琢磨一些想法和觀念，直到完全記牢。這是最簡單的大腦游戲。

Take Your Time

慢慢來

Forget cramming. It didn’t work in college, it doesn’t work now. Spaced repetition might be the best way.

忘了臨時抱佛腳吧。它在大學里沒管用過，現(xiàn)在也不管用。間隔式重復或許最好的記憶法。

Robert Bjork, the chair of U.C.L.A.’s psychology department, said that quickly stuffing facts into our brains leads us to forget them in the long term (he even filmed a YouTube video series on the subject). When you rehearse knowledge and practice it often, it sticks, research has shown. So if you can incorporate what you’re trying to remember into daily life, ideally over time, your chances of retaining it drastically improve.

加州大學洛杉磯分校(UCLA)心理系主任羅伯特·比約克(Robert Bjork)說，快速把信息塞進大腦的結果是，時間一長我們就會忘記它們(他甚至就這一問題制作了一則視頻，發(fā)在YouTube上)。研究顯示，如果你經(jīng)常溫習或練習一些知識，就會將其記得很牢。因此，從理論上來說，如果你能把試圖記住的東西融入自己的日常生活，那么假以時日，你記住它們的概率會大幅提升。

But once you stop rehearsing that knowledge, the retention drops profoundly. Researchers call this the “forgetting curve.”

但你一旦停止溫習那些知識，記住的概率便會大幅下降。研究人員稱之為“遺忘曲線”。

To get past it, space out your repetition over a few days and test the effect yourself. But be careful: Spacing out sessions or scheduling them too concurrently seem to slow gains, so find a healthy medium that works. This is a good way to effectively start tackling a new language.

要解決這一問題，你應該每隔幾天進行一次重復記憶，并自行測試其效果。不過請當心：間隔期太長或太短似乎都見效緩慢，因此得找出一個行得通的適中的間隔期。這是有效地開始處理新知識的好方法。

Sit Down and Stay Put

坐下來，不要動

Memory and focus go hand-in-hand. Dr. Cowan suggests rearranging our office setup as one way to improve focus. He believes the collaborative start-up design and open offices touted by Silicon Valley’s hoodied C.E.O.s actually make us far less productive because they create added distractions. How do you stay on task if your co-worker is piloting a drone or endlessly, and loudly, snacking just inches away?

記憶力和專注度密切相關。考恩博士給出的一個提高專注度的方法，是改造辦公室的格局。他認為，硅谷那些身穿連帽衫的首席執(zhí)行官大肆吹捧的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)聯(lián)合辦公空間或開放式辦公場所，其實會大大降低我們的工作效率，因為它們額外制造出許多讓人分心的因素。如果同事在旁邊操控無人機，或在幾英寸之外無休止地嘎吱嘎吱吃零食，你怎么才能專注于自己的工作?

“The rebirth of the open workplace cannot be helping this situation,” Dr. Cowan said, alluding to work spaces without desks, physical barriers and privacy, but with a plethora of playthings. Yoga rooms, rock climbing and gardens can be great perks, but they can make it difficult to deliver on deadline with so much stimuli.

“開放式辦公空間重獲新生，對這種情況不會有幫助，”考恩博士說。他指的沒有辦公桌、實體格檔和隱私，但有很多玩物的辦公空間。瑜伽室、攀巖設施和花園是很棒的福利，但它們制造出太多刺激，會讓人難以按時完成任務。

Multiple studies have found that procrastination leads to stress and downright kills focus. Stop engaging in useless tasks like surfing the web and just tackle whatever it is you need to work on. Then watch your focus soar and your memory improve. Dr. Cowan said both perform better when they aren’t cheating on each other pursuing so-called “life hacks.”

多項研究表明，拖延會帶來壓力，并徹底殺死專注力。別再做無用的事情，比如瀏覽網(wǎng)頁，趕緊聚焦于你需要完成的任務吧。然后你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的專注力大幅上升，記憶力也有所改善。考恩博士說，當專注力和記憶力不再相互欺騙、去追尋所謂的“生活技巧”的時候，兩者的表現(xiàn)都會變得更好。

Incentivize Moments and Read Cues

激勵的時刻和閱讀提示

Minds wander constantly. For students, adding frequent tests incentivizes focus because they know they’ll be quizzed. Harvard researchers report this approach decreases daydreaming by 50 percent, improving the result.

人們常常走神。對學生來說，增加考試頻次會激發(fā)專注力，因為他們知道自己要參加考試。哈佛的研究人員稱，這種方法能讓走神的情況減少50%。

Daniel Schacter, a psychologist and a co-author of the Harvard study who also wrote “The Seven Sins Of Memory,” said the trick is focus. For some tasks, like online surfing, divided attention sounds harmless, but when we’re behind the wheel, it’s anything but. That forgetfulness can change the course of entire lives, the most serious vulnerability of memory, he added.

哈佛這篇研究論文的聯(lián)合作者、著有《記憶七罪》(The Seven Sins Of Memory)一書的心理學家丹尼爾·沙克特(Daniel Schacter)說，專注是秘訣所在。對一些任務而言，比如瀏覽網(wǎng)頁，分心似乎沒有什么害處，但當我們開車的時候，分心絕對有害無益。他還說，健忘是記憶的最嚴重漏洞，可以改變整個生活的軌跡。

Mr. Schacter suggests employing cues — visual or verbal for items like keys — to associate places and things. And our electronic devices can help remind us, everything from mobile vaccination and immunization alerts to apps like Waze that can remind you that you left your baby in the car. It can sound silly, but it’s also tragic when we fail.

沙克特建議，針對鑰匙這樣的東西，利用視覺或口頭上的提示，把地點和物品聯(lián)系起來。此外，我們的電子設備會幫助提醒我們一切，手機會提醒你疫苗接種和免疫相關事宜，Waze之類的應用會提醒你，你把嬰兒落在了車里。聽上去或許很荒唐，但如果真的忘了，可就悲劇了。

“Memory is very cue dependent,” he said, referring to something he calls absent-minded memory failure. “Most say it could never happen to me, but it’s a very long list of responsible people that it has happened to. When you don’t have that cue, you can forget almost anything.”

“記憶非常依賴提示，”沙克特提及他稱之為心不在焉式記憶故障的情形時說。“大多數(shù)人都會說，這樣的事絕不會發(fā)生在我身上，但這樣的事曾發(fā)生在太多靠得住的人身上。如果得不到提示，你幾乎可能忘掉所有的一切。”

He added: “The really tricky thing about absent-minded memory failure is it can affect almost anything if the cue is not present at the moment you need to catch a reaction.”

他還說：“心不在焉式記憶故障的真正麻煩之處在于，它可能影響到幾乎每件事——如果提示未能在你需要做出反應時出現(xiàn)的話。”

A simple way around that is to set reminders. Even better, combine a few of these techniques: Write your reminder on a Post-it and put it on your desk so you’re forced to repeatedly look at it over a prolonged period, incorporating the practice of spaced repetition. Build on your memory by combining these approaches. Modern life offers few guarantees, but using even one of these tips is surely an improvement.

一個簡單的解決辦法是設置提醒。最好是將這幾種方法結合起來：把提示信息寫在便利貼上，放在案頭，如此一來你就會被迫在很長一段時間里反復看到它，這其實是融入了間隔式重復記憶法。通過結合著使用這些方法，來夯實你的記憶。現(xiàn)代生活中基本沒有什么可以打包票，但哪怕是使用其中一種方法，也肯定會讓記憶力得到提高。

“A lot of people are overconfident that they can handle distractions,” Mr. Schacter said. “Doing two things at once always has an effect. Be aware of the situation you’re in and understand when you let attention divide you, you’re likely to pay the price. In some situations it may not matter, but in others it could change everything.”

“很多人過分自信，以為自己能掌控得了分心的情況，”沙克特說。“一心二用常常是有后果的。要當心你面臨的這種情況，要明白一心二用可能會讓你付出代價。有時候這或許沒什么，但另外一些時候，這可能會改變一切。”