When You Read

[Skrying]

Recently I started thinking about why I memorize what I read so well. I have little problem recalling books that I read years ago, not just the general theme but also many of the scenes in those books, detailed at that. I was contrasting that with my rather sorry ability of remembering numbers. The main difference between the two, at least to me, was that when I read I can clearly hear myself inside my head, or at least something along those lines. However, when it comes to number there is no such voice. I simply see them and go on.

In school any class but mathematics (and later Physics and some Chemistry) I could very easily pass with outstanding scores without any effort at study. I would read or listen and be able to recall with detail what was said or written. In comparison my math classes were a much greater effort in recalling how to use a formula or work numbers.

I was just curious if others also heard a voice in their head as they read, or if I'm the only one. Also if others do something similar when it comes to numbers or maybe have other methods that have worked well for them.

 

[3dcgi]

I have never noticed that I remember words better than numbers or vice versa, but what you're referring to is called subvocalization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

I can't read and memorise for shit.
I can read mathematics a whole lot better now. I feel right at home with a few maths books and a few derivations.

 

[Davros]

My memory is erm, er, er


Oh yes thats it, Fantastic....

 

[_xxx_]

To me it's rather spatial sort of, not a voice. I see it all in 3D, which helps me solve complicated logical problems, but learning something by heart = Hell.

 

[Fred]

Actually people with very visual memories tend to do better in test conditions. The people who actually don't subconciously hear themselves talk, but rather see the words/sentences in their brain are both faster and have better retention.

In fact, thats the key to speed reading, if you ever take a class on that, they teach you to visual paragraphs all at once, rather than to intone each word one by one. These are the type of people who can study, while you are blasting music in their ears.

Numbers and mathematical formulae also tend to have no easy to visualize context, picture or story associated with them (unless you have trained for years in them or have a proffessional career that utilizes them alot), so the amount of associations your brain makes is limited and hence easily erased.

I have colleagues in my department who can remember word for word, line for line, typo per typo, entire documents that were important to them to quite good accuracy.

 

[Squeak]

Skrying: http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?p=340467&highlight=words#post340467
:smile:

No we don't think in words, and consciousness is a user illusion.
Conscious decisions doesn't exist but vetoes does.

 

[soylent]

"When I see equations, I see the letters in colors – I don't know why. As I'm talking, I see vague pictures of Bessel functions from Jahnke and Emde's book, with light-tan j's, slightly violet-bluish n's, and dark brown x's flying around. And I wonder what the hell it must look like to the students." - Richard Feynman

Might be a mild form of synaesthesia; we seem to be all suffering from it to some extent, some much more than others.