Found a 1978 library book that said people used to memorize 20+ phone numbers

I was cleaning out my aunt's attic in Boise and found this old guide to 'modern memory' that claimed the average person kept a mental Rolodex of their entire social circle, which makes my reliance on my phone's contacts feel pretty weak, so has anyone tried actually memorizing numbers again (maybe starting with just one or two)?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivan8731mo ago

Honestly makes you realize how much we've outsourced our own brains. Tbh I can't even remember my own work number half the time, just the pattern to tap on the screen.

christopher_singh921mo agoMost Upvoted

It's not really outsourcing your brain, @ivan873. Remembering a pattern is still your memory doing the work. The tool changed from a number to a muscle movement, but you're still the one holding the information. Our brains are good at adapting to what we use most. It's more like changing the filing system than getting rid of the files.