Memory and Creativity: Building Bridges to Breakthrough Ideas
During the research on the first section of understanding the topic “Inside the Brain.” Just realized that a single neuron cannot do a lot of work on its own, but their clusters can work miracles. Together, they shape our reality, personality, reactions, perceptions, etc. But to understand the true nature of the brain and how it contributes to the formation of new creative ideas. We must break down the topic “Memory” into its constituent parts.
Understanding memory starts with understanding how neurons store information, the differences and uses of the conscious and subconscious mind, relationships between old memories and new ideas, and finally, we will delve into some techniques and tools that can help us leverage the full potential of our brain. So without further adieu, let’s get started.
1. Neurobiology of Memory Storage
Unlike computer memory, where information is stored in RAM, SSD, or hard disk, there is no specific place to store memories in our brain. Instead, memories are stored in decentralized neuron clusters. The same neuron clusters can be used to store many different memories. This means our memories are not absolute; rather, they are reconstructed every time we recall them. How memories are recreated and how we store them are discussed in detail in the article below.
2. Types of Memory
There are four different types of memories. Sensory Memory, Long-term Memory, Working Memory, and Short-term Memories. Learning about these types of memories gives us a huge advantage in manipulating our brain into remembering or forgetting undesirable memories. Learning about these memory types also helps us to change our habits, problem-solving, decision-making, emotional control, etc. Learn more about these memory types in the article below.
3. How New Memories and Ideas Are Stored?
Our brain is a fascinating machine that is constantly organizing information based on priority, logic, repetition, and emotional relevance. The memories that qualify for more of these perimeters have a higher chance of getting stored in our long-term memory. All the old memories that we currently have satisfy at least one of these criteria. What are these criteria, and how do they impact our neurons and brains? Find out more in the article below.
4. Memory Enhancing Techniques
Leveraging our knowledge about the four conditions helps optimize our memories. Humans have evolved from cavemen to modern society, and with years of trial and error, we have developed some techniques that help us optimize our brain and memory. There are some proven techniques that can help us improve our memory. Using these techniques, we can not only improve our memory but also our creativity, as they are both lined. Initially, all creative ideas are emotional. Until we logically arrange the creative ideas either in our brains or on paper, these creative ideas will find it hard to get registered in someone else’s mind. These techniques are helpful in visualizing and conceptualizing our creative thoughts.
5. Memory Assisting Tools
Just like memory management techniques, there are some useful tools that can help us better organize our thoughts. Our brain is prone to forgetting and constantly needs visual references to remember information. A perfect example of a memory management tool is a Mind Map or a To-do list. Similarly, there are more tools listed on the page below that we must know about. Among the tools we can pick and choose the ones that best work for us, as we are all different, our preferences will also be different. Also, note that it is always recommended to try and test all the tools.
Conclusion
Memory is a thread that binds the past, present, and future. This makes memories very critical for our existence. Moreover, our past memories and experiences make us creative. This complex encoding of fleetings, storing impressions, and the synthesis of groundbreaking ideas all take place in this biologically designed brain. Because the brain is always evolving, we can leverage its capability to enrich our lives with the benefits that jailbreak our brain. We can use many different tools and techniques to boost our mental ability to not only remember better but also to be more creative.