Re: The Persistence of Memory
I used to hang out with some top mathematical minds and none of them had exceptional memories. The consensus among us was that memory is not terribly important in mathematics because the thing that separates a super math brain from just a good math brain is clarity of thinking, especially in NEW situations, ie. those in which a perfect memory won't help much anyway. Very difficult math problems are not generally solved by pattern recognition. They are solved via original thinking and creativity for the most part. I have met a number of mediocre math students who didn't want to accept this, though. Psychologically it's easier to accept that your memory is not that good rather than your brain simply doesn't have enough horsepower.
The dudes I knew with outstanding memories became either lawyers, doctors or businessmen for the most part and were never terribly good at math.
|