Memorization is a Waste of Time

Author's preface: Below is a republication of an article originally published almost three years ago. The title of that particular post was "Quit Trying to Remember Stuff." It got very few views even for one of my posts. Republishing now in the hopes it may do a little better this time around with a slightly more straighforward though less interesting or provocative (in my opinion) title.

Recently a friend mentioned that she was frustrated at work by her inability to remember some important details about a key aspect of a project she had been working on for months. She described how she had spent the past few days hunkered down with textbooks and on the computer, but the right connections needed to form a lasting memory of the material had still not materialized. After hearing her out I gave her some (non asked for) advice and said “memorizing stuff is a waste of time.” I quit trying to memorize or even remember most things soon after I got out of the hospital almost three years ago now, and my overall cognitive abilities have never been better (in my estimation). Moreover, my scientific pursuits have not suffered in the least, nor have any personal relationships been strained as a result. In many ways I consider my decision to stop trying to remember or memorize things one of the best decisions I have ever made. It feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off my mind and I am able to focus on the parts of my job and life that are important. Things like problem solving, abstract thinking, creative pursuits, and building and improving interpersonal relationships. I can do these things without the fear of forgetting a name or not remembering any particular equation or procedure because I now consider the concomitant tradeoff in efficiency one I am willing to make. In the end no matter how painful or time consuming it might be to have to look something up, the overall benefits far outweigh the negatives.

As a research scientist a strong memory is often considered a job requirement. You can’t make it through umpteen years of schooling and come out the other side with a Ph.D. without at least some talent for memorization. That said I am not blessed with a photographic memory or even close, and it took a lot of hard work, time invested, and every trick in the book (rhymes, mnemonics, flash cards, etc.) to make it through all those years in the classroom and on the lab bench. It was much the same for the majority of my career. It was not just the technical things that I put time and effort into remembering. Many things in my life at and away from the lab were committed to memory with the belief that it was important and needed to be done. I am terrible with names and faces and was trying anything and everything to remember the names of the many people I met and at least some details of their work and personal lives. This all changed in 2015 when I spent a month in the hospital and almost (or did) die (depending on whom you ask) from necrotizing pancreatitis. After convalescing for a year I returned to the workforce and slowly came to the realization that my approach to work and life in general had been badly misguided.

The time and effort I was spending trying to remember things was nothing but a waste. It was buying me very little, and was distracting me from the important things I needed to be focused on like solving problems or accomplishing tasks and goals, or simply enjoying life a little more. I no longer stress when I meet a new person and try to imagine them as an animal or make up a story with their name and face in it in my head. I simply say hello and move on. And yes maybe I spend a bit more time at the computer or the bookshelf looking things up rather than recalling them instantly but as I said at the outset the tradeoff has been more than acceptable as in all other ways I feel smarter, more focused, and more productive then ever. Of course I still remember many things. I am not actively trying to forget anything. It is really nothing more than a slight change in perspective. Let the A(non)I’s and (not)learning machines remember things, that’s what they excel at (memorization is not learning, it is a part of some, but not all, forms of learning, but it is not learning. A part of a thing cannot be the thing). Save your efforts for the things machines can’t yet (and maybe never can) do. I promise it will change your life. By the way, feel free to use this argument with your professor after you adopt my approach and fail your next exam. lol!