Memory Issues
I have not yet found myself standing in front of the stove and wondering what it does (though, for lack of use, one might think me rather ignorant of its function). But I have had occasions where I can’t remember a name or the title of a book. It is sometimes embarrassing, especially if you and I are talking about someone whom we’ve both known for years and yours truly keeps trying to recall the name.
If you are a literate person, this is easier to hide. I remember my wife, Susan, as her brain disease grew, finding it hard to summon up ordinary words. There’s a beloved children’s book called Where the Sidewalk Ends. She was looking for the word “sidewalk,” but instead she said, “You know, where it ends.” I find myself doing similar verbal work-arounds, hoping that the name will return shortly.
Sometime in the last year a book was recommended: Why We Forget and How to Remember Better. Its subtitle is “The Science Behind Memory,” and the co-authors, Andrew Budson and Elizabeth Kensinger, are M.D. and Ph.D. respectively. They write with stories and illustrations in an engaging way, while not pretending to greater knowledge than is available. For of course we hardly understand how our brain functions.
Yet one thing seems clear: Memory is not in just one place in the brain. There are different kinds of memories: pictures, sounds, words, events. There are also different sorts of memory: short-term, procedural, episodic, and semantic, for instance. These seem to be located in different places. What coordinates them all is the “central executive,” which is located in the prefrontal cortex (the frontmost part of the brain).
I had known of the “executive function” being located there in that Susan’s tumor and subsequent treatments had been in part of it. I had learned that, due to her disease, she lacked the capacity to plan and carry out longer-term tasks. So it fell to me to fill in this lack in her—a humbling task, but no different in principle than when one spouse can no longer drive, so the other has to take care of all the transportation. We are always filling in for one another’s weaknesses.
Those of us who like words, who write or preach, say, or who like reading blogs (dear reader, I’m looking at you): we tend to over-identify ourselves with our brain. But the truth is that your brain is not your mind or your soul. Your brain is an organ of your body, analogous to your legs or ears. We intellectuals need to remember that from time to time.
So it is good for my humility and my humanity, I think, for me to have these memory issues. But since I am a stubborn sinner, let me tell you one other thing this book says about the executive function that is located in the prefrontal cortex. This cortex is located “in the frontmost part of the frontal lobe” of the brain. “It is well connected to the rest of the brain, enabling its ‘command and control’ functions. The prefrontal cortex takes up about 33% of the human brain, while making up only 4% of that of the cat, perhaps explaining why humans appear to have a wider repertoire of goal-directed activities than their feline companions.”
Such a vivid illustration is hard to forget!
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Out & About: Sunday, October 5, I am to preach at St. James’ Church in Texarkana, where the eucharists are at 8 and 10 a.m. I will also speak between the services on caregiving. If you live in the area, it would be great to meet you.
On Sunday, October 19, I am to preach at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Dallas, at 9 and 11:15 a.m., and at 10:20 or so, I will speak about Books I & II of Augustine’s Confessions (about which, more below).
At 5 p.m. (also on Oct. 19) the Good Books & Good Talk meets to discuss Anthony Trollope’s Dr. Wortle’s School. This is a late treasure from 1891, a short book with a secret (revealed very early in the book) about possible bigamy, the cruelty of society, and the importance of matrimony. It also has many small delights of wit and ironic observation. One thinks that Trollope is the sort of author that only a culture thick with the Prayer Book could produce. Give yourself the pleasure of relishing Trollope.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine. This book, after the Bible, is likely the most-read book in all of Christian history. Written about A.D. 390, it is, in its first half, Augustine’s recounting his life story to God, which he allows us to overhear. Until about a century ago, every educated person would have read it. Here is your chance to do so also. I will be giving talks on the Confessions this fall: at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, starting Sunday, October 19, at 10:25 (between Sunday services). The first class will cover Books I & II, which you might want to read in advance, but it is okay to attend without reading. (If you are wondering about a translation, I recommend Henry Chadwick’s in the Oxford World Classics series. But there are many and most are more than adequate.) The class will meet about 7 times between Oct. 19 and Dec. 21.
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On the Web. I had a piece on coarseness of society—and resisting it—with a few thoughts about 1 Kings 12 (Rehoboam’s first words on becoming king after his father Solomon). You can find it here: https://humanlifereview.com/rejecting-public-and-private-coarseness/