MINDING BUSINESS
Over the years, studies have shown that there's a "use it or lose
it" element to memory. Within the brain, neurons and synapses that
aren't used will disconnect from one another. Although humans are
capable of remarkable feats of memory - including learning numerous
foreign languages and recalling hundreds of thousands of chess
moves - they are also capable of forgetting all that information …
or misplacing the car keys.
"It's like muscle tone. If you don't exercise, you get flabby,"
observes Alan S. Brown, a professor of psychology at Southern
Methodist University. He's worried about the trend toward storing
information in silicon rather than in gray matter. "When it comes
to memory, the mind gets rusty and capacity fades without
practice," he explains.
The problem is growing worse. His research indicates that only 7.1
percent of those venturing online use a different password for each
of their accounts, and many rely on easy-to-remember names,
including those of their pets and spouses, to protect their data.
"In many cases, people feel overwhelmed by all the things they have
to remember, so they try to simplify things, even when it is not in
their best interest," Brown says. "Passwords are the last frontier
of flexing our memory muscle, and most of us are failing."
Other studies support Brown's notion that we're losing our memories
bit by bit. For example, a few years ago, researchers from Hokkaido
University in
Japan examined 150 young adults between the ages of
20 and 35 and found that more than one in 10 suffered from serious
memory problems. Among the causes: growing reliance on computers,
electronic organizers, and automobile navigation systems.
Researcher Toshiyuki Sawaguchi, who headed the study, described the
problem as a "type of brain dysfunction."