In the last quarter century, the methods at our disposal to help memory have evolved drastically. And while old-fashioned techniques are still valid and helpful, increasing technology and a growing understanding of herbal remedies has made for a new era of memory help.
Consider the evolution of the world wide web, and how it has drastically altered the way we search for and request help. In the nineties, as the internet was spreading into homes via now-archaic dial-up connections, no one could say for sure what would come of this emergent hub of personal interaction. Would it be a hub of pornography alone? Would anyone really use it, beyond computer geeks and role-playing gamers? And sure enough, the last twenty years has seen the way we communicate with each other change drastically with respect to speed, depth of conversation, and our willingness to request help from new, sometimes unknown, sources.
So, too, has technology directly contributed help to our memories. E-mail applications now come bundled with calendar software to remind us of events and responsibilities, also synchronizing with our cellular phones. And we should be grateful for the vast array of memory help we have today, because as technology advances, we more and more often find out lives overrun with information, and the expectation that decisions will be made and obligations met at ever-increasing speeds.
Thus, while we have more external help these days than ever before, we still find increasing demands on our memory. It may well be that our best option, then, will be internal memory help, whether in the form of skillful encoding of memories or through herbal supplements that give our brains the boost they need to remember accurately.
