Of all the metaphoric language we attach to the process of memory, the notion of memory as a skill is probably most apt. Technically speaking, a skill is any learnt capacity or acquired talent, used to carry out pre-determined results. One is considered more “skillful” is one can carry out this process with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Thus, if fixing a toilet requires less energy for you, or if you are able to finish fixing the toilet before I am given the same amount of effort, you would be considered more skillful than I at fixing toilets.
The more science understands about memory, the closer they come to a skill-based paradigm for understanding how it works. Like other skills, memory is a task at which some people naturally excel more than others. Surely we all know a person who seems to be a natural at remembering. On the flip side, though, the skill of memory can also be learned and improved upon, like any other skill or trade, with hard work and proper training. Research has shown that of all the higher mental processes that fall under the category of “reason” or “thought,” memory is one of the most trainable. Since much of remembering boils down to the manner in which we program the memory into our minds, this skill of programming is something we can make conscious effort to improve. And, just as other skills are made easier by physical preparation (stretching for a run, putting on gloves to carry blocks of ice), so too is the memory skill improved by health and treatment of the body. This includes the use of herbal supplements, which have been clinically shown to improve brain functions, memory among them.
