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Maybe not that early, but writing did eventually undermine the ability to memorise things. It used to be common for people to memorise long works - it is one r
by graemep 7mo ago
Maybe not that early, but writing did eventually undermine the ability to memorise things. It used to be common for people to memorise long works - it is one reason why epic poetry was popular and designed to be memorable. Memorising even a few hundred lines is unusual now.
I wonder whether it has contributed to the evolution of smaller brains: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240517-the-human-brain-has-been-shrinking-and-no-one-quite-knows-why https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240517-the-human-brain-...
- tzs 7mo ago> Memorising even a few hundred lines is unusual now. Memorizing a few hundred lines of epic poetry probably is indeed unusual. But I bet most people have more than a few hundred lines of poetry in the form of song lyrics memorized (along with the tune of the song).
- nextaccountic 7mo ago> (along with the tune of the song) A lot of cultures that emphasize oral memorization will have things like this as memory aids For example, Buddhist mantras have a specific way to pronounce, and if you alwaya do it this way memorizing becomes much easier Or for a more Western thing, prayers also have a specific cadence that is learned alongside the text itself and that aid memorization