Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques

by Michael Michalko

Psychologists have demonstrated that we are able to keep only about five to nine pieces of information in our mind at a time. We have all had the experience of looking up a phone number, then being distracted before dialing and forgetting the number in a matter of seconds. What is happening is that new information is bumping out older information before your mind can ready the older information for long-term storage in your memory. In general, short-term memory can hold items fairly well for the first few seconds. After about twelve seconds, however, recall is poor, and after twenty seconds, the information will disappear entirely, unless you keep repeating it to yourself or write it down. Writing signals your brain that this piece of information is more crucial than others and should be stored in your long-term memory.