Our Bucket of Memory

1. The container

If we were to put all the things that we remember into a bucket, we would call that container our memory. The word memory can mean both: the things we remember, and the faculty of remembering itself. This faculty of remembering things can be compared to a bucket of water.

Of course this imaginary bucket can only hold a certain amount of content, and this depends on its size. If we pour too much into a small bucket, the content will overflow.

Like a bucket, our memory is also limited by its capacity . The things we forget are like the overflowing content of an overfilled bucket. Forgetfulness, like an overfilled bucket, can either be due to things being put in too quickly, or worse, having a small bucket.


2. The content

Now let's talk about the content: the stuff of memory, or what actually fill up this imaginary bucket. What do we remember?

Here, we can assume there to be two types of content: (1) facts, and (2) understanding. Although both facts and understanding are stored in the memory, they can have different effects on the container.

Facts will only fill up the space in the bucket, whereas understanding can also expand the capacity of the bucket. So if we only fill our bucket with facts, it will get overfilled very quickly. Fortunately, we also fill our bucket with some understanding, which will increase its capacity, and so our bucket will not overflow too easily.


3. The capacity

So why do we need a big bucket of memory? Surely we can survive with retaining very little bits of information in our memory - only those vital ones such as where to find food and shelter. Would there be any advantage to a bigger store of memory?

I think there is. A bigger bucket can hold a greater amount of content. This greater amount of stored memory will allow a richer experience of life overall, and this would naturally bring us greater joy and pleasure. For instance, we can compare newborns, who have very little store of memory, with older children - and we can imagine how their life experiences would differ.

Of course we see babies smile and laugh with every good feed and stimulation, and so they appear to enjoy their lives. Their enjoyment, however, is small compared to, say, an older child's joy of celebrating his birthday. And in turn, this boy's joy of his birthday celebration is actually insignificant, when compared to the experience of love in adulthood.

It's not difficult to imagine the richness of experience giving us more pleasure, and so it is why we strive to increase our 'memory capacity' even further with technology.


4. Technology and Civilization

Thankfully we have developed tools that can help us store information - like a simple pen and paper; or a more sophisticated machinery such as the computer. However, technology has also overloaded us with information, thanks to fast connections and high processing speed. It's simply mind-boggling how much information is thrown at us everyday, that there are a lot of trivial facts that must be forgotten (otherwise they will overfill our bucket).

But let's also not overlook the gift of language that we humans are endowed with. It is such a useful tool that allows us to share our 'memory capacity' with each other, hence enriching our life experiences. Language can do this by allowing information to be transferred efficiently between its users, whether it is spoken or written.

So if you have reached this paragraph and have begun to understand what I am blabbering about here, I hope you will also share my joy of being understood. We can both rejoice that my understanding has now been transferred to you, which means that we have effectively increased the size of our buckets!