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Does reading for fun mean you forget information for exams?

ee
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 1
Avatar for Shadoo
Shadoo
12
No.
Original post by ohimemily
Recently I bought a lot of new books to read for pleasure which are fiction but I feel like I can't start reading them because the information from them will fill my memory. For example if I read these books it will displace the information I actually need for my exams. Do you think it is okay to read the books or not?


I like to read in my spare time and I don't feel that it is any burden on my academic studies.

If anything, reading is good for you. It has developed my essay writing skills significantly!
Reply 3
Avatar for aoxa
aoxa
11
You're acting like your brain is near capacity, and once it's full you'll never be able to learn anything else. Which doesn't happen.

Reading books will not impact negatively on your studies.
Original post by ohimemily
Recently I bought a lot of new books to read for pleasure which are fiction but I feel like I can't start reading them because the information from them will fill my memory. For example if I read these books it will displace the information I actually need for my exams. Do you think it is okay to read the books or not?

Theres is a lot more space in your memory than holding information on a few books...
Your long-term memory capacity actually seems to be limitless as far as we can tell.

Your memory is not like a hard drive with a certain capacity.

It's more like a huge library that never fills up. When you forget something, it's either because it wasn't encoded in the first place, or because of decay of the system that retrieves memories. It's like the index card system that libraries used before computers. Forgetting is like losing track of where the index card was for that book. The book is still there, you just can't retrieve it.

If you read lots, it can actually improve your memory because you keep refreshing the index system and keeping it up to date.
Reply 6
Avatar for Shadoo
Shadoo
12
Original post by chazwomaq
Your long-term memory capacity actually seems to be limitless as far as we can tell.

Your memory is not like a hard drive with a certain capacity.

It's more like a huge library that never fills up. When you forget something, it's either because it wasn't encoded in the first place, or because of decay of the system that retrieves memories. It's like the index card system that libraries used before computers. Forgetting is like losing track of where the index card was for that book. The book is still there, you just can't retrieve it.

If you read lots, it can actually improve your memory because you keep refreshing the index system and keeping it up to date.


Any reputable sources to back up your claims?
Original post by Shadoo
Any reputable sources to back up your claims?


It's a very simplistic summary of the cognitive psychology of memory.

Wikipedia is pretty good for an overview with references. e.g.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue-dependent_forgetting

I also recommend Memory, by Baddeley, Eysenck and Anderson
Reply 8
Avatar for Shadoo
Shadoo
12
Original post by chazwomaq
It's a very simplistic summary of the cognitive psychology of memory.

Wikipedia is pretty good for an overview with references. e.g.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue-dependent_forgetting

I also recommend Memory, by Baddeley, Eysenck and Anderson



•

Ellen E. Pastorino; Susann M. Doyle-Portillo (7 November 2011). What is Psychology? Essentials, 2nd ed.: Essentials. Cengage Learning. p. 228. ISBN 978-1-111-83415-9.

•

Jump up^ Tulving and Pearlstone (1966)

•

Jump up^ Psychology Themes and variations, pg 282

•

Jump up^ Godvin et al. (1966)

•

Jump up^ Godden and Baddeley (1975)



Psychology is widely known as a pseudo-science.

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