Retentive Vacillation: Accounting for Variability in Human Memory

Human memory is undeniably variable. It is evident that no two people can have the exact same memory capacity? however, it is also palpable that a single person’s individual memory is extremely inconsistent. It has been shown that there are several factors that could account for such variation? for example, differences in a person’s memory across his or her lifespan could be accounted for by age and neuroplasticity, while differences across years could be accounted for by factors such as maturation and experience (Maylor 1998? Stebbins et al., 2002? Tisserand, McIntosh, van der Veen, Backes, & Jolles, 2005). On the other hand, memory discrepancies become more difficult to account for when variability occurs from one hour to the next, or furthermore, from minute to minute. With near constant external conditions in such short amounts of time, it is possible that there exist certain concrete external variables that can account for such differences. At the same time, it could also be the case that such differences are inexplicable by external factors, and that the brain is simple better suited for cognitive tasks at certain times than others . . . My advice to someone . . . wants to undertake a project combining math and science would be to be open to learning things they may never have even heard of before. I would advise to not get discouraged if you find that the research you want to do involves topics beyond the scope of your high school curriculum, and instead to embrace this as a challenge to learn much more than you could ever learn in class. Do not just stick to topics you are comfortable with in doing your research? go above and beyond to learn more about the science and math you will be integrating in your project, and you will find it to be invaluable.

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