Following Chains of Association
Since I began studying memory, I’ve been trying to observe how my brain works and why it thinks in certain ways. I’m interested in following natural chains of association to see where they go.
For example: overhearing a fragment of conversation at a restaurant could remind me of the lyrics of a song, which then transports me to a specific location where that song made impression on me.
A specific example is seeing the number 72, which I pronounce “KU”, which takes me to a Frank Sinatra song (“could you coo, could you care…”), which takes me to a specific place along the waterfront in Honolulu where I heard the song many years ago. (The spectacular view burned the song into my head at that one spot along my walk.) That chain of association clashes a little bit with the image for 72, which is a mythological Japanese creature that freezes travelers to death in snowstorms.
Music seems to be naturally location-based, which is an element that might have some application.
