Memory remains elusive, but the search continues

In Theaetetus, Plato likened memory to a wax tablet, which would adopt the image of whatever was impressed upon it. Aristotle is said to have called memory “the scribe of the soul.” Others have viewed memory as a stomach, storehouse or switchboard, while acknowledging that it sometimes seems like a leaky bucket.

St. Augustine and Robert Hooke also thought deeply about memory. But not until the late 1800s did a German psychologist by the name of Hermann Ebbinghaus pioneer the study of memory in an experimental way. To research memory in isolation, Ebbinghaus used himself as a subject. After coming up with a list of nonsense syllables, he memorized series of different lengths, uncovering patterns in the time it takes to learn, relearn and forget.