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Simmons states in Chapter 5: “Think of a story as a mnemonic device for complex concepts.”

Some pre-literate cultures used stories for that purpose, I understand.

In these cultures, mnemonic stories were chanted, rhythmic and exact. One such story was used by shipbuilders not only to help them remember each step of the process, but also to be spoken in time with their hammer-strikes, like a chain gang.

Consider the last list of 12 you memorized. Did it come from a sheet of paper? From a classroom lecture? I’ll bet if you really thought about it you could come up with only one. It ends like this: “ … three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.”

Taking for granted that couching knowledge in a story helps us remember, think about whether the addition of song and rhythm further aids the remembering process. What do you make of it?