Nick+Zienkiewicz+RP+Post+5


 * Sources: **
 * [|__http://www.human-memory.net/intro_study.html__] **
 * [|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory__] **
 * [|__http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/55detail.html__] **
 * [|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_disorder__] **
 * The first source listed above is a website all about the human memory and its many functions. This source is important because unlike many of the other sources, it touches on the topic of how the study of the human memory originated and has evolved and what our understanding of it used to be. The first wikipedia source gives an overview on the human memory with general facts about it while the second wikipedia source offers a specific and in depth look at many of the common mental disorders that deal with the human memory. These sources are important because in my paper I intend to first define the human memory and its normal functions and then go more in depth on the history of the human memory, how it evolved, rare cases where it can cause problems and what a memory is. The shakespeare source allows me to incorporate a poetic view on the topic of memory and what it is to be remembered by people. In this source, Shakespeare describes how writes like himself will stand the test of time and be remembered forever because they have written their work down. This also shows a limitation of the human memory as people tend to forget about things unless they are written down because that is a sort of external storage for humans. Many people assume that the human memory is very weak but that is only half of the story. The standard way of thinking about the human memory is that we are bound to forget things and this is why people think our minds are weak when in fact they were programed to forget. Although, on one hand I agree that the human memory can be weak in some cases. For example the wikipedia source states that people have a very limited capacity when it comes to short term memories. That is why many people can find it hard to remember the digits to a phone number when it is necessary for them to remember the numbers. No matter how hard a person tries they can only do so much with their memory. Or can they? that is one of the questions I wish to answer when i am finished with my research paper. Some people have memory disorders and that is where the last source comes in because it talks about a lot of memory disorders that are common and also very uncommon and how the functions of the memory can be changed and how these changes can affect the way we function. **