Encoding, storage, recall: the full chain

The working model

All memorising goes through three stages. Identifying which one is failing you saves months of training.

1. Encoding, or the quality of the image

This is the moment information goes in. A properly encoded image has five characteristics, which spell SAVIE:

• Sensory: it has texture, smell, sound, temperature.
• Absurd: it breaks the rules of the real world, scale, gravity, logic.
• Vivid: it moves. A still image dilutes, an action stays.
• Involving: you are in it, or someone you know is.
• Emotional: it makes you laugh, disgusts you, surprises or mildly shocks you.

Bad encoding produces a grey, motionless image seen from a distance. Good encoding produces a close-up, in motion, with sound.