Group memory

Paul Watson:

David Watson put an image up on the screen. “I want you to take a look at this image.” After a few seconds, he blanked the screen. “Now, describe the image.”

People called out various things they remembered. David allowed them to continue, just until they started repeating things that others said already. He put the picture back on the screen. “Could any one of you remember everything in this image?” A collective, “No” swept through the audience. “Yet, together, you manage to remember most of the details in this painting. Now that you’ve heard everyone list what they remembered, I’ll bet that you remember more of the image than you did before we talked about it.”

David looked around the room, “Group memory is better than individual memory. And, as groups recall what they remember, their collective memory becomes the memory of the individual. This is one of the many reasons groups, and the group process, are essential to starting movements.”..

-Paul Watson, continued