When the term evolution is brought up, people automatically think about Charles Darwin and his theory of natural selection. Indeed, it is quite a powerful theory that has triumphed over all the other theories of evolution. However, back in the day when evolution was a hotly debated topic, Lamarck’s theory of use and disuse put up quite a fight against Darwin’s theory.

Lamarck’s theory was simple: if an organism used a certain feature of its self, then that feature would survive in the animals evolution, if not, then the feature would eventually disappear. The reason that this theory put up such a fight is because it seems to make some intuitive sense. In fact, our memories work according to Lamarck’s theory of use and disuse.

Our brains learn things by making special connections between neurons in our brain. If we use what we learn on a day-to-day basis, then those neuron connections are likely to survive. Otherwise, those neuron connections will degrade and what you once “learned” will be forgotten.

The process seems quite simple. Based on this model, all we need to do to remember something for a long time, is to use it over and over. In fact, this model has been used for hundreds of years! We go to school, we are taught something, and then we are assigned homework. What is the purpose of the homework? It is a way for us to call upon the information we previously learned in the classroom, and this makes us more likely to remember it.

Here are a few surefire ways to remember things, in no particular order of effectiveness:

1. Teach someone else about what you learned/what you are learning
2. Rewrite notes from memory, checking back to the original copy only sparingly
3. Create mnemonics to remember things (see the mnemonics post)
4. Use index cards to quiz yourself (see the index cards post)
5. Do practice problems
6. Apply what you have learned to the real world

These are just some of the methods that I use when I tutor students, and I’ve found them all to be quite effective. Generally, the more methods you use to remember something and the more often you use them, the more likely it is that you will remember it.

About the author: For more information or to request Kunal as a tutor please check out the reviews on his tutoring profile. He is based in New York and available for tutoring in most math and science related subjects.

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