Analysis

I had an undisciplined day-dreaming mind. I remember I had to learn concentration. My natural mind was conditioned to associationally wander wherever. A problem was to stick with a single idea and not wander off in free floating fantasy, of which I had done most of my life. With practice, I learned to concentrate on a problem for a few minutes. However if no solution was apparent, it didn't seem prudent to continue. There is nothing there. Gradually I built a system of continuous return. I would concentrate on the problem for some minutes and then I would go to free association and day dreaming for a time, and then back to the problem, and see if there is anything new there - and thus back and forth. This technique I have used life-long. Another thing I learned was that after a night's sleep I might awake with a new take on a problem, or even the problem solved. What all this meant was that I found a system of constant re-visitation to problems more fruitful than a continuous concentration, which was difficult in any event. The free association might find varying aspects to the problem, and make connections from the past, and to other problems and concepts, that would not be found by continuous concentration, I began to accumulate a lot of information. So the question became how to remember it and keep it all straight.

I began to accumulate much information. I must have discovered categorization. I had to figure out a system of correlating information. This was especially necessary when I wanted to remember things, when I was out and about and had no access to notes, and when encountering new information as to how and where to retain it.

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