Of course, the memory can be improved. It can be improved vastly and by anyone with normal intelligence. Moreover, the methods by which it can be cultivated are all founded on practical common sense. The following are five ways in which you can improve your memorization power:
Repetition.
It is the most elemental and least interesting method of memorizing. You can learn and remember almost anything if you have the patience to repeat it often enough.
Bringing your senses to bear on what you want to remember.
Suppose you were exhibiting an orange to a person who had never seen one before. If he looked at the orange, he would carry away a certain impression of it. But if he lifted it, smelled it, tasted it he would carry away a clearer and more lasting memory.
Deep and genuine interest.
Many extraordinary memories can be explained by the element of intense interest. The moral is: try to develop a genuine, vital interest in the subject you want to remember.
Gain understanding.
If you do not understand a subject or situation, you cannot be expected to remember it. You must know the logic relations between all the given facts.
Cultivate the power of attention.
People do not focus sharply and clearly on one thing at a time. They look at a scenery but do not drink in details. Attention means sidetracking everything except the thought or experience you want to remember.
Next time you want to remember something, put up the above methods in practice and you will be astonished by the results.