Mirror drawing
Follow the outline of the star without leaving it. Careful: the controls are reversed from top to bottom. Then do it again.
The experiment starts as soon as the page has loaded (JavaScript is required).
Try the experiment: your result will appear here, next to what most people do.
What just happened (read it after the experiment)
What most people do: Most people make far fewer mistakes on the second try.
The first time, almost everyone slips off the track. The second time is already better: a memory of movements has formed, separate from the memory of events.
In 1962, Brenda Milner gave this test to Henry Molaison, known as H.M., who had been unable to form any new memories since brain surgery. Day after day, he improved… without ever remembering that he had done the exercise before.
You have several kinds of memory. Some of them learn without your knowing it.
More experiments
Sources
- Brenda Milner, “Les troubles de la mémoire accompagnant des lésions hippocampiques bilatérales,” Physiologie de l’hippocampe, 1962.