After I watched Jaws for the first time, I read up on its history and wrote about it. Like many iconic films, its road to reality wasn’t exactly smooth tarmac. Memorable movie, memorable backstory.
The other day, my parents were in town, and they, my fiancée, and I sat in a nice Asian restaurant for dinner. Between courses, we ended up talking about movies. Everyone gave their most recent recommendations, and I told them about my Jaws experience. I also shared some of the behind-the-scenes trivia that I had written about.
I explained how technologically advanced and daring Jaws‘ production was, and how many problems it encountered. I told them how many prop sharks and fake boats they made, and how big the teams were who created and operated them. I recounted how much the initial budget was, and how much Spielberg went over. Same with the production timeline and ultimately record-breaking gross earnings in theaters.
“Wow, I had no idea!” everyone said afterwards. It wasn’t the world’s greatest story, of course, but it made for grade A dinner conversation, if you ask me—and it wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t had the numbers in my head.
We keep saying rote memory is dead, and it’s mostly true. But only mostly. Because in some situations, you won’t have your smartphone. In others, you won’t be allowed to use it. And in the kind I was in, it simply would have broken all the magic.
Of course I could have read the facts off Wikipedia or have AI narrate them back to us—but it wouldn’t have felt the same. It had to be me telling the story. Not so I can get the credit, although that, too, was a consequence. But so people can feel the joy of another human telling them a story. Not a robot or digital encyclopedia. A person—and only persons bring stories to life.
Did I remember the tidbits about Jaws because I had been fascinated by its Wikipedia article? Or because I had written about it? Probably a mix of both. But what I can confirm for sure is that it’s different when you know the facts. Stories hit harder. Arguments are more convincing. And the biggest opportunities in life rarely allow you to read off the page. You have to be ready before you enter the room.
Make use of what you remember—and don’t be afraid to go out of your way to memorize the facts.
