THE LAW OF RECENCY.--We may state the law of recency in physiological
terms as follows: The _more recently_ brain centers have been employed
in a certain activity, the more easily are they thrown into the same
activity. This, on the mental side, means: The more recently any facts
have been present in consciousness the more easily are they recalled. It
is in obedience to this law that we want to rehearse a difficult lesson
just before the recitation hour, or cram immediately before an
examination. The working of this law also explains the tendency of all
memories to fade out as the years pass by.
