Please remember what you were about to forget

remember what you were about to forget: photograph of two people getting off a Japanese busNot long ago, my friend Jeremy Birch told me about the recorded announcement you hear—in English—when Japanese buses approach a bus stop. “Please remember what you were about to forget.”

No, Japanese bus companies are not promoting distributed practice, where we spread out learning activities over time to improve overall learning. (Chapter 4 of The Power of Participation has more on this.)

Nor are they commenting on the unlearning process, which is crucial to facilitating change.

Instead, they are merely reminding people who are getting off the bus to check for anything they may be leaving behind.

Nevertheless, I like the (probably unintended) playful construction of “Please remember what you were about to forget”.

As we all get older, we are more likely to need this reminder.

And perhaps, having typed it a few times here, I’m a little more likely to carry it out…

One thought on “Please remember what you were about to forget

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *