When Simonides and Perter of Ravenna were alive, books and pens were not widely avaiable for people to with, so people had to remember what they learned. Many Carruthers is the author of The book of Memory, a study of the role of memory techniques in the past. She writes, "Ancient and medieval people resrved their awe for memory." In other words, these people thought that a genius was a person with excellent memory. They considered memory could turn external knowledge in to internal knowledge.