[wenc]

That's an oft proferred explanation, but I've encountered some evidence that it could be a habit of the mind.

English is my native language and I can remember longish sequences of numbers easily.

My American friends can too but many don't see the point. Their education system is so against rote memorization that there's a cultural aversion to casual memorization because one can always "look it up".

Another example is the number of days in the month. I instinctively know which months are 30 days, 31 days or 28/29 days. Many Americans don't see the point of having this information at their fingertips. It's a fascinating cultural difference.