retention in study

Hello,

I have a question regarding this expression from D. F. Wallace's 'Philosophy and The Mirror of Nature'. Here a spider-enthusiast is talking about himself:

Standardized testing has confirmed that I have both a studious bend and outstanding retention in study which she would not even deny.

Would you call an ability to memorize study material as 'retention in study'? Sounds a bit dubious to me, but I'm not a native speaker ^_^

I think this may have been "a studious bent and outstanding etc."

"Retention in study" = memory for what I have read. It's probably not a phrase that most people would use, and suggests an old-fashioned style of speech.

Thank you, Keith! ^_^

And you are not the first to point out that it should be 'bent' instead of 'bend' but that's what the author wrote.

That suggests to me another facet of the character's personality.

(Or bad proof-reading... 👁 Roll Eyes :rolleyes:
.)

I think you might be actually right about the character, Keith!