Do you have enough mental exercises to genuinely help you experience real and lasting memory improvement?
Whether it's for learning a language, or even just remembering directions while traveling the world.
Be honest about your answer.
No one here is to judge.
Quite the opposite.
This blog post (and the podcast – hit play above!) is about about helping you better understand how to judge your memory as it is now and take the right steps toward improving it.
To that end, last week we covered 3 Powerful Memory Training Techniques From Around The World.
And I just hopped on a live video session to demonstrate just how powerful memory techniques can be in everyday life for memorizing the information in life that matters:
This week, we've got 7 more mental exercises you can use to experience true memory improvement.
Are memory techniques for everyone?
Yes and no. But you can't decide for yourself without the fullest possible range of perspectives.
And let's make this point as clear as possible:
Memory techniques give you the best mental exercise on the planet. Study them well, everywhere they appear around the glob.
With that point in mind, let's get rolling with…
1. USA: Moonwalking With Einstein (And Elaborative Encoding) For Total Recall
US memory champion Joshua Foer's book Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything talks about the importance of memorizing events and stories in human history.
Sadly, Foer also documents the decline of mental exercises for memorizing in modern life.
By the same token, with partial thanks to his book and the internet, the techniques that people need to adopt to restore the art of remembering have never been more popular.
The memory trick that Foer explains in his book involves a process known as "elaborative encoding." This involves converting information, such as your grocery list, into a series of "engrossing visual images."
For instance, if you want to remember a list of objects like gherkins, cottage cheese, etc. all you need to do is visualise them in an unforgettable manner.
Memory expert Ed Cooke – who helped Foer develop his techniques – suggests remembering an item on a shopping list by imagining something like "Claudia Schiffer swimming in [a] tub of cottage cheese."
Of course, why someone would waste time on memorizing shopping lists in the best memory improvement books is beyond me.
But feel free to memorize anything you like. Whatever works. So long as it really works to give you the memory improvement outcomes you seek!
To ensure that, be sure to deposit these images you've created using elaborative encoding in a specific order in your Memory Palace. With practice, a mnemonist can trace a certain path around these memory rooms to recover thousands of images – and with them, thousands of memories.
Nelson Dellis, repeat champion of the USA Memory competition, also uses a combination of vivid imagery linked with placing those images in your Memory Palace to remember a list of words.
2. Germany: Memorizing Names Through Association
German memory champion Simon Reinhard is one of the top memory athletes in the world. He holds two records for memorizing a 52-card pack of playing cards in just over 21 seconds.
Reinhard uses the "association" method to memorize names and faces.
And it makes for great mental exercise.
How does Published on 7 years, 11 months ago
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