Anthony Metivier's Magnetic Memory Method Podcast

Want to know how to memorize a paragraph fast? Tired of the standard advice about using linking and rote repetition? I hope so, because it’s usually bad advice. Sometimes downright terrible. Why? Because techniques like rote, linking and “chunking” often create more overwhelm. That’s because a lot of people don’t learn to use them correctly. Worse, they often don’t know that there are powerful alternatives, like the technique for memorizing anything verbatim that you’ll read about on this page today. Why should you take me seriously? Well, I’ve memorized many paragraphs, both during grad school, as a professor and while preparing for events like delivering my popular TEDx Talk. And on this page will show you how to easily memorize long-form content just like I have done. And because I’ve memorized entire passages in many different contexts, I’m prepared to give you highly specific examples and a proven demonstration. You’ll learn the technique progressively and even discover how some of our ancestors used these techniques to memorize entire books. Back during the Renaissance, for example, society’s top autodidacts and polymaths basically had to carry entire books in their heads because books were rare and expensive back then. That’s why they needed the techniques you’re about to learn. And those techniques still work today. So let’s dive in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9aepJcY9II How To Memorize A Paragraph Quickly Few things could be easier than memorizing paragraphs verbatim. Whether it’s part of school exams or a technique you’re using to learn a language through passage study, the key is that you learn and follow a reliable process. Step One: Familiarize Yourself With The Paragraph’s Length First, count how many sentences you’re dealing with. Often, we trick ourselves into thinking that the material is longer than it actually is, leading to feelings of overwhelm. As Barbara Oakley points out in Mindshift, however, there are neurological reasons why we feel this way. You can reduce any sense of overwhelm easily by taking a moment to familiarize yourself with the exact amount that needs memorization. Step Two: Get Your Mouth Involved Read the paragraph aloud and get a sense of its general tone. Notice any words that leap out at you or that you don’t understand. If you need to look something up, now is the time so that you’re not slowed down later. This point is important: If you truly want the best way to memorize a paragraph, you need to remove all obstacles first. Words you don’t understand are one of the first things to tackle so that they aren’t obstacles anymore. Step Three: Prepare To Place Your Paragraph In A Memory Palace Once you know how many sentences are in the paragraph, create or identify a Memory Palace. It should have enough space to accommodate the amount you need to memorize. Ideally, you want your Memory Palace design to have a structure that will accomodate the paragraph you need to memorize. To do this with the many paragraphs in my TEDx Talk, I used the Pillar Technique. I’ve illustrated it for you in this image: Basically, how it works is that you mentally “paint” each sentence in rooms using columns that run from the top to bottom. In the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass, there are several sections that detail more about how to use the Pillar Technique. With this approach, I’ve been able to memorize up to 17 words on a single Pillar. Usually, you can get 4-8 sentences in a single room when you’re using the walls and the corners (8 Pillars per room). How To Memorize Sentences Fast In Your Memory Palaces Now let’s look deeper at the process of memorizing the individual sentences in your paragraph. Although this point might seem obvious, it’s worth making: Before you can memorize an entire sentence, you need to be able to memorize words. The ancient memory master who wrote Rhetorica ad Herennium circa 90 BCE made this point very clear. To paraphrase, the author says: Those who wish to memorize more difficult things must first learn to memorize words. Learning how to memorize vocabulary is very good advice. It is the path to being able to memorize more than one word at a time. So how do you do it? Step Four: Use Associations For Each And Every Word In The Paragraph In the beginning, you might be be able to memorize only around 1-3 words per station. Don’t stress it: We all start somewhere. When I started, I needed an association for each and every word. To apply your associations quickly on a word-by-word basis, you want to develop your skills by learning the pegword method Let’s say the sentence you want to memorize is from Plato’s apology: Someone will say: Yes, Socrates, but cannot you hold your tongue, and then you may go into a foreign city, and no one will interfere with you? Later, you’ll be able to compress “Someone will say” into a single image. But for now, just focus on “Someone.

If you want to know how to retain information quickly, we can boil the process down to one simple term: Strategic repetition. Now, I realize you’ve come to this blog about memory techniques to get rid of repetition. I’m sorry. That’s not how it works. We always need to repeat what we want to remember. In fact, why remember something at all if you don’t need to repeat it? The key differences with strategic repetition vs. rote repetition are these. Strategic repetition is always: Fun Creative Skills boosting Scientifically proven Even if some repetition will always be necessary for learning, it doesn’t have to be painful. And you often won’t have to repeat nearly as much if you get it right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odoiukRwY2Q So if learning how to retain knowledge in ways that are engaging and stimulating strikes you as a good thing, stick around. On this page, we’re taking a deep dive into ways to retain information that you’re going to love. Why Can’t I Retain Information? The Surprising Truth The reason why most people can’t retain information is that they simply haven’t trained themselves to do it. That means it’s not IQ. It’s not genes. It’s not laziness. It’s simply learning how to use memory techniques and then practicing them consistently. When I took up memory training to combat my own issues with retaining information, it wasn’t immediately easy. In fact, I started training my memory for better memory during some hard times I went through in grad school. Despite fighting depression and deadlines, I was delighted by how quickly I started remembering the complex details related to my PhD. I was even more delighted when I used the same techniques to help me learn languages and start a career. Since then, I’ve helped thousands of people since and I am confident the retention tips I have to share will help you too. We can take it a step further: People who can’t learn quickly and recall information on demand not only fail to use memory techniques. They haven’t trained their procedural memory so that they can use mnemonics almost as if on autopilot. You cannot “mind read” books. Use proper study and memory improvement techniques instead. You see, anyone can learn about memory techniques. But without practicing them consistently enough so they become second nature, all that information is just data. The science here is very simple. We’re basically looking at five kinds of brain processes that you just need to link together: Encoding information strategically using elaborative encoding Decoding information strategically using active recall Serial positioning with the primacy effect and recency effects Habit formation so that you start using the strategies automatically Using scientifically valid chunking methods to group and review information We’ll pick up each of these scientific matters in greater detail as we go along. With each tip I’ll share, you’ll discover simple ways to harness the power of each principle both for your studies and using mnemonics in everyday life. How to Retain Information Quickly: 14 Proven Study Tips 1: Use Exaggerated Associations The fancy, scientific term for using exaggerated association is “elaborative encoding.” But you might be wondering… what is an association? Good question. It’s one of the most powerful mnemonic devices you can use. Basically, you’re going to look at the target information and find something you can connect to it. For example, if you need to memorize someone’s name, you’ll look at the first couple of letters. When I met someone with the complex name Gangador Dianand, I imagined a “gang” first. Next, I associated that sound with a rap band known to dress as gang members. Then I had them bang on a door. Using a rap band as a mnemonic device while studying helps you retain information in a fun and engaging way. That’s the association part. The elaborative encoding part is when you imagine those gang members larger than life and hear the sound of that banging extremely loud. (In your imagination, of course.) To take another example from one of my students in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass, Michael Wild shared how he passed his hazardous materials exam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uFL4n35pVA It’s the exact process Michael described in the video above. It’s the exaggerating the association that makes it so memorable. And that’s what helps with the next tip. Because as Michael discusses, it was placing the images in Memory Palaces that made all the difference in the end. 2: Use a Memory Palace When you want to retain info, you need to revisit it. You can do that using flashcards or Anki, but typically the Memory Palace technique is preferable. This special mnemonic device is just a mental recreation of a building you’re familiar with and can easily bring to mind. After elaborating information, you place it in this mental device and then revisit it strategically to usher the information

The thought of memory improvement excites you, doesn’t it? But then you start reading all the books and watching the video courses and within seconds … Improving your memory suddenly starts to feel like a LOT of hard work! It’s understandable. Using a Memory Palace, associative-imagery and practicing Recall Rehearsal can be tough. The practice involves a lot of moving parts. But don’t give up! There is a fun and easy way to experience rapid improvement. To help you out, here are three games and exercises you can play that will help you handle those moving parts without even noticing the effort involved. They will exercise your memory, move the muscles of your imagination and renew access to parts of yourself you’ve probably long forgotten. Ready? Let’s dive in! How to Prepare To Play These Personal Memory Games Before we get started, you’ll need something to write with. And what you’re about to experience could well change your life forever. (In a good way, of course.) And when I say write, I mean “write.” Sure, you can play these memory games by writing in Evernote or whatever. But don’t. You’ll get more from completing the activities I’m about to share by using old-fashioned pencil and paper. You can also use your mind on its own too. These exercises can be completed while daydreaming on a park bench, during a guided meditation or wherever you find yourself. But by writing, you’ll enjoy the benefits of sensory learning that only writing can provide. And the pages you fill will prove to you that your mind is a vast place with many recesses. And you’ll enjoy the exercise more when you see what emerges from the depths of your imagination with your own eyes. Plus, you’ll be able to feel the weight of your memory in the paper on your hands. And that is a sensation you can’t get from any app in the world. (Though a device that gets heavier the more information it contains could be a fun option for those who want to go on a data diet!) Play These Mental Games Now (If You Want To Improve Your Memory Without Blood, Sweat Or Tears) I don’t want to sound preachy, but I think you know the drill. If you don’t actually use the “instruction manuals” for the mental games I’m about to share, nothing will change or improve for you. So here’s what to do: Read the descriptions below Pick one of the games Schedule time for it Come back for more Rinse and repeat That is the path to success, and yes, as I’ve explained in this discussion about the effectiveness of brain games, these kinds of mental fitness activities do work. You just have to be willing to experiment with them. 1. Make a list of all the places you can remember visiting throughout your life. Start local and go back as far as you can remember. For example, here are some of the first places that I remember visiting: Where my dad used to train his duck hunting dogs The farm at Tranquille where my mom used to work A chocolate factory we visited on a field trip in Kindergarten Immerse yourself in your own memories as you complete the exercise. Think about colors, smells, textures. Recall the people you were with and call up as many people as you can. Then you can start listing other towns and cities. Again, go as deep into the past as you can. Technically, you’re digging into what we call autobiographical memory in the world of memory science. Amplify Your Memory With Guidance From Someone Close To Home Next, take these early memories and ask someone in your family to give them your version of the events and locations you jotted down. For example, I remembered flying to Prince Rupert with my dad while playing this game. When I pressed my memory for sensory detail, I remembered nothing of the flight. I do have glimpses of how the city looked, and I can smell beer on my dad’s breath. But beyond that, there’s very little. So I called him up and asked him what he remembers. He said he was surprised that I wasn’t nervous about flying at all. Extend Your Timeline In Adulthood For bonus points, move from the deep past of your childhood memories up until the present. And do your best to establish a linear time line so you have a feeling for the chronology. True, you’re taking yourself into your adulthood, but that’s fine. You can also extend the exercise by thinking through different people you’ve met or spoken with only by phone. For example, I’ll never forget speaking with memory expert Harry Lorayne on the phone. Even more prominent is the memory of shaking Tony Buzan‘s hand after he gave me the Warrior of the Mind emblem for Outstanding Contributions to Global Mental Literacy. For the purposes of this game, just following the basic historical memories you hold. Move from as early in your childhood as you can and proceed up until as close to the present moment as you care to exp

How many types of observation do you think you’d need to get to the bottom of things and remember more – like Sherlock Holmes? Whether you’re a scientist, private researcher or just someone who wants to know more about the process of observation, the benefits are immense. For example, you can use observation skills to be a better professional. You’ll be the one who gets the raise because you’re the one who notices the nuances that improve the bottom line. And make no mistake: Observation is a key to remembering more. For example, actors use textual analysis as part of remembering Shakespeare better when performing his plays on stage or screen. Although you might not immediately think of textual analysis as a type of observation, that’s exactly what it is. So whether you want to be the scientist who wins all the grants and awards or the better student who provides stronger examples in your essays and exams, you’ll want to beef up on your observation skills. Ready to learn everything you need to know to use observation as part of making your memory better and stronger? Let’s dive in! First, the Basics: 4 Types of Observation for Better Memory According to the authors of The Power of Observation, no matter what type of observation you use, the real goal is objectivity. When I was completing my PhD at York University, subjectivity was given much higher status. I think that’s important, but in all that I’ve learned over my years of teaching memory techniques, subjectivity is stronger for comprehending and remembering when it’s balanced with objective observation skills. To get there, you want to work on developing an awareness of the assumptions you naturally make – and weeding them out. Or at least categorizing them so you can reflect on their nature. The use of categorization as a memory aid goes back at least as far as Ramon Llull. I’d suggest looking at categorization as a mnemonic aid in Aristotle as well. If you’re wondering how you’ll go about successfully observing the categories of your objective and subjective observations, the first step I’d suggest is to learn at least a little about how your memory creates biases. That way, you can bring balance to your subjective and objective observations. As we go into these major types of observation, keep in mind that we all bring subjective ideas and experiences. We don’t want to weed them out. But to be truly objective, cultural artefacts stuck in your procedural memory, personal beliefs and your personal interests and feelings need to be set aside or at least contextualized. As hard to accept as it can be, even your professional experience can create false interpretations. When that happens, we wind up memorizing the wrong things, which is why I’m making such a big deal about this point. Make no mistake: Creating distance between yourself as a person and what the data you’re observing actually says is one of the hardest parts of science. But that’s why it’s a good thing that no serious scientist works in isolation. The principles of science itself helps ensure true objectivity will emerge over time. Here are the techniques that make this possible and how they relate to boosting your memory. One: Controlled Observation If you’re a “control freak,” you’ll love what comes next. That’s because controlled experiments involve a level of technical design, surveying and measurement that gets very granular. The way controlled experiments generally work is that you set up two separate groups. You treat them exactly the same except for one variable. A simple example is one you’re probably already familiar with: When testing drugs, one group will get the real chemical. Another group will get a placebo. For an example of a controlled experiment related directly to memory, check out this Duke University experiment. Researchers had one group enter an art gallery with minimal instruction. Researchers told a second group to pretend they were art thieves planning a heist. It turns out that those who pretended to be art thieves remembered much more than those who did not. There are other kinds of controlled experiments in memory science. They take place outside of memory science too. For example, on a website like this, you can have half the people see a green subscribe button, and the other half see a blue subscribe button. These kinds of controlled experiments are run by Google, YouTube and even small sites like mine all the time. In the realm of branding, it’s of huge consequence how shapes, colors and specific words ensure that people remember the names of companies and service providers. They literally require observation and memory to connect in order to succeed on the market. Controlled Experiments In Memory Speaking of memory science, here’s a recent example with Drs. David Reser and Tyson Yunkaporta. In their

When I heard about how Ashley Strand memorized the entire Book of Mark, I knew I had to interview him. His performance is incredible, for one thing. You can tell just how deeply he’s memorized this text simply by watching the preview for his one-man show. As someone who has memorized a fair amount of verbatim text myself, I can tell by speaking with Ashley that he really knows his stuff. I’m talking about the granular details of “the real work” involved in instilling large amounts of text into your long-term memory. To help you learn more about what’s involved in a memory project like this, Ashley takes us deep into the process. And some of the mnemonic methods he uses are surprising. Or at least they surprised me as we first started talking about them. The more I listened, the more I realized that there is an aspect of memory I just don’t talk about enough. More on that at the end of this interview with Ashley. But first… Who Is Ashley Strand? According to his Wikipedia page, Ashley began acting in 1996. He holds an MFA from Michael Khan’s Academy for Classical Acting. He’s appeared in several Shakespeare plays and The Duchess of Malfi. As a performer with comedic leanings, he’s entertained audiences around the world. His work with writing and performing one-man shows is of special interest to those of us interested in memory techniques. That’s because delivering long monologues from memory doesn’t come with the same amount of cue lines from other actors. As you’ll discover in our discussion, without having someone to help you during a performance, you won’t have any cue lines at all. https://youtu.be/0op9LSE3_yQ King James Live According to Ashley, “the gospel was written to be heard.” This is more than a cute slogan. Ashley’s made it his mission to bring scripture to life. So far, he’s fulfilled on this promise by memorizing the Gospel According to Mark. You can find a DVD of his live performance on his King Jame Live website to enjoy and see the positive audience reactions. There are also links to free streaming versions of the performance. A performance of this kind involves more than just reciting verbatim content. There are also choreographic considerations to be remembered, tonality and blocking. Blocking is an interesting aspect of memorization because it merges with the Memory Palace technique, something that we discuss in some detail with an extended example of how Ashley memorized a list. The Difference Between Memorizing A Bit of Scripture And A Lot I’ve memorized bits of Shakespeare and smatterings of Biblical scripture. When you need to know a few verses and the verse numbers, this tutorial will help get you there. My experiences with memorizing Sanskrit phrases relates to what Ashely has done. Whereas I’ve memorized just over 2000 words in Sanskrit, however, he’s done over 10,000. And that’s just taking his work with the Book of Mark into consideration. I don’t know the exact Shakespearian roles he’s played, but few of them are tiny. For me, the big takeaways from this conversation with Ashley boil down to: The importance of textual analysis as a mnemonic device we don’t take stock of nearly enough Finding ways to use Memory Palaces to combine the journey method with logic Digging deep into the nature of your ego for a variety of reasons Big projects like memorizing the Book of Mark may not be on your plate, but I believe all of these lessons and more of the details we discuss will be of great use to you. For more insights into scripture memorization, you might also like hearing about: How Matt Barclay used Psalm memorization as part of recovering from brain issues caused by cardiac arrest Mike McKinley’s approach to memorizing Psalms without a Memory Palace Memory tips from actors who don’t clown around How actor Mark Channon won the World Memory Championships Thanks as always for listening and I hope you found this discussion as inspiring and informative as I did!

Does anxiety affect memory and even cause memory loss? In a word, yes. I know the impact stress has on memory personally because I went through a lot of anxiety during both high school and university. I’ll tell you more about how I have mostly solved my anxiety in a moment. Even better, I’ll share how I’ve reduced the brain fog caused by anxiety. You might not have connected brain fog and anxiety, but chances are that you’re facing both. In my research the cognitive neuroscience literature has documented it as a by-product of stress-related dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. But first, here’s something about the link between memory lapses that’s a little but counterintuitive: Anxiety can also increase your memory in certain situations. This point is important because anxiety can both help and hinder memory, and the difference comes down to attentional control. For that reason, we’ll focus specifically on the various kinds of anxiety that rob of you of the ability recall the information you need to remember. While helping you improve your focused attention. As a result, by following a few simple steps, you can expect to see improvements soon. Even better: If you’re struggling with anxiety-induced memory loss, you’ll discover that you’re not alone. Memory experts like myself and a very successful memory athlete I’ll introduce you to in a moment have been through it. And because we’re memory pros, our solutions are very likely to help you. Not just quickly, but thoroughly. My friend from the world of memory competition is especially interesting because he actually introduces anxiety to help him practice on purpose. But until he properly understood the relationship between memory and anxiety, he was a complete train wreck in his personal life. His fixes are fantastic, so please give this page a thorough read. By following the suggestions he and I have for you, I’m confident you’ll find yourself enjoying much better memory soon. And you’ll benefit from reduced stress and anxiety as a result. Can Anxiety Really Cause Memory Loss? Yes…And Here’s How Anxiety definitely interferes with memory. In many cases, the damage happens because it’s very difficult to pay attention to incoming information when you’re under duress. As one study found, anxiety negatively affects what scientists call attentional control. When I was a teenager and had anxiety attacks, I used to flee the classroom and run to the nearest church. My anxiety got worse instead of better because I had zero control over my attention. The panic attacks forced me to pay attention only to the pressure on my chest that made me feel like I could not breathe. Stress-induced memory loss can stem from anxiety causing physical symptoms like breathing problems. Later, I went through a similarly bad anxiety attack while delivering a lecture at the University of Saarland. During this episode, it wasn’t merely that I couldn’t remember what I wanted to tell the students as I started sweating and experience dry mouth at the podium. I failed to focus on my delivery because a sudden lack of attentional control caused me to focus on my physical distress. Both my high school and professional lecturing episodes are highly specific states of memory loss caused by anxiety. And the weird thing is that, although they impede learning and memory in the moment, the episodes themselves are highly memorable to me. That’s because stress can help form memories in certain circumstances. As Sallie Baxendale points out in Coping With Memory Problems, stress can also lead to the formation of what are called flashbulb memories. Often the stress of shock is involved, such as when someone famous like John F. Kennedy of Princess Diana passes away. The point is that anxiety and long-term memory losses cut both ways depending on the nature of the stimulus. How to Identify the Trigger Behind Your Memory Loss Here’s where things can get tricky. If you’re in an anxious state, it can be hard to remember the last five or ten minutes to figure out what might have triggered the episode. But as three-time USA Memory Champion John Graham shared with us on the Magnetic Memory Method podcast, figuring out what’s happening in your body is a huge part of solving the problem. That’s where you start: By scanning your body and then breathing into it. I’ve got more tips to share and recommended steps to follow for you in a moment. But I wanted to start with John’s personal story because his findings are both useful and inspiring. I’m so glad he found the courage to share what was going on in his life and the solutions he found. As you’ll learn from our discussion, some of his best solutions came from noticing how his body forced his attentional awareness onto physical symptoms. Only by starting at the level of how his body wa

Prospective memory is fascinating. Your entire future success in life relies on it working well. Why? Well, let me ask you this: How do you know that in the future you will remember to remember? To test our ability to remember the need to remember in the future, researchers S. L. Penningroth and W.D. Scott asked a bunch of university students the following question: “Imagine that your friend has asked you to make a call tomorrow morning to provide a personal recommendation for a full-time job. You must wait until morning to call because that is when the potential employer will be in the office.” As Beatrice G. Kuhlmann discusses with reference to this study in, Prospective Memory, students participating in the study listed different strategies. To remind themselves of this future event, they might remember to make the call by: Mentally rehearsing the call Using an app for notification Leaving a note where they would be sure to see it Setting a specific time to make the call These are all examples of metacognition that helps us remember future intentions. Without both intention and metacognition, we are all at risk of some serious prospective memory failure. That’s why being able to remember to do things and perform actions in the future is so critical. And having a healthy prospective memory is what helps us remember future events successfully. Let’s look more at this important type of memory and make sure you understand its importance, how to preserve it and even how to make it better. That way you can stop missing so many appointments and forgetting to do the things that matter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXon2RZIJuc What Is Prospective Memory? Prospective memory is literally defined by remembering to do things in the future. This means that prospective memory is primarily linked to tasks such as: Attending a class Going to an appointment Completing a task at work on time Taking medication Remembering to pack a lunch The Two Main Prospective Memory Tasks There are at least two kinds of tasks that prospective memory influences: Time-based tasks Event-based tasks Taking medicine at a particular time of day is a time-based task because it happens at a specific time. Another example would be baking. If you warm the oven for 10 minutes before putting the cookies inside, that task is time-based and your prospective memory operates in accordance. You can also explore these kinds of tasks in relation to procedural memory (the kind of memory that helps you remember how to perform certain tasks, like riding a bike). By contrast, event-based tasks typically involve some kind of cue in your environment. Here’s an example of what I mean: You see a grocery store on your way home. It reminds you that someone in your family asked you to pick up some apples or tea earlier in the day. In other words, prospective memory does its job when something you see, hear or feel cues you to think about the task. In this case, it is seeing the grocery store that reminds you of the task someone asked you to remember in the future. Seeing a grocery store can trigger your memory that you need to do some shopping. How Do Researchers Study Prospective Memory? In order to analyze how people engage in prospective memory tasks, researchers create models. They do this by finding volunteers to participate in research studies that involve time-based or event-based tasks. For example, S.J. Gilbert devised a study testing how people “offload” their future tasks. By creating a model of how people behave, he noticed an interesting difference in leaving reminders for yourself that you might recognize: “I might write the details of an appointment on a piece of paper, which reminds me of where I need to go, but only after I have remembered that I need to go somewhere and consulted this record.” In other words, making a note about an appointment in the future is no guarantee that you will remember to look at the note. You might even be confused by notes that you left for yourself. Thus, the implication of this study is that: We often need more than written reminders We need to be very clear about the written reminders we do leave for ourselves One thing I’ve needed to learn as I age is to be much clearer in the notes I make for myself. If my notes about future tasks are too cryptic, I wind up wasting time trying to understand what I needed to do. Taking a second to make sure that future reminders are clear and cue the future task as explicitly as possible is very valuable. What Does A Model Of Prospective Memory Look Like? It’s pretty fascinating, actually! A typical model of prospective memory shows that there’s a process that is divided into three categories. Here’s an example: A simple model of prospective memory showing three phases with several steps in each. From the book, Prospective Memory (Current Issues In Memory). Prospective memory, which involves: Intention formation Intention retention Intention retrieval Monit

Are you looking for cognitive activities for adults to stimulate your brain? I sure am. As I age, it’s getting increasingly clearer that our cognitive abilities and brain health weaken with age. Illness, caused by genetics or poor habits challenges cognition and memory too. Here’s the good news: Cognitive stimulation activities provide a way to defy this deterioration — helping you improve your attention, memory, and overall mental health. In this article, we’ll take a brief look at cognitive processes. I’ll also show you 13 stimulating activities for cognitive development that will keep your brain fighting-fit, even as you age. Some of the activities are simple, especially the top ten you can see on this infographic I created for you: But there are many more “classic activities” that provide incredible workouts for short term memory and other aspects of cognition. One in particular is featured up front in this recent video tutorial I created for you: https://youtu.be/-7Feazpc_ho First, however, I believe it’s useful and important to set the stage by defining what we’re talking about. By understanding what cognition is, you’ll be better able to decide which activities are most likely to provide you with the greatest fruit along our shared quest for sharper minds and better memory skills. That’s right. I’m aging myself and sharing the journey with you and regularly studying my own cognition so that I choose only the most optimal cognitive training activities. Here’s What I’ll Cover In This Post: What Are Cognitive Processes? 13 Activities For Strengthening Cognitive Processes For Adults Why are Cognitive Processes Important? Do Cognitive Processes Decline as You Age? What Are Cognitive Processes? While you were binge-watching a streaming series, a burning smell caught your senses. You dashed to the kitchen to turn off the oven. As you cleaned up the mess, your brain made a list of ingredients you need to bake that cake again. You then drove to the grocery store, bought the ingredients, and returned home to bake again. What a day! But it was worth every bite of that oozy, chocolatey delight sitting at your kitchen counter. Now: Did you realize you used many of your cognitive skills in the above scenario? In his 1967 book, Ulric Neisser defined cognition as “how sensory inputs are transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used.” Let’s go deeper. What are the Different Cognitive Processes? Here’s a closer look at the various cognitive skills you use in your daily life. They include attention, memory, logic, reasoning, and visual and auditory processing. They help you process the world around you. Attention Attention allows you to concentrate on a particular activity or stimulus instead of processing everything around you. Activities such as walking, wearing clothes, and driving require little attention because the repeated practice has made them a part of your routine. But activities like responding to a friend in crisis would require more attention. Your attention could also be selective to a strong stimulus, letting you focus only on it. For example, you could listen to a podcast on the radio amid noisy traffic or work on your laptop with the TV switched on. Sensation and Perception Sensation is the process of receiving information from the environment through your sensory organs — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Perception is the process by which you interpret this information. Past experiences influence your perception and allow you to make sense of the world around you. Gestalt psychologists believe that we perceive our reality as a whole rather than the sum of different parts. For example, a dotted line (…………….) will be seen as a line and not as separate dots. Comprehension To comprehend means to understand and interpret what you read or hear. Your brain decodes the language of what you’ve read and makes connections with what you already know. For example, you read, “The train left the station and John’s friend was gone forever.” To process this sentence, you need to understand what is left unsaid: John’s friend was on that train. Memory Memory is made up of three processes: acquiring, storing, and retrieving information on ideas, facts, images, habits, or events around you. It is the store of all things you’ve learned and retained from your activities and experiences. Cognitive reserve is the brain’s ability to find alternate ways of getting things done. You can only improve it by performing new tasks and challenging the brain to learn new skills. That is where cognitive activities for adults can come to your rescue. Some of them even help people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Let’s see what they are. 13 Powerful Cognitive Activities for Adults You’ll find plenty of cognitive stimulation activities for adults, including exercise workbooks and several enticing online brain training games and apps. I’d su

Can you be both an autodidact and a polymath? Is there really a difference between the two? The short answer is that you have to be autodidactic in order to be polymathic. At least to a certain degree. If there’s an exception to this rule, I’m unaware of it – and I’ve been studying the fields of learning and memory for decades. As you learn more about how to become both autodidactic and polymathic, I’ll share some examples that will help you better understand why these categories are tied at the hip. And you’ll discover how to be both at the same time. Ready? Let’s dive in! Autodidactic vs. Polymath: A Detailed Guide On The Only Difference That Matters What I’m about to say might sound arrogant. However, please hear me out: The only real difference between an autodidact and a polymath happens when an autodidact truly believes he or she has learned on their own. Seriously. How can anyone learn on their own? We need books written by others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo_u92Trp0A Those authors needed to learn how to read and write themselves. This does not mean that you cannot “teach yourself” in a way that resembles the general meaning of autodidacticism. But the standard definition of “learning without a teacher” simply doesn’t make sense. Someone had to create the learning material. Even if you’re Darwin and discovering the laws of nature behind the theory of evolution, someone else taught him language and the principles of science during his time. It Comes Down To Personal Volition If there is something special that autodidacts have that others do not, it’s their drive to take the reins of learning into their own hands. In my previous posts on potentially improving your IQ and life lessons from people who enjoy higher IQ, we saw that at some level, you have to define your own goals. To a certain extent, you also have to personally define what meaning intelligence has for you. That’s not to say you get to create your own definitions and categories. But we know from research presented by Nir Eyal and Duke University that making your own definitions and applying them to a crafted self-identity do lead to better memory and learning outcomes. You just have to choose that you will do so. If you feel like you’re lacking in will, that’s okay. Give these mental strength exercises a try. I’ve personally found them incredibly empowering, and there’s another one for you in my TEDx Talk. So Then… What Is An Autodidactic Polymath? An autodidact is essentially someone who takes responsibility for learning in a holistic way from others – without necessarily needing their presence or hands-on guidance. As it happens, there are some personality traits polymaths exhibit – and they can be adopted. An older way to find examples you can model involves looking up the concept of the Renaissance Man. Obviously, we no longer limit becoming a polymath to men only, but we also have to accept that people used these terms in this way in the past. (Some languages, like German, still use “Mann” to mean all humans, though this may change in the future.) Some quick examples of autodidact polymaths you can look up now include: Ramon Llull Giordano Bruno Robert Fludd St. Augustine St. Aquinas Lynne Kelly Frances Yates Ben Cardall Phil Chambers Nelson Dellis Tony Buzan In each of these cases, I’ve selected people who have also mastered memory techniques. In some cases, these people knew how to use visual memory techniques exceptionally. In others, they have aphantasia (lack of a mind’s eye) and approach learning a little bit differently. Tony Buzan with Anthony Metivier and Phil Chambers In some of these cases, the autodidactic polymaths focused purely on mastering multiple topics in terms of “book knowledge.” In other cases, they learned to use action-based and analytical skills related to developing and running businesses. You should also consider people bridging the arts and sciences, such as Christian Bök. His Xenotext project required him to teach himself multiple skills in programming, biology, project management and more. How To Be An Autodidactic Polymath In Today’s World: 7 Tips You Can Implement Now I believe everyone can become an autodidactic polymath. Here are some of the simplest and most direct activities you can start pursuing whenever you’re ready to get started. One: Commit To A Lifelong Journey As John Michael Greer (another autodidactic polymath) points out in his excellent Druidry Handbook, “initiation” may mean beginning a learning project within a tradition. But anything worth starting at this scale is really a lifelong project. In the case of Druidry, he suggests the commitment focus on “reshaping your relationship to the Earth.” When it comes to becoming a autodidactic polymath, I suggest you commit to reshaping your commitment to

Visual memory techniques make learning faster and easier. Yet, some people find them confusing. I don’t blame them. That’s because the word “visual” is not quite right. Or better said, there’s a missing ingredient that often needs to come first before you mentally picture the mnemonics you’re using as part of learning. On this page, I’m going to clarify what visual mnemonics are and how to make better use of them. Quickly. Easily. And in ways that are incredibly fun. Ready for mental adventure while learning? Let’s dive in! https://youtu.be/gCanl6I8sjU What Are Visual Mnemonics? For thousands of years, most ancient memory techniques have involved linking images through association to information. If I meet a new person named Rick, if I can imagine another person named Rick that I know, I’ve increased the likelihood that I’ll remember the name. That’s because linking is a form of chunking that makes it easier to learn faster. I have “chunked” or associated one person named Rick with another. Remembering names is relatively simple. But it’s the same basic process when using visual mnemonics to learn more complicated information. It’s a basic formula: See something you want to memorize in a book or hear it in a conversation Think about what you already know that connects with the target information you want to remember Link them together Typically, people make these links based on the idea that you can visualize the mnemonic image you choose to assign the link. The Lukasa memory board functions as both a tactile and visual memory technique. Stonehenge may have helped people recall details in a similar way, but at a much larger scale. Historically, Lynne Kelly has questioned in books like The Memory Code to what extent Stonehenge might have served as a kind of visual memory technique. One idea is that people found visual patterns in the stones and used them to help remember information about herbal remedies and other information important to survival. I think there’s good reason to believe that Stonehenge and other physical structures have been used this way. Objects like the lukasa and using the hand as a mnemonic tool operate in a similar way. These days, people don’t visit Stonehenge or carry around memory boards. They use methods of association almost entirely in their minds, including techniques like: The Memory Palace Number rhymes The Pegword Method Major System PAO System Zettelkasten And many more. The Problem With “Seeing” Mnemonics In Your Mind As fun and easy as making associations can be, there’s a cost to every benefit. For one thing, not everyone has a strong visual imagination. Mine comes and goes, and for a long time I was pretty sure I had aphantasia – the inability to see mental imagery. However, as soon as I learned about mnemonics, I knew I had to use them. And so I figured out a way to use them in a multi-sensory way, without getting caught up on the visual part. Over the years, I came up with a bunch of very useful visualization exercises too. They’ve helped a lot. But at the end of the day, I finally stumbled across memory masters like Giordano Bruno and Robert Fludd. No one knows just how visual they may have been, but it’s clear that they proposed ways to use visualization differently. In The Art of Memory, Yeats described some of their mnemonic strategies. Even where she was correct, current memory science, memory competitors and many conversations enabled by the Internet have led to a renaissance in working out how to use visual memory techniques better. Let’s turn now to these ways. Because the other problem people face, beside not being able to visualize, is time. Get what we’re about to talk about right and you’ll be able to memorize using these techniques much faster. One: Base Your Visual Mnemonics On Real Sources When many people get into mnemonics, they read books by people like Harry Lorayne, Tony Buzan and Dominic O’Brien. That’s fantastic and their teaching is brilliant. However, they often use vague and generic examples. If you need to memorize a word like “ramification,” they’ll suggest that you think about a ram, as in the animal. That might be fine for some people. But for myself and many others, it just doesn’t “pop” in the imagination. I use more concrete images, like the fact that my dad used to drive a particular Dodge Ram. Or the semantic fact that there’s a German band called Rammstein. These mnemonic images are instantly visual because I’ve already seen them with my own eyes. The catch is that you do need to think a little sometimes. But with practice, you can train your procedural memory to come up with associations that are concrete and specific in a flash. It’ll soon feel like it’s happening to you automatically, faster than the speed of thin

Giordano Bruno wrote many books about memory techniques. The mnemonic strategies they contain are really good. But many are notoriously difficult to read. For one thing, Bruno rarely just gets down to teaching the techniques. They’re often mixed in with all kinds of elaborate astronomy and philosophy. Was there any method to this madness? Or was he just a hack? You’re about to discover the answer to these questions on this page. And the truth about Giordano Bruno’s approach to using memory techniques for learning will surprise you. Ready? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZYpuST0Hao Who Was Giordano Bruno? The biography of Giordano Bruno can be difficult to wade through. His fans adore him for a variety of reasons. They might admire his early understanding of memory science. Or they admire his contributions to early astronomy. Some people even see him as a symbol for freedom of expression and thought. Others criticize him, especially for refusing to recant when the church accused him of heresy. Either way, we believe Giordano Bruno was born in 1548 in Nola, a town in southern Italy. He became a Dominican priest in 1572 and earned a doctorate in theology in 1575. That same year, the authorities investigated him for holding controversial views on the Trinity. Later, in 1600, the Inquisition burned Bruno at the stake for refusing to recant on his views. According to Ingrid Rowland in her study of his life, Bruno denied that Christ was a person. In fact, he denied that anyone was a person, an argument so nuanced, his trial was put on hold for two weeks as the authorities discussed its ins and outs. Although you could argue that Bruno was merely being stubborn and provocative, current neuroscience, psychology and experts belonging to related fields have confirmed what is now called the Nonself hypothesis. Bruno’s Philosophy At A Glance Bruno’s ideas can be hard to follow because he was a polymathic learner. He referred to the words of Plato and Aristotle along with references to Ramon Llull and many other thinkers. His ability to remember the granular details of such a wide variety probably frustrated him, especially when others couldn’t keep up. What were his ideas and why did he hold them to be philosophically important? To pick a starting point, it concerned Bruno that many people focused on Aristotle’s materialism at the expense of the metaphysical ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas. He worried that concentrating on just one form of logic would reduce critical thinking, rather than increase it. As a result, people remained fixated on an incorrect model of the universe. Bruno’s alternative theory focused on the universe as infinite and indivisible. He believed in one Universal Soul that collaborates with Universal matter to create reality based on an ongoing process of regeneration and decay. Bruno extended these ideas to his definition of God. And like St. Augustine, extended them to reflect on the nature of memory. Unlike Augustine, however, Bruno found time to teach mnemonic strategies that people still use today. The Basic Memory Techniques Of Giordano Bruno Bruno’s memory techniques are not particularly original to him. However, his manner of teaching mnemonics is unique. There is no one quite like him, not even Robert Fludd, who shared similar philosophical ideas. Bruno’s uniqueness comes through in a few ways. He often taught techniques like the Memory Palace through his commentaries on other teachers. In his Opere lulliane, for example, he gives a far clearer description of how to create a well-formed Memory Palace than in any of his own books that I’ve read: In the basic system of the classical Art of Memory, also known as the method of loci or Memory Palaces, you must follow a basic set of rules. To remember anything, convert them into images and then distribute those images in a set of places around a building or other structure in a sequenced order. To retrieve those images, retrace your steps through the sequences of places, viewing and decoding each of the images as you go. The places should be well lit, not too far apart and not crowded together and distinctive from one another. The whole structure should be clearly visualized. The path you take should be obvious, so you will not get lost, and to facilitate retrieval. There is also advice on how to make the images themselves as memorable as possible. They should be visually striking and emotionally resonant. (They may be terrifying, inspiring, or humorous.) They should be visualized as clearly as possible. The images should not blend into the background of the places. If a thing that is to be remembered, is not easily visualized, then you may choose to encode letters or syllables of the name of the thing into a set of predetermined images. Bruno copied most of this very clear teaching from Rhetorica ad Herennium. People repeated this basic description of the journey

Do brain games work? Yes and no, depending on what you mean when you ask the question. If you’re looking for a quick fix, brain games are highly unlikely to improve much when it comes to focus, attention and memory. And scientists are right to discourage people from getting their hopes up. Scientists playing for team human, that is. I make the distinction because a lot of the science around brain games is suspect at best. On this page, I’ll share the main points behind why some scientists dismiss many brain games outright. In many cases, it’s because the extravagant claims made by companies and “researchers” who claim their brain games bring benefits are often downright criminal. But this does not mean that there aren’t any brain games you can play and be repaid for your time and effort. As you’ll see, enjoying memory boosts come down to your goals and how precisely you integrate playing games in your life. Full disclosure before we continue: I’ve created several brain games and memory games over the years, so I might be a bit biased. None of them are for sales on this page, however. My point today is to address you as someone who knows a fair amount of the research. I belong to major psychological organizations and have access to databases many do not. And as a person with a PhD and over a decade of experience writing about a variety of issues related to memory, I’m capable of not only being objective. I’ve been trained to read, analyze and interpret what such studies mean. And what they don’t mean. So if you’re ready for a full analysis of when and how brain games stand a chance at improving your memory, let’s dive in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIgNZu4UOjM Do Brain Games Work? The Science Explained The briefest answer here is that real science doesn’t offer final “yes” and “no” answers. That’s because science is about running experiments and analyzing data. Since a wide variety of brain games exist and we have many ways to test their outcomes against many conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s to stroke and amnesia, we have take each study on its own terms. This is where producers of brain games often bend the truth. They’ll show studies that “prove” their games work. Often, these companies are just cherry-picking from studies that are marginally related to their apps. And that’s assuming they’re related at all. This behavior was noted by Dr. Christine Till who studied Cogmed’s effects on a particular group of patients. It’s very easy to interpret the data in different ways. Her conclusion was that any benefits from the brain games were coming more from the test group that worked with personal coaches as part of playing the games. This is a very different outcome than experiencing memory improvement from a game itself. Again, in order to arrive at a balanced view, we need to look at specific studies and think about them in the context of our goals. In some cases, scientific studies won’t really matter because they can’t give final answers anyhow. They can only talk about what the data validates according to specific trials run against specific groups of people. This puts you in the position of what I call “radical honesty.” You need to play the best possible brain games yourself over a specific period of time and come up with your own benchmarks for improvement. In other words, you need to be the scientist in the laboratory of your own mind. To that end, we’ll talk more about different kinds of brain games and how to approach them next. Types of Brain Games And Their Cognitive Targets Brain games are often designed to target specific memory skills or improve aspects of your conscious experience. These can include exercising faculties like: Memory Attention Focus Logic Problem solving Increase tolerance for cognitive load Rehabilitation In one study, researched used a game called “Lost in Migration.” The researchers claim that participants experienced a combination of benefits from problem solving improvements to better cognitive processing and memory. However, if you read the study carefully, it was conducted at and supported by Lumos labs, which produces a “brain training” app called Lumosity. “Lost in Migration” was part of this software at the time the study was conducted. Why might they be funding research that positively supports their product? Read the study even more closely and you’ll find that it only involved three participants. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about just how valid this study actually is, and welcome you to consult the head researcher’s online CV to assess the state of her credentials at the time the study was conducted. The larger point I want to get across is that this one example cites multiple benefits based on just three pe

Wouldn’t it be great if you could instantly access perfect calm? Or even better, live in such a deep state of relaxation that you don’t need some special strategy to deal with anxiety? That’s what 3x USA Memory Champion John Graham learned to do. And it turns out that the core techniques are easy to practice. In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, John shares his experiences with shocking levels of anxiety and how he learned to remove the underlying causes. From there, things have just been getting better and better. All thanks to the stress-busting tips you’re about to discover. https://youtu.be/rdC28SEJaYo Who Is John Graham? If you’ve been following the memory improvement world for any amount of time, you’ll probably already know his name. If not, make sure to check out his YouTube channel. In addition to many competition wins, he has demonstrated incredible feats of memory on a variety of television shows around the world. That’s why when the topic of developing perfect calm out of life’s many stresses comes up, I pay special attention to what John has to say. Frankly, I don’t know any other competitor who has gone to such lengths. True, memory athletes like Alex Mullen and Johannes Mallow have also done high-stakes television spots… But I think if you check them all out, there’s something especially nerve-wracking about the challenges John has taken on. What Is Perfect Calm? At the end of the day, performance anxiety isn’t what John ultimately wants to help people with. He’s all about helping people establish perfect calm, which basically means feeling at ease and being able to maintain that sensation no matter what’s going on. Realistically. Practically. Efficiently. This mission is so important because there’s a deep anxiety that far too many people suffer. They unfortunately don’t know how simple the solutions can be. Nor do they have an idea of what calm can feel like in their lives. This is a tragic outcome because the techniques for achieving a state that feels comfortable, relaxed and easy to return to if you come across some turbulence in life are so simple. I know that I found it hard to imagine how my mind was going to turn from chaos to calm back when I needed to address anxiety issues. As a result, it made it nearly impossible for me to focus on what needed to be done to solve the problem. That’s just one more reason I’m grateful to John for opening up and sharing his experiences. That can’t be easy, but transparency around these issues is the key to helping others. For more discussions with John, please check out Beyond Mnemonics, Next Level Memory Training Secrets and Focus First. No, there aren’t any brain games to play. You may need to spend some time with concentration meditations or other mental exercises. But John’s the real deal and I hope you take more than inspiration from him. I hope you will take his advice. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it around, visit John’s Release Panic website and thank you for your kind attention.

Many people who want to master multiple topics wonder about the exact polymath personality traits they’ll need to nurture. I went through the hard work of figuring them out myself, especially while completing my PhD at York University in Toronto. During those years, I studied a variety of polymaths to “reverse engineer” how exactly they developed so many skills without simply winding up with dust in their hands due to splitting their focus. My research took me into many areas, ranging from self-improvement topics to philosophy and the role of friendship. Luckily, it didn’t take me long to discover many of the traits found in most polymathic people. But there’s something else I discovered that you also need to know about. All of these things will be covered in-depth on this page. So if you’re interested in the traits you need to nurture so that you can become truly polymathic, this may be the most important post you ever read. Ready? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We0idHm3QlA What Is A Polymath? The word polymath comes to us from polymathēs in Greek. It stems from “poly” for many and “manthanein” for “to learn.” That means you can be a polymath without actually having math in your skillset. Where did the idea that someone can master many topics come from? Many people say that the idea of mastering several fields arose during the Renaissance and Enlightenment era. There’s certainly truth to this assumption and it’s one reason why the term “Renaissance Man” still circulates. Frankly, polymathic people have been around for a lot longer than that. Aristotle was a polymath, as was arguably his student, Alexander the Great. In Ancient China, Shen Kuo mastered multiple topics during his life. Between the years 1031 and 1095 he worked successfully in everything form meteorology and metallurgy to politics and pharmacology. According to research Michael Araki, it’s not the topics themselves that define polymathy. What matters is: Breadth Depth Integration In other words, a polymath has a comprehensive understanding of multiple topics, but not in a shallow way. There must be depth, and typically this depth is demonstrated through integration. Since Araki’s terms are open to a lot of interpretation, let’s look first at the traits that must be in place and nurtured in order to fulfil these categories. Then we’ll look at how to avoid self-delusion. There are a lot of people who claim to have breadth, depth and integration. But we need to know how to test these claims in order to avoid charlatanism. The 3 Core Traits Of A Modern Polymath As we go through these traits, keep in mind that none of them need to be inborn or part of your DNA. As intelligence and memory studies have shown, it’s possible to rewire the brain and teach old dogs new tricks. Yes, even those who have never had any experience in mastering a single topic area or skill, let along several. So if you feel like you’re missing any of these traits, don’t worry. They can all be developed. One: Curiosity You Can’t Control Polymathic people are driven by their curiosity. You might be thinking, how on earth am I going to get curious about boring topics when I only have a mild desire to learn more as it is? There are several paths you can take. Some of them involve exercises that will grant you greater mental strength. Others might require you to use mind mapping or other forms of positive visualization to start rewiring your current state. One way or the other, developing your current curiosity and nurturing it is the key. For example, I was once told by Harry Lorayne to not tell people about memory science. He said that if you’re going to run a successful memory business, you need to avoid heavy topics that scare the “mass market” away from your Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass offers. This advice made me curious and although I don’t think he was wrong, I made myself lean into it. Soon, I was insatiably curious about memory science. Sure, some of my least successful YouTube videos cover the science of memory. But I’m glad that something in my character let me avoid that piece of advice. I’ve been personally rewarded many times over by what I’ve learned, even if he was probably right from a business perspective. This issue is something all true polymaths will probably have to face at some point in their learning journey. As the old saying goes, “you can be rich or you can be right.” So far, I’ve followed the mind map I created with Tony Buzan years ago and my curiosity about memory science and the desire to have an accurate understanding about it has won. Two: Interdisciplinary Skills With Scientific Intent When I started my PhD in Humanities, the exact nature of the program was unclear. I entered the very first year of its existence and wa

A lot of people throw around the term lifelong learning. But what does it really mean? And how can you adopt its principles to benefit your life in every respect? I’m talking about more than just being smarter. I’m talking about using lifelong learning to build the health of your body and brain. Adopting study skills that build your wealth. Developing know-how that helps you solve problems fast and stop many problems from arising in the first place. Ready to discover the benefits of lifelong learning and multiple examples from real lifelong learners you’ve probably never considered before? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b8cvqmTTok What Does Lifelong Learning Really Mean? (Hint: It’s Not What You Think) In a word, lifelong learning is an investment. It’s an investment of time and resources into five key areas: Books Courses Coaching and consulting Deliberate practice Taking on new challenges outside your comfort zone To take my own example as a PhD graduate, I was tasked with reading 500 books and articles for my two field exams. Later, I needed to read even more as part of researching my dissertation. Although I don’t read quite so much anymore, as a true lifelong learner with polymathic interests, I continue going through books and courses related to my field. Why? Because as researchers in the field of psychology have shown, self-correction is the key to maintaining expertise. It’s also why I personally keep and recommend a re-reading strategy as you go about your own lifelong learning journey. It’s so important to keep learning because new details and new perspectives are always emerging. We all need to keep ourselves on track. In terms of getting coaching and consulting, I’ve written many bestselling books and many marketing pieces over the past twelve years. But to this day, I have a writing mentor I meet with every week. I learn new things from him and he helps me keep focused on the fundamentals. When it comes to deliberate practice, this means you keep a scheduled and modular routine for implementing what you learn. If it’s language learning, you have weekly meetings to practice reading, writing, speaking and listening. For music, you follow a structured program for going through scales and various rhythmical exercises. If it’s writing, you read the best in your field and you write, ideally every day. In all these fields of practice, you need to balance maintaining fundamental skills while gradually pushing yourself into unknown areas you haven’t mastered yet. So if you’ve been wondering what it means to be a lifelong learner, now you know what it looks like. The Benefits of Lifelong Learning It’s impossible to value the benefits of following the model I’ve just shared with you. Although it’s simple, it’s not always easy. But because it’s not always easy, it provides many benefits. The model stretches you and this promotes growth. Growth, of course, can be quite an abstract thing. That’s why you want to keep a journal of your learning activities and use it to identify specific learning goals. You can structure these goals in terms of learning cycles, which will make it easier for you to see the benefits we’re about to discuss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VRTDkZlJEA One: Preventing Cognitive Decline Researchers at Harvard’s Economic Research Lab recently released a study showing that retiring early can lead to cognitive decline. According to the head researcher, Plamen Nikolov, they’ve seen damage that amounts to losing three IQ points. That might not seem like much, but Nikolov cites a Cambridge University study showing that losing just three points can make it harder for a person to remember when they need take their medication. This ability is related to prospective memory and procedural memory – two types of memory none of us can afford to lose. But lifelong learning, especially in areas like bilingualism, has been shown to help fortify the brain against issues like Alzheimer’s. So if you want a healthy brain and mind when you’re older, the time to follow the lifelong learning model I shared above is now. It works because it’s mentally stimulating on multiple fronts. Two: Problem-Solving I often say, the more you know, the more you can know. And it’s true because information is connective in nature. Even when you use a memory strategy like chunking to break complex topics down, you’re actually making the information even more connectable. But even better is that you’re expanding your ability to recognize patterns. This helps you see problems and solve them in advance. Sure, you can study critical thinking and problem solving as topics unto themselves. But without embedding them in the lifelong learning model I’ve shared, it’s unlikely that you’ll get quite the same pattern recognition t

If you want to stop losing things, you’re probably tired of the standard advice. Sure, tips like getting more organized, reducing clutter and always placing things in a designated spot make sense. But everyday life does not make sense. Sometimes we put things down and can’t remember where we put them. That’s just the way it goes. So when it comes to handling this problem in a mature manner, what really works? Well, if you’re sick of constantly losing things, you’re in luck. On this page, we’ll go through some proven memory techniques you can use. They’ll help you remember where you placed things even when you cannot follow the standard advice. How to Stop Misplacing Things First, we need to start getting more specific. Instead of “things,” we need to start using the actual names for what we want to stop losing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc23Qm7V4B4 As a simple exercise that will help give your memory a workout, jot down the kinds of things you lose. I suggest you use a journal and be as specific as possible. List: The types of objects you misplace What times of days you tend to lost things Where you wind up finding them Any other behavioral observations This exercise may feel hard, but please give it a try. It will almost certainly give you a solid foundation for solving this problem. Now let’s move on to our first major tip. Here are the steps I recommend any time you’ve lost something and need to find it as quickly as possible. Then, once these steps have helped you locate the missing object, make sure to journal each of the points above. Doing so will help with some neurological rewiring that will then reduce the amount of times you lose your precious belongings. One: Say Names And Locations Aloud If you have to set your keys down, say aloud, “keys on the counter.” This will reinforce the action and help your brain label both the object and the location. If you tend to forget whether or not you locked the door, saying aloud “locked” will help. It’s so much easier to remember what you’ve said aloud compared to what you’ve done physically. Rest assured, there’s no shame in this. I’m a memory expert and I say “locked, locked, locked” in my mind almost every time I go out. It eliminates the worry that I might have forgotten to do so. After I say “locked, locked, locked,” I usually make a point to replay the mental image of using my keys to secure the door. I also mentally repeat the phrase. I know that forgetting if you locked the door seems like a different issue than misplacing your reading glasses. But leaving your home is a procedural memory and those too can get lost as easily as objects. Two: Make A Fist Let’s say you set your glasses down on a table. Rather than simply walk away, close your fist as if you still have your glasses in your hand. You can combine this technique with saying the object and the location as you walk away. For example, you can quietly or silently in your mind state, “I have left my glasses down on the table.” This physical sensation of closing your fist while naming the action will help you carry the location-based memory with you. Later, you can think back to your fist and where you made this gesture. This action will help lead you back to the location where you left your glasses. I suggest you squeeze vigorously. Don’t make this a passive action. Put some drive into it. Also, if you’re leaving one room to go find scissors and don’t want to forget before you reach the kitchen, make a fist. By pretending you’ve got the scissors in your hand before leaving the room, you’ll remember what you were seeking. When we leave one room and forget what we were heading out for, we are essentially losing what is called a prospective memory. But by simply saying the location and the object out loud while making a fist, it’s much easier to hold on to that memory. Three: Make Multi Sensory Associations Next time you put your wallet down, imagine hearing a massive explosion – just as if you’d dropped a bomb. Let your imagination soar by making it as loud as possible. Include a visual flash of light. Feel the ground rumble. Think to yourself, my wallet just blew up the kitchen counter. Add some emotions, like shock at the explosion. Follow these simple steps and misplacing things will be difficult for you from now on. Four: Use Rhymes We’ve already talked about using names. But there are more ways we can use language to help us remember objects and their locations. Let’s say you have difficulties finding important books on your shelves. Instead of arranging everything alphabetically (which is not a bad idea), you can remember where books are like this: My important bookie-wookie is next to Stephen King-a-ling. Silly, right? That’s exactly the point. It makes it easier to remember where you stuck that book you always keep misplacing. Five: Learn The Major System And Pegword Method People ask me all the time, Why do I keep losing things?

Ben Cardall’s demonstrations of what Sherlock Holmes would do under real world conditions are legendary. So too is his book on the key observation and memory techniques you need to pull it all off. It’s called The Monographs. To celebrate the upcoming new version of this essential text on deduction, Ben joins me for an expansive conversation. We cover his practice with the Memory Palace technique, critical thinking and other topics. Then we focus on the most important topic of all: weighing the value of data and deciding what’s worth committing to memory. Beyond that, we even get into the knotty territory of free will. For the first time, someone finally gave me a new way to think about this essential philosophical puzzle! Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Ben. Click play on the video below or the audio player above to enjoy this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method and check out some of the links below for more on Ben and his work. https://youtu.be/txrCJjT9Cn4 Who Is Ben Cardall? In addition to writing The Monographs, Ben’s YouTube channel, The Deductionist provides you with tremendous resources. On it, Ben covers everything from body language to topics of importance to mentalists and magicians. Ben’s interest in everything from forensics and psychology to hypnosis and his passion for developing memory skills like Sherlock Holmes are infectious. Check out his website for multiple videos and more information. In terms of his teaching, so many people are excited about his current Kickstarter for The Monographs V2 that it was fulfilled in less than one day. I’ve still only read the first version, but sight unseen am perfectly comfortable recommending it. Frankly, I fully expect I’ll be adding this new book from Ben to my frequently updated post on the best Memory Palace books. The Monographs: A Quick Review When preparing this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I though I would call The Monographs an “underground classic.” My research uncovered too many positive reviews to call it “underground,” however. So we’ll have to settle for it being a classic of memory, critical thinking and deduction. I love how Ben weaves these skills together. Sure, you can focus purely on the Memory Palace technique. He gives you one of the most important tips you’ll ever read. But it’s really the fusion of memory techniques with observation tactics and thinking strategies that you need in order to order see, hear, feel and think at the highest possible level. When you can do that, you’ll be able to select the main points from the environment much better. Whether they’re in a book or lingering at the scene of a crime, there’s no point memorizing information if you haven’t prequalified it first. So if you truly want to think like Sherlock Holmes, you absolutely need Ben’s training material. This book contains practical exercises, background info and the steps that will help you apply the techniques to real world environments. Enjoy our conversation today and check out either version of The Monographs. You’ll be well rewarded!

Lots of people do brain exercises and memory exercises, often in the form of brain games. You’ve probably even tried a few, right? That’s all fine and dandy, but there’s a catch: Playing mental exercise games on your “smartphone” is not necessarily brain exercise! It might not even be mentally stimulating. Not by a long shot. Even if it feels that way on the surface. Worse, it can be harming your focus and concentration, instead of healing it. You might think that practicing remembering objects are hidden in a game, but often it’s actually harming your memory. And I can prove it. But don’t worry. I’m about to reveal some memory exercises and brain exercises that actually work. That’s because the mental fitness routines you’ll discover on this page really do exercise your brain. I’ll show you how to put them into action and also help you understand why they boost brain health. Why should you listen to me? As the author of the bestselling book, The Victorious Mind, I’ve been researching memory and brain exercise for over a decade. This work is an extension of my PhD research, which involved looking at the role of language learning in developing the mind. To help you navigate this post, here’s a preview of what you’re about to discover: Brain Exercise and Memory Exercise? – What Makes Them Good? The 15 Best Brain Exercises For Memory Improvement What Is The Best Brain Activity For You? How To Stimulate Your Brain To Be Smarter and Faster How To Improve Concentration And Focus Brain Exercise And Memory Exercise? – What Makes A Mental Fitness Routine Good? Let’s face it: Smartphone-based brain games don’t exercise your brain at all. If anything, they yank your brain’s dopamine around. Any exercise you get is quickly wasted on the ads you’ll be shown and tracking graphs that no robot can accurately help you understand. Instead of helping you, brain game apps train you to get good at completing tasks within the world of those apps. This is called context dependent memory. Daniel Simons and his research team have found that there is no meaningful evidence supporting that any skills you gain from within an app environment transfer to other skills in life. In other words, although you might remember where objects are located in a brain training app, there is no evidence showing it will help you better remember where you left your keys. To give you a quick example of context dependence from the world of language learning, I used to go to a lot of polyglot conventions. I met many people who could win all the shiny coins and medals in language learning apps. But actually speak the language? They could not. Their skills were “context dependent” on using the app. So any mental fitness you enjoy from using any software rarely applies to the aspects of your life where you need to be sharp, such as during conversations or on the job. The Real Definition of Brain Exercise & Memory Exercise Context dependence means that if you want better focus and clarity, you need to be doing real brain exercises. You need to completing memory exercises that give your memory a real world workout. To do that, any routine you select needs to follow these four rules: It always involves new learning It is always reasonably complex (and sometimes unreasonably complex) It is always varied and interesting It is always engaged in frequently Without following these rules, it is unlikely any exercise in an app will improve your memory. But I promise you the brain exercises and memory exercises below will stimulate and grow both your short-term memory and long-term memory. In case you’re wondering where I’ve drawn my own research from, here’s just a sampling of the research papers I’ve studied to discover what really works to improve your mind and memory. I’ll link other resources as we go through each of the recommended exercises below. Ready? Let’s get started! How to Exercise Your Brain: The 15 Best Brain Exercises For Memory Improvement As we go through this list of brain exercises, there’s no special order of important. I recommend that you try them all. In fact, by interleaving them, you’ll get even more benefits. 1. The 4-Details Observation Exercise Memory expert Dr. Gary Small talks about memorizing four details of people you encounter out in public. For example, let’s say someone is wearing a black hat, has blonde hair, a triangular ring, and a green sweater. Illustration of the 4 Details Exercise The goal is to observe the details first and then recall them later. No need for ancient memory techniques or anything like that. You just naturally encourage your brain to recall the details you selected earlier in the day. Some scientists call memory exercises like the 4-details exercise “passive memory training.” It’s passive because you’re not using any special memory techniques. You’re just asking your mind to do what it was designed

Robert Fludd is one of many people who taught memory techniques during the Renaissance. Although he’s largely forgotten due to some catastrophic errors in his thinking about medicine and science, his understanding of mnemonics is sound. So if you’re not sure about where to start with Robert Fludd’s contribution to memory, you’re in the right place. On this page, we’ll looking at his specific contributions to mnemonics for learning faster and remembering more. Let’s get started! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phaCt8tqyok Who Was Robert Fludd? Robert Fludd lived during an era when it was possible to be considered an expert in multiple areas. He was born in 1574 and died 1637, and was the son of Sir Thomas Fludd, who served as Queen Elizabeth’s treasurer at one point. Overall, his era was a time of explosive intellectual sharing through books and travel. But also one of controversy in which some people were forced into hiding for their ideas and even faced execution. No stranger to controversy himself, Fludd studied successfully at St John’s College, Oxford, with a focus on medicine. He also traveled widely and other areas he studied and wrote about throughout his colorful life include: Astrology Math Cosmology Various religious philosophies For our purposes, it is his role as a mnemonist that interests us the most. This is because one of his major works discussed the art of memory in greater detail than most books involving Memory Palaces of his era. His key text has a very long title, both in English and Latin: Utriusque Cosmi, Maioris scilicet et Minoris, metaphysica, physica, atque technica Historia (The metaphysical, physical, and technical history of the two worlds, namely the greater and the lesser) Recently, just the mnemonic strategy portion of this book has been published by Lewis Masonic as Mnemonic Methods. I highly recommend reading it, especially since it comes with Fludd’s original Latin and illustrations. Robert Fludd & the Philosophy Behind His Approach To Mnemonics On the one hand, it’s easy to extract Fludd’s approach to memory techniques without talking about the historical figure at all. He was largely passing forward what he’d learned from our ancient ancestors, after all. His description of the mnemonics stands the test of time because Fludd offered greater depth and more variety than others. In my view, Fludd was also much clearer in technical matters (mnemotechnics) than his important Italian contemporaries Giordano Bruno and his student Alexander Dicsone. (Though as far as I’m concerned, Dicsone’s philosophy makes more sense and feels more aligned with truth as an emergent, nondual property in line with what our contemporary physics seems to be revealing.) All in all, Fludd draws our attention to many technical points well worth focusing on – and he does so in a way that avoids the plagiarism in many other memory books, such as Matteo Ricci’s. And when it comes to what some people call the Roman Room technique, Fludd’s “theatre of the world” approach is well-worth close consideration. Because there’s one big part about it that I think many people have misunderstood that I’ll try to highlight for you below. With all this in mind, here are some ideas that I feel are well worth highlighting from Fludd’s work. I’m confident they will assist you in your use of mnemonics if these finer points aren’t already on your radar and integrated in your practice. One: Align Your Mnemonics As Close To The Target As Possible People new to memory techniques often use vague and abstract mnemonic images. Although this is not technically incorrect, it’s generally a poor approach. This is because the more vague and generic your images, the less likely they’ll help you recall what you’re trying to memorize. Here’s what I mean: Let’s say you’re memorizing a name like, well… Robert Fludd. You could be forgiven for associating his name in a general way with the concept of flooding. But Fludd would encourage you to go deeper by connecting the name to the flood of the Bible, ideally a specific painting of this scene you might know about. Were he alive today and aware of the music producer Mark Ellis, who goes by the artistic name “Flood,” Robert Fludd would likely suggest you connect the idea of the Biblical flood using either linking or the story method with a specific painting and a known person who also uses a similar sounding or identical name as your core mnemonic strategy. Two: Use Real Relationships Sometimes you can’t find exact or near-exact associations like we’ve just seen in the Fludd/flood example. In such cases, Fludd suggests that you focus on what he calls “real relationships.” For example, if you’re memorizing scripture, here’s Fludd in his own words: If the second wo

Did you know that getting mental stimulation causes new brain cells to grow and connect? It’s true. The process is called neurogenesis and anyone can enjoy multiple brain health benefits by exercising their minds. You can also avoid cognitive decline, or at least reduce it. But you might lack confidence when it comes to understanding and using brain exercises to give your mind great stimulation. And I can’t blame you. Tinkering with your brain can feel scary. But rest assured. I do it all the time, as do millions of others around the planet. In fact, I credit so much of my success with spending so much time stimulating my mind. It’s safe, healthy and really does boost your brain. Provided you focus on the mostly likely activities to work. So if you’re ready for a simple explanation of the science behind mental stimulation and a list of fun steps to follow based on my research and my decades of personal experience, let’s get started. What is Mental Stimulation? Think about the difference between your brain and your mind. You’ve probably seen documentaries where surgeons use electrodes to stimulate parts of the brain. Sometimes touching a part of the brain causes the patient’s limbs to move. Other times, the person undergoing the stimulation might think they are smelling toast. Either way, this is the difference between stimulating the brain’s connection to the body and its connection to mental imagery. Whereas brain stimulation that causes muscle movement is physical, stimulation that triggers a mental experience is mental. Do the two types of stimulation ever combine? In a word, yes. Neuromodulation One of the scientific terms for the physical aspect of brain stimulation is called “neuromodulation.” As Clement Hamani and his co-authors show in Neuromodulation in Psychiatry, manipulating physical brain structures has a long, and sometimes troubling history. For example, gamma knife radiation, normally used to treat lesions and tumors, has been used experimentally to treat obsessive compulsive disorder. Some positive results have been seen in how such patients think and behave. But there have also been some not so positive outcomes as well. However, neuromodulation is not what we usually mean by mental stimulation. Usually what we mean involve topics like the ones categorized by John Clement in Creative Model Construction in Scientists and Students: The Role of Imagery, Analogy, and Mental Simulation: Using your imagination to mentally simulate experiences like using image streaming Conducting thought experiments Using analogies Thinking philosophically Reasoning through problems objectively and subjectively Spatial reasoning Playing a musical instrument Reading frequently Playing challenging games The Impact of Mental Stimulation on Brain Health The benefits of the activities outlined above can increase creativity, memory, productivity, consistency, decision-making and goal completion. Mental activity is key in each of these areas. As the co-authors of The Wise Advocate show, thinking in particular ways helps improve brain structures. It also helps new neural pathways form, helping people lead themselves and others much better. Plus, you’ll also feel sharper when you stimulate the brain. Although keeping your mind stimulated is important at all ages, research has shown that such activities are especially important for reducing cognitive decline as we age. The question is, what kinds of activities do this effectively and efficiently? Let’s have a look at some of the best. Mental Activities That Can Stimulate Your Brain As we dive into this list of stimulating activities, please remember the role of exercise and diet. Engaging in many mental exercises is a must. But improving your blood sugar, cholesterol or other aspects of physical health through exercise are all incredibly important. Keep in mind that some physical exercise is also mentally stimulating. Yoga can improve memory, for example, for a variety of reasons. You can also play outdoor games and find obstacle courses to complete so that both your mind and body are challenged. When it comes to pure mental stimulation that you can do while sitting at home, it’s important not to take the easy way out. To make sure you’re getting proper levels of challenge, make sure that the activities you choose to get mentally stimulated involve: Learning or relearning Reasonable complexity Variation and increases to each challenge Frequent engagement If you’re missing any of these criteria, make sure to include them in for a good brain workout. Basically, if things start to get easy, you’ll be bored, which is why you need to vary the challenges and increase them over time. That, or you need to make sure that you add mnemonics to the intellectual activities you choose. On the other hand, it’s important to avoid challenges that are so hard you wind up frustrated and either cheat or quit. One: Learn a Language One of the most proven ways to increase wha

Ars Notoria is an important text for all students and practitioners of the art of memory. The book provides instructions for prayers with memory techniques intended to help the user learn the seven liberal arts and feel more connected to divinity. Best part? An all new edition of this work has recently appeared. And it’s the best I’ve seen yet. To discuss his new translation and study of what many people consider the earliest example of angelic magic, Matthias Castle joins me on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. On this page, I’ll also review this beautiful book. I’ll also discuss how I think it might help you in your journey to memory mastery. It’s definitely well worth having in your collection for many reasons. One of them is written on the cover of the book itself. This edition truly is an in-depth examination of the history surrounding this book. And Castle’s understanding of how memory techniques work is impeccable. Although I can’t speak much to the angelic magic aspect of this text, I’ll also share a few considerations you might find useful on that front nonetheless. Ready? Listen to the interview with Matthias or watch the discussion via the magic of video. https://youtu.be/lUaDrac4MM4 Who Is Matthias Castle? As an independent scholar, Matthias Castle focuses on classical studies, the Western esoteric tradition and medieval history. He’s an incredible researcher and you can learn more by reading his blog. He’s also on Instagram and Twitter. When reading his examination of the Ars Notoria, you can definitely feel his years of research coming through. You can get your own copy of this book on the Inner Traditions website. I recommend getting it in print because the book is itself an object of beauty. You will not only avoid the problems of digital amnesia by reading it in print, but enjoy a deeply aesthetic experience. About the Ars Notoria The Ars Notoria first came to my attention thanks to people who follow this blog and the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. I then heard about the Matthias Castle edition before it was released from Justin Sledge when we recorded a previous Ars Notoria episode about the text. If I’m understanding it correctly, the promise of the Ars Notoria is fairly straightforward: By using ritual magic, you can communicate with angels. They will help you learn faster. Although I don’t personally believe in angels as such, there are reasons to believe that engaging in visualization exercises involved in the Ars Notoria rituals would create positive benefits. In Castle’s excellent analysis, you’ll learn more about how people thought about and interacted with this text during its long history. Some of the highlights for me include: The goal of living a life of wisdom and virtue How magic was defined Details on how the figures in the book likely worked as part of a method of loci Beliefs about ascending to the divine through this practice (henosis) The difference between calling upon the spirits and persuading them, versus coercing and attempting to bind them Details about the shorthand note-taking system, Tironian notes Shapes, Compression & Note Taking Another aspect that I appreciated in Castle’s analysis in this book involves how the notae appear. At first glance, it can all seem a bit random. But as Castle demonstrates, there is a small set of shapes that interact with what appears to be shorthand. I’m not sure, but I wonder the extent to which some of the notae related to Ramon Llull’s memory wheels and ars combinatoria. I would love to see further scholarship on this question, if not implementation by contemporary practitioners of using angelic magic. Can The Ars Notoria Still Be Used Today? Quite possibly, yes. And if you wanted to try, this new edition is a fantastic resource for the attempt. I thought about giving it a try myself, but with my dietary issues, I don’t think I could handle the fasting. There is also a touch of aphantasia that makes using the notae themselves more challenging than a traditional Memory Palace. It seems to me that having a learning goal would also be essential. That means it would be very interesting to see if someone could reproduce the promised effects for learning the latest, cutting-edge material in topic categories like chemistry, physics and medicine. In terms of calling upon angels, my recent Internet friend Richard Webster offers instructions for gaining protection from archangels. There is some crossover in what Webster is suggesting and what you find in the Ars Notoria, and it is worth thinking about how these rituals carry forward in our modern age. John Michael Greer has suggested in books like The Twilight of Pluto that we are returning to a magical age. It certainly seems that way. I was surprised, for example, when memory champions John Graham and Nelson Dellis both reached out to tell me about their rece

Mind mapping for business has been one of the biggest drivers of success in my 12-year career. Yet, when I first heard about it, I nearly laughed the teacher out of the room. That’s how arrogant I was when taking my first course in business fundamentals. I’m sure glad I had a change of heart. Since then, I’ve explored every form of mind mapping I’ve found. It has made my career so much easier over the past twelves years. It’s also helped make everything much more interesting while regularly helping to improve the bottom line. Ready for my best mind mapping secrets and case studies? Let’s dive in! What Mind Maps Are & How They Help Mind mapping is a visualization activity that operates like a Swiss Army Knife for the mind. In other words, it helps you accomplish more than one goal. For starters, this cognitive learning and productivity technique helps you: Brainstorm Visualize information in fresh new ways Connect central themes with subtopics and related concepts through logical branching Improve memory and comprehension Think more logically Plan for success Avoid unnecessary problems Reveal hidden opportunities and assets in your current business Develop courage and mental strength when you need it As I discuss in What is Mind Mapping, the technique has a long history. Until his demise, Tony Buzan was historically one of the most active teachers in the field. My favorite term from him is found in his book Mind Map Mastery. He says that mind mapping promotes “radiant thinking.” In my experience, this benefit of mind mapping absolutely true because it helps you blow away the clouds of confusion and bask in the light of good ideas you enjoy using and pursuing. Mind mapping has been shown in scientific studies to help medical students, and researchers have actually used mind mapping exercises to study how business students are developing. Likewise, researcher Emilia Tosheva has found that mind mapping is useful for learning entrepreneurship skills, especially since digital mind maps are easy to share. This is a great point because so much of business requires abstract thinking. Mind maps help stimulate much more direct, concrete thinking thanks to how they help us visualize concepts and processes. 6 Powerful Use Cases for Mind Maps in Business Let’s turn now to different ways you can use mind mapping to make great progress in your business life. Keep in mind that there are many different ways to mind map. But I personally try to follow Buzan’s main suggestions. These involve: Always having a central image or keyword Using multiple colors to keep the activity visually engaging and fun Connecting ideas through branching Moving in a clockwise formation As you explore your options, keep in mind that it’s okay to make mistakes when mind mapping. It’s not an exercise in art. It’s about generating ideas, gaining insight and discovering opportunities as quickly as possible. Now let’s dive into specific mind mapping examples that will you enjoy all of these outcomes yourself. One: Product Creation At the simplest level, anyone can get started in business by simply having a product that serves a particular market. As you can see in the picture above, I used a mind map to brainstorm a new product. I literally have a section in grey exploring the question, “Who wants this?” Once I have a product identified and am ready to start building it, I often use mind maps to design the book or course I need to create. Since this is a linear process with many non-linear aspects to work out during the design stage, I often use arrows to help me work out the best possible flow. Here’s an example mind map for that:   Two: Planning Your Future Business Activities Buzan talked a lot about planning. In fact, the blog you’re reading now follows a plan I mind mapped with Tony Buzan during one of his ThinkBuzan events. To this day, I follow this mind map, which is almost purely picture-based: As you can see, I followed Buzan’s rule of using multiple colors and a central image. Here are what some of the images on this mind map for my business mean: The central flag has lips on it which represents the goal of serving the entire world and multiple languages The man speaking into the camera represents me doing more video (at the time I did not like being on camera, but now my YouTube Channel is massive thanks to developing courage and following the business plan) Around the seven o’clock position in purple, the medical symbol with the comedy and tragedy faces represents the goals I had to write The Victorious Mind and help medical students Although not all of these goals have been as fully realized as others, I still follow the basic plan. It remains powerful and only took fifteen minutes to create. Three: Developing Courage & Overcoming Obstacles As I mentioned above, I used to dislike being on camera. In fact, I

Ever since my TEDx Talk cracked several million views, people from around the world have asked me how to memorize a presentation. Beyond that presentation from the stage, what qualifies me to offer you tips for memorizing a speech of any length? Well, I also spent a decade as a professor at three universities in three different countries. I delivered dozens of lectures during those years. In more than one language. I’ve also spent over a decade as an online “professor of memory.” My expertise in memory has taken me around the world. I’ve given presentations in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, China, Canada, Australia and the USA. In fact, in the feature image for this post, you see me discussing memory as a part of language learning at a 2016 Polyglot Conference in Berlin. You can also watch hundreds of hours of my presentations on YouTube from several years of live streaming. And on this page, I’m going to share the best of my experiences with multiple kinds of presentation. If you want to memorize a speech verbatim, I’ll show you how. Or, if you prefer to work from mental bullet points, I’ll help you do that too. When it comes to memory aids for speakers, this is the real deal from someone who practices these techniques week in and week out. Ready? Let’s get started! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SxbHXtx_Ow So You Need to Memorize a Presentation… Here’s Where to Start Getting started… this is the tricky bit. So here’s a story using the Polyglot conference speech I gave to help dimensionalize the starting point I usually use. Determine Who Your Presentation Is For… And Who It Isn’t For Before I wrote a single word, I asked myself a very simple set of questions: Who can I help and who am I unable to help? And what’s the one thing that will help the listeners above all? I went through this same process with my TEDx Talk and many other presentations. Make no mistake, this step can be tricky. It’s a discipline to whittle things down to the biggest and most important point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtYjdriSpM But it is possible and often the success of the talks we enjoy most come down to knowing that the audience you’re addressing is defined as closely as possible. It was hard for me, but I believe focusing on just one kind of person and one message for that person helped my TEDx Talk reach so many viewers. Of course, some presentations need more details and more nuance, but even then, the principle is the same. If you think about who each principle is for and how to focus on the biggest and most impactful part, it’s going to be easier to digest. And easier for you to remember successfully. Script The Presentation When it comes to helping yourself remember your presentation, writing is key. If you write a bunch of mush with endless long sentences, you’re setting yourself up for a struggle. So when you’re putting the presentation together, ask yourself: Do I want to memorize the speech verbatim? Or can I memorize keywords and let my expertise fill in the blanks while speaking? Both ways work very well. It just comes down to your goal. In the case of my TEDx Talk, I wrote the speech and memorized it verbatim. In my Polyglot Conference talk, I prepared slides and memorized the key points, which involved speaking some Chinese based on how I’ve studied that language. Either way, scripting or preparing slides can help you decide how you’re going to memorize the presentation. Review The Presentation As a final preparation step, it’s great if you can take a moment to review what you’ve prepared. Ideally, you’ll also get at least one other person to review it as well. For my TEDx Talk, Thomas Krafft reviewed the script itself and a recording of me delivering it from memory. Before presenting the script of my live-action “Memory Detective” game attached to a memory improvement novel I wrote, I had a test audience go through the entire sequence. Reviewing the speech, slides and related materials with others helps add an extra layer of understanding that helps with the memorization process. I highly recommend making time for review. How to Memorize a Presentation from Start to Finish in 7 Easy Steps As Hanna Pishwa points out in Language and Memory, Aristotle was one of the first to intensively describe the rhetorical strategies used for persuasion in speeches. But we can go a step further: Aristotle also closed his treatise on memory by explaining that we are moved most by people who speak from memory. This is the first time I delivered a talk about Film Studies in German. He says reciting from memory is impressive because the person who has memorized their speech doesn’t have to “hunt” for their ideas. They use a “process” that brings those ideas to them automatically. How can you do that too? Just follow these steps: One: Le

The key to understanding implicit vs. explicit memory involves one simple image. Sigmund Freud on a bicycle. Freud, as you probably know, was a major theorist of the unconscious. Riding a bike is usually an unconscious activity once you’ve picked up the skill, and that’s what implicit memory involves. It’s literally anything that happens on autopilot. Now imagine Freud consciously remembering a time he saw an explicit movie. It’s the conscious act of remembering with intent that makes this kind of memory explicit. It really is that simple, and now you have a simple way to remember the difference. Just think of Freud on a bike for implicit memory and him watching a movie intended for mature audiences to help you remember explicit memory. Remember: Whereas riding a bike is an implicit skill, consciously using your memory to recall something is an explicit skill. Of course, there are a few nuances to each of these types of memory. So in this mini-masterclass on explicit vs implicit memory, let’s dive in and reveal all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXiNlGrRRoU Implicit vs. Explicit Memory: The Difference As the authors of The Development of Implicit and Explicit Memory point out, philosophers, psychologists, psychiatrists and other types of scientists have been defining these two types of memory since the late 1800s. Basically, these terms are concepts tested by different means. Implicit memory (unconscious memory related to skills you just seem to know) is often explored through priming tests. One way to think about this type of memory is that you retain knowledge without necessarily remembering how you got it. You can test yourself: Do you remember the first time you realized how to use a fork and knife? How about picking up a glass to drink? Most people won’t have memories of the first time they used such skills, and yet they do remember how to perform these common operations. Explicit memory, on the other hand, is normally tested by recall and recognition tests. For example, if you were asked to recall your last birthday, you probably could tap into your episodic and autobiographical memory consciously and share a decent amount of information about the event. To this day, the conscious element remains the key distinguishing factor. In fact, most people don’t really think about riding a bike and associate this simple procedure with memory. But it is a memory-based skill even if you don’t consciously think about it that way. And that lack of consciousness around it is precisely the point: Implicit = unconscious Explicit = conscious What Is Implicit Memory? Another way to think about implicit memory is that it involves indirect tasks. Riding a bike is a kind of “all-or-none” skill. You can either do it or you can’t. It’s the same thing with swimming. Implicit memory is automatic and can work without context. Let me explain: If you know how to swim, you can mimic many of the movements without being in water. You can also mimic riding a bike without having one around. This is why games involving miming and charades are so fun. You can easily perform the skills even if a pool or a bike are nowhere in sight. Implicit memory can be described as skills you know how to do, like walking, without really knowing why you know them. Sure, everyone can ask their parents about how they learned how to walk. But few, if any people actually remember learning how to do it. That’s what makes implicit memory implicit. What Is Explicit Memory? By definition, explicit memory is conscious. Whereas riding a bike is a general skill that morphs with other skills like walking, explicit memory is much more specific. It involves the concrete recall of semantic facts, like words and numbers. Explicit memory can also be slower, like when you have to take your time to correctly recall a name or scripture. Explicit memory is associative. Remember when we just talked about miming and charades? If you see someone miming swimming, the fact that you can draw the connection comes from the associative character of this kind of memory. Now, implicit memory could be like this with some skills, such as learning the choreography of one dance helping you learn the moves of another. But if you try to make the connection, you’re doing so consciously and intentionally, which places much more weight on explicit memory. Speaking of weight, explicit memory is what we use to talk about the function of things. It’s the kind of memory that helps you realize that a bike can be used for riding, but also could be taken apart to use for sculpture. Finally, explicit memory seems much more time-limited than implicit memory. You can go for years without riding a bike and still have the skill even if you’re a bit wobbly. But go for the same amount of time without speaking a language you know, including your mother tongue, and you’ll probably struggle. This kind of ch

Have you ever been frustrated by having to copy and paste sentences in an essay or book you’re writing… Thousands of times? Or how about spending hours of your time only to realize that your ideas weren’t even remotely thought out? I’ve been there! I’ve also noticed dozens of times that my paragraphs come out in first draft in suboptimal order. That’s the reason they need so much re-ordering in the first place. And constantly needed to shift things around is another reason why using all those finicky keyboard commands can get so tiring. Yet, there’s a paradox. As writers, we have every reason to want to manually write and revise our texts. It’s just part of great writing gets done. Heck, it’s even how serviceable writing gets done. Enter Essay.app, founded by Julian Peterson. It’s addresses a few key issues I’ve never found in any other writing app (and I’ve tried tons). The best part? Julian is open and receptive to all kinds of ideas from users as Essay grows. https://youtu.be/6ooQEHaJcaw More About Essay You can start an Essay.app free trial here. As I mentioned in the podcast, I think it’s one of the most interesting online writing apps out there (and I’ve tried a ton). Essay’s focus on getting you to craft compelling ideas is so key, especially in our era where everyone is competing for attention. The writing area is also uncluttered and conducive to focus. I think the platform has a big future, especially with its committed focus on writers who want to write for themselves. Sure, technologies like chatGPT can be useful for some things, as I discovered with my AI language learning experiment. But at the end of the day, I think we all need to get behind software innovators that promote and train human competence. More About Julian Peterson You can find Julian on Instagram, X, YouTube and music platforms like Bandcamp and Spotify. Keep an eye out for his music and maybe even a chance to see him live sometime soon! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnBd378LbCg

A Memory Palace is a mental map of a physical location (like your home) that helps you recall information with extraordinary accuracy. It’s a technique used by learners, memory champions and was famously depicted in Sherlock. Also known as the method of loci, the Memory Palace technique allows you to rapidly memorize names, words, numbers, physics equations, and even images, both concrete and abstract. Some people even use the Memory Palace technique to help them remember step-based procedures, such as moves in chess. How does the technique work? You simply start by: Choosing a familiar location (like your home) Mapping out a logical path using fixed furniture as “anchors” or Magnetic Stations Assign vivid, exaggerated imagery and associations to the information you want to memorize Lock that image onto a specific Station, such as your desk This simple process creates a “magnetic” link between the place you know and the new information you want to keep, allowing you to retrace your steps and recall the memory perfectly. Because I know that simple doesn’t always mean easy, I recorded this Memory Palace walkthrough in one of my homes. In a detailed example using something complex I successfully memorized using this location, I show you exactly how the technique works: https://youtu.be/STlYIiF9RzI Now that you’ve taken a tour of a real Memory Palace used for multiple learning goals, let’s get you started with how to use the technique. Why Use the Memory Palace Technique? Personally, this technique saved me during my PhD. During the dark Canadian winter of 2003, I found myself suffering clinical depression, anxiety-induced memory loss and was so overwhelmed, I nearly dropped out of my graduate program. But thanks to learning use Memory Palaces properly after a brief period of confusion created by reading books written by memory competitors, I passed multiple language exams, both my field exams and my dissertation defense. I did so well that I not only graduated. I also won a Mercator Guest Professor aware and wound up getting to teach Film Studies in Germany. I’ve since taught the Memory Palace technique to thousands of people. From students memorizing scripture and speeches to professionals mastering vocabulary and entire books, it’s been a blessing to show others the way. Not only that, but as I told journalist Rebecca Barry when she interviewed me for the New Zealand Herald’s Viva Magazine, the Memory Palace is far more engaging (and more effective) than rote memorization. Sure, modern tools and “apps” can store information for you. But they can’t help you recall complex information when it counts. And using technology instead of your imagination can get quite boring. That’s where the Memory Palace excels. It’s endlessly entertaining in addition to being incredibly effective. So if you’ve ever blanked on an exam, forgotten a name, or wished your mind were sharper, you’re in the right place. Let’s look deeper at how to apply this special learning technique to any topic you want to master. https://youtu.be/c4J5ZUzCxZY The Complete Guide to the Memory Palace Technique As you’ve seen, the basic idea behind the Memory Palace is simple. You associate pieces of information with locations that you are very familiar with. Let’s look at the process in greater detail along with a number of illustrations, examples and case studies based on my personal use and those of my students. Many people base their first Memory Palace on their home. But you can also build Memory Palaces based on: Homes of relatives Workplaces Churches Schools Art galleries Cafes and restaurants Movie theatres It’s also possible to use parks, highways and other outdoor locations. This outdoor approach is sometimes called the journey method. Generally, I advise that beginners start with buildings. I make this suggestion because the walls, hallways and other features of buildings give your mind a kind of scaffolding to hang onto. This is especially important for people new to using visual memory techniques. You might not be used to imagining things, so giving yourself the solidity of an actual building you’re familiar with will reduce the cognitive load involved in using the technique. You can also approach the Memory Palace in a non-visual way, as shared in this tutorial. As you’ll discover by going through the steps, variety is the key. For example, some of my Memory Palaces are based solely on interior locations. Others are exterior. The Memory Palace I used for my TEDx Talk was built from both interior and exterior locations, all based on the fundamental steps you’re about to learn. Step One: Select and Imagine a Location You Want to Develop Into a Memory Palace Try this simple exercise: Close your eyes and picture a room in your home. Your bedroom or a living room like the one you see pictured below is a great place to start. To

Is St. Augustine’s memory philosophy practical? Or is it just intellectual noodling from yet another philosopher of times past? If you’re interested in St. Augustine’s comments on memory, but aren’t sure exactly what he was going on about, you can rest assured of one thing. What he had to say about memory is more than just interesting. And it’s not intellectual noodling. Far from it. Even where Augustine’s philosophy of memory does not gel with contemporary science, it’s astonishing how close some of this thinking gets to what we now believe is true about memory. Plus, thinking through his ideas is itself a good memory and critical thinking exercise. It’s worth learning about just for the mental workout. Straight up: a fit mind will always be able to learn faster than a flabby one. The best part? Once you understand St. Augustine on memory better, you’ll make better learning choices too. Sound good? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OiSI6YRbBI Who Was St. Augustine? Augustine of Hippo lived from 354 AD to 430 AD. He is remembered for essentially inventing the autobiography and auto-hagiography by writing his Confessions. This literary offering is quite unique because, as Andrea Nightingale points out, a substantial part of how and why he was made a saint comes from things he said about himself. Not only that, but Augustine helped shape how we interpret texts, a process known as exegesis. Because he focused so much on his own memory and memory at large in his works, he has shaped how many cultures have come to interpret the experience of having a self. We’ll get more into why this contribution is so important in a moment, noting that Augustine also explored many other issues. For example, he discussed the nature of evil, desire and the philosophical ideas of Plato. He wrote prolifically, and his City of God is not only studied as a book of Christian philosophy. It was a key part of my political science program when I was an undergrad. It is a very good text to compare and contrast with Plato’s Republic, for example. Augustine was also deeply interested in the liberal arts and the memory and persuasion skills discussed in Rhetorica ad Herennium. He held critical thinking to be very important and demonstrated several ways to do it in his works. What Was St. Augustine’s Philosophy of the Mind & Memory? Augustine has been influential on people who use memory techniques. In fact, it’s possible that the term Memory Palace comes from his oft-quoted line: And I come to the fields and spacious palaces of my memory, where are the treasures of innumerable images, brought into it from things of all sorts perceived by the senses. But when it comes to mnemonics, Augustine’s philosophy of memory is useful more in a roundabout way. As I share with you the main points I’ve picked up from reading him, we’ll patch those valuable angles in. One: Augustine Helps You Meditate On The Nature Of Data Because examples of autobiography prior to Augustine are hard to find, he didn’t have many models to copy. Paula Fredriksen suggests that Augustine probably had the Pauline Epistles. These books of the Bible are letters and certainly have an element of reflective thinking related to autobiography. But Augustine isn’t just writing about himself. He’s thinking deeply about the nature of his memory and how it allows him to consider facts about his own experience. To use modern terms, he’s essentially thinking about how the mind collects data and transforms it into a useful form. We now call data we have gathered for analytical thinking, “information.” The next step he considers is how that information becomes knowledge and ultimately wisdom. These aren’t merely philosophical questions. They are questions of epistemology – the art and science of how we know something is true or false. Two: Memory Helps Us Create & Experience Meaning Augustine notes a few interesting paradoxes as he reflects on the nature of his personal experience of memory. For example, he observes that he can remember a time when he felt joyful, yet do so in a completely neutral state. It’s really weird if you think about this and experiment with thinking through happy memories in a neutral way yourself. This mental exercise suggests that there may be a difference between information and sensation. At some level, he thinks there has to be a difference. This is because in order to trust others, we can’t let ourselves get caught up in superstition. We have to analyze them rationally and sometimes let go of previous bad memories we might have about another person or group. Here’s another way of making this point: Part of our memory allows for rational and logical thinking. We can use our memory to sort, sift and screen a variety of sensations (data). We then use our minds to make them meaningful, spe

Nelson Dellis is a highly accomplished memory champion, author, YouTuber and all around great guy. But please get ready to dive deep into new territory, a topic I never expected to address. That’s because I never saw Nelson’s interest in the world of remote viewing and other psychic phenomena coming. Yet here we are discussing experiences that have Nelson thinking that the definition of memory needs to be changed. These are heady ideas for which there are no easy answers. But I’m confident you’ll enjoy the ideas we unpack in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. Here’s what you’ll discover as we search for a logical explanation to some of Nelson’s recent experiences with remote viewing and ponder the possibility that the citizens of the world might be witnessing a cognitive revolution as we speak. Nelson’s history of debunking claims of skills that resemble photographic memory The story that led to Nelson running experiments in remote viewing The relationship between psychic phenomenon, Houdini and magic tricks Why philosophy is so important when trying to understand paranormal claims (and why linear thinking might have its limits) Nelson’s academic background in math and physics Keeping memory sharp as we age after the time for extreme efforts in memory improvement has passed https://youtu.be/j240eFZNq04 Who Is Nelson Dellis? Now, if you’re hitting this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast cold, you might not have heard of Nelson before. He is a five time USA Memory Champion and author of Remember It! and Memory Superpowers. Nelson runs an amazing and unique YouTube channel where he goes far beyond merely talking about memory techniques. Plus, he always pushes the limits. These include memory adventures around the world and his success with breaking world records. Nelson even involves his family in some of his video lessons. Enjoy this episode and feel free to follow up with these additional episodes and people who came up during the show: John Graham on going beyond mnemonics and into enlightenment John Michael Greer on Giordano Bruno Nelson’s tutorial on how he memorizes poetry My review of Nelson’s Everest Memory Masterclass

If you want to know how to memorize scripture quickly and make it stick for the long-term, please understand the following. There’s no single way to do it. That said, there also isn’t an infinite number of approaches. You can use either: A Memory Palace Network Mnemonic images Rote Repetition Flashcards Spaced-repetition software Cloze tests A combination of all the above On this page, I’ll walk you through each of these options as a PhD who memorized a lot of scripture as part of my studies. I even included some scripture I memorized in my popular TEDx Talk. As I walk you through each strategy for memorizing scripture, consider focusing especially on the Memory Palace technique. You’ll get my best tips for all of the other methods listed above, but using Memory Palaces has helped the largest amount of people in the fourteen years I’ve been teaching memory techniques for scripture. How to Memorize Scripture: 7 Proven Approaches Before you start memorizing scripture, please consider following my P.E.A.C.H. formula (practice encoding at calm hours). Memorizing the Bible is possible. But you have to set aside the time to do it. And it’s very important not to let yourself get interrupted. For best results, explore each of the methods on this page in a well-thought out study place and a time when you won’t be disturbed. One: The Memory Palace Network for Memorizing Scripture and Verse Numbers Many people are aware of the Memory Palace technique and related memory techniques like the method of loci and the journey method. It works like this: Choose a familiar location, like your home or a neighborhood. Next, assign a path through that location, strategically following a journey where you will place mnemonic images that help you remember verses and their numbers. For that reason, it helps to have a numbered Memory Palace, as illustrated in this Kelvin Grove Memory Palace I used for one of my scripture projects: For best results, I suggest you sketch your Memory Palaces and keep these in a Memory Journal. Then, as you’re learning to use the technique, you have a self-created visual reference to work with as you place mnemonic associations in the Memory Palace. For some people, it will be easy to memorize multiple words at the same time. For others, it will be necessary to encode the verses with an image for every word. When it comes to memorizing the verse numbers specifically, you’ll want a number memory technique like the Major System or the PAO System. I’ll give a detailed example further down showing you how all this works. Two: Mnemonic Images without a Memory Palace Some people do not want to use Memory Palaces. They wonder if they can simply create associations to scripture and have them float “in the void of their mind.” One of my students just did that. In fact, Mike McKinley shared how he used just a part of my teaching to memorize 66 Psalms on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. But as we discovered in our conversation, he still used a certain level of spatial memory. You can contrast his experience with those of Matt Barclay, who joined me to discuss how he memorized and delivered an entire Psalm to his congregation. The reason most of us prefer to use a Memory Palace is that it helps reduce the cognitive load. Using a familiar location to place images is like having a canvas to paint on. It helps you look back at a reference point and reconstruct the target verses you want to recall. Three: Rote Repetition Of course, it’s worth noting that you’re perfectly welcome to simply repeat the verses until they stick. This approach is traditionally called rote learning. It doesn’t work very well for many of us. In fact, it can be downright destructive because it’s often frustratingly boring. That said, it’s worth experimenting with in order to see how it compares to using other mnemonic techniques. Often people are pleasantly surprised and come to realize the benefits of the active recall mnemonics provide compared to rote. Four: Flashcards I just mentioned “active recall.” One of its most important principles is that you need to personalize the associations you make when memorizing scripture. Obviously, this is not possible with rote learning. That approach involves literally repeating the same thing over and over again. But let’s say you want to memorize the books of the Bible by name. This is a great way to use flashcards. For example, I drew this to help me remember the name Zephaniah: I know. I’m not a great artist. But the zipper helps me remember that the word starts with ‘Z.’ And Shaniah Twain helps me remember the sound of Zephaniah. The trick here is that the exact name of the Bible is nowhere on the card. I have to use the way I’ve personalized the mnemonics as a clue that triggers the target information. This is what active recall is all about. Notice someth

There have never been more polymaths on the planet than right now. And I compliment you on wanting to become one yourself. Polymathy is the epitome of intellectual versatility. Not for showing off. But for the sheer pleasure of enjoying mental dexterity across multiple disciplines. Who am I to tell you about becoming a polymath? I run this website, for one thing, which involves multiple skill sets. I’ve got a PhD and two MAs to top off my BA. Multiple certificates in different skills. Languages under my belt. And from my perspective, there are some serious misconceptions about how to define polymathy. When your definition is wrong, it’s impossible to reach the goal. So let’s define what a polymath is, look at some examples and make sure you can quickly craft the perfect path to being an autodidact polymath yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgicLXpIHaI Are There Any Modern-Day Polymaths? Many people focus on the Renaissance when looking for examples of well-rounded learners. Typically you hear about figures like Da Vinci and Michelangelo as having set the stage for polymathy in our age. Even in the memory improvement world, we tend to focus on Renaissance figures like Giordano Bruno and Matteo Ricci. Matteo Ricci was a Renaissance era mnemonist and polymath However, ancient India, ancient China and other parts of the world show us many people who used ancient memory techniques to master multiple topics, expand their linguistic intelligence and rapidly learn new skills. So whether it’s Ramon Llull with his memory wheels in the 13th century or an “ultra learner” like Scott Young, the signs of genius you’re looking for aren’t about a historical moment. They’re about how people behave. And there are many people making themselves polymaths by following simple steps. Not willy-nilly, but consistently. These are the key behaviours to look for and model yourself: Intellectual Curiosity Some people say that curiosity has to be naturally present. I disagree. Obviously, it helps when you’re inclined toward exploring different topics, but when you understand and exercise the subconscious mind, you can boost your interest in even the most boring topics. This ability is very important because no skill or interest area is exciting from top to bottom. For example, in language learning, you have to content with all kinds of unexciting words to be able to speak. You need the days of the week, colors, numbers and many pronouns that just aren’t that exciting. But when you can stimulate your own intellectual curiosity, it’s possible to get excited even by the most quotidian information. Learning as a Lifestyle Although there’s always a place for playing brain games for relaxation and fun, polymaths tend to limit the amount of time they spend on such pastimes. Make learning integral to your daily life and you’ll enjoy greater topic mastery. A subset of the learning lifestyle is time management. I do this myself primarily through journaling. I also design reading semesters for myself, modeling how the school year works. In other words, I spend three-six months taking “deep dives” into particular topics. Sometimes I’ll go longer, but the point is that it helps structure how much needs to be read in a day to reach certain learning goals. Cultivate Critical Thinking Skills There are several types of thinking you need to practice in order to be a polymath. When you structure your learning time in the ways I’ve just suggested, you can get through the best critical thinking books I recommend quite quickly. Once you’re familiar with what critical thinking is, from there you just have to practice this form of thinking and occasionally complete a few critical thinking exercises to keep sharp. Why It’s Easier Than Ever to Become a Polymath Thanks to memory techniques, it’s possible to learn quickly and retain more. But there are other reasons that becoming a modern polymath has never been easier. Free Information When I was a university student, people were terrified to study topics like the law because the law library at York University was filled with damaged books. People would tear pages out of legal textbooks to prevent their “competition” from beating them at exams. These days, so many of those books can be found for free online. That, and many books are available digitally – a format that makes it difficult to damage the information. But always remember that “free” doesn’t mean you can get away with skimming and scanning. You still have to engage with the information substantively no matter how much it costs or what format it comes in. Conversational Interconnectivity Back when I was an undergrad and in grad school, we went out of our way to organize study groups. We always had to show up at a particular time and place. If we couldn’t be there, the best we had was the memo

Want the best way to remember everything you study? Without all the pain and hassle of boring explanations that are hard to understand? And come from some faceless corporation who hired a writer who hasn’t studied any topic seriously? You’re in luck. I’ve sat for some of the most competitive exams in existence during my eleven years of university. Despite many personal challenges, I managed to get my Ph.d. and have picked up many other certifications along the way. I’ve even used what you’re about to discover to help me learn languages and earn certifications for both German and Mandarin. So whatever you’re studying, I’m qualified to help you get some quick wins. I’ve also made a lot of mistakes over the years and am sharing what I got wrong. That way, you can avoid some of the problems I’ve created for myself. Ready for a gold mine of practical tips that will help you achieve your learning and remembering goals? Let’s dive in! How to Remember What You Study Fast: 11 Quick-Win Strategies Later, I’m going to give you a more robust strategy that will take you approximately one weekend to learn. But we’re going to start with some powerful strategies that you can start applying today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-95LBlPS2pY One: Use Memory Techniques The absolute best way to boost your recall involves memory techniques, specifically mnemonics. These help you remember information by transforming complex information into meaningful images and associations. The more vivid you make them, the more ease and fun you’ll have while studying. And the better your recall will be. I’ll give a number of examples below, but the key mnemonics I’ve used throughout my studies and career as a professor include: Memory Palaces (also known as the method of loci) Visual associations based on alphabetical pegwords The Major System for memorizing numbers You can also explore acronyms, acrostics and number-rhymes. To be fair, there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to mastering mnemonics and applying them to your studies. But if you have the right attitude, that’s not a problem. Let me help you ensure that you do by covering the topic of study attitudes next. Two: Get Your Mindset Sorted Negativity is a major reason that so many people fail. They play a little story repetitively through their minds about how “hard” everything feels. Instead of focusing on the task at hand, they visualize the stress of the exam and the consequences of failure. This is not helpful. The alternative? Relaxation and deliberately letting go of the outcome. Simply being willing to fail if that’s what was going to happen was the number one strategy that helped me most before and during the toughest exam of my life. Sound hard? It isn’t really when you have mental strength exercises to guide you. Even if mindset isn’t a problem for you, it’s useful to focus on the positive. Three: Take Intelligent Breaks Many people force themselves to study for hours at a time. You cannot expect to succeed by doing this – at least not many of us can. Personally, I love studying for long periods at a time. But after more than a few years of pushing myself too far, I’ve learned to take plenty of breaks. Basically, I follow the 25-5 rule: 25 minutes of pure concentration followed by a quick 5 minute break (or longer). I get up, walk around, drink plenty of water, reflect on what I’ve been studying and enjoy some time away from the computer screen. It’s one of the simplest ways to help you study and remember. During your breaks, you can also spend time on relaxation, meditation and breathing exercises. Often, I will switch from reading heavy philosophy or my language learning activities and just read a comic book or novel. Either way, research like this shows that short breaks helps us learn. You’ll help both your brain and your memory out a great deal by pausing frequently and following the steps illustrated on the infographic above. Four: Switch Things Up The special technique I use as part of taking breaks is to read other kinds of books. They can be either related or unrelated to the topic at hand. The point is to switch things up so that your brain has time to percolate the ideas you’re learning and make unexpected connections. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U34nJGuFvQ You don’t have to follow any particular pattern, but an easy way to take action with interleaving is to have three books at all times. Switch from book one to book two and then book three on a loose pattern. Don’t “try” to recall different elements or connect them. Just plow forward and enjoy the benefits of what your mind will do for you on autopilot. This is one simple strategy where the “let go of the outcome” attitude is really important. Five: Use Your Hands We often hear about different note taking and mind mapping techniques. Although neither of them are the best way to study and memorize, they’re great because of how they get the

Knowing how to remember trivia questions and answers can make you a lot of money. But there are other reasons you might want a full arsenal of memorization tricks at your side. In addition to making bank, being at the ready with lots of interesting tidbits can be: Personally fulfilling Professionally useful An alternative to physical sports for competitive people A great way to socialize A source of social capital Plus, being fascinated with trivia does not make the information “trivial.” Far from it. In fact, as you’re about to discover, even if a fact you commit to memory does prove trivial (heaven forbid), you can still use that datapoint as an asset. I’ll show you how I used a random bit of trivia to produce a great outcome earlier today near the end of this post. As a memory expert, I commit a lot of information to memory, and the exercise itself is useful. None of it is trivial to me in the end. So if you want to learn how to get better at trivia, this page has all the details that will take you from amateur to pro. And if you wind up winning at trivia night, all the better. Just rest assured that when you’re using the techniques on this page to give you a competitive edge, you can never lose. The benefits from the brain exercise itself are too valuable to leave you feeling anything but a trivia master. Ready? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHB6cRHDsDM The Strategy Behind Trivia Memorization When memory athlete Jonas von Essen won a major television trivia competition in 2023, a ton of people asked me my opinion as a memory expert. “Did he use memory techniques to win?” Of course. But that’s not the only strategy von Essen and other successful trivia players use. If you want to truly know how to study for trivia, it’s a combination of multiple methods. These learning techniques include: Keeping up with current events and world news Watching other trivia shows and game shows at large Using chunking techniques while reading Being good with numbers and mental calculation Memorizing key lists like the names and dates of presidents Practicing in situations that are like the trivia setting to stimulate state dependent memory This final point is key. See, if von Essen had one edge above all, it’s that he was well-practiced at competition. He won the World Memory Championship twice, after all. That means the stress helped his memory more than it hindered it. He was a pro at performing well under pressure, something most of us can only do when we have some deliberate practice in similar settings under our belts. How to Remember Trivia: 6 Memorization Tricks to Help You Become a Trivia Master Now that you’ve got the broad overview and understand how being skilled with trivia can fulfill a variety of cognitive needs, let’s get into the granular details. Every step of the way, knowing how to remember things is going to be key. So let’s start with that. One: Master Mnemonics Broadly speaking, a mnemonic is anything that helps you remember something, including rote learning. The problem with rote is that it takes too long. That’s why people use mnemonic devices like planet mnemonics, mnemonics for anatomy, and alphabet mnemonics for simple tasks. More advanced strategies like the Major System and PAO System are also helpful, especially for memorizing numbers. All of these approaches have mnemonic images and the Memory Palace technique in common. People serious about getting better at trivia will want to get deeply familiar with each of these approaches. Two: Consume Massive Amounts of Info Like a Pro Once you’ve got your memory skills boosted, you’ll want to get good at extracting information from a variety of sources. One of my go-to strategies has always been a special textbook memorization technique. It’s a vast improvement to most speed reading programs because it avoids skimming and scanning practices that cause you to miss the important details. Basically, you use this technique with physical index cards. Some people call them flash cards, but the strategy is the same. You extract the information onto cards, ideally by hand, and then use Memory Palaces to memorize each fact. The writing step is really important. Memory expert Lynne Kelly calls handwriting “a powerful encryption tool in the science of memory.” Sure, you can use Anki or some other spaced repetition software, but you’re quite possibly diminishing the amount you can remember when you do. So whether you’re memorizing information from philosophical books or absorbing medical terminology, the extraction process I just described streamlines everything. It will also give you more time to hold trivia practice rounds. Three: Chunk While You Read You don’t always have to use the index card method, however. For example, I was reading a book about Latin and Greek word origins earlier today. I learned that

Year after year, people ask me “what if” questions about the Memory Palace technique. For example, what if I need to make changes to my Memory Palace? It’s a good question with several dimensions. For one thing, we need to look at what the need to change involves. Is part of the Memory Palace making its use inefficient? Or do we feel the need to expand the Memory Palace, if not connect it to other Memory Palaces? Certainly, you can do all of these things if absolutely necessary. And on this page, I’ll give you some suggestions that will help make the process smooth. But there are also ways to ever have to avoid renovating any Memory Palace once you’ve set it up. And when things do change, you’ll be ready to handle the need for transformations in a flash. Ready to get into the nitty-gritty? Let’d dive in! https://youtu.be/X7VKqhoBm7w The First Thing To Do If You Feel The Need to Change A Memory Palace Pause. That’s right. Before you do anything, pause and ask a simple question: Is this really necessary? Why do I think the Memory Palace needs to be changed? Could I start a new Memory Palace as an alternative? The answer is that yes, you can start new Memory Palaces. But some people don’t have enough of them. No problem. Here’s How to Find Memory Palaces. Try Compounding Within The Memory Palace Often, you don’t need to change the Memory Palace, just how you’re using it. For example, when using the Memory Palace for language learning, I usually focus on memorizing vocabulary first. Then, using the principle of compounding, I add entire phrases to the words I’ve memorized. This technique moves from strength to strength because they only thing it changes is the mnemonic imagery, not any of the Memory Palaces themselves. Explore Reusing Your Memory Palaces Frankly, reusing a Memory Palace is usually only worth exploring after you’ve mastered the main Memory Palace technique. I’ve talked about this several times. https://youtu.be/3wc544lgS1U   Here’s a follow-up video with more detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umt-innA-u8 The key drawback is that reusing a Memory Palace often leads to ghosting or confusion. Ghosting is often referred to in memory science as The Ugly Sister Effect. How To Renovate a Memory Palace Properly After exhausting all other options, the first step is to clean the Memory Palace you want to renovate. According to 3x World Memory Champion Alex Mullen, the key is not to “clean” the Memory Palace. That would involve going through it with an imaginary mop. Instead, Mullen suggests that you leave the Memory Palace fallow for a certain amount of time. Not using the Memory Palace will fade out anything in it and give you the most solid foundation for changing it if you want to revise the journey. This point is important because if you make changes too soon, you could lead to the ghosting issues created by reusing Memory Palaces. I totally agree with Mullen, but alternative views exist. You would do well to also get Idriz Zogaj’s take on the matter of clearing out your MPs too. Add “Virtual” Elements To Memory Palaces One of the simplest ways to renovate or expand a Memory Palace is by creating and adding Virtual Memory Palace elements. These can include imaginary bookshelves other types of invented or imaginary stations. You place these between pre-existing stations and the information memorized at/on/beside/in or under them. This technique will be most useful for mnemonists who already have some experience using Virtual Memory Palace elements in combination with the Method of Loci. Personally, I stopped doing this many years ago. Starting a new Memory Palace has proven faster, more direct and ultimately more effective. Connect Your Memory Palace Network With Mnemonic Images At intermediate and advanced levels, every mnemonic image can serve as a Memory Palace. In fact, this is one of the points of combining the 4 pegword methods with the Major System and the PAO System. Let me give you a case study: I was working with a coaching client yesterday. She was asking for help with memorizing an aspect of the law. For a term like “Supreme court jurisdiction,” I showed her how Superman connects with the word Supreme. And it connects via the letter S to my friend Stacey’s home. It also connects to the number 1 using the Major. And the number 1 has a top, middle and a bottom. These observations mean that you can expand any Memory Palace conceptually. You don’t have to change it. You just notice features of the target information and start to elaborate it with spatial information in mind. This is just one of the features of the ancient memory techniques that are quite different from how memory athletes memorize. If you need more help, make sure to complete these elaborative encoding exercises. Multiple Memory Palaces for each letter of the alphabet m

Just about every novel I read has the word “memory” in it. But few novels serve as meditations on the nature of memory itself. Enter Brad Kelly’s House of Sleep. The novel is literary, but not at the expense of having a driving plot. And the writing is exquisite in how it brings out both the plot and the novel’s central themes. To discuss the theme of memory in House of Sleep and much more, Brad Kelly joins me on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. In addition to writing, Kelly is also a pro Tarot reader. As a bonus on this episode, he demonstrates his divination skills on this podcast itself. Cool, or what? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r42HFy_w9l4 Who Is Brad Kelly? Brad Kelly is a widely published author and former Michener Fellow who focuses on the darkness lurking within creativity. He is also the co-host of The Art of Darkness Podcast. The discussions revolve around a variety of artists, musicians and writers who transformed their issues in life by channeling it into their cultural productions. Follow Brad Kelly on TwiXter for notifications of new episodes and more. About House of Sleep As someone obsessed with remembering dreams, I knew I had to read House of Sleep. That’s because Kelly’s novel revolves around a number of characters, most specifically: Lynne Daniel The Diving Man Lynne seeks out a program offered by the Diving Man that uses a drug to help people use dreams to resolve issues. Only, she doesn’t realize that the Diving Man not only has ties to the CIA, but perhaps a number of troubling motives beyond offering therapy. Readers of this blog and fans of the MMM Podcast will likely enjoy the scenes that involve Daniel committing vocabulary to memory. These passages will stimulate you to think reflectively on the nature of language learning and meaning. Fictional Memory Palace Options Although using novels as a source of Memory Palaces is not always the most direct way to memorize, this novel features a few locations you could use for mnemonic visualization practice. The homes of Lynne and Daniel, albeit featured only briefly, could be useful to your practice. And the Diving Man’s mansion provides several sub-locations to explore. The book cover itself could also be useful as a mini-Memory Palace for those of you willing to explore smaller loci. Brad Kelly On the Tarot Exploring the Tarot with Kelly is one of my favorite aspects of this interview. I am asked fairly frequently about how to memorize the cards and have started thinking more about it in recent years, especially in the context of Sacred Geometry. As memory skeptics loaded up with multiple types of critical thinking, some of us tend to dismiss practices like the Tarot. Although I have been as guilty of brushing off things like the Tarot and the horoscope, I’m glad to have opened to them a bit more. As Kelly reveals, there’s a practical way to use the tools with an open mind – but a mind not so open that your brain falls out. That is a very good thing indeed. I’m grateful for Kelly’s reading of the MMM project overall because it did exactly as promised. It provided food for thought that both affirms and negates some of my deeply held memory biases. The experience also reminding me of another author with the surname Kelly, and my wish to revisit The Memory Code. There is surely much more to explore when it comes to the mnemonic aspects built into the Tarot. Mnemosyne willing, I sure that we shall dive deeper as this project carries on. So… Should you read House of Sleep? I certainly think so and encourage you to check out Brad Kelly’s other projects, both current and forthcoming. Enjoy, and for more on how to combine fiction with mnemonics, check out How to Remember a Story Using a Memory Palace next.

Imagine this: you’re standing up in front of an audience and giving an important speech. Now tell me, how do you feel? Are your hands sweaty or your knees shaky? Is your stomach tied up in knots and feeling a bit queasy? If you’re anything like me during my undergraduate years, maybe you even have a phobia of public speaking. Yes, it’s true. I might be a TEDx speaker now who gives presentations from memory around the world, but I once had a terrible aversion to giving speeches. But now I use memory techniques and on this page I’ll share with you my best tips. You’ll discover not only how I memorized my TEDx Talk word-for-word, but also an example from another successful speaker who I taught these techniques to over an hour. His talk did not get as many views as mine, but still did really well! Since being able to give speeches is a highly marketable skill that also lets you express your personality, it only makes sense to learn how to do it right. Without sounding like a robot. Ready? Let’s dive in! The Best Way To Memorize A Speech The short answer is to use a Memory Palace. This simple memorization technique will help you feel fearless, focused, and give you the ability to track back if you ever do lose your place. This is because this specific technique enables you to use space in the world to memorize exactly what you want to deliver… in the order you want to deliver it. As you move through your Memory Palace, you’re just ticking off boxes, spatially speaking. You know when you’ve finished a specific section of your speech, and you know exactly where you are in space. This is why it’s easier to find your place if you momentarily get lost. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBvKFI7AlLE How To Memorize A Speech: Step-By-Step As we go through these steps, keep in mind that they are quite linear. This is the exact process I have followed many times over the years. They are the modern version of an approach that has been around since at least 90 BCE, as described in a book called Rhetorica ad Herennium. Step One: Write A Great Speech It sounds kind of obvious, but I want to point it out all the same. So many speeches fail because they speaker knows that their message isn’t great. There’s only one fix: Put in the time to boil your message down to just one idea. Craft it and shape it like a wordsmith. Include examples and quotes, use metaphors and similes, all in the service of addressing just one key theme or thesis. Also, make sure to choose an opening with short and simple words. One study in particular has found something I think that accounts for the success of my TEDx Talk and my video presentations overall: short and simple words are correlated with trustworthiness. It’s worth reading your written speech over several times, and ideally having it reviewed by at least one other person. To get an object take on it yourself, record yourself speaking the speech out loud that you’re sure it sounds right. Often, you’ll be able to weed out unnecessary words a lot better once you’ve heard what they sound like when played back on a recording. You can also get a speaking mentor like I did. I’ve actually interviewed him on my podcast where we go over further details about how I delivered my TEDx Talk based on his presentation coaching. You’ll save a lot of time by only memorizing a speech that you don’t need to change after you’ve memorized it. Next, you’ll begin to create the ultimate tool for memorizing the perfected speech. Step Two: Create a Memory Palace A Memory Palace is simply a mental recreation of a location you’re familiar with. First, you draw out a journey and then decide where you will play mnemonic images that remind you of each and every word. Let’s look at a specific example of how a real person uses this technique based on my help: Jonathan Levi and his TED Talk “What if Schools Taught us How to Learn?“ As I just mentioned, I suggest you draw out your Memory Palace journey. Here’s Jonathan’s: Jonathan Levi’s Memory Palace for his TEDx, a speech he memorized verbatim. The trick is to make the Memory Palace big enough to contain your entire talk. For my own TEDx Talk, I used an entire neighborhood in Kelvin Grove, part of Brisbane: Here’s the talk as it was delivered in Melbourne, Australia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtYjdriSpM Step Three: Use Compression & Keywords To Memorize the Speech You don’t have to place every single word inside of your Memory Palace. Certainly, you can, and there are verbatim quotes in my TEDx Talk where I did just that. However, for most of the talk, I was using one or two images to remind me of entire sentences. For example, “How would you like to completely silence your mind?” was just the image of Howie Mandel hitting the YouTube like button and creating silence. If you’re new to memory techniques, it can be challenging

You’ve probably heard of the chunking technique and thought it sounded pretty boring. I mean, how is splitting large pieces of information into smaller pieces supposed to help you remember more? Isn’t that just more work? Your intuition is correct to ask. Because if the chunk method is poorly executed, it not only leads to wasted time and energy. It doesn’t provide the desired results either. So to fix that, let’s go beyond the standard chunking definition. And I promise that after you’re read each and every example I have to share on this page, you’ll always get great results whenever you’re chunking information. Ready? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqLf5HygEbo What is Chunking? David Sousa gives a very simple way to understand chunking in How the Brain Learns. Look at the word “chunking.” Do your eyes and your brain see eight individual letters? Technically, yes. But your mind “chunks” c-h-u-n-k-i-n-g into a single word. We also tend to chunk numbers, such as the ones we use to call one another by phone. Whereas telephone numbers were initially very short, as the systems grew in popularity, they needed to be longer. The term “chunking” comes from Dr. George Miller. In a 1956 paper titled The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two, he famously pointed out how grouping numbers into shorter chunks made them much easier to remember. Many memory athletes and memory experts have used mnemonic devices like the PAO System to completely sidestep the limitations Miller identified and chunk in highly efficient ways. One of my students even memorized 1200 digits of pi and can recite them all in about a minute! Experts provide another example. Instead of trying to understand vast swaths of disconnected information, they think categorically. They find and refer to patterns. And when necessary, experts create new terms or paradigms that help us understand the connections between aspects of the world. Finally, some students treat “cramming” as a form of chunking. Although this practice can provide some results, one of my favorite memory hacks is called “The Cram Smasher.” It helps you group blocks of time in a sophisticated way that reduces forgetting and maximizes your free time. How the Chunking Technique Works Chunking is not necessarily a natural behavior. It tends to be a skill we learn. For example, when we are young, we are shown how ten dimes make a dollar. There are many patterns like this that we learn: ten, ten dollar bills make one hundred, etc. But to turn this into a memory strategy, we want to add a few additional elements. We can look for patterns and then group information deliberately. Things You Can Remember Better With The Chunking Memory Strategy You can learn many things faster using chunking. Some of the classics include: Music (especially using the Circle of Fifths) Foreign language vocabulary and phrases First and last names Facts and trivia Numbers Facts that come up at work Let’s look a bit closer at numbers by using an example like 9289. In this number, you might notice that your grandfather is 92 and in 1989 he took you to the zoo. By comparing or mentally linking those similarities, you are chunking them together. Instead of looking at 9289 as a random digit, you have chunked it down and encoded smaller parts of the larger digit with personal meaning. How Memory Competitors Use Chunking You can also use the PAO System I mentioned above or the Major System. These are the mnemonic systems used by memory competitors to win prizes and break records each and every year going back for over three decades. The Major System The Major works by translating each digit from 0-9 into a consonant. You then use those consonants to make words. 9289, for example, could become Peter Pan vaping – a chunk that works because P = 9, N =2 and V = 8. Using these facts about the Major System, you assign words that you find striking and recall numbers a lot easier. Chunking Using Linking And Stories Another way to chunk items together involves applying stories and links. For example, let’s say you need to memorize the following list of words: Kitten Field Football Drink Hunting Ocean To remember these items, you could chunk them together using a story. For example, you can imagine a kitten in a field playing football. After the game, the kitten grabs some beers, puts on a hunting cap and goes to the ocean. Yes, the story is weird, but it chunks the items in the list together, making them much easier to recall. Scientists have shown that this approach words by specifically expanding your working memory. But the tactics we’ve covered so far aren’t the only ways to chunk. Let’s have a look at a few more. 7 Powerful Chunking Memory Techniques As you go through this list, pick at least one and apply it to something you’re learning. As always, you’ll want to ask before getting started with any particular chunking technique if it’s really appropriate to the learning goal. Sometimes there are mor

The PAO System is the ultimate mnemonic tool for high-speed memorization. A lot of people believe this system is used exclusively for memorizing numbers. But a well-formed PAO System is actually a lot more powerful than that. As a research professor, memory expert and author of multiple books on memory techniques, I’m going to show you how to use a Person-Action-Object (PAO) system for rapidly learning everything from historical dates, to mathematical formulas and credit card numbers. You can also remember medical dosages and even complex terminology and foreign language vocabulary with this mnemonic system. The various ways you can use it for the mental compression of all kinds of information is immense. In this guide, we are diving deep into the mechanics of how to build your first, world class PAO list. Or, if you’ve already got one, I’m going to show you how to improve and expand it for multiple uses. Are you excited? Let’s get started! https://youtu.be/ogtVQ48VgC4 What Is The PAO System? PAO memory systems go back a very long time. They offer you a simple way to create a formal mnemonic linking system for quickly encoding two-digit pairs into memory. Scientifically, the technique leverages a mnemonic chunking strategy identified by researchers who determined that the most efficient amount of information for learning boils down to 3-4 items at a time. David Dirlam’s “Most efficient chunk sizes” is worth a read if you’re interested in the psychological explanation. In practice, all you need to do is get out a piece of paper and write down all the digits from 00-99. Then, using the Major System, apply mnemonic associations to each two digit par. The key is to select associations that can readily interact in memorable ways. Example Using the Traditional PAO System Take these two-digit pairs, for example: 21 36 90 Someone using a traditional PAO system would divide the numbers into a set of images specifically ordered according to the PAO pattern, Person-Action-Object. The images are decided in advance so that you’re always ready to go when you look at numbers. You then imagine something like Jack Nicholson throwing burning matches at a bus. Person = Jack Nicholson Action = Throwing matches Object = Bus The exact PAO associations I’ve just listed come from my personal 00-99 PAO list. You can derive your own exact images in different ways, and we’ll talk about how to do that in a moment. I’ll also share with you the thinking behind how I selected mine. Briefly, 21 is Jack Nicholson in my PAO System because I’ve built each image based on the Major System. Here’s what the Major System (sometimes called the Major Method) looks like: When it comes to associating 21 with the actor Jack Nicholson, bear with me. The exact process can confuse beginners, but I’m going to make it clear for you. Look at the Major System graphic above. You’ll note that: 2 = N 1 = D or T Following these rules, I assigned the word “nut” to the two-digit pair 21. Since Jack Nicholson often plays characters who are completely insane (or “nuts”) he struck me as perfect for that number. But before we get any further in to the nuances of the PAO System, you might be wondering… How the heck did people come up with such an interesting way to approach memory? A Brief History of Person Action Object Systems The notion of combining or linking information you want to remember to a Person Action Object complex begins much more simply. The first reference I can find is the Katapayadi system. The oldest available evidence is 683 C.E., but it is almost certainly older than that. In this alphanumeric system, we see what is probably the first detailed basis for transforming numbers into words. What kinds of words? Persons Actions Objects Later, you see this arrangement built out with great sophistication in the works of Giordano Bruno, especially On the Shadows of the Ideas. I’m not entirely sure, but I think Bruno chose to include Hebrew letters in his memory system because of the gematria. In this system, each Hebrew letter is classified so that it also represents a number. It also probably helped him expand his range of possible associations. And since almost every Hebrew letter represents an animal, you pretty much have either a person or object in each letter along with the number. This approach is likely also the origin of what used to be called a “bestiary,” and on that Lynne Kelly is really the expert. A Quick Review of PAO System Basics Both in the past and now, linking numbers to consonants and then forming words that can be linked to mnemonic associations allows you to compress much more information into Memory Palaces. As you saw with the Jack Nicholson example, the idea is to rotate between 3 different kinds of images for each two-digit pair. But you also want each two-digit pair to have three associations. For example: 01 = Peter Sutton suds soap In this case

The Roman Room method is just one term for the most powerful memory technique humanity has ever known. It helps you memorize information for a few simple reasons we’ll explore on this page. The best part? The Roman Room technique helps you memorize information quickly. What kinds of information? Everything from foreign language vocabulary to entire speeches. Ready to learn and master this powerful learning technique? Here’s a Table of Contents for you of what’s on this page for you: The Origin of the Term Roman Room? Roman Rooms or Memory Theatres: Which Is Better? How To Prepare To Use A Roman Room How to Use Your First Roman Room Practicing the Roman Room Method How to Expand Your Roman Rooms How to Modify A Roman Room Is the Roman Room Method the Best Memory Technique? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz4G6j2OO4s   The Origin of The Term “Roman Room” First off, it’s important to repeat that this term is just one variation of a mental tool that appeared many thousands of years ago, long before Rome was even built. The term “Roman Room” means practically the same thing as: Journey Method Memory Palace Mind Palace Memory Castle Memory Room Method of Loci I’ll never forget one of my first students – he was 88 and didn’t like any of these terms. So I said call the Roman Room technique whatever you like. He chose “apartments with compartments.” Once settled, he went on to revive his German and memorize dozens of poems. But there’s a reason some people call this technique the “Roman Room.” This is because Roman Orators used their homes, and even the stages they spoke from, to help them memorize and recite their speeches. In fact, a phrase we still use today is thought to come from the use of rooms as memory devices. When a speaker would say, “In the first place” or “in the second place,” this verbal habit was referring to the information in a mental room used to store the point. It’s entirely possible that the people in the audience also used the technique, and used it along with the speaker to rapidly internalize the information as they heard it. This use of locations is why the Roman Room technique is sometimes called the Method of Loci. Loci is the plural of locus, a Latin word for a place. You have “loci” when you have strung multiple places together, such as the four corners of a room. In the Greek tradition, we have the Story of Simonides of Ceos, which I give two powerful versions of in our detailed study of 7 Ancient Memory Palace tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSn2qjuYjxs Now, this technique is not just about using buildings or rooms. We also have the notion of space itself, which was incredibly special to the Greeks in many ways. As Thales said, a person widely considered to be both the first philosopher and scientist: Μέγιστον τόπος άπαντα γαρ χωρεί Megiston topos hapanta gar chorei Space is the ultimate thing, as it contains all things. Pre-historically, we have evidence that ancient people did not use rooms at all to create their memory tools. For example, people have used constellations to help them remember. Lynne Kelly demonstrates in The Memory Code how aboriginals used skyscapes both day and night to help them remember songs. She also shows how they used long stretches of geography and even objects like the lukasa to help them memorize the names and locations of medicinal plants. I would go so far as to say that humanity has survived precisely because it learned to use external and internal structures as memory aids. Imagine trying to remember what kind of plants are safe to eat during a drought, versus which are poisonous. If you can’t remember, you’re dead. Roman Rooms or Memory Theatres: Which Is Better For Memory Palace Training? If you can’t find any terms you like, let’s introduce another option that I’m quite fond of and talk about Robert Fludd’s “memory theatre.” It uses rooms very specifically, or at least, that’s what memory expert Frances Yates believes. She talks a lot about Fludd’s variation on the Roman Room in her seminal book, The Art of Memory. The idea here is that we can mentally visit locations, and this man is apparently imagining a structure like the Tower of Babel, an obelisk, what appears to be a town square and perhaps an angel introducing a new person to heaven. On the Oculus Imaginationis diagram, we see different spaces that can be used in combination with other kinds of mental imagery to help us remember words, poems, mathematical formulas and names. However, there is a difference to notice between ars quadrata and ars rotunda. The first is the art of using squares and the second is the art of using round and dynamic spaces, such as using trees in a forest or other shapes in nature. As an experiment, I created my own version of The Tower of Babel and used it to memorize these two terms. On locus one, I mentally imposed a big fat circle that is badly overweight. That reminded me of the term ars rotunda. On the second locus, I i

Did you know that visualising success, jumping in a cold river and consuming illegal narcotics can trigger the release of the same pleasurable neurochemical in your brain? I know, I know…it sounds like a late-night infomercial from the 90’s, but it’s true. It’s science. And this little feel-good chemical is called dopamine. Dopamine is a well-known but often misunderstood neurotransmitter that plays a vital role in our experience of rewards, motivation, and cravings. If you have any interest in psychology and personal development, you’ve probably heard of it. Unfortunately, the internet is rife with popular myths about the nature of dopamine, dopamine ‘levels’ and how this all impacts our sense of pleasure, focus and drive. Broadly speaking there are two types of dopamine levels to be aware of: tonic and phasic. Tonic dopamine levels are the baseline levels of dopaminergic activity that occur in our brain. If these levels are too high this can be related to impulsivity, hyperactivity and mania, among other symptoms. If they are too low, this may lead to loss of pleasure, depression symptoms and fatigue. Phasic dopamine levels are the moment-to-moment fluctuations in dopamine that we experience in response to specific stimuli such as food, media, cigarettes and alcohol. If phasic dopamine levels are too high, particularly for a prolonged period of time, this might lead to addiction and associated risky behaviours. If they are too low, this may reduce our ability to experience pleasure. https://youtu.be/GS8v98zkfNw What Factors Impact Your Dopamine Levels? However, it’s important to note that our dopamine systems are impacted by environment, genetics and specific circumstances and their relationship to behaviour is complex. While there may be a correlation between loss of motivation or low mood and low dopamine levels, this doesn’t mean that feeling low or unmotivated is only a result of dopaminergic dysfunction. So what does we really mean when we say we want to “reset our dopamine levels.” Well, this would be to return our baseline (tonic) dopamine levels to a normal range. There are generally three ways you can do this and later in this post I’ll offer some specific examples: Reduce or eliminate the factors that cause dopamine dysregulation Adopt healthy habits that support dopamine (and other neurotransmitters) balance Increase your tolerance and capacity to experience pleasure and pain But first, it’s necessary to consider why we may have low dopamine levels or more low motivation and mood more generally. 5 Reasons Why Your Dopamine Levels Are Low #1. Chronic Stress Releasing dopamine can often be a way that we deal with the stress of the present moment. It helps us disengage (go on autopilot), distract (ignore discomfort) and disconnect (numb). When we’re stressed, our brain releases a hormone called cortisol. Unfortunately, chronic stress leads to persistently elevated cortisol levels and this can disrupt our dopamine balance and contribute to reduced motivation, pleasure and general cognitive function. Stress can also mess with your memory. Reducing your stress levels may therefore increase your baseline levels of dopamine and increase your dopamine receptor sensitivity and in doing so, reduce the urge to reach for quick dopamine spikes. #2. Trauma When we talk about dopamine detoxes, most of the attention is focused on daily habits such as social media, Netflix, and overconsumption of food, caffeine, nicotine or other substances. However, we often overlook the root causes of our reaching for those things in the first place. While part of this behaviour may be linked to societal abundance and increased access to dopamine-spiking stimuli, this whole system is partly fuelled and maintained by the very common experience of trauma. Trauma is basically any intense physiological or psychological stressor that the nervous system cannot process in the moment and which results in a defense mechanism that limits our range of future responses to a situation. The result of this trauma can range from simple disconnection and disengagement in life all the way to a formal diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Traumatic experiences – particularly during crucial periods of brain development – have long-lasting impacts on the brain’s neurochemistry. That’s not to mention trauma from brain injury, which can also cause issues. While we’re still learning about the brain, it’s entirely possible (maybe even probable) that “dopamine hits” give us relief from painful emotions and therefore trauma makes us more susceptible to craving and addiction. For example, trauma impact the functioning of dopamine-related brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus, and disrupts dopamine receptors and the Hypothalic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, which helps regulate stress hormones like cortisol. Fortunately, by receiving therapy to heal our trauma we can move towards a state of nervous system

If you’d like to become a mnemonist, or a person who excels at using memory techniques, it’s actually pretty easy. Or at least, it can be if you follow the right steps based on the right goals. What exactly are those goals and what steps do you need to follow in order to become a memory expert capable of demonstrating how memory techniques work? That’s exactly what we’re going to cover in this post. I’m a memory expert and mnemonist myself. But I won’t just be using my own examples. I’ll share with you the stories of many other mnemonists as well. That way, you can compare and contrast the different mnemonic styles you can pursue. Along the way, you’ll also discover how to memorize a large amount of information. Ready? Let’s get started! https://youtu.be/1yY3k9fbZyo What Is A “Mnemonist”? The term mnemonist is related to the word “mnemonic,” which means “memory technique.” This means that a mnemonist is essentially someone who is skilled with using memory techniques. The term may also refer to a person who: Gives memory demonstrations (like Harry Kahne) Teaches memory techniques Does a combination of both There’s a bit of a grey area here because sometimes people think that people with superior autobiographical memory, synesthesia are also mnemonists. For example, there are people like Solomon Shereshevsky or Daniel Tammett where autism may be involved. In each of these cases, it seems clear that these people used mnemonics or something very close to mnemonics when memorizing vast amounts of information. (Shereshesky’s story is particular interesting, and here’s my full profile if you want to learn more about him.) Kim Peek does not appear to have used mnemonics, but the mental calculator Sal Piacente has successfully reproduced many of Peek’s talents. You may also encounter people like Jill Price. She’s associated with photographic memory, but technically has hyperthymestic syndrome. One of the first studies was based on Jill Price’s case, and this condition is not to be confused with eidetic memory. In sum, a mnemonist has developed a skill. Virtually anyone who wants to have this skill can train for it. How to Become a Mnemonist and Unlock Your Memory’s True Potential Once you’ve decided to become a mnemonist, your path is mostly straight forward. Let’s have a look and pick up some specific examples along the way. Note that some of these steps are in a logical order. But others can be started any time, such as making friends in the memory community. One: Decide To Be All In When memory expert and mnemonist Harry Lorayne decided to master his memory, it was to escape punishment. In order to do it, he went to the library and devoted himself to figuring out what mnemonic devices are and how to use them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaPMuWHZ1lU When I say “be all in,” I don’t just mean read a lot of books on Memory Palaces. I also mean devote yourself to practicing the techniques with a wide variety of information types: Vocabulary Names Numbers Symbols Playing cards By doing this, you’ll start to deeply understand more about what memory really is and how you can make it work better on demand. Two: Start Simply That said, you have to start somewhere. And for most us, we’ll need to start with a simple goal. A first goal is to learn how to memorize a list. You can do this using the pegword method, or a use an even a simpler number-rhyme system. Three: Make Friends In The Memory Community Given the many stages of learning, it’s useful to be able to speak with others who are both behind and ahead of you. You’ll find lots of cool people doing amazing things. For example, Braden Adams memorized 70 decks of playing cards for charity. Marno Hermann broke a record in his country for reciting pi. And Jesse Villalobos got a raise and a promotion. There are so many examples like this, and the best part is that most of these people are happy to share their experiences and the specific memory hacks they’ve explored. Four: Learn More Advanced Mnemonic Techniques Once you’ve mastered the basic techniques, it’s time to keep developing your skills. Now, exactly what counts as an “advanced” memory technique is admittedly subjective. But in general, number rhyme systems and alphabet mnemonics are simple compared with tactics like using a 00-99 PAO System based on the Major Method are more advanced. At this stage, it’s possible to get stuck with decision anxiety because instead of the Major Method, you could choose the Dominic System. Other times, people cause issues for themselves by using Anki to learn the more advanced systems. But that’s really evading the skill you’re trying to build by confusing mnemonic spaced repetition with rote learning. Journaling and mindmapping to test if you really want t

News flash: philosophical questions for smart people must actually be philosophical. I raise this point because so many people ask general interest questions and call them philosophical. But that doesn’t mean that they actually are philosophical. Who am I to know? As I’ve learned as a scholar with a PhD in Humanities, much of the best philosophy involves investigating of the nature of being – existence itself. As a memory scientist and author of a book guided by the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, demonstrating the ties between memory and ontological being has been a core aspect of my work for over a decade. This book is called The Victorious Mind. I’m also working on a new book now, about the philosopher of memory, Giordano Bruno. It dives deep into what I would call the ontology of memory. It asks, what is the philosophical nature of memory’s existence. Fascinating, right? Or is it too much intellectual noodling? I don’t think so. When it comes to philosophical questions, I don’t think we can ever dig deep enough. As Martin Heidegger often put it, asking deep philosophical questions of his own, we all need to question the being of being itself. Now how’s that for a mind bender? Take things a step further: How is it that we as beings have come to not only ask questions about the nature of being, but also come to question the nature of what it means to ask questions in the first place? The way Heidegger puts it, the ultimate philosophical question is to question the nature of questioning itself. So with that in mind, if you’re ready for more reflection and a massive list of my favorite philosophical questions divided into categories, let’s dive in! 207 Thought-Provoking Philosophical Questions With these points in mind, here’s a list of questions that will help you experience rich and rewarding conversations with friends and family. I’ve split the questions up into different categories and will sometimes discuss why the questions are so valuable to discuss. Ready? Let’s get started. Ontology As Dale Jacquette points out in his book Ontology, we often take the question of what exists for granted. What does it mean for something to exist? How does existence relate to things that are merely coming into being? Ontological questions focus on Being with a capital B and how it relates to the opposite: non-being or non-existence. However, asking about non-being is tricky. As Plato puts it in The Sophist, the opposite of being cannot be non-being because being is require in order to question this question. We didn’t have the “mind blown” meme back when I was in graduate school, but having my mind blown was exactly how I felt when I first thought about how non-being could never be the opposite of being. To think about nothing means you have to think about something. Wild! Along these lines, here are some of the most important questions in the area of ontology: Why is there something rather than nothing? What does it mean to exist? What must be true in order for us to say that something exists or does not exist? This question is especially interesting because we talk about many things that technically don’t exist, such as unicorns. Yet, the very notion of unicorn is premised upon other things that do exist, such as horses and animals that have horns. We can also think about horns in relation to seashells. So with this in mind, is it really the case that unicorns do not exist? What laws govern matter? When does life begin? This question applies both to life in terms of when it first appeared in the universe, and when life starts following pregnancy in a human. You can also ask to what extent that the universe itself might be alive. If it is alive, then the question of when it started living is fair game. That said, you might like to know about Nietzsche. He was a philosopher who definitely thought the universe was not alive. See aphorism 109 of his book The Gay Science for an extraordinary warning against such humanization of being. What happens to us when we die? What is the most perfect form of being? Does a god exist? If a god exists, why would we need to prove this? Is change real or only apparent? What is real? What is reality? Is reality one or many? This question means to investigate not just the nature of one reality as opposed to a multiverse. It is also the question of whether or not everything in the reality is connected, or if there is separation between things. Is reality material or spiritual? Is reality permanent, or is it itself always changing? If the entire universe is always in motion, can any object ever be at “rest”? Are light and darkness equal? Does history exist or did humans invent it? If so, does it repeat itself? Does the past continue to exist after it is gone? Is the world of tomorrow already here? These last two questions were raised by Einstein and Gödel. For a full analysis, see A World Without Time. In essence, it is fasci

Anastasia Woolmer is currently the most impressive memory competitor in Australia. She’s also a whizz when it comes to extending memory techniques to goals with practical meaning. Not that being a memory athlete is empty in any way. But she’s keenly aware that most people aren’t going to learn how to memorize thousands of digits. That’s one reason why she came up with a different project, one that gives her great brain exercise and teaches her practical and interesting information. Information you can actually use. What’s on the menu for memorization over the weeks and months to come? A dictionary. That’s right. The entire thing. Including the page numbers. https://youtu.be/tNw1oVbYKqk Can You Really Memorize The Entire Dictionary? As a matter of fact, yes. Last time Anastasia Woolmer and I spoke on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we discussed the memorization of movement. In case you haven’t seen it, she uses movement as part of her mnemonic strategy, something you can witness yourself in her incredible TEDx Talk. When it comes to committing an entire dictionary to memory, there is precedent for such a task. Years ago, Ed Cooke tested an impressive mnemonist named Dr. Yip, a.k.a. The Man Who Learned the Dictionary. There’s also the case of Nigel Richards, who memorized the French dictionary and wound up winning the French Scrabble World Championship. You might also be interested in Matteo Ricci, who could reportedly recite entire books forward and backward. But ultimately, Ricci’s was a very different project than memorize prose because Anastasia’s involves core vocabulary, definitions and numbers. The Real Memory Skill Needed For Such Monumental Learning Tasks Sure, you’re going to need memory techniques. Lots of them. And, as Woolmer readily told me, she’ll need lots of Memory Palaces too. But according to Woolmer, it’s “holistic memory” that she focuses on the most. By making sure that she’s physically flexible, taking care of her diet and getting lots of sleep, she has the mental clarity needed to memorize the entire dictionary. I feel that this is exactly right. Yes, we need high-powered mnemonic strategies. But the functioning of mnemonics is reliant upon mental sharpness above all. Enjoy this interview, and be sure to visit her website for more information about her courses and live training events. Here’s a post about her upcoming workshop for more info. Hope you can attend!

Want to know why the biggest barriers to critical thinking are so insidious? The answer is simple: It’s because they’re lurking inside you. And if you don’t know that these barriers are standing between you and exploding your thinking abilities, you’re powerless to improve your situation. Starting right now, let’s identify and remove the biggest barriers. You’ll experience greater clarity of mind just by knowing what they are and how to get them out of your life. Ready? Let’s dive in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxP2gHhAT2Y The 9 Most Common Barriers to Critical Thinking (And How to Overcome Them) As you go through this list, keep a journal. Write down the barriers that pose the biggest issue for you. Then make time on your calendar to deal with each. Rest assured, without putting in the time, nothing will change. But when you do, your independent thinking abilities will explode. In fact, your critical thinking abilities will improve overall. One: Letting The World Revolve Around You Most of us experience inner talk. And it’s normal to include yourself and your experiences in the topics you think about. But those who have excellent critical thinking skills know how to contextualize their SRIN. What is SRIN? Self-referential Inner Narrative. Others call this the “blah blah blah” monkey-mind. No matter what you call it, if you can’t think about contexts larger than your immediate self, it will be impossible to think critically. Here’s what to do instead: Notice when you say or think things like, “I don’t personally know anyone this has happened to.” Stop and think about the larger context at the level of your neighborhood, your city, your region, your country, your continent, your hemisphere and the world. Where relevant, include the entire universe. Imagine a topic through the eyes of at least one other person. In autobiographical memory studies, this is called shifting from the field perspective to the observer perspective. Ask about what would be true even if you did not exist. For more help, these critical thinking examples will help you think through other perspectives. Two: Lack Of Critical Thinking Skills If you want to remove the obstacles to critical thinking you’re experiencing, some study will be involved. Critical thinking books abound and it is worth spending time with some of the best. Look for books that include examples and exercises. You’ll also want to think about a particular goal for critical thinking that you have. For example, do you want to think better as a student preparing for law school? Or do you need thinking skills for being a better contributor to your family or neighborhood? Setting a goal can help guide which resources you choose and your study and practice plan. Three: Not Knowing Your Cognitive Biases We are all included to make serious errors in our thinking. But we’re not alone in making them. Far from it. In fact, because all of us operate from having a human brain, psychologists have identified patterns. These are called cognitive biases. One that I suffer from quite badly is called “recency bias.” Basically, it’s very tempting for me to judge reality based on the most recent events, rather than looking at the broad scope of history. I use all of the tips on this page to cope and improve. One of the most helpful benefits of critical thinking is the ability to engage in continual discussions with friends about history. It’s something I continue to read for one simple reason. The more you know and discuss the past, the more you are automatically reminded of a bias like this. What cognitive biases are strongest in your life? Four: Being In A Hurry We’re all in a rush once in a while. But it’s one of the biggest critical thinking challenges all the same. If you don’t stop and think, mistakes are so much easier to make. One of my favorite tools for making sure I don’t rush into making decisions without thinking about them is called W.R.A.P. Widen Your Options Reality Test Attain Distance Prepare To Fail As can see, it has tools in it to help you slow down. It’s also a superior alternative to “trusting your gut.” In fact, Chip and Dan Heath who came up with it in their book Decisive did a lot of research on it for the book. They show that relying on gut instinct is often very harmful. (And it’s often a cognitive bias that drives us to rely on it anyway.) How do you remember to use the W.R.A.P. technique? You need to get thinking about it deep into your procedural memory. For that, a Memory Palace will help. Grab this free course so you know how to create and use one: Five: Lack Of Scientific Literacy Unfortunately, a lot of people leave school not knowing how to evaluate research. They often have limited numeracy skills. They also barely understand some of the core principles of science, such as: Sampling and generalizability Probability and coincidence Correlation and causation Differentiating fact from opinion Logical reasoning To remove these barriers from y

If you want to improve your ability to visualize, think clearly and remember more, proper image streaming is important. The best part is that you can learn to do stream images properly even if you do not have a strong “mind’s eye.” What’s the point of image streaming – and doing so in a better way? Well, just imagine being able to experience more of your inner genius on demand. Develop that ability and soon you’ll enjoy reading much more (including complicated books). Plus, your mind won’t feel so overwhelmed when you can instantly use mental imagery to focus on demand. In this post, I’ll actually teach you two different kinds of image streaming: passive and active. I used both while studying for my PhD at York University, and it remains one of my favorite practices in my writing and teaching career. Ready? Let’s get started. What Is Image Streaming? A lot of people attribute the streaming image concept to Win Wenger. Sure, Wenger wrote about it in a book called The Einstein Factor. Wenger defines the practice like this: “Image-Streaming consists of describing aloud, in as much detail as possible, to a live listener or an audience, or to a tape recorder as potential audience — while observing the ongoing stream of sensory imagery of all kinds.” Although there are some great things about Wenger’s book, it’s also packed with pseudoscience. And although it has some merit, I don’t fully agree with this particular definition of image streaming. Perhaps more alarmingly, there’s a stunning lack of awareness about Einstein. For one thing, Einstein is not known to have considered himself a genius. He probably had no time for such imprecise terms. If you’ve read The Unexpected Einstein, you’ll be aware of just how humble Einstein was about his discoveries. As Walter Isaacson shows in Einstein: His Life and Universe, Einstein had every reason to be modest. He’d actually borrowed the imagery he “streamed” from Aaron Bernstein. This was the influential author who “took his readers on an imaginary journey through space.” He also “asked readers to imagine being on a speeding train” as a bullet was shot through the window. Was imagine streaming part of how Einstein formulated the equations involved in general relativity? Absolutely not. “Image streaming” is a term Wenger apparently invented (if you can call putting two preexisting words together an act of invention). If anything, Einstein was mentally replaying images and concepts from Bernstein. This does not diminish Einstein’s accomplishments. Rather, it places them in context and allow us to ask a better question: Did Einstein use an image visualization technique to arrive at his conclusions? Absolutely. And you can too. We just want to be a bit more historically accurate and scientific about the process so we can get started on the best possible footing. One way to instantly “stream” better while reading the claims people make, such as the one above, is to use active reading strategies. Although you might not wish to call them streaming, a lot of them will certainly get you into a similar state of flow. The Deep History Of Image Streaming I don’t want to go back to the beginning of time, but we know that humans have been visualizing for a very long time. And if you are visualizing for more than a few seconds, that experience is… “streaming” from one second to the next. Who has streamed imagery perhaps more than any other group? Ancient Indian yogis. Buddhist monks. Dominican priests and practitioners of hermeticism. Modern teachers of positive visualization. For each of these groups, the ability to sit and focus on mental imagery has been key to allowing ideas to arise and for expanding the mind. For more details on how visualization was used in different periods of history, you can check out texts like: Pratyabhijñā (see The Recognition Sutras, a translation with commentary by Christopher Wallis and specific exercises that involve image streaming from Shaivism) The use of Mandalas and visualization sutras in a number of Buddhist schools and some koans in various schools of Zen Ars combinatoria in Hermeticism And there is so much more. Image Streaming And Pseudoscience Now, you might be thinking… didn’t you just accuse Win Wenger of pseudoscience? Aren’t all of these ancient traditions also linked with woo-woo? Well, yes and no. For one thing, Wenger says image streaming will increase your IQ. This claim is highly dubious, and I doubt that any of the traditions listed above have ever claimed image streaming will help in this regard. That said, when combined with active recall, image streaming will certainly help you remember various kinds of information much better. Second, we have tons of research demonstrating just how powerful practices like deity meditation are for enhancing the efficiency of your visuospatial processing. You’ll also want to check out the summaries of many scientific studies and brain scans in Andrew Newberg and Robert Wald

Why study philosophy? After all, aren’t philosophers just a bunch of people who use big words in unreadable books? I mean, think about it… Half the time it seems like they’re preaching to us about how we should act in the world while they bumble through their personal lives. Although that assumption can prove true more often than I’d like, the importance of philosophy is not owned by philosophers. It’s also not necessarily the “love of wisdom” as people often translate it from the ancient Greek, φιλοσοφία. As Emmanuel Levinas put it, we might do better if we think about philosophy as “the wisdom of love.” I find Levinas’ formulation useful because it reveals how better thinking can help us discover what’s truly important in life. And when we focus on allowing the love in wisdom to guide us, we will almost certainly respond to our fellow citizens from an elevated position. Sure, it might not involve “love” as such in a personal way, but it will certainly involve much higher levels of care. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU2Z9J-MijI Why is Philosophy Important? 7 Life-Changing Reasons In What is Philosophy? Deleuze and Guattari suggest that opinion is chaos. When you look at social media sites like Twitter, you almost feel like they must have had the ability to peer into the future when they wrote this book back in 1991. But if there’s one reason above all that makes philosophy important, it’s the reduction of random, chaotic influence. The more you develop yourself philosophically, the more you can avoid being yanked around by the chaos of opinion. With this point as our governing theme, let’s explore a few more reasons philosophy is so important. One: Systematic Analysis As different views and opinions flood the news and social media, instead of taking them at face value, you can use philosophical tools to pick them apart. How? There are at least 9 critical thinking strategies you can use. The more of these tools you have in your mental toolbox, the more you can overcome barriers that impede your thinking. By practicing this kind of analysis, you’ll also be better at perceiving systems as such. Systems that try and control you are everywhere and being able to spot them can help you avoid so much loss and agony in life. For example, when I was in university, my doctoral supervisor helped me see the ways in which the university bureaucratic system is a kind of game. After I submitted my dissertation, I took my new knowledge of how it worked and withdrew from the program. Why? Because the analysis my supervisor helped me with revealed that it could take an entire year for the committee to set a date for my dissertation defense. Once the date was set, I re-enrolled and wound up paying much less tuition than other students who didn’t know about this loophole. No one was going to tell me that was how the system worked. But when I learned how to analyze it, I saved a lot of money. I also saved a lot of grief later because if I had found out about this option, but not taken it, I would have mourned the lost money. Thinking philsophically helps you perceive and then remove the barriers that hinder your life. Two: Know When You’re Being Influenced Unfortunately, know matter how much we come to know what philosophy is, we all fall prey to gullibility from time to time. But the more we analyze the world around us, the more we can steep ourselves in positive influences while draining out the bad. And it’s important to note that even useful sources can sometimes deliver unhelpful ideas. We need to be able to spot influence as such. That way we can properly evaluate it. For example, I recently had to deal with a lawyer. He used a lot of tricky language to try and influence me. But because I could keep calm and objective as he spoke, I managed to better understand how he was trying to influence me. I ended up with a much better outcome as a result. These critical thinking books will help you develop the ability to seek top quality influences in your life and weed out the poor performers. These philosophy books will also help. Three: Interpret & Respond Optimally Events in the world create all kinds of emotional responses. But when you’re well-versed in philosophy, you’re equipped with a kind of “science of emotions.” You’re better able to perceive when you’re being irrational and use abstract thinking to pull away from your gut response. Now, you might be thinking, “Hang on, people keep telling me that I need to listen to my gut response, not ignore it.” True, there are some cases where you want to listen to your gut. Gavin de Becker’s The Gift of Fear has been personally helpful on that front. For example, when I’ve lived in big cities, I’ve had concerns on certain big holidays and stayed at home based on my instincts. In one case in Berlin, that was a very good thing because something tragic happened in the exact neighborhood I had intended to go. Following your intuition is great – but

It’s a popular perception among many people that listening to binaural beats has a special effect on the brain. They think binaural beats can help you follow a diet or stop smoking. Or they think these sounds can amp you up for a competition or calm you down, or even improve memory recall, focus and concentration. The question is… Doesn’t listening to any type of relaxing music have a similar effect? Possibly. In this post, we’ll find out if listening to specific frequencies can have a better impact on your mental prowess than listening to Mozart for Pink Floyd! What Are Binaural Beats? The word binaural means “having or relating to two ears.” The process works by sending a slightly different sound frequency to each ear. This has to be done simultaneously and through earphones or headphones. When two different pure tones are presented separately but simultaneously to each ear of a listener, the listener hears the illusion of a third tone. This third does “appears” in addition to the two pure-tones presented to each ear. And it is this third tone that is called a binaural beat. Let’s break this down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni1saxS5zVk When you play a 350 Hertz (Hz) tone in the left ear and a 360 Hertz tone in the right, it yields a beat with a frequency of 10 Hertz. This third beat is the binaural beat. The brain then uses a process known as ‘frequency following response’ to follow along at the new frequency (10 Hz). This process produces brainwaves at that rate of Hertz. However, this outcome (apparently) occurs only if the the difference matches the alpha frequency range that lies between 7-11 Hz. Music or white noise embedded with binaural beats is very often used along with different meditation techniques and positive affirmations to gain varying results. In the memory training and memory improvement world, some claim you will experience results ranging from improvement in recall, concentration, focus, creativity and alertness. There is more: Listening to these beats is also said to provide relaxation, stress reduction, pain management, and improved sleep quality. Who Heard Them First? A Brief History of Binaural Beats Binaural beats were first described in 1839 by Prussian scientist H.W. Dove. However, it was Gerald Oster’s article in Scientific American in 1973 that brought this process to modern attention. According to Oster, the tones needed to produce binaural beats had to be relatively low-frequency and the beats themselves were in the range of one to 30 hertz. This is the range the human brainwave frequencies fall in. What to know the real story? Humans have the ability to “hear” binaural beats as a result of evolutionary adaptation. “Many evolved species can detect binaural beats because of their brain structure. The frequencies at which binaural beats can be detected change depending upon the size of the species’ cranium. In the human, binaural beats can be detected when carrier waves are below approximately 1000 Hz.” (Oster, 1973) The Binaural Process In Real Music Of course, binaural beats in terms of therapy is quite different than the binaural process found in music. This process was apparently invented by Manfred Shunke who used models of the human head created with the help of computer design software. As music historian Rob Bowman wrote in the notes for Lou Reed’s Between Thought and Expression: “The detail was as precise as possible down to the size, shape, and bone structure of the ear and ear canal. Microphones were then designed to fit each ear so, theoretically, what they recorded would be exactly what a human sitting in the position the head was placed would actually hear.” Binaural Beats To Manage Pain: Why The Truth Matters For Your Memory Chronic pain impacts between 10-50% of the adult population, while costing U.S. businesses over $61 billion annually. The neuromatrix theory suggests that the brain’s inability to return to a state of equilibrium is at the crux of chronic pain (Melzack, 2001; Melzack, 2005). Binaural beats has been effective in synchronizing brain waves, also known as entrainment, with an external stimulus (Kennel, Taylor Lyon, & Bourguignon, 2010), and has been associated with a number of positive psychological outcomes (David, Katz, & Naftali, 2010; Lane, Kasian, Owens, & Marsh, 1998). Research shows that an external audio protocol of theta-binaural beats is effective at reducing perceived change in pain severity. How does this affect your memory? The answer is simple: Pain free people pay better attention to their surroundings. Freedom from pain means that your levels of focus and concentration are automatically better than when impacted by ongoing or recurrent pain. Being pain free is especially important for learning, something that requires high levels of concentration. Kind of like crossword puzzles require high levels of concentration (not that there is much evidence they will improve your memory). Speaking of

Believe it or not, using mnemonics can make you feel so great, it’s almost like your head is going to explode. On the one hand, it sounds obvious. When you can remember more, boosts in mood completely make sense. But what about feelings that are even more intense. Such as experiencing an “awakening”? Or even reaching a state of enlightenment? Not only do I believe it’s possible. I’ve read many accounts of such experiences in the memory improvement literature. I’ve even had mystical experiences myself. That’s why I jumped at the chance to talk with John Graham about it when he asked me about strange occurrences I’ve written and talked about a lot over the past few years. The only question is… What do we believe about our experiences? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcObjZbneMI That’s what John Graham and I discuss in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. Who Is John Graham? John is an incredibly accomplished mnemonist. In addition to being a memory athlete and memory expert, he’s extremely knowledgeable about focus and concentration – especially for business professionals who struggle with anxiety. John also have some next level memory training concepts that explain why he performs so well when it comes to winning at memory events like the USA Memory Championship. Why Talk About Enlightenment? The simple answer is… I don’t know. Free will – and its absence – is one of the key ideas that come up around topics of awakening and enlightenment. In fact, abandoning the sense of self is a hallmark of how many people talk about these experiences. We’ve seen it in the memory tradition from people like Ramon Llull and Giordano Bruno. Indeed, in On the Shadows of the Ideas, Bruno says he has light bursting out of his eyes thanks to his experiences with using memory techniques. You also find similar themes in St. Augustine’s work on memory. It’s a thread in Yates’ infamous Art of Memory. And in a very subtle way, the concept shows its face in Moonwalking with Einstein when Joshua Foer meets Tony Buzan and learns about becoming a “Warrior of the Mind.” I’m grateful to John for holding the conversation. Thinking critically through experiences like these is important. What do you think about memory training leading to states of enlightenment? Have you had similar experiences?

If you’re wondering why critical thinking is important, you might be tired of the same old explanations. The economy needs smart people… Critical thinkers are more creative… It makes you sound smarter… Well, yes. All of those things are true. But most posts only scratch the surface. On this page, we’re going to go much deeper into the topic. And we’re going to use critical thinking to do it. Ready? Let’s go! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7BZgAXSBc What Is Critical Thinking? Technically speaking, critical thinking boils down to two things: Objective analysis Accurate judgment Once you have those two things in place, you can make better decisions. Predictably. But a number of skills have to be in place before you can rely on this ability. You need: Care and concern for the truth Analytical thinking skills Interpretation Ability to judge the credibility of sources Ability to ask questions that clarify the issue at hand Inference Open-mindedness Self-correction and the desire to improve Ability to defend your decisions Historically, we can look to thinkers like Confucius and Plato. They looked not only at how individuals think, but tried to balance each self against entire societies. A true critical thinker is not trapped in his or her own mind, after all. They’re able to see the big picture and realize that individual minds are not merely influenced by other minds. They are constructed by them. According to Jonathan Haber in Critical Thinking, Aristotle is the first great critical thinker because he categorized and organized his thoughts about the world in the context of what others thought. In this vein, Aristotle worked on biology, politics, drama, logic, rhetoric and other thought processes. These categories still serve as what Haber calls “the building blocks of education.” Why Is Critical Thinking Important? So if you want to know why critical thinking is important, it really boils down to exactly Haber’s point: Because we have learned to think critically, we have those building blocks. We’re able to educate ourselves and others so that societies around the world can experience progress. Another way to look at it is like this: When humans weren’t capable of thinking very well, we suffered a lot more. But as our thinking abilities have grown, our suffering has decreased. Stephen Pinker is one of many thinkers who have demonstrated the validity of this point in books like Enlightenment Now. But we’re still just scratching the surface. Let’s look at some more reasons: One: Understanding Probability & Likelihood A lot of human history has involved guessing. People literally had no way of knowing what the weather would be like tomorrow, let alone making predictions about the stock market that could potentially make them rich. In today’s world, we learn to think probabilistically from a very young age. It’s a common part of mental strength that helps us avoid leading ourselves into traps. I’m talking about traps like golden handcuffs, or its alternative, slave’s luck. These are contemporary terms for the old phrase “selling your soul to the devil.” Because more and more people use critical thinking to see how employers trap them with false incentives and can use research to avoid miserable jobs, the world gets better. The more people think through the probabilities of future happiness, the better everything gets for everyone. And it’s not just about the future. Reflective thinking helps you tap into your past for important context. Context is important for our next point: Two: Comparison and Contrast Would you agree that eating a ripe orange is better than eating a rotten one? If you just said, “yes,” that’s because you know how to compare and contrast two different things. Critical thinking relies on this all the time for much more consequential issues in life. But this simple example demonstrates the importance of distinguishing between things. Three: Defining and Using Definitions In Critical Thinking, Robert Ennis offered the FRISCO model to help define critical thinking: Focus: identify the focus or central concern Reason: identify and judge the acceptability of the reasons Inference: judge the quality of the inference, assuming the reasons to be acceptable Situation: pay close attention to the situation Clarity: check to be sure that the language is clear Overview: step back and look at it everything as a whole There’s a reason that he starts this problem solving model with identifying the central issue. That’s because we need to be able to define things in order to make effective decisions. And once we can define things, we need to be able to compare and contrast various definitions. Four: Putting Solutions Into Action Have you heard of “analysis paralysis”? Too many people fall into it, but it’s not the fault of critical thinking. It’s coming from a lack of having effective critical thinking strategies. This criticism is valid because true critical thinkers must take action once they’ve decided

I’ve been using a Zettelkasten system since 2000 when I learned it in grad school. However, I’ve noticed that many people make the approach way too complicated! That’s a shame because the Zettelkasten method is about maximizing flexibility and increasing comprehension and recall. So on this page, I’ll share with you the interesting history of the Zettelkasten note taking approach. And I’ll share the incredibly simplified version I’ve used ever since it helped me earn my PhD. It’s helped me learn languages, write books and give talks from the top of my head. Better: I’ll also show you how you can combine the Zettelkasten approach with the Memory Palace technique. That way, you’ll enjoy much more high-powered results even faster. Ready? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrN0kaE6DkY What Is the Zettelkasten Note-Taking Method? Directly described, “Zettel” means note and “kasten” is the plural for box in German. So a Zettelkasten method is a means of gathering small note together in boxes. This is done not only for organizational purposes, but also to optimize a spaced repetition process that helps form memories faster. There are many benefits of using this approach: Flexibility and Interconnectivity: Zettelkasten notes are not isolated entities. Instead, you’re actively interacting and interconnecting the building blocks of knowledge. You are literally building a web-like network of ideas in your mind. As a result, you’re much more likely to experience holistic thinking and enjoy new insights. Enhanced Retrieval: Zettelkasten enables efficient retrieval of information. With interconnected notes and a well-organized structure, you can easily locate specific notes, follow trains of thought, and access related concepts. This promotes effective learning and idea synthesis. Creative Sparks: The Zettelkasten method nurtures creativity by encouraging the emergence of unexpected connections and patterns. As you interlink different ideas, innovative insights can arise, leading to novel perspectives and unique solutions to problems. Knowledge Expansion: By actively engaging with your notes and continually adding to them, the Zettelkasten method promotes deeper understanding and comprehension while reading. It encourages active learning, visualization while reading, reflection, and the expansion of knowledge over time. Resilience against Information Overload: The Zettelkasten method helps combat information overload. It provides a structured framework for capturing and processing information, helping you filter, prioritize, and make sense of vast amounts of knowledge. The History of the Zettelkasten Usually, people trace the Zettelkasten method back to the early 20th century, particularly to the sociologist and information scientist Niklas Luhmann. Luhmann sought a system that could help him manage and connect a vast amount of knowledge and accomodate random ideas. However, it’s a misconception that Luhmann came up with the idea out of nowhere. To take just one source, Luhmann was inspired by the note taking method used by the renowned polymath and philosopher, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Stephen Wolfram has shared some images he took of Leibniz’s notes: A Pre-Zettelkasten Example from the philosopher and mathematician Leibniz. Other historical influences on Luhmann’s adaptation include Vincent Placcius‘s De arte excerpendi (the art of excerpting). Placcius organized the notes he took onto slips for distribution in alphabetized slots in a series of wooden boxes. He was apparently legendary for having a prodigious memory. And no doubt because using this simple note taking approach lends itself to neuroplastic changes to the brain so that it more closely resembles and operates like a dictionary or encyclopedia. Luhmann’s Contribution to the Zettelkasten Method Luhmann’s Zettelkasten consisted of index cards or slips of paper, each representing a distinct idea or concept. He meticulously organized and linked these notes using a unique numbering system and cross-references. This structure allowed Luhmann to explore complex topics, make connections, and more effortlessly navigate his intellectual landscape. Over the years, Luhmann refined and expanded his Zettelkasten, ultimately creating a colossal knowledge repository that housed over 90,000 notes. The Zettelkasten became an integral part of his research, which was considered prolific. Apparently, this approach lead him to make groundbreaking contributions in sociology, systems theory, and communication studies. The Mind-Blowing Efficiency of the Zettelkasten Structure Now, rather describing how others have used this approach, let me share the simplified style I’ve used for two decades. I’ve cut out so much unnecessary meta-note taking and kept only the core idea. This has helped me use the Zettelkasten method faster and

The Art of Memory is one of the most successful memory improvement books of all time. Ironic, given that its author says she never tried to use the memory techniques she discussed in such detail. Frances A. Yates made a mark nonetheless. She was a meticulous researcher and The Art of Memory is not her only book to touch on the world of mnemonics. Are you interested in the art of memory at large, Yates’ contribution to the tradition of using mnemonics through her famous book and some of the best strategies she uncovered? If so, let’s dig in and explore what Yates discovered about the method of loci. As we go, we’ll look at some of the historical figures who used the techniques to learn faster and remember more too. https://youtu.be/TG5Fdilr9YI?si=1b9i8aNaXsVcOB-O The Woman Behind The Art of Memory: Who Was Frances A. Yates? According to Marjorie Jones in Frances Yates and the Hermetic Tradition, Frances Yates was one of the most important intellectuals in postwar England. As Jones points out, Yates is also significant for women’s history. We tend to focus on scholars of memory like Aristotle, Ramon Llull, Giordano Bruno and Robert Fludd. But beyond Lynne Kelly, Mary Carruthers and memory athletes who share their mnemonics like Katie Kermode, there don’t seem to be many women in the conversation. In fact, many people express surprise when I use “she” and “her” to discuss Yates. Many people tend to assume she’s a man – an impression perpetuated by the fact that her picture is not included with any of her books that I’ve seen. Yates led a scholarly life, and Jones gives some indication that Yates may have treated one of her main topics, the memory master Giordano Bruno as a kind of symbolic father. But Yates died in 1981 before completing a biography she’d started and called the “B Book.” It would be lovely to know more about Yates’ life, especially the fact that she didn’t use memory techniques. Jones subtlety casts some doubt on this claim Yates makes in The Art of Memory. By many reports, her memory was actually quite good. That could be a result of context dependent memory, however, not Yates’ understanding of the ancient memory techniques she wrote about in such depth. Authors tend to spend a lot of time preparing and editing drafts, so it would not be surprising for her to have better memory than others for topics relating to memory and intellectual history at large. The Primary Principles of The Art of Memory As Yates discusses in The Art of Memory, her primary goal is to better understand Giordano Bruno. She wrote about him at length in another book, and in a work about Llull. Bruno also comes up in some of her work on Fludd. Contextualising Bruno’s historical moment is fantastic. To do so, Yates takes us all the way back to the ancient world. Many interesting names come up, and the core mnemonic strategies that go with them are: The Method of Loci, which is associated with Simonides of Ceos The use of memory techniques to give speeches as discussed in Rhetorica ad Herennium Memory wheels, thought to be originated by Ramon Llull Guilio Camillo’s “Memory Theatre” Rober Fludd’s “Theatre of the World” Giordano Bruno’s alphabetical method for rapidly developing mnemonic images Yates is particularly interested in how Bruno’s mnemonic strategies connect with his cosmological ideas. Not everyone agrees with Yates’ interpretation. For one thing, there have been new discoveries since Yates stopped writing about memory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNrJlDiGIpk Dilwyn Knox suggests that Yates’ interpretation of Bruno as a hermeticist is forced, and I agree. But as John Michael Greer has suggested, everyone who works on Bruno is bound to invent their own version. All of Yates’ discussion of memory techniques becomes even more complicated when we add in her claim that she never used the memory techniques under discussion. Ultimately, I don’t know, but some of the ways she discussed mnemonics does suggest she didn’t understand them through experience.   7 Memory Techniques (Mnemotechnics) From the Art of Memory In addition the memory techniques listed above, The Art of Memory discusses or at least mentions: The Memory Palace Number systems we now call the Major System or Dominic System Memory wheels Journey method Pegword method Spaced repetition Meditation on topics, or what we might now call reflective thinking Yates didn’t live to see some of the Aboriginal memory techniques we now know about from people like Tyson Yunkaporta and Lynne Kelly’s Memory Craft. But that’s okay. Yates finished writing The Art of Memory in 1965 after all. And we probably wouldn’t have the work of countless others without her inspiration. The Art of Memory: Has It Stood the Test of Time? It’s difficult to say. General