How to Memorise Numbers

Memorising numbers can be a tricky thing to do, it is said that a person can hold up to an average of 7 digits at any given time. This is fine when trying to remember up to the magic-7 mark, but what about when you need to memorise longer numbers for whatever reason, for example: mobile phone numbers (which are 11 digits), or bank card numbers, or maybe a set of codes/passwords that are for you job or security reasons? What do you do then. 

Well as I just mentioned the average amount of numbers a person can hold up to in his/her mind at a given time is 7, so you may be able to do more or less than that, however, there are ways you can get far beyond this figure - into memorising huge numbers that are hundreds of digits long, some people can even remember numbers up to thousands of digits long. It's all about technique, and the technique that is needed is mnemonics. 
If you are not sure about what mnemonics are then here is a post that you may find useful: Mnemonics.

1.  Major Memory System

This is one of the most popular systems that people use to memorise numbers. Each numeral is associated to a consonant, with w, h, y, x, and vowels being ignored serving as 'fillers' to create actual words. Here is the most common layout:

0	s, z, soft c	z is the first letter of zero. The others have a similar sound.
1	d, t, th	d and t have one downstroke and sound similar (notice the tip of your tongue as you say them).
2	n	n has two downstrokes.
3	m	m has three downstrokes, also m looks like a 3 lying on its side.
4	r	the last letter of four, also 4 and R are almost mirror images of each other.
5	l	L is the Roman numeral for 50.
6	j, sh, soft ch, dg, zh, soft g	a script j has a lower loop like 6. These letters also have a ‘whistle-like’ sound, and 6 looks like a whistle.
7	k, hard c, hard g, q, qu	capital K contains two 7s (on their sides, back to back).
8	v, f	think of v as in a V8 motor. f sounds similar (notice how your teeth touch your lips for both).
9	b, p	p is a mirror-image 9. b sounds similar and resembles a 9 rolled around (also notice how your lip movement is the same when pronouncing these letters.)
-	vowel sounds, w, h, y, x	These sounds can be used anywhere without changing a word’s number value.

The number you are trying to memorise would be placed into the table to turn into words. For example: the number 55. As you can see in the table the letter 'l' is associated with the number 5, and as our number is 55, after looking at the table we get 'll' (55). Now that we have this we have to now turn it into a word using vowels, w, h, y, and x. To me the word yeLL comes to mind, so you can imagine a person yelling to remember the number 55. 

So you're probably saying this is fine for two digits but what about for longer digits. Okay, so our next example is going to be: 43665645. The trick with this is to split the number into smaller more manageable chunks. So we're going to tackle this like so: 43, 66, 56, 45. For 43 we get 'rm' so I'm going to turn that into 'RuM' - this now becomes the first picture of your mind. I'll now go ahead and sort out the words for the rest of the numbers: for 66 we'll have 'JoG', for 56 we'll have 'LeDGe', and for 45 we'll have 'RuLe'. Now we need to put them together into a sequence - imagine a man drinking some 'RuM' whilst on a 'JoG, who falls off of a 'LeDGe' with judges around him telling him that he broke a 'RuLe'. It may seem like a lot of effort to remember that, but once you have gotten used to what number corresponds to what letter, it will become much more reliable and is something that you can use to remember longer numbers. 
The hardest part of this system is getting to grips with the table.

2. Peg Words

If you want to take this even further you can then create a 'peg-word' for each number up to 100. This will take more time to learn and become fluent with than the major memory system table, however this way is more effective and can make it quicker to memorise. There are two ways you can do this, you can either create 'peg-words' for each number using the system in trick #1, or you can assign whatever you want to each number. 
I prefer to personally assign each number an image of my choice, things that are in my life or are memorable to me for whatever reason. This includes people, items, characters, all of which are easy for me to picture in my mind. 

Once you have assigned a 'peg-word' to each number and have become familiar with each one, then next thing to do is to use them in a memory palace. I won't go into what a memory palace is in this article as I've already written about it, so instead I'll refer you to them: Memory Palace and 5 Steps to Create a Memory Palace.

3. Grouping

This is a technique that a lot of people use for phone numbers and other numbers of similar length, even if they don't realise that they're doing it. Grouping is simply breaking the number up into smaller groups so that you have an easier time to remember it. So for example a number like 347596 on its own is harder to remember in a short amount of time than if we were to split the number up to make it (347) (596). It seems like groups of 3 work well for our minds and grouping is what a lot of people naturally do when trying to ingrain a number into their mind. 

This technique though is very limited in that whilst it can enable you to quickly pick up a smaller number like 6 or so digits, it is near enough useless for remembering much larger numbers, unless if you were to be extremely repetitive. No, for larger numbers, mnemonics is much much more effective and even for establishing smaller numbers in your long-term memory. 

4. Repetition

Another way that can work is through that of simply repeating the number over-and-over until you have it logged in your long-term memory. Of course all of these techniques will require you to incorporate repetition as to keep them fresh in your mind, however you are able to remember numbers just through repetition and not having to incorporate mnemonics. Mnemonics are a much more powerful tool  though and will make things so much quicker and easier to remember.

There are things you can do to make just repeating the number over-and-over again a little more powerful. You could try writing it down several times instead of saying it out loud, also say it in your head. Even though I prefer using mnemonics (and is something I use for larger pieces of information) I have to say that I have been able to memorise people's mobile numbers from my contacts (11 digits in length) by setting those numbers as the password on my phone (which allows up to 16 digit number passwords), so every time I use my phone - I have to type in the number, which is another form of repetition. I will say that it has been so much easier memorising people's phone numbers this way than simply saying them over-and-over again.

Conclusion

Everyone is different and our minds work in individual ways, so for me using the peg-word method and incorporating it into a memory palace is the best for me, however for you it might not be the best way because your mind doesn't work like that. You should try all of these methods and ones I haven't mentioned until you find one that is right for you.

How to Improve Your Memory

Memory, as discussed in other posts of mine, is a remarkable thing. We have the ability to recall and remember so much information - so it's not surprising that a lot of people want to know how to improve it.

Whilst at times our memories can seem temperamental, they are a vital part of us, to sustain who we are - our character, our identity.

A strong memory can be achieved by the majority of people, with like most things some tips that will be needed to be stuck to. Improving ones memory does take some time but will be worth it in the end. 
Regardless of age (excluding very young children and babies), from students, to bank managers, to more senior-aged people, these tips are simple and effective for all.

In this post, I won't be discussing about memory techniques you can use to help with actual memorisation, but the core life habits to improve memory itself - or keep it at its most optimal state. 

1. Get enough sleep

Sleep is a vital part of memory, not only allowing your mind to recharge but also allowing your mind to, embed as it were, the things memorised for the day. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can have negative effects on a persons memory, decreasing a persons short-term and long-term memory. It is best to get seven or more hours, but too much sleep can also be detrimental, so be careful.

I previously wrote a post: The Functions of Sleep if you want to know more about the role sleep plays on our mind.

2. Reduce stress

Too much stress is harmful for the mind and can make remembering things harder than before. Chronic stress has been shown to have a negative affect on the hippocampus. Of course there is a limit to how much stress can be removed from ones life, as stressful situations are bound to appear regularly, however, there are ways to help keep them under control.

Here's a previous blog post of mine: The Common Causes of Stress and How to Deal with it.

3. Exercise

Exercising on a regular basis is not only great for your overall health, but also for your brain. When exercising, circulation is improved and more oxygen is transported to the brain. Something as simple as this can help ward-off memory loss that is so common with ageing.

4. Eat and drink healthy

To get your mind to reach its most optimal level, nutrition is of vital importance to sustain it with the minerals and vitamins it needs to stay healthy. Fruits and vegetables are great for providing the nutritional properties that your brain will benefit from. Also, omega-3 is also very beneficial for your brain. You can find omega-3 in fish which is good for you anyway.

On the other side to eating healthy, try to avoid saturated fat and limit your calorie intake, as-well as this, limit alcohol consumption.

Two previous posts of mine discuss the benefits of fruits and veg. These are: The Benefits of Individual Fruits (Part 1) and The Benefits of Individual Vegetables (Part 1).

5. Exercise your mind

As well as physical exercise, mental exercise is also of great use to keep your mind in good shape. Doing different types of mental activities promotes the development of nerve connections which can help to improve memory. If you have things that you have memorised (for example; countries and their capitals), try and review them regularly. A variety of different mental exercises is the best thing to do as it causes your mind to think differently and use different parts of the brain.

Some of these exercises could be: learning to play some music, learning a language, writing stories, sudoku, word-searches, crosswords, mathematical games, puzzles, and anything else that engages your mind like these do.

Mnemonics

Memory is an amazing thing, allowing us to remember and recall events and information from previous dates. Often in our daily lives we have things that we need to remember. For example phone numbers, errands to run, people to see, places to be, things for work, etc. And although our brains are certainly capable of remembering all of the information we want, getting it to a state where it can be easily called-upon can be difficult.

This is where mnemonics come in. As researchers and scientists recognise that our brains are able to memorise and recall things with much more ease if the information is associated to something. Preferably to something that stands out. A memory technique that puts this to use is the 'memory palace'.

Mnemonics is a memory technique that converts information into pictures, sounds, smells, abbreviations, acronyms, initials, poems, or anything else to make the information easier for the mind to recall upon.

The ancient Greeks and Romans knew about mnemonic techniques, and realised that memory retention would be vastly improved with the application of these techniques. They would define this as the artificial memory. Artificial because it needs to be trained and developed using a range of techniques over time.

For example: To remember the colours of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet), a very simple mnemonic phrase 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain' would represent the colours of the rainbow. The first letter of each word representing a successive colour.

Mnemonics are used by millions of people around the globe to help them memorise and recall information. College tutors, scientists, taxi drivers, all-sorts,  people like you and I.

An example of an extremely simple mnemonic use I use, is to help me spell the word information. I know this sounds silly, but when I was younger I could never ever remember if you spelt information as information, with a 'n' at the start, or as imformation with a 'm' at the start. I don't know why but that spelling uncertainty never allowed me to remember how to correctly spell the word. The strange thing is however, I know if I was to write information as shorthand, I would spell it as info. So knowing I could do this, I write info before proceeding to write the rest of the word 'rmation' to make information. Just one of many examples that I have used mnemonics for. Mnemonics are useful for remembering people's names if you're a person who has trouble with names. 

Have a go and try and invent your own mnemonics, you may be surprised how well they work.

Is there a Limit to Human Memory?

The ability to remember and recall things is just one of the amazing things our mind can do, and when looked into, is really an impressive feat. Our minds have an absolutely massive storage capacity, but does this mean that they do have a limit? That there is a point to which the mind can memorise things no longer?, or is it endless?

It's an interesting question to bring up because our mind is such a vast place. It's almost like our own miniature universe inside of our heads. Surely though, there has to be a limit? Well...our brain consists of about a billion neurons, each with around 1000 connections to other neurons, with added permutations. Basically - it's a massively gigantic storage facility. I've read that the human mind can store every event that has happened in your life with ease, however, because our brains determine what information we use and which is of most use or significance, most is pushed to the back of the mind where it's never really called upon again. I've also read that scientists estimate that intelligent people will only use up to 2-3% of there memory in there lifetime.

Despite having had a lot of research done on memory, scientists still don't know a lot, and are still learning things to this day about the human mind and memory. Because of this, it would be silly to give a official limit to the human memory when there is still so much to learn.

I think though, the simple answer to the question of whether there is a limit to how much the mind can store, is that yes technically there is a limit, but we will never get anywhere near filling it to capacity...period. Then again what good would that do for us? If we had a mind with a limit that could be reached, wouldn't that just be a hindrance to our life? Not being able to learn new things or remember new places without having to forget something else. It wouldn't work and we couldn't properly function like we can with our minds as they are.

We use our memories to learn from bad experiences, but if we forget about these bad experiences, we have to go through the learning process again, but if our minds have a capacity which we've already reached - we will be unable to remember it or we will have to forget something else, then having to relearn about that. You can probably see the problem that faces having a reachable capacity.

If we weren't as intelligent as we are then it wouldn't be so bad, we wouldn't be able to learn as many new concepts or have the grasp on the understanding of things as we do, meaning there would be less to remember. But because we are intelligent beings, we need to have a mind that will benefit us and not hinder us.

It's a real 'head-scratcher' of a subject to talk about, or in my case write about, because of the things that we don't know and because of the brains complexity. 

Types of Memory

You may or may not have noticed, but recently I'm writing quite a bit to do with memory. That's because I'm doing a sort of memory series. After giving a bit of thought, I feel it would be better to write various posts relating to this topic in order for a more informative look into memory.
Some of you may remember an older post of mine called 'what is memory'. It was only a short post, in which I discussed the 3 stages of memory: sensory, short-term, and long-term. Now I'm going be writing about the types of memory.  

There are lots of different types of memories, many of which I haven't mentioned here, but the ones listed here are often the most referred to and are the major ones. I hope you enjoy it and hopefully you'll be able to remember something about it afterwards. :)


Declarative memory


Declarative memory is one of two types of long-term memory. It is the ability to consciously recall facts, knowledge and information. The hippocampus part of the brain seems to be the most specifically used part of the brain during declarative memory. In fact, declarative memory is highly dependant upon the hippocampus.
Furthermore, declarative can be broken down into two sub-categories; episodic memory and semantic memory. 


Episodic memory


Episodic memory is memory that is associated to autobiographical events. Episodic memory allows the mind to recall information that is associated to oneself, eg. times, places, emotions and feelings etc. 

Through these memories and experiences, a process called episodic learning may take place. For example; a fear of an animal through a previous negative event causing you to want to stay away from that particular animal.  


Semantic memory


Semantic memory is the other division of declarative memory, and is the memory of knowledge, understandings and meanings that are not linked to specific experiences, unlike episodic memory. 

Semantic memory can help us to learn from knowledge and information learnt in the past, and give meaningless sentences meaning.
Semantic memory is closely related to episodic memory as it is derived from various episodic memories. You can imagine episodic memory to be a tree that branches off to many different semantic memories, yet linking them all to each other. For example; all episodic memories of how you perceive your family will be in a single representation of the word family semantically. Every interaction you have with your family will slightly or vastly have an effect on the semantic representation of the word family.  


Procedural memory


Procedural memory is all about how to do things. It is the part of our memory that allows us to remember how to perform a certain action, using both cognitive and motor skills. For example: how to ride a bike. As soon as you get onto the bike, your procedural memory takes over and allows you to carry-out the action of riding it. Procedural memory is a type of implicit long-term memory.

The brain gains procedural memories through the action of procedural learning. Procedural learning is where a person repeats something enough times to become familiar with the action and it becomes automatic in your execution of the action.


Long-term and Short-term memory


Long-term memory is the exact opposite of short-term memory, and short-term the exact opposite of long-term. Short-term memory will only last for 10-60 seconds on average, whilst long-term can last for a lifetime. As short-term memory has only a limited storage facility, often the number 7 is cited here, as new short-term memories enter the brain - old memories leave. However, upon rehearsal or a made-connection of a certain short-term memory, strengthens it in the mind and it starts to become more committed to long-term memory. 


Implicit memory


Implicit memory is the ability to use previous experiences to help deal with present circumstances, whilst not knowing that you are recalling upon these previous experiences to help you. People use implicit memory everyday without knowing, as a form of procedural memory. For example; making a cup of tea. You know how to make a cup of tea, yet you're not having to try and recall upon past experiences to help you as you know how to do it, this is just one example of implicit memory.


Visual memory


Visual memory is the action of recalling information, pictures, scenery, places, people and the like, that have been viewed through the eye. Visual memory sometimes allows us to recall particular characteristics of our senses pertaining to these experiences.
It is sometimes referred to as the minds eye in which we can navigate through the mind retrieving mental images.


Topographic memory


Topographical memory is the ability to define the position of oneself in reference to a compass or your surroundings, to recognise and follow a detailed journey plan, and recognising places and scenes. An example of topographical memory failing would be taking a walk in the countryside, and not being able to remember the route you took to get to your position.


Flashbulb memory


Flashbulb memories are memories of high emotional qualities, a clear episodic memory. For example: remembering where you were and what you were doing when you heard of the death of a family member. 


Retrospective memory


Retrospective memory is the ability to draw upon past experiences relating to people, words, places, and events, encompassing non-declarative, episodic, and semantic memories.


Prospective memory


Prospective memory relates to pre-ordained actions or intentions that are to be carried out at the appropriate time. An example of prospective memory would be if you are asked to remind someone about something at a future date.
It is the opposite of retrospective memory that focuses on memories that have already occurred in the past.


Prospective memory is split into two circumstances: time-based and event-based. Time based is where an individual remembers to carry-out an intention at a particular time, say for example; call someone at 10:00.

Event-based prospective memory is remembering to do something when the right conditions/circumstances are present. For example; noticing a birthday card in a shop might remind you of a relatives upcoming birthday, and may remind you to get something for them.


Sensory memory


Sensory memory allows the mind to retain the impressions of the five main senses: touch, sight, scent, sound, and taste, after interaction with these senses have ceased. For example, I'm able to remember what a beefburger smells like, I'm able to remember what it feels like, looks like, and even tastes like. This is all because of my sensory receptors that take in this information, processes it and then stores it. 


There are different types of sensory memory, in my post; 'what is memory' I described a different type of sensory memory. A very short-term type of memory, where an individual is able to remember what an item looks-like after only a brief second of viewing it, the memory will decay and fade after a short period of time.


Working memory


Working memory relates to comprehension and reasoning, making it available for further comprehension and reasoning. Working memory can be used to face tasks that are target-oriented, and require the manipulation of information or behaviours in the face of distractions and/or obstacles. 

5 Steps to Create a Memory Palace

The last post that I posted was about an ancient memory technique that was used by the Greeks and the Romans, called the memory palace. The technique is extremely helpful for remembering long lists, city maps, entire books, and really anything else that you may want to memorise. If you want to view that last post, it was called; Memory Palace. It is one of the most used memory techniques in the world, simply because of its effectiveness.

Credit: M.C Escher "Relativity"

1. Base it upon something familiar

Whilst it is of course possible to create your own imaginary memory palace, and there are many people who do, it is often easier to build upon something that is already known to you. For example; your house. I'm sure that you know the layout of your house well enough to be able to go from room-to-room in your mind. In fact, a memory palace wont be able to work if you don't know your memory palace well.

One memory champion would take a certain route through London, passing many famous landmarks. This journey was his memory palace, and he made sure that he walked there often so he would know it well, because he knew that he needed to in order for it to work. 

2. Determine the size of your palace

Depending upon what you want to memorise, will determine how big your palace should be. The bigger your memory palace, the more locations there will be to store information, hence bigger palaces will be used for memorising larger piece of information.

It's also of no value to memorise a large memory palace, only to store a little bit of information. For example; if you have a memory palace that contains 50 rooms but you are only memorising 6 things, you're wasting your time remembering the rest of the palace. So judge the size accordingly, it can be a little tricky to start with.

I'll give you some examples. If you were to try and remember 10 pieces of information, you could probably just use a memory shed. A shed is only small, so it's not challenging to remember at all, and the locations would consist of things that are already inside of the shed, or are part of the shed to begin with. (Tools, door, window, vices, bikes, etc.)

If you were to memorise larger amounts of information, you may decide to use your house as your memory palace. And for much larger pieces of information, you should probably use a mansion, or a familiar area that can house lots of locations.

This isn't to say that you can't memorise large pieces of information using smaller memory palaces because it is certainly possible, but to make things easier for yourself, it's better to use larger areas to store a large group of things mentally.

3. Memorise you memory palace

The next step would now be to memorise your memory palace. For you to carry out this technique to its fullest, you will need to have memorised your memory palace completely, from top to bottom. If it's a building or place that you go to often in real-life, then walk around it slowly taking everything in. From the walls, to the decorations, to the carpets, to the colours, to the scent. The more things that you can associate to each place in your memory palace - the better. It will make remembering the layout and route of your memory palace all the easier.

Another method, whilst it might be difficult for many, would be to draw out blueprints and multiple views of your memory palace. Then you can picture yourself actually walking through while looking at your drawings. You can review it as many times as you want, and know that because of your drawings, that things wont become distorted in your mind. If you're using a real life building or place and are not so good at drawing, then take photos and review them. Try to take in everything you see really imagining yourself inside of the photo, walking from it to the next.

4. Identify locations

The whole point of having a memory palace is to place pieces of information that you would like to memorise in certain locations inside of your memory palace. Thus it seems logical that you should memorise as many locations inside of your memory palace as possible. Make sure before committing any information to these locations, you have thoroughly implanted the locations into your mind - you don't want to have to be trying to remember what the locations are, and the information that goes with them on top. 

5. Review Frequently

Storing information inside of your memory palace does help to retain it, but without frequent visits to your palace, the information will start to float to the back of your mind out-of-reach. So to avoid this make sure that you journey through your palace often, whilst journeying the information that you are storing there should come into your mind when you pass where they are being stored. 

Conclusion

Building a memory palace, including becoming familiar with it; knowing every location and route, does take time and isn't a one night miracle that will have you remembering anything you want by morning. It is a steady process, and is dependant upon the amount of effort you are willing to put in. But it is highly effective and has been used for thousands of years, so just be patient with it.

You can also incorporate other mnemonic devices into your memory palace to help you remember things better. For example: to remember the order of the planets in our solar system from the sun, a mnemonic phrase "My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nachos". (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). Pluto is now classed as a dwarf planet. From this mnemonic phrase, it would be very easy to picture your mum very earnestly serving you nachos inside of your mind palace, not to mention reminding you of the information she represents.

Once you've mastered the technique, you can go on and build more elaborate palaces, or even a memory city. :)

I don't claim ownership or credit for the picture that is present, all credit is reserved for the original owner. No copyright intended. If you have an issue with the picture that is present, then please contact me. I am in no way profiting from the picture that is present.

Memory Palace

There are a handful of people in the world that are able to remember more than the average person. People who are called memory champions. Some can remember multiple decks of cards, some can memorise thousands of digits of pi, others can remember whole books. They can remember so many things, yet the one thing that a large majority of them have in common is that they claim to have ordinary memories like you and me. It's only through a memory technique that allows them to memorise huge amounts of things.

This memory technique is known as the 'memory palace' or 'method of loci'. It takes time to learn but is an incredibly effective tool for memorisation. The method relies on an individual creating a palace in their mind, with rooms and corridors where information will be stored.

Strictly speaking, it need not be a palace; it might be a theatre or temple; or house; or outside environment. It depends upon what helps you to memorise things better.

The technique works because it trains your mind to use regions of your brain that have to do with spatial learning. This isn't just a modern technique but has actually been around for thousands of years, known of by the Greeks and Romans.

Each room or place in your memory palace will represent a topic, and so when travelling through your memory palace, these will make themselves manifest as you journey through your imaginary place. Many memory champions have more than one memory palace but have dozens, some stretching as far as memory cities full of memory palaces and buildings. 

It's quite amazing to think that certain individuals actually have memory cities in their minds.

Some people even have memory palaces for the things that they want to forget, so they can place them in an area of their mind that is out of the way.

Here's an example of how you could remember a short shopping list of things. Lets say that you're shopping list contains:

• sausages
• washing up liquid
• bread
• milk
• ham

It's a very small shopping list but you'll get the idea when I explain. Now in your imaginary building, link each of these objects to a location in your building. Don't just link the words to that place but actually visualise the image, and make it something that really stands-out. The reason for this is that our minds are much better at remembering things that stand-out as opposed to things that don't. So if you were to remember milk, you may decide to remember a large dairy cow lounging on your sofa. For washing up liquid, you may choose to have a kitchen overflowing with soap bubbles. It depends on the best way you feel you could memorise them.

Also, a location in your memory palace doesn't need to be an entire room, for example the kitchen, it could be broken down into smaller locations. So for the kitchen you may have some locations to be the: sink, washing machine, taps, kettle, cupboards, fridge, etc. This way you can remember longer lists of things rather than having to come-up with a building that has hundreds of rooms.

There is also another trick to remember particular items on your list rather than having to go through your whole link system until you come across the one you're looking for. And that is to, at every five items, place something reminding you of its number on your list. So at the fifth item you may decide to place a watch pointing to five o'clock. At the tenth item, you may decide to remember a birthday cake with the number ten on. This will save you time for when wanting to locate an item that is number 43 on your list for example.

If you are thinking about starting to use this memory technique, then I would advise starting small before taking on more demanding tasks. So if you're someone who wants to memorise over 70,000 digits of pi, it would be better to build up to that. 

Joshua Foer and contemporary use

When talking about the memory palaces modern contemporary use, Joshua Foer is often cited. He was a journalist who went to the U.S memory championships wanting to find out how the people who competed in this competition were able to perform these amazing feats of memory. He was surprised to find out that these people weren't blessed with eidetic memories but in fact used an effective memory system that allowed them to seem as though they had this almost superhuman memory. 

After reporting on this event, Foer decided to train himself for the event under the tutelage of Ed Cooke (grandmaster of memory). Foer upon return to the U.S memory championships in 2006 actually won the event, surprising not only himself but others involved. He has written a book named MoonWalking with Einstein which was a success, explaining about the  journey through the mind, from ancient 'memory palace' techniques to neuroscience, from the man who can recall nine thousand books to another who constantly forgets who he is. In doing so, Foer shows how we can all improve our memories.

[I would have posted sooner, however I've been busy and not had enough time. As well as this I've also been ill. Sorry about the wait. :)]

How to Memorise a Speech

Speaking in front of people can be a daunting task. You have to stand alone in front of a group of people, and whilst everyone may be encouraging, you can still feel the nerves eating away at you from the inside out. If you do have trouble speaking in front of people, then you may like to read a very early post of mine: Dealing with Public Speaking.

For other people, speaking in front of others is as natural as breathing and they excel in the spotlight. Having a speech already prepared is a great aid, having a speech memorised though gives the appearance of professionalism and assurance, helping to convince the audience of what you're trying to convey.

However, even the people who are gifted at speaking in front of others can have a hard time memorising a speech, and memorising it to a point where you know you won't forget it whilst in the middle of delivering it.

1. Don't leave it until the night before

You will find posts that tell you that you can memorise a speech the night before, and for smaller speeches this may be true, however for longer speeches, you're not going to be able to get to a level where you can deliver it with the justice it deserves - unless you have an eidetic memory or something. :)

A lot of these websites that exclaim this feat will actually have some good and valid tips about how to memorise a speech, but for a lot of us - not in one night. If we hypothetically say though that we can memorise a whole speech in a night and then are able to deliver it on the day word-for-word; if we can do that in one night, imagine how much better we could get that speech by tackling it in plenty of time before - hopefully leaving everybody else speechless. :)

2. Read through it aloud

Make a point of reading through your speech aloud at a steady pace. This will allow you to get a handle on how to pronounce it and tweak things that will help you to sound less stiff and awkward. Having a better grasp on your speech and reading through it aloud will make the process of memorising all the easier easier.

3. Repetition

The only way you're going to be able to get the speech into your head and for it to stay there is by using repetition. Each time you read it you are re-familiarising yourself with it. Try to read through it aloud 5 or more times a day, every day. You could do one in the morning, one at midday, one in the afternoon, one in early evening, and one in the later evening. Before you know it, you'll be reading parts of it without needing the written version, and eventually won't need it all together. 

4. Memorise sections

If you have a small speech, then you will probably will be able to start memorising the whole thing. However, if you're faced with a ten-page essay - you will need to break it down to more manageable chunks. 

When you have a section that you want to memorise, you will need to read it out loud a number of times through the day (basically the same as point #3). However, what's different from point#3 is that after every time you've read the section, put it to one side and try to remember what you've just read. Try to get as far as you can and don't look. When you can't go any further (even if it's only two words in), pick up your section a re-read through it out loud again. 

Leave it after you've read through it a second time. Later on when you come to re-read it - repeat the whole process. After a day or two, you'll be seeing some results. This is why I said that it would be a good idea to start preparing for your speech ASAP.

5. Mnemonics

A great thing you can do to memorise not just a speech but anything in general, is to use the technique of mnemonics. Mnemonics sees you link something to the thing you're trying to memorise to make it easier to memorise. For example; pictures are often a popular mnemonic as the visual aid jogs the persons memory. You could use visual aid prompts for each section of your speech. Every time you are trying to memorise a section, have that picture in close view to look at, or have pictures in a presentation when you're delivering the speech to help you. You'll be surprised how well mnemonics work if done properly.

Some other types of mnemonics involve using: sounds, pictures, songs, prices, acronyms, stories, numbers, phrases, the method of loci, and much more. 

6. Write it out

This may sound like nonsense but writing your whole essay out will help you when trying to memorise, as long as you are concentrating on it whilst you're writing it out. It may take a while if you have a long speech, but writing it out will help your mind get to grips with it better and will give you a better knowledge of your speech. Some people's minds memorise things better when they write something down, so it's beneficial for them, but it's also beneficial for others also, it's just that bit more beneficial for them. :)

7. Memorise the structure

You don't have to memorise your speech word-for-word, only if you want to. Memorising the structure and layout of your speech is a far easier and quicker thing to do. Then after you've done this, as long as you have a quite in-depth knowledge of your speech and what's included in each part, then you can talk about it when you're in the moment. Of course it would be wise to rehearse it so you become at least familiar with this concept. If you do use this technique then you wont be as rigid when delivering it and it should hopefully be more spontaneous.   

8. Memory cards

Get yourself some cards that are large enough to write sections of your speech in bold clear writing but are yet small enough to fit inside a trouser pocket. At various points throughout the day take out these cards and read through them, trying to memorise them if possible. You can either memorise them word-for-word or just the general outline - whichever is better for you.

When you're performing your speech, you can use them as prompts for certain sections. You just need a quick glance down for you to have read a couple of words, and that should hopefully be enough to jog your memory and allow you to get going with your speech.     

What is an Eidetic Memory?

Memory is a strange thing, being able to recall on past experiences and information you've received.

If you think about it, your brain is really a huge archive of your life which you're in possession of. Some people are better at retrieving information from their archives than others, but some are beyond good and are brilliant at doing it. These individuals are said to have eidetic memory.

Eidetic memory is commonly referred to as photographic memory, and is the medical term which enables an individual to extract images, sounds, objects and the like, from their mind with clear precision and clarity.

Whereas photographic memory is limited to the ability of recalling images, eidetic memory is not, and as mentioned above, can also include sounds and objects.

One type of eidetic memory as observed in children, is characterised by the ability of an individual to study an image, for approximately 30 seconds, and maintain a nearly perfect photographic memory of that image for a short time once it has been removed.

The ability to recall an image relies heavily on a few factors, such as: duration of time exposed to image, conscious observation, relevance to the person, interest etc. 

People with good memories often think that they have an eidetic memory. However, people who have a good memory normally use some sort of mnemonic device as an instrument to achieve good memory, whereas a person with eidetic memory doesn't, and can still clearly with precision and remarkable detail, recall the nature and specifics of an event.

Some people with autism can demonstrate brilliant memory (such as an eidetic), including those with autism spectrum. 
Most people who are diagnosed with autism however, do not possess eidetic memory.

Much of the current controversy surrounding eidetic memory results from an overuse of the term to almost any example of dazzling memory skill.

This being said though, no-one claiming to have eidetic memory throughout history to present (except for the suspicious exception of Charles Stromeyer's wife Elizabeth), has been able to prove this in scientific tests.

How to Remember a Pack of Cards

If only having a couple of minutes to look, could you remember the sequence of a shuffled 52 card deck?

I'm sure the question is now in your thoughts: "Can I really remember the order of a shuffled 52 card deck?" The answer for most people is yes, but some effort is required on your behalf.

There are different ways you can go about doing this, but the method I'm going to write about is the mnemonic word system. This is where each card is assigned a word, so when you see that card, the card will be only the secondary thought in your mind, whilst the word will be at the forefront.

A pack of cards will have four suits: clubs; hearts; spades; diamonds.

To remember the suits, a common word chased is used. If you look closely at the word you will notice the first letters of the suits: CHaSeD (clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds). Each suit has 13 cards (ace, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, jack, queen, king).

Each individual card is assigned a key word/image (which is known as a 'peg' word). Each word a card is given will begin with the same letter as the suit, for example: clubs - c, hearts - h, spades - s, diamonds - d.

The ending of the word is from the consonant phonetic value of the card, in which the value of the card is sound based. 1 - T or D, 2 - N, 3 - M, 4 - R, 5 - L, 6 - J; Sh; G or Dg, 7 - K or hard G; Ch or C, 8 - F or V, and 9 - P or B.

The ace is given the number 1, and 10 the number 0. It ends in either a S or E.

The Jacks 'peg' word is the same as its suit. Example: Jack of spades would become just spade.

The 'peg' word for queen becomes a word that sounds like queen but has the starting of the suit (except for the queen of hearts).

The 'peg' word for king is (like the queen,) a word that sounds like king but has the starting letter of the suit (except for he king of clubs).

Here are the 'peg' words for each card:

Clubs

• Ace of clubs - cat
• 2 of clubs - coin
• 3 of clubs - comb
• 4 of clubs - car
• 5 of clubs - coal
• 6 of clubs - cash
• 7 of clubs - coke (as in the drink)
• 8 of clubs - cuff (of a shirt sleeve)
• 9 of clubs - cap
• 10 of clubs - case
• Jack of clubs - club (golf club)
• Queen of clubs - cream
• King of clubs -King

Hearts

• Ace of hearts -hat
• 2 of hearts - hen
• 3 of hearts - ham
• 4 of hearts - hare
• 5 of hearts - hail
• 6 of hearts -  hash
• 7 of hearts - hog
• 8 of hearts - hive
• 9 of hearts - hub
• 10 of hearts - hose
• Jack of hearts - heart
• Queen of hearts - queen
• King of hearts - hinge

Spades

• Ace of spades - suit
• 2 of spades - sun
• 3 of spades - sum
• 4 of spades - sewer
• 5 of spades - sail
• 6 of spades- sushi
• 7 of spades - sock
• 8 of spades - sieve
• 9 of spades - soap
• 10 of spades - studs
• Jack of spades - spade
• Queen of spades - steam
• King of spades - sing

Diamonds

• Ace of diamonds - date
• 2 of diamonds - dune (sand)
• 3 of diamonds - dummy
• 4 of diamonds - door
• 5 of diamonds -doll
• 6 of diamonds - dish
• 7 of diamonds - deck (of cards)
• 8 of diamonds - dove
• 9 of diamonds - den
• 10 of diamonds - dice
• Jack of diamonds - diamond
• Queen of diamonds - dream
• King of diamonds - drink (as in water)

When you do shuffle a pack of cards and go through them by memory, imagine the 'peg' word associated with that card and link it to the next card. Slowly creating a 52-step journey through the deck.

Make sure to memorise the 'peg' words very well first, as you don't want to spend an unnecessary amount of energy trying to remember the 'peg' word. When you're comfortable, start trying to memorise the deck. Start with one suit, then when you complete that move onto doing two suits, then three, then the whole deck.

With practice you should be able to do this in a few minutes or less.

I don't claim ownership or credit for the pictures, all credit is reserved for the original owners. No copyright intended, if you have an issue with a picture that is present, then please contact me.

What is Memory?

Memory is the ability of an organism to retain, store, and recall past experiences and information.

There are three different stages of memory, these are: sensory, short-term, and long-term. Not everything is known about memory, and there is still a lot more to research.

Sensory Memory

After an object is received, approximately 200-500 milliseconds into the function, is what sensory memory corresponds to.

An example of this ability is being able to remember what an item looks like just a couple of seconds after viewing it.

There are different types of this memory, all of these lasting for a short amount of time and are not able to be recalled with clear precision, decaying over time.  

Short-term Memory

Short-term memory's capacity (like sensory memory) is also very limited, allowing a person to recall something for a period of a few seconds to a minute, without repetition or rehearsal.

A persons short-term memory capacity is said to be low, but can be improved with a technique called 'grouping'/'chunking'. This is where you split something into smaller more manageable sizes for your short-term memory to digest. For example: Someone gives you a number of 117342334. 

Instead of trying to learn the whole number off by heart, you would split it up to say: (117), (342), (334). Then you could (instead of naming these groups by there numbers, e.g. one, one, seven (117,)) name the three new numbers by there whole new numbers, e.g. one-hundred-and-seventeen, three-hundred-and-forty-two, three-hundred-and-thirty-four.

Herbert Simon found that the ideal 'grouping'/'chunking' size for numbers was three.

Short-term memory is believed to rely more on an acoustic code for retaining information, rather than, to an extent a visual code.

Long-term Memory

Whilst sensory and short-term memory have a limited capacity for retention and duration, long-term does not. This type of memory holds a far more vast quantity of information (some of these can last a lifetime).

With short-term memory, the likelihood of forgetting phone numbers, names, addresses and directions (and the like), is a probable circumstance. However, with long term memory (and techniques such as repetition), a huge amount of information can be catalogued inside the mind. For example: Lu Chao from China managed to recall off by heart 67,890 digits of pi! 

Baddely discovered (1966) that after 20 minutes, it was hardest to recall names, numbers, and words with similar meanings. (Big, large, huge; small, tiny, miniature, etc).

The Functions of Sleep

If you've read my last post about sleep (how much sleep do we need), then you'll have noticed that I didn't explain about the functions of sleep. So, I've decided to talk (or should I say write) about them now.

Sleep is still not fully understood, and so the understanding of its functions is also not fully known. However we do have a pretty good idea about some of the proposed functions of sleep.  

1. Restoration 

It has been shown that sleep deprivation has an (assumed) affect on the immune system and can impair its function ( study by Zager et al. in 2007).

Wound healing has also been closely associated with sleeping, and deprivation of it can be a hindrance to the healing of wounds (study conducted by Gumustekin et al 2004).

Sleep has not been directly linked to body growth, however a study has shown that 8 hours of sleep (more specifically slow-wave-sleep), did have an effect on the growth hormone levels of men. (Study by Van Cauter, Leproult, and Plat).

On the other hand a study done on 305 children over a period of 9 years (1-10), tried to establish if height and weight correlated with sleep. The results received suggested that sleep had no effect on a child's growth. (Study by Jenni et al. 2007).

2. Ontogenesis 

The activity occurring during newborn REM sleep appears to be particularly important for development (according to the hypothesis of ontogenetic REM sleep).

Sleep deprivation at an early age has been linked to behavioural problems in later life, decreased brain mass, an abnormal amount of neuronal cell depletion, and permanent sleep disruption.

From various studies on REM sleep, it appears that it is important for brain development.

3. Memory Processing 

Working memory has been shown to be affected by sleep deprivation.

Important for support of higher levels of cognitive functions such as reasoning, episodic memory, and decision making, working memory is also important for further processing information.

Studies have been done on this, and the results point to the conclusion that sleep deprivation means a reduced working memory.

It's not so easy to concentrate either when feeling sleep depraved.

Short Summary

All-in-all, I think we can all agree that sleep is important and that our bodies do need it, otherwise why have it.

I'm sure I've missed something out, if you notice that something is missing, feel free to make a comment. 

11 Tips to Revise Effectively

I hate exams (like a lot of us), and even worse is when I have no idea what any of the answers are. In a position like this it's not surprising to see an end result of a fail or a very low score.

Revising can prevent this feeling (or at least help you to feel more confidant during the exam). I once heard from a academic that anyone can pass an exam with good marks, it just depends if and how they revise.

As I have a few electrical exams coming up and a music theory exam as-well, I thought it would be a good idea to share some revising tips and which one I find the best.

1. Summary Papers 

I thought I would start with my preferred method of revision, and that is to make summarised notes on a page. About 80% (or sometimes more) of the information that we take in when learning is useless, and only 20% (or less) being the key parts. So with this in mind, I divide the page into two long sections (A4 paper,) and start making subtitles with the key points underneath.

The summaries of each sub-heading may take up only a few lines, maybe a whole page, maybe more, the main thing is that you're just noting down the important exam points.

For my last main exams I took (all about electrics), I had only 12 sides of A4 summary pages to revise - which beats reading through books upon books in my opinion.  

2. No Distractions 

However good a multitasker you think you are, you wont be able to revise effectively with noise and interruptions (e.g. the t.v.).

In order to concentrate fully on the information you're trying to absorb, quietness is the best way to go.

If you're in a position where it wont be possible to revise quietly, then more revision will have to be done so you can ground the information into your mind.

I have heard however that baroque music helps while studying. Here's the link to the page: Music moves brain.  

3. Questioning 

Get your friends and family members to question you, particularly the parts you're struggling with. This is a great memorisation technique.

4. Past exam papers 

Past papers are an excellent resource for revision and definitely help if done correctly.

When I did this in the past I would go back over my test (once completed) and tally up all my wrong answers. I then would correct myself mentally and say the right answers out-loud before proceeding to redo the whole test. I would repeat this process until I had no answers incorrect. I did about sixteen different practice exams in this style, It was long and hard but I think I achieved 100% for the exam I took.

5. Study-buddy

Despite the sub-heading it doesn't just have to be just one person you have to study with, it could be a whole group. 

This can be really beneficial as questions will be thrown this way and that way, resulting in acquired exam knowledge.

The downside is that you may be tempted to muck around, but if you're all serious about revising then it should be fine.

6. Take breaks 

Breaks are essential for optimizing the time you spend revising. You are human like the rest of us and our brains become fatigued if pushed too far. This is why short regular intervals are necessary. Whilst you take these breaks, get a drink of water to keep you hydrated and some fruit for those essential vitamins.

A rough guideline to when one should take these breaks is up to oneself, I suggest every 45-60 minutes.

7. Mind maps 

For people who are visual learners mind maps are great. Choose a heading to start with, place it in the middle of your page and branch off sub-headings from it. Then sub-headings from the sub-heading etc.

Personally they're not my style but for a lot of people they work really well.

8. Diagrams and sketches 

Another great one for visual learners is the inclusion of colour, pictures, diagrams, sketches and the like, can really help to solidify the points in your mind.

9. Repetition 

It's a sensible to decide to revise, however if you're going to revise just the once, chances are that you're not going to remember a lot in the exam. Repetition and consistency must be used in order for you to reach and maintain your peak amount of knowledge on the subject.

If you want to I have a previous post about self-discipline for reading.

10. Revise in plenty of time 

Don't put revising off when you know that you have an exam coming up. Force yourself to study, you'll find that once you start it isn't as bad as you were expecting it to be. Quite often the worst part about revising is thinking about revising.

On the day of the exam you'll be glad you did that revision.

11. Revision cards 

Create your own pocket-sized revision cards to carry around. Whenever you have some downtime take out your cards and read them over. For example: on a train, on a bus, whilst in a queue etc.

If only one thing sticks in your mind afterwards, then it's time well spent, after all it is during downtime.

Like I said at the start, exams are hated by many of us and can bring misery about. If you do revise though with one of the above study methods or a different way that works for you you'll do better.

Remember, you're not the only one who's ever been under this amount of stress.

If anyone who's reading this is taking an exam of some sort, I wish you good luck.