Life Hacks To Improve Your Memory

At a recent seminar a group of us began discussing the topic of memory and if there are things that can be done to improve it. Sure, we all know about the benefits of supplements like ginkgo, but with the advancement of todays technology and psychology, we wanted to take a closer look at what other options there are.

Here is what we discussed:

I learned this when I was in college back in the early '90s.  It absolutely works and, believe it or not, the more you use it, the faster you can memorize.  Your brain will remember 10x more than you think IF you use the correct technique.  I went from flunking a Sr. level class to 94% in one semester.  I used it at the beginning of this video and got all my words right lol.  I once impressed a table of 20 people by naming them all at the end of the event.   Creativity and imagination are the keys.  Research this more and have fun.

This strategy is impressive to people who hear this mnemotechnic solution for the first time, but in most learning situations the brain doesn't work this way easily enough to make up stories and remember all of them. It's a pretty good idea to use it once in a blue moon, but not on a daily basis.

I'm sure this works well for things that are just regurgitation of a glossary. I'd love to see someone talk about successfully using methods like this to memorize say, math theorems, or physics concepts, or something that doesn't have words that neatly fit into normal visual language because the concepts are very abstract and word association is probably less useful.

Most small children can memorize and most students can do that relatively easy with repetition.  What they can't do and struggle with mightily, is the application of information once they have it memorized.  Application of knowledge is much more useful than memorization.   He used application in demonstrating a better way to achieve a low level cognitive ability.  Unclear on how helpful that would be in the real world.  Great for carnivals and side shows though.

I think this technique helps only to memorize a bunch of random words. I doubt if a poem or some songs or a whole book can be memorized this way.

And certainly one can not memorize Vedas this way. I'm 100% sure of it.

But you prompted their memory by saying “what happened here” and “remember your neck had ?” Furthermore you took way longer than 30 seconds for memorizing it which is all the time you gave us on our own.

In my view that is what schools are supposed to do. Not specifically learning facts, but figuring out what's working best for you how to learn.

For instance, I remember saying aloud multiplication tables in primary school. That's forcing a method without taking you into account. When my father learned me mnemonics to learn those because I was struggling with it, he was even corrected by the school for doing that. But as a result I understood the deeper concept of multiplication instead of learning 100 standard answers by head at that young age.

I can still recall back to a day after my birthing..  I see the sights, the lighting, feel the temperatures, hear the sounds, and even recognize faces, and recall my thoughts of back then, and sense everyone's emotions, In the memory I sense the emotions of each person in the room, and their ancestry's feelings about them.. and for some reason my memory is becoming clearer by the day. Why?  I do not know..  Maybe it's this weird combination of nutrient supplements and diet?  Maybe it's just that I don't fear my memories..?  Maybe because I fear nothing, not even death..  Death gets me to the next level, where I won't be plagued by your presence.  Maybe it's because I erased my ceilings.

I have a photographic memory which is a gift and a curse. Unfortunately, I can't turn it on and off. Anything I lay my eyes on is instantly etched into my brain. I also memorize most of what I hear. My friends think it's cool, but they don't realize how much random info that's stored in my brain. I wish I cld forget/delete all of the useless info I don't need.

Brain synapses are a bit like a muscle. The more you exercise them the stronger they get. I have used this fantastic pictorial memory method for many years, and it still amazes me. I began by memorizing a pack of cards, (The Knave with a good heart (J-H) took a stroll in a perfectly dug garden (A-S), he walked down three dark rows of bushes (3-C) and came across his mother (Q-H), she was holding 7 diamonds....etc.)

Wow, how long are people going to milk the memory palace cow? Is it really necessary to have the same technique presented by 10 different people? On top of that, the technique doesn't work for math, physics, science, chemistry.. These days people simply want to be known no matter how.

What he’s teaching is very old and extremely effective. You create memory palaces. Think any home you’ve ever lived, car interior, running trail,. You didn’t try to memorize, but it’s stored in spacial memory, then you attach the list or new images to a memory palace, and bam you remember it just like walking from front door to your room.   Sad, they are selling and not giving credit.

He is just saying experiment to find a way that works for you. By ‘works’ he see easier learning and consequently more personal satisfaction. If you don’t try then you lose out... no one else. If you can’t be interested in yourself then how can you expect others to be. Being open to new ideas makes us more rounded human beings. Being negative to new ideas seems to be the way out for many. Give it a shot, consider and find what works for you to make your life more satisfying.