NOW BACK TO basics
IN THE PREVIOUS post, I covered the phonetic number alphabet and how to make words out of numbers and numbers out of words.
That was really starting in the middle. Let's go back to the beginning.
Memory is association. "Where did I put my hat?" involves the association of my hat and the place I put it. "What is Tommy's phone number?" involves the association of Tommy with a string of digits. "What is the value of pi to ten digits?" involves associating the concept of pi to a string of digits. "How do I get from Grant's Tomb to Carnegie Hall?" involves a chain of associations consisting of each step in a series of directions.
The essence of a trained memory is to quickly make the items to be associated picturable to the mind's eye, then to associate them in a memorable way. The key to making the association memorable is to make it ridiculous. (The "ridiculous" part is Harry Lorayne's contribution to the art of memory.)
If I need to memorize the Presidents on Mt. Rushmore (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt), then I can picture myself "rushing" off the mountain edge and falling into a load of "wash." This associates a picturable equivalent of Mt. Rushmore to a picturable equivalent of Washington.
Then I can picture myself throwing a load of wet wash into the surprised face of a "chef." This will remind me of "Jefferson."
Then I imagine Jefferson with a chain "link" in each ear and in his nose. This will get me to Lincoln.
Then I can imagine Lincoln, the great railsplitter, using an axe to split a giant "rose," and that will get me to Roosevelt.
A second illustrative example: a grocery list. I need hamburger, buns, tissues, lemonade, potato chips, broccoli and ketchup.
The starting point is important. It's groceries, so I start with my mouth. I imagine myself eating a million tiny hamburgers.
That was really starting in the middle. Let's go back to the beginning.
Memory is association. "Where did I put my hat?" involves the association of my hat and the place I put it. "What is Tommy's phone number?" involves the association of Tommy with a string of digits. "What is the value of pi to ten digits?" involves associating the concept of pi to a string of digits. "How do I get from Grant's Tomb to Carnegie Hall?" involves a chain of associations consisting of each step in a series of directions.
The essence of a trained memory is to quickly make the items to be associated picturable to the mind's eye, then to associate them in a memorable way. The key to making the association memorable is to make it ridiculous. (The "ridiculous" part is Harry Lorayne's contribution to the art of memory.)
If I need to memorize the Presidents on Mt. Rushmore (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt), then I can picture myself "rushing" off the mountain edge and falling into a load of "wash." This associates a picturable equivalent of Mt. Rushmore to a picturable equivalent of Washington.
Then I can picture myself throwing a load of wet wash into the surprised face of a "chef." This will remind me of "Jefferson."
Then I imagine Jefferson with a chain "link" in each ear and in his nose. This will get me to Lincoln.
Then I can imagine Lincoln, the great railsplitter, using an axe to split a giant "rose," and that will get me to Roosevelt.
A second illustrative example: a grocery list. I need hamburger, buns, tissues, lemonade, potato chips, broccoli and ketchup.
The starting point is important. It's groceries, so I start with my mouth. I imagine myself eating a million tiny hamburgers.