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Memory Mastery
#1

Memory Mastery

Long time lurker in the shadows. Finally decided it's about time for me to start contributing my share after having learned so much from the people on this forum. At your service, gentlemen [Image: amuse.gif]. I'm going to start by writing about something that I've grown quite familiar with. Mastering your memory. I'm going to divide this post into three sections:

The ''What?''
The ''Why?''


And the most vital of all:

The ''How?''

Onward.

The ''What?''

Throughout history (Especially before the widespread habit of writing shit down), men have always had a need to memorize important information. For a military commander this would've been about memorizing the names of your troops. For a noble man this would've been about memorizing the achievements, the life stories and the legends of your family. For a politician this would've been about memorizing your speeches (The great orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, actually being one of the early contributors of memory techniques!). In a nutshell, the art of memory is making it as easy as possible for a person to remember huge exact chunks of information.

Among memory athletes, there is a widespread consensus of 'the Golden Age of Memory' having ended in somewhere between 120 BC to 70 BC. After the fall of Rome these techniques were forgotten for many centuries until they resurfaced among the clergy only to be discarded again after Mr. Guttenberg's invention. After this, I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise to say that many mental athletes today think of our age as the dark days of memory art.

Onward.

The ''Why?''

Let the plebs mush their brains with Candy Crush, excessive booze, smart phones and HD porn. In a world of multitasking and ever-shortening attention spans, a man with patience and analytical skills will be a king. Mastering your memory will not only make you a better learner, it will also make you smarter, more focused, more self-disciplined, more witty and more mentally present. Force your brains to process the surrounding world in a new, different way and you will attain anything you want. It won't be easy to rewire your thinking process, but it is worth it.

Your search for the Holy Grail has just begun, Sir Lancelot.

Onward.

''The How?''

The dark side of the force can be summed up to one thing and one thing only: Imagination.

The more peculiar you make the bit of information to be, the better you will remember it. Better your imagination, better ways you can invent to twist and turn the information in your mind for it to be remembered.
For example, we can memorize this numero sequence: 457890023953.

First we split the numbers into pairs (you can do threes or fours as well if you like, for me pairs work the best): 45 – 78 – 90 – 02 – 39 – 53

The end of WW2, Jonestown massacre, the black riders tenfold (I visualize them tenfold in my mind), 10 -year old me, Winter War, rapper 50cent on a tricycle.

Imagination.

Now the longer the sequence is, more important it becomes for you to insert a link between the memories to make sure your link stays intact. For example your tasks for the day: Buy onions from the store, go to the gym, call James about friday, buy Tesla Motors stocks.

In this case I'd imagine something like this: Guy peeling onions and crying → It's Arnold Schwarzenegger → Talking on the phone with James Bond → About Ice Cube's movie → Where junior gangstas drive Elon Musk's car.

The more you do this, the better you get and the more you enjoy this. I like to think the game-term ''amused mastery'' can also be applied here. Have fun inside your head about the trivial stuff surrounding you. You can also enhance your memory links by placing your memories inside a house familiar to you (''the Memory Palace '' used by Dr. Hannibal Lecter) or on some familiar route you've taken many times.

Recommended reading: ''Moonwalking with Einstein'' (Joshua Foer), ''Master your memory'' (Tony Buzan), ''How to memorize math and equations'' (Anthony Metivier) and ''Mastermind: How to think like Sherlock Holmes'' (Maria Konnikova).

Hopefully you find this information useful and this post serves as a conversation starter for further inquiries into this area.

PS. Seeing as many on this forum want to learn russian, it might be of interest to you that I'm currently going through memory guru Anthony Metivier's ''How to learn and memorize russian vocabulary''. I will post a review sometime in the future [Image: smile.gif].
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#2

Memory Mastery

Good information. Will try to apply this technique into my daily life and see how this affects my memory and learning skills.
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#3

Memory Mastery

Quote: (10-15-2015 11:22 AM)ovo Wrote:  

Good information. Will try to apply this technique into my daily life and see how this affects my memory and learning skills.

Thanks! I hope it benefits you on many different walks of life as it did me. Forcing your mind to process everything through these new ''filters'' gets very addictive almost immediately [Image: angel.gif]. At the moment I'm using these techniques to ace tomorrow's taxation law exam. Especially with a subject such as law, I've found it really helps to storify data.

Another variation I've tested out myself - considering studying - is to read through the material once and then re-read it in my mind while meditating. I noticed an immediate surge in my grades and my ability to actually recall the information months and months afterwards.
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#4

Memory Mastery

I have a freakishly good memory, not sure how I got it but I've always had it.
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#5

Memory Mastery

Quote: (10-20-2015 03:59 PM)Biz Wrote:  

I have a freakishly good memory, not sure how I got it but I've always had it.

Why do you think that is? If we're to follow the theory presented in Moonwalking with Einstein, it's because you've learned to attach conscious thoughts to every bit of data since early childhood. Or in other words, you have a really really great imagination.
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#6

Memory Mastery

Quote: (10-20-2015 04:35 PM)dHerblay Wrote:  

Quote: (10-20-2015 03:59 PM)Biz Wrote:  

I have a freakishly good memory, not sure how I got it but I've always had it.

Why do you think that is? If we're to follow the theory presented in Moonwalking with Einstein, it's because you've learned to attach conscious thoughts to every bit of data since early childhood. Or in other words, you have a really really great imagination.

Not sure, just something that's always been a skill, something I never thought about, it's always just been there.

I've always been pretty introverted so I've always lived in my own mind.
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#7

Memory Mastery

Alright so I finally took the time to go through Metivier's Russian language book How To Learn And Memoriza Russian Vocabulary from cover to cover. As a book about memorizing vocabulary it's quite good and from a language enthusiast's perspective I was glad I bought it.

However, the book itself doesn't contain that much tips concentrated specifically on russian language, rather it contains some general tips on how to take advantage of memory techniques when it comes to languages. The most valuable parts of the book are the step-by-step instructions on how to establish a memory chain with which massive amount of vocabulary can be stored in your memory palace.

What Metivier essentially argues for, is seeing each letter as an individual and then segmenting different words under different letters based on the first letter. Essentially what we're building here is an internal and mental search engine for your language vocabulary. He provides background and story for each letter in order to make us remember the letter and it's sound easily.

Bear with me as I go through the juiciest parts of the system and take from it what you will:

Establishing a memory trail

To ensure maximum recollection ability a three-part trail is to be built. It contains 1) Location, 2) Imagery and 3) Activity.

1) Locations are places in our memory palace where we store information, attaching a certain piece to a certain place. Metivier recommends using indoors only as there's a greater risk of tainting the memory if it's stored outside. He himself has used hotel rooms, rooms from his many apartments throughout his years and some houses of his acquintances. Even thought he talks against using outdoors, using familiar walking routes is still one of his preferred methods.

The more you use the places you already know, the less you have to remember.

2) Imagery. Like said, make it big, make it bright, make it unusual. Combine with a location for maximizing chances of recovery. He writes that many people (non-visual learners) opt not to use imagery at all. However, the more you activate your brains concerning one bit of information the better you remember it, hence he recommends using paintings or fictional characters for those lacking in creating visual stimuli.

3) Action. For maximal recovery, combining action with images and a location is optimal. He recommends scenes of cartoonish violence or politically incorrect situations.

The more memories with these three components are used through the better they are sown into your head. Metivier writes that in the long run the aforementioned memory devices usually melt to the background as your mind gets used to this train of thoght, with only the memory -in this case a russian letter or a russian word- itself remaining.

Preparation and predetermination

- Relaxe the mind, take couple of deep breaths before beginning each study session. Do not try to force your mind as it only serves to connect negative associations to the language project at hand.

- Predetermination. Decide what routes, images and actions you're going to use before beginning the process. Get familiar with the tools before subjecting them to learning. Do not try to make up your Memory Palace as you go along.

- Select a familar place to be your Memory Palace. Metivier himself used old apartment and it's surroundings, segmenting them with a following manner: 1) Office, 2) Laundry room, 3) Bathroom, 4) Bedroom, 5) Wife's office, 6) Living room, 7) Hallway, 8) Kitchen, 9) Outside of the door, 10) Stairwell, 11) Front door, 12) Parking garage, 13) Sidewalk, 14) Used book store, 15) Playground, 16) Fire station, 17) Church, 18) Sushi restaurant

- He offers two more tips concerning the efficient way to build this: 1) Never cross your own path and 2) Never trap yourself. <Insert Admiral Akhbar meme here> This is because we must minimize our chances of confusing ourselves. Best create a journey that follows a straight route so your mind can only focus on the recollection of the memories. Also he recommends that you make your route believable. No jumping from the balconies because next time you do the routine you might start doubting yourself as to was this truly the route.

- And finally an equation he uses: Location/station = Word, Image = Pronunciation, Action = Meaning

Alphabet

A = Ah is what do you say to a doctor.
б = Do not let Michal Bay make another Transformer!
V = V for Vlad the Impaler (This one's mine. Like mentioned before it's best personify your memory trails as much as possible for efficient recovery.)
Г = Gay. You can picture a smug-faced Milo for this one.
Д = For this he offers D-Day, so I picture Tom Hanks storming Normandy.
E = For this one I use my own rule. I was corrected on how to pronouce Putin's mistress' name Alina Kabaeva (e = je) by my very own russian mistress.
Ё = Yo! Picture your favourite rapper uttering this.
З = Here Metivier uses a snake curled up in a McDonalds ''M'' saying Ze ze ze...
И = Guys playing basketball with a ball made out of meat.
Й = Eagle (To add peculiarities, you can for example picture it sitting on Trump's shoulder.)
K = For this he recommends a cat, so I picture Cheshire Cat grinning.
Л = This is Lex Luthor (So I picture Gene Hackman looking arrogant.)
M = He uses mommy, but for the sake of this being a game forum I prefer to use Mystery Method.
H = I picture the blond Bond villain posing as Agent Nash from the movie ''From Russia With Love''
О = For this I think of O from the kinky novel ''Story of O''
П = For this I think of Patrice O'Neal, may he rest in peace
Р = I think of Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson
C = He uses sun. I prefer using ugly ass snails.
T = Mr. T was the first thing that appeared so Mr. T that is.
У = He uses soon. I prefer using a visual of Looney Tunes.
Ф = Looks like a hieroglyph, so Pharaos that is [f].
X = X marks the spot where Loch Ness monster is located [kh]
Ц = I like to think of Jordan Belfort's ''woman with voluptuous tits''
Ч = Let's go with Chewbacca. Metivier pictures Che Guevara
Ш = Picture of Cumberbatch's Sherlock came to mind (You can add more ''shhhh'' my having Sean Connery pronounce it in your mind.)
Щ = Metivier says fresh cheese
Ъ = The one that makes letter before it harder
Ы = B-we, V-we. He imagines an elf stumping on a biology class, saying ''b-weology''
Ь = The softener. For this I just imagine couple of first words from the Simpson's Softball song.
Э = Kind of like the symbol of euro
Ю = I picture the pale kid from Ju-On with this symbol on his forehead
Я = For this I picture Ludvig Wittgenstein doing his famous ''Ja!'', with him smacking himself on his forehead

With the alphabet memorized, words have a greater chance of sticking to your mind as images flash before your eyes when going through different words. Combination with locations is adviced.

Chaining different words

He assigns a house or a room for every single letter. Then he begins filling them in a following manner:

P is Paul's house (Or for us, Patrice's). Under this roof, everything that begins with a P. посидеть (to sit; [pf.] to sit for a while; to be imprisoned) --> Imagine a fat posse being all sweaty because his of fat rolls, having to take a break from standing with sitting for a while.
--> Find simlar words with the beginning ''пос'' and start imagining them with slight differences, with the greasy fat rolls -posse

I'm happy to answer any additional questions [Image: smile.gif]. Starting from Jan 1. I will aim to learn ten new words of russian every day for a year, with some Duolingo and reading after skillset grows. Aiming for Moscow State University as an exchange student in 2017 or '18.
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#8

Memory Mastery

I've been trying to use the linking method used in the memory palace for spanish vocabulary of of late. To be honest it's a much better way of memorizing vocabulary, however I wouldn't waste too much time on actually using the actually memory chain as it'll become quite difficult to remember words once you get past the 1000 mark.
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#9

Memory Mastery

Quote: (12-27-2015 12:27 PM)Kaebs Wrote:  

I've been trying to use the linking method used in the memory palace for spanish vocabulary of of late. To be honest it's a much better way of memorizing vocabulary, however I wouldn't waste too much time on actually using the actually memory chain as it'll become quite difficult to remember words once you get past the 1000 mark.

I agree with you that the strength of a memory chains is not necessarily in making as long as possible chains. Rather, I'm opting for creating different sections, each consisting of say 10-20 different words and using subject matter as means of lumping them together.

How's your success been in spanish so far?
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#10

Memory Mastery

Its been going quite well but to be honest creating the links and the memory chained is a skill which must be developed over time. But once youncan create the links am the memory chains quickly and remember them easily, you should be able to do up to 200 words a week!

For other parts of Spanish like when to use the subjective mood I created a sentence which is easy to remember:

Don't think like other people, influence other people

Don't think:

think = verbs that describe mental actions, e.g. "pensar", "creer", "suponer", "imaginar" etc.

don't = subjunctive is triggered when these verbs take place in the negative, e.g. "no creo que exista".

"Dudar" being a special case as it's already a negatively-charged word so it takes the subjunctive without the word "no". Also note that the subjunctive isn't used if it's a question: "no crees que existe?"

Like other people:

Like = verbs that describe feelings or desires, e.g. "querer", "amar", "alegrarse", "gustar", "desear", "molestar", "sentirse" etc.

Other people = subjunctive is triggered if the subject and the object of the sentence are different, e.g. "(yo) deseo que (ella) venga a la fiesta", "me molesta que (tú) hagas tanto ruido".

Influence other people:

Influence = verbs that instruct, command, request and so forth. E.g. "decir", "aconsejar", "pedir", etc.

other people = subjunctive is triggered when the subject and object differ, e.g. "(yo) les pido que (ellos) que me contesten", "(él) me dice que (yo) sea feliz".

Actually, "decir" is a bit of a strange one. The previous sentence uses the subjunctive because it is an instruction ("he tells me to be happy") but if he was just stating the fact that I am happy, it would be "(él) me dice que (yo) soy feliz".

It's made it incredibly easy for me to distinguish between the indicative and subjective moods
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#11

Memory Mastery

Ah, yes! I got to know this subject several years ago through looking for easy way out to ace my test back in high school. Back then I liked to think of myself as one of those lazy smart people Bill Gates once talked about. I stumpled upon all this memory mastery material through some googling. Been doing tricks with it ever since. Sometimes I like to reach out to my old chains just to give my brains something to work on and sometimes I create new chains out of everyday events or tasks.

One thing I've learned throughout the years is to not force this in any way. Metivier talks about this in passing too. If possible I like to give myself several days to memorize all the necessary parts. I wish it were that easy as to just go through dictionary and invent new memory rules like from an assembly line but after a while of doing it my efficiency goes downhill fast [Image: biggrin.gif]. Perhaps one day I'll start practising with memorizing decks of cards but for now my applications of these skills have been on the more practical side.

Another thing was to combine this with zen meditation practice. I gained inner peace and greater mental presence through giving my brains 30 minutes to chill a day. For me at least, by serving as a couter weight it keeps the mental game fresh and interesting. Probably going to dwelve break into cold reading techniques next, already started with Mastermind. Being comfortable in your own head really gives you a jedi- like calmness about everything.
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#12

Memory Mastery

Quote: (12-27-2015 11:03 AM)dHerblay Wrote:  

E = For this one I use my own rule. I was corrected on how to pronounce Putin's mistress' name Alina Kabaeva (e = je) by my very own russian mistress. [Image: banana.gif]


Amigo, you'd get more people interested if you were to give us more details about your "very own Russian mistress", who teaches you alphabets and alcove rumors...

Some pics also would help [Image: heart.gif] : meet Alina K:

[Image: alina-kabaeva.jpg]

[Image: 102727-alina-kabaeva.jpg]

[Image: 2008041855111401_400285e.jpg]

For me, pics like that seriously refresh and energize my memory of Russian grammar and words... it's not all about memory, more than anything it's about motivation!
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#13

Memory Mastery

Haha I wish I could do that but I can't take the risk of spreading her pictures [Image: biggrin.gif]. From my end, the stakes are too high. She's 20 years old, quite redpilled in her world views and an apt player of mind games.

But yes, I do agree with the view often said on this forum too that russian women have a much more pragmatic worldview than their western counterparts, not to mention take care of their appearance on a totally different level.

I don't know what's it about but in every large gathering I attend in my home country, I always seem to find myself talking with a slavic beauty at some part of the night and I've found it to be quite easy and more pleasurable to build rapport with them. Many on them have said I have very slavic looks. One time about eight months ago I was approached by two slavic models (Polish and ukrainian) on a train asking if I speak russian and if I'd show them my city. Now I do not think I'm that good looking but clearly there's something there [Image: bigsmile.gif].

Russian girls are definitely one of the main reasons for me to practice my russian language skills, other being able to converse with some old school businesspeople I know through my friends families. I was fortunate enough to be hosted by one extremely succesful family in Moscow couple of years back. I grew up with their children so they've known me for years. Their parents are one of the most machiavellian people I have ever seen.

I was able the talk with them in english but of course the conversation isn't what it could be if it was in russian. Also I want to go to Moscow night life and take the long train route to Vladivostok and it's not going to happen till I sharpen my skills.
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#14

Memory Mastery

Memory and brain training is actually a passion of mine. The best memory improvement resource I've ever found was an old set of tapes I picked up and ripped as MP3s from Harry Lorayne. The guy is a magician, and uses crazy memory techniques in order to pull off some of his illusions and stunts, so he started writing books, recording tapes, and doing seminars on the subject. What makes him unique (well, one thing that does) is his peg word system, wherein each digit has a corresponding consonant sound, like this:

1 - T
2 - N
3 - M
4 - R
5 - L
6 - J/soft G
7 - K/hard C
8 - F/Ph
9 - P/B
0 - S/Z

Using these consonant sounds you can take any series of numbers and turn it into a sequence of words that you can use to remember things. 57328949 could become "Look, men, phasers!", which is not only easy to remember but easy to decode when needed. You should definitely give his stuff a read or a listen - I recommend listen, because he's hilarious and his gruff voice only makes him funnier.

Also seconding books by Tony Buzan; my personal favorite is Make the Most of Your Mind. Picked that up in a thrift store in the middle of nowhere in Utah and I've kept it on my desk ever since.
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#15

Memory Mastery

Phew. Been a little off the grid for the past few days. Now I begin the traditional 100 days without alcohol, sugar or coffeine.

Thanks for the tip about Harry Lorayne! Did some googling on the fella and going to order couple of his books later next week (Also being a huge philosophical junkie, I'm going to order The Conspiracy Against The Human Race by famous lovecraftian nihilist and a recluse Thomas Ligotti plus a book Temptation To Exist by Emil Cioran, but that they are a story for another thread [Image: biggrin.gif]!). I like the variety and thus want to keep reading more and more into all kinds of memory gurus. Tricking your mind into being your bitch is a continuous effort, me thinks.

On a wider note, I think it's ridiculous how the quest for long term wealth, health and happiness often involves keeping your egoistical, quick-fix and dopamine addicted animal brain in check.

PS. Huge thanks for the rep points, guys!
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