First, associate me with "tie" in some absurd, memorable way. For instance, imagine me walking down the street, with a tie on, when suddenly the tie start to constrict me, of its own volition — my face gets beet red — and pop! Now, the key is to literally visualize this scene, as vividly as you can. Got it? Visualize those ninjastar ties, rotating in the air, piercing you from all sides. And so on.
I implore you to actually take the time and make the remaining associations. What was the first item? Next: something to do with ties — ah! Next: something else to do with ninjas — ah! Find a friend, and ask him to come up with 20 concrete nouns. Then, have your friend read them aloud to you, pausing for ten seconds in between words to give you enough time to form your own vivid and absurd associations.
Seriously: try it out. The Peg System Of course, the link system is limited in that you have to memorize a list in order. Thus, to retrieve, say, the 7th item, you first need to step your way through the first 6. The peg system is a more general mnemonic technique that overcomes these limitations.
However, it comes at a price - a onetime, initial investment of effort. The basic premise of the peg system is this: first, you pre-memorize a set of "peg words" - one for each of the numerals from 1 to 20 this is the initial investment of effort. Then, to memorize a numbered list of, say, 20 items, you associate each item with the corresponding "peg word. Easy as pie. Note also that you don't have to memorize the 20 items in order - it's perfectly OK to first memorize the 19th item, and then the 12th item, and so on: one you've "hung" an item on its appropriate a peg, it'll wait for you until retrieval.
The order of hanging doesn't matter, because all your "pegs" are numbered. Note that the peg system works on the same principle as the link system: you memorize words by using absurd, active, visual associations. Notice that mnemonics make the material memorable, they help you organize it, they force you to visualize it, and by their very application, they force you to pay attention.
They create structure and meaning where there otherwise is none, and somehow, your brain takes care of the rest. Limitations of Mnemonics Note that all of my examples so far have involved memorizing concrete nouns, for this is where mnemonics are most effective. Abstract words are much harder to memorize using mnemonics - largely because the visual element is often missing - but it certainly can be done. For instance, back when I had to memorize vocab words, I would take each word, find the first concrete noun it reminded me of, and then visually associate that noun with the meaning of the vocab word.
It was in my way, and I had to limbo under it to get past. This slowed me down, allowing the alien to catch up Then, when I saw "dilatory" on the test, I'd think: dildo - aliens - running - limbo - ah! But the extent to which mnemonics are more effective and efficient than mindless memorization is absolutely insane. And the memories last much longer - you no longer have to cram and count on your short term memory to pull you through. But really, what happened is that you never 'stored' the memory in the first place.
In other words, mnemonics don't cure absentmindedness. Your participation is required, and it takes mental effort. Rather, this book presents non-obvious tools that work. So, my friend, what's your choice? Seems like a no-brainer to me. View 2 comments. Aug 15, Steve Carroll rated it really liked it.
The structure is actually a little frustrating because it starts with several chapters about how memory works and general principles and teasing the actual techniques which are the last few chapters. I think my suggestion would be to go at least read about some of the basic techniques like the "loci" system also called memory palaces on wikipedia before digging in here so you understand at least fascinating survey of memory techniques written for people who want to know the science behind it.
I think my suggestion would be to go at least read about some of the basic techniques like the "loci" system also called memory palaces on wikipedia before digging in here so you understand at least something about what he is building towards.
Experimenting with these techniques is really interesting and as long as you understand what they can and can't do you can really apply them. Dec 28, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: brain-body-science. This is probably among the top five books that have influenced me.
It's hard to believe that I first read it 18 years ago! Higbee speak at a education week at Brigham Young University.
Re-reading the book so many years later made me realize how deeply it shaped my approach to learning; it influenced how I shape my days and weeks, led me to create a system to learn foreign vocabulary, and dramatically increased my awareness of mental capability in myself and others. I can't r This is probably among the top five books that have influenced me. I can't recommend any book more highly!
Rated four stars only because it's not a book to breeze through - it's one to read in chunks, annotate, and digest over time. Jan 08, Ryan rated it it was amazing. This was a really interesting book on mnemonics. I liked that it wasn't one of those "commercialized" self help books that really doesn't give you anything useful to use. Every memory system in the book is explained along with how and when to use it. Immediately after explaining these things, the author remarks on the evidence of the system's efficacy and why psychologists believe that it works.
I am going to try this stuff out in school and I'll let you all know how it goes. Aug 13, Kevin rated it really liked it Shelves: psychology. Great book, totally helped me through college. Has practical exercises to perform, you must take the time to practice. If you don't take the time, this book will do you no good.
I memorized tons of information for tests using the principles in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone embarking upon high school and college, and even when you are in the business world.
Great real world application. The brain is a powerful tool. Example: I took this college course from this professor.
We used Great book, totally helped me through college. We used imagery techniques to memorize names of people. The professor would show us photos of up to 30 individuals at a time. Upon showing us the picture he would give us their name, and we would have several seconds to pair the name with the face.
Then after approximately 20 minutes after the exercise we were asked to recall the name of each person pictured. Upon recall, I could remember every name of the pictures we were shown. This stuff actually works if you put the time into it. Sep 05, Drew4gr rated it really liked it. I wish someone had taught me these methods many moons ago instead of having to seek them out myself. I did this with my speech-to-text application so please forgive the errors.
Feb 26, Sreejith Puthanpurayil rated it really liked it. A book worth reading for any college or high school student. Although the book starts out slow, the later chapters are what really matters. My only problem was that the author spent an inordinate amount of time explaining how other people found this useful and on personal anecdotes although some people may enjoy reading this.
Also, the first few chapters were pretty much a waste of time, with a lot of obvious points made. Don't read this book thinking about ways to improve your memory. This book A book worth reading for any college or high school student. This book merely gives you techniques to memorize things like lists, names or associations and helps you understand what current science understands of your memory. For someone who thinks this book may help you improve your memory by remembering books that you've read like me , it may be a disappointment.
All in all, 4 stars Dec 30, Joey rated it liked it Shelves: reference. As stated in the introduction, this book was not intended for the casual reader to read through like a novel, but is also less technical than a textbook on memory.
I found this to be true. It was interesting, but I could only read half a chapter to a full chapter at most before needing to set it down because of the dense nature of the material. The first edition was published in and this second edition was first published in with "updated" references to research.
While some of the refe As stated in the introduction, this book was not intended for the casual reader to read through like a novel, but is also less technical than a textbook on memory. While some of the references are now fairly dated, the facts still hold true. It was an interesting read that I am glad to have devoted the time to. Aug 14, Barnabas rated it it was amazing Shelves: self-help.
Excellent book on memory techniques. I have not yet read others books on memory improvement, but I loved the simple techniques of Mr Higbee. The Loci system, the Rhyming technique and the Phonetic system all have various benefits, and they do work. The only issue is just like with everything is you need to practice them to get the most out of them. And in our day and age of electronic devices some may say that these memory techniques have less relevance.
However, I believe it is also true for the c Excellent book on memory techniques. However, I believe it is also true for the contrary.
Some info a lot actually is really easy to find now through the 24 hr connectivity to the Net , but we are also bombarded with many more information daily than before.
So we need to keep the ones we want. So you need to remember more things in general, even if you are interested in some random facts and topics, which you want to recall for your own pleasure without entering it into a browser or speaking it into an Apple Watch. In any case a better memory means a healthier mind. And it also feels great to remember effortlessly to more things than you could before. Therefore I recommend the book even to people who are out of school.
Mar 28, Sergey Dudko added it. Repeat name three time in the conversation, Create associations with name, Find interesting face features on: hair, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, brows, chin, cheeks, front. Many of the mnemonic techniques Doctor Higbee describes are ancient and their refinements centuries old. Many of them precede the development and wide use of written language by humans as an aid to memory.
The advantage of this book over other works on how to improve your memory is that he not only introduces the techniques of memory training, but also backs up the techniques by citing research studies that indicate which technique has been most effective depending on what information is to be m Many of the mnemonic techniques Doctor Higbee describes are ancient and their refinements centuries old.
The advantage of this book over other works on how to improve your memory is that he not only introduces the techniques of memory training, but also backs up the techniques by citing research studies that indicate which technique has been most effective depending on what information is to be memorized. Since this edition was published in the research is not the most up to date, but it is still handy to have so many citations to back up the information. He also points out that the techniques are not a substitute for study.
They are an aid to recall what has been studied. There is still the necessity of study, learning to use the techniques, and repetition to memorize the subject. And while the mnemonic devices are not a substitute for critical thinking, critical thinking and analysis depend on knowing the facts.
Feb 12, Eloise rated it it was amazing. I absolutely loved this book! I really wish I read it while I was in school or varsity, I would have been one of the top students : The book was originally written as a textbook for his memory students and thus thoroughly explains all the memory techniques. Buy it and teach it to your children.
Feb 13, Meznak rated it really liked it. This book starts out a bit dry, and takes a while to get into actually usable content. Once you've hit the usable parts, though, you'll appreciate what leads up to it.
Higbee does a good job dispelling memory myths and providing thorough explanations and use cases of various types of memory devices. Well written but it was written before the advent of cell phones. After starting this book I realized just how much I rely on my phone to remember things for me - phone numbers, addresses, facts - if its all easily accessible on my phone I dont need the pneumonic devices described in the book.
I just need to remember where I put my phone. Oct 15, Morten rated it it was amazing. I liked the academic and pragmatic approach. Tons of references, hate for self help books with "the fast way".
Very consistent throughout the book. I did not feel encourage to immediately start practicing. It is more of a descriptive than instructive book. Read it for good night sleep Not always the optimal learning situation.
Verbose But Informative This book on memory contains a lot of extraneous detail from primary psychology research, but at least is free of the new-age self help rigmarole that clutters up so many other books in this genre.
Jun 07, Miao rated it liked it. More scientific than technique. Aug 15, Marcel rated it liked it. Aug 21, Sarede Switzer rated it it was amazing. Excellent book with really practical information. Been experimenting with the Peg and Phonetic Mnemonics.
I can see how these methods could be really life enhancing if practiced regularly. Feb 28, Adam rated it it was amazing Shelves: read-again , being-decent-at-being-human.
Nearly all-encompassing study manual on memory. Fabulous place to start and get a solid foundation of knowledge and techniques.
Definitely a must-read in my mind. Makes me hungry for further reading on numerous techniques that were outlined. This book was probably one of the best organized books I've ever read.
The organization of the chapters related to the memory techniques was the most impressive. It'd start with an introduction, then teaching the tec This book was probably one of the best organized books I've ever read. It'd start with an introduction, then teaching the technique, then how well it works. Honestly, I feel this book isn't best served as a book you read from start to finish and that's it.
Having just done that, I feel I didn't really gain as much as I should have out of this book. Instead, I recommend spending more time on each technique. What I mean by that is not only read the text, but also practice it. Feeling as I do now, I feel I'll reread the phonetic system once again, and work specifically in trying to get this system down, then focus on the others. The reason why I rated this 4, instead of 5 stars is due to the defensive nature, I felt, from this book.
The author made it sound like much of the population of people was against the idea of learning this system in some way. It felt as if he was defending himself a bit much, and that put me off a little.
I appreciated the parts related to how well it works, but having it a little shorter would have been nice. Some of the techniques listed in Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It may require a sound knowledge of Hypnosis, users are advised to either leave those sections or must have a basic understanding of the subject before practicing them.
DMCA and Copyright : The book is not hosted on our servers, to remove the file please contact the source url. If you see a Google Drive link instead of source url, means that the file witch you will get after approval is just a summary of original book or the file has been already removed. Loved each and every part of this book. I will definitely recommend this book to non fiction, psychology lovers.
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