Ever hear that crazy phrase, “knowledge is power”?
Sounds kind of cool, right? But have you ever asked yourself …
What The Heck Does That Silly Cliche Mean?
Well, “power,” it turns out, is an interesting concept. Especially when it comes to memory and memory improvement.
To begin, understand this:
People have defined it thousands of different ways throughout history.
Ever since I discovered it in university, I’ve always liked Michel Foucault’s definition. He’s a philosopher who you should check out sometime.
Don’t worry if you think philosophy is boring. Foucault didn’t dally around. He gets right down to defining it in many books. For Foucault, power amounts to “the ability to conduct the conduct of others.”
Now, let’s be honest:
Who In Their Right Mind Wouldn’t Want A Taste Of That?
And let’s be clear:
When it comes to memory improvement and using memory techniques as a way of life, that’s what we going for:
Power. Exactly as Michel Foucault defined.
Why?
Because if you’re using memory techniques to help you learn a language, guess what?
Speaking a language “controls” what others think. Just like my words are controlling what you think now.
Controlling what you’re thinking, feeling, deciding to do next.
And more than that …
Power Is Productive
It produces the next action in line.
When it comes to the power that using memory techniques creates, think of it this way:
If you’re using memory techniques for numbers so that you can quote SKU numbers at work or cite aspects of the law, you’re instantly better at controlling how your colleagues work with you.
Pretty neat, huh?
Well, hold on now, because it gets even better.
Because there are a lot of things about memory you probably don’t know.
And all of them will give you more power.
Which equals more control.
Particularly over the most important person in your life you need better control over.
You.
So with all that in mind, let’s get started:
1. Memory Loss Starts At A Much Younger Age Than Most People Think
Sad, but true.
We have this image that memory loss starts when you’re forty or older. Worse, we project the idea that struggles with memory belong to the elderly or people with Alzheimer’s.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Long before the age of digital amnesia, scientists knew that memory struggles begin already in our mid-20s, if not earlier.
And the more people relegate their memory activities to smartphones and computers, the more younger people start experiencing memory problems.
We’re exposing young people to information they don’t care about.
Want to help the young person in your life learn how to discover exactly what they care about to help guide their studies? Make sure you listen to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast for the link to the listener only audiobook, The Ultimate Memory Improvement Secret.
I promise. That book will help.
And then giddy up on improving your memory. No matter how young and spry you think you are now, memory loss is always around the corner.
2. You Change Your Memories Every Time You Remember Them
I love that scene from Lost Highway.
For two reasons:
A) It exposes a fundamental truth about human behavior.
B) The whole movie is about how memories change merely by recalling them.
And it’s true.
Every time you remember something, you’re engaging in an exchange of chemicals.
You know this, right? Your mind is produced by your brain: soft, squishy material made up of all kinds of nutrients and acids.
The kind of stuff that aliens probably love to eat.
And in that pool of chemical substances, sit your memories. Your memories are part of that stuff, not different from it.
Every time you access one of them, it’s like putting bread into a toaster.
Chemical change.
And, as you know, bread that has been toasted ain’t never going back to being bread again. It’s different now, and different it shall remain.
3. Your Memory Is More Like A Neighborhood Than A Computer
Not only are your memories made of physical material, they are also dispersed like multiple spheres in a pinball machine.
Think of it the way Gary Small suggested when I interviewed him on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.
He explains that the computer metaphor for the human brain and memory is false.
Instead, your brain is like a series of neighborhoods, bigger and more complex than the biggest cities of the world.
And every time new information enters your “memory city,” it doesn’t book a room in a hotel someplace and wait patiently to be called for a business meeting when you need it.
Instead, the information is broken up and sent into many different homes in many different neighborhoods.
The Businessmen Your Memory Slices And Dices Everyday
Think of it like this:
Say that you learn a German phrase like, “Ich möchte mir etwas kaufen, aber ich weiß nicht was.” (I want to buy myself something, but I don’t know what.)
If that phrase was a businessman, your memory wouldn’t store him altogether in the same place.
Instead, it would take his hat and put it in one home in one neighborhood of your memory.
Then, in an entirely different neighborhood, your memory would deposit his briefcase. And that neighborhood might be just around the bend, or it might be hundreds of thousands of miles away.
And the division keeps going, taking each arm of the businessman to a unique location. It might even be the case that each individual toe goes to its own home in a variety of different neighborhoods.
Sounds Complex, Doesn’t It?
Well, that’s the miracle and challenge of memory. Next time you struggle to recall something because you’re missing a part (like a last name when you have the first name), understand that this is why:
Your memory stored the first and last name, just not necessarily in the same neighborhood of your “memory city.”
When you use a Memory Palace, and particularly the Magnetic Memory Method, you’re rigging the game in your favor.
You are literally requesting that your mind store the information in a more compact way. You are creating connections that put you in control of information storage in ways that no computer can beat.
4. You Cash In On Your Memories Overnight
I know, I know, you’re tired of hearing about how important SLEEP DEFICIT page is for your memory.
I’m sorry. Get used to it. Nothing could be more important for your memory.
I’ve experienced a lot of sleep deficit over the past few years due to traveling the world in search of new Memory Palaces. I can tell you one thing:
Nothing hurts your memory more than exhaustion.
Why?
Because even with the most powerful memory techniques in the world, memory “consolidates” during sleep.
It seems to be related to the same way that we experience muscle growth during sleep. Work out all you want in the gym, but if you’re not putting in the snooze time, you’ll never see anything like the results you want.
Does Memory Consolidation Work If You’re Old?
Recent research shows that sleep consolidation might not be nearly as important for memory as an adult as it is for a younger person.
But in my own experiences as someone now in his forties, I can tell you that I still feel a huge difference. I’ve also done experiments with changing when I memorize Chinese vocabulary, and I do seem to have much stronger recall when I use the Magnetic Memory Method at night, rather than the morning.
Here’s the real kicker, though:
Practicing your memory first thing and before you go to bed.
WINNING!
5. Technology Can Augment Human Memory, But Also Harm It
Some of my friends think I’m a Luddite.
After all, I didn’t update my iPhone 4s until 2017. And even then I never used it as a phone anyway. It’s a computer for reading and writing.
All things told, all my devices are good for memory in certain contexts and I appreciate having them.
But we’re killing our memory abilities in so many ways. I talk about this a lot on my post about digital amnesia, so I’ll step off my soapbox for now.
Just please understand that we need balance in our life and that’s why vinyl records are so popular, not to mention physical journals (I recommend The Freedom Journal).
6. Repetition Can Be Fun
Most people don’t know this, but rote learning does have a fun button written into its code.
No, that’s a lie. Rote learning is always a crime against humanity.
If you have to repeat anything a zillion times or you’re bombing through flash cards without at least the assistance of some mnemonics, you’re doing it wrong.
No exposure to information should be without excitement. And every memory activity you engage in should CREATE energy, not CONSUME it.
Think of that the next time you repeat something mindlessly with the hope and the wish and the prayer that it will stick in your memory.
Remember: power is productive.
If rote learning and spaced-repetition software give you your jollies, rock on.
But if you’re sick of hammering your brain with same information and having it drain you of enthusiasm, get out into the real world and use a Memory Palace and the rest of the Magnetic Memory Method instead.
7. Human Memory (Probably) Has No Limits
People often think that their memory is like a sponge. If they bring in new information, they ask, won’t it squeeze the old stuff out?
The answer is no.
Memory is nothing like a sponge and there is no metaphor of “storage” or “absorption” that fits the bill.
It’s also important to understand that when we use the word “memory” we are mushing together all kinds of different memory?
There’s no way we can use them all up. And if you have a good Memory Palace technique by your side, here’s the thing:
You can ALWAYS find a building you’ve never been in before.
Get out your Memory Journal, make a quick sketch. Chart out your Magnetic Stations. And then use them to memorize some information.
Bang Presto.
It’s easy, fun and you don’t have to be a world traveler to do it. I’ll bet there are at least ten cafes and restaurants you haven’t been to in your city or town that would make glorious Memory Palaces.
You don’t even have to spend money in them to create your Memory Palaces. You could just go during off hours and tell them what you’re doing. Most will be okay with that.
If Not, Just Move On …
And if you don’t like restaurants or cafes, go to movie theaters. Go to libraries. Museums. Churches. Even well-structured parks can serve if you’re into outdoor Memory Palaces.
The point is to not trick yourself into thinking that you’re running out of Memory Palaces.
That can’t and won’t happen.
That’s called “Memory Palace Scarcity, ” and sadly it stops many people cold in their tracks.
Don’t let it happen to you.
8. You Probably Remember Less From Ebooks Than Physical Books
Why is this? Well, you can check out the research for yourself, but I have a pet theory.
And the theory is more than the obvious points that information is “located” inside of books in a way that it cannot be inside a computer.
In other words, it is probably useful to your memory that you know on a conscious or subconscious level that a piece of information was 1/4 or 3/4 of the way into a book. The location of the information within the physical space of the book is a kind of memory hook.
You don’t get that feeling in an Ebook, even though devices like Kindle will show you a percentage to give you a sense of progress.
I also don’t think it’s just about the physical differences between holding a book and holding a digital reader. Those elements are important too, but far more critical it seems to me is this:
Your Brain Is Chemical
Your brain is chemical. Books are chemical. And computers are chemical too …
And yet somehow … I don’t know how to explain it. And I’m happy to be dead wrong, but I just think we are at a strange remove from “digital ink” that doesn’t exist when you’ve got a book in your hand.
It may have to do with presence. The best way I can think of to explain it is to relate books to vinyl records. Check out this cool video from Vinyl Eyezz to expand your thinking on the matter. Then go buy something physical.
9. Memories Can Be Manufactured
Just as each memory transforms ever time you recall it, you can be compelled to create memories that never happened.
There are a lot of angles to this problem, some of which fall under the title of false memory syndrome.
But I think it’s more complex than that – and quite possibly sinister. For example, look at this seemingly innocent manufacturing of memory regarding a hot air balloon experience:
Then imagine that the cops have accused you of committing a murder.
Scary stuff, right?
Well, now that you know about this problem, you can fend off any threats that might emerge around it in your life.
And the best thing for it is to train your memory so that you’re starting off strong in the first place if trouble ever arises.
10. The First Memory Palace Probably Comes From The Buddha, Not Ancient Greece
I love the story of Simonides of Ceos. It not only demonstrates just how easy it is to remember stories, but the story itself contains all the traits of what makes a story memorable.
But here’s the thing:
The idea of “location-based mnemonics,” (the sexier, but more accurate term for the Memory Palace technique) predates Simonides by a long time.
For example, many yogic and Buddhist rituals involved using parts of temples to recall passages of rituals. You might imagine a bridge in one corner of the temple, for example, and a black dog in another.
Then, during your meditation, you would mentally “visit” these Magnetic stations in the temple Memory Palace and decode them as part of completing the meditation.
Sure, they didn’t call it a Memory Palace and probably didn’t think of it as a memory technique.
But that’s what’s going on beyond a doubt. And the best part is that when you understand this relationship between space and memory, the role of churches of all stripes throughout history becomes much clearer.
Stations of the Cross, anyone?
11. Stories Filled With Emotion Are The Easiest Information To Remember
Yesterday I ate a sandwich. It was good.
… not very memorable, is it?
Of course not.
But what if I told you that yesterday at 11:49 p.m., I was so ravenously hungry that a furious rage overtook me.
I hopped into a tank I stole from the local military and drove it through the wall of the nearest McDonald’s.
Then, with a wave of my magic wand, I made my mouth so big that I could fit all the food in the restaurant into my mouth.
I’m talking EVERYTHING. I vacuumed it in like I was the Hoover Vacuum King of Fast Food.
Then I burped a strawberry vanilla-scented wind that put the police in a relaxed state so that they turned around and went to the nearest Buddhist temple to meditate about bridges and dogs.
Stupid story, I know, but it’s a heck of a lot more memorable.
Why? Because it’s got emotions in it:
The NEED of hunger.
The ANGER of irrational aggression.
The EXCITEMENT of magic.
The WEIRDNESS of dream logic.
And all those elements mixed together make bland information much more memorable.
Go ahead and try it.
Pump a reminder into your phone for later today: What was Anthony’s story at the end of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast?
Take a moment to jot it down.
Then come back and compare notes.
I’ll bet your 85-99% accurate in your recall.
Here’s What’s Even Better:
You can apply that same, emotion-based zaniness to even the most deadly boring information in the world.
And so long as you know how to create a Memory Palace and use Magnetic Imagery to encode and decode the information through the Recall Rehearsal process …
Power! Sheer power!
And power in the positive senses we’ve been talking about.
So listen …
There’s no need to struggle with bad memory anymore. In fact, no one has a bad memory. People who suffer from forgetfulness just don’t know enough about the miracle of memory.
But now you do and the future is wide open and bright for more discovery about your memory and your mind.
Get out there and have fun and until next time … Keep yourself Magnetic!
Ever hear that crazy phrase, “knowledge is power”?
