Thu, 26 November 2015
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Thu, 19 November 2015
Work is killing you. Your Kindle app is bursting with unread books. Your credit card is melting from the heat of buying stuff you want but do not need. And that circles back to the job or entrepreneurial pursuits you need to keep the devil’s circle spinning. Here’s the good news: There are specific habits that can get you off of that wheel. They are easy and mostly inexpensive to do. They give you insight into your situation and can spring you from the prison of burnout faster than you can imagine. The best part is that these seven techniques are also minimalistic. There’s almost nothing to them. And the “zen of almost nothing” is a great way to get started dealing with overwhelm.
1. The Shocking Truth About Meditation
Daily meditation feels good and creates many benefits ranging from stress relief to increased creativity and improved critical thinking. The only catch is that taking time for this simple practice can be difficult to remember. And that’s somewhat strange, given how good it can make you feel, even after only five minutes of practice. One way to make meditation a regular practice you won’t forget is to place a mat beside your bed. When you wake up, sit for even just a moment to connect with your surroundings. You don’t have a spend a penny on your mat either. Just fold up a blanket, and for extra comfort, place a pillow on top of that. In this way, you can keep your ankles off of the hard floor and give some balance to your spine. Many people think meditation is difficult. But it’s easy to do and gets even easier when you approach it without a lofty goal, like enlightenment. As Alan Watts said, the best way to approach meditation is “sitting just to sit.” If you can make this simple approach to meditation a regular practice, even with thunder and lightning jolting through your soul, you have a chance at developing better balance in your life within a week or less.
2. How Taking A Simple Walk Can Protect Your From Harm
Many hold walking as a form of meditation. But walking also releases regulatory chemicals in the brain, such as dopamine and norepinephrine. These chemicals not only create pleasure, but can also help reduce any physical pain you might be suffering. And you can make walking even more soothing for yourself. Take some MP3s of calming music that you resonate with and focus on immersing yourself in the sound and rhythm as you walk. Match your movements to the music and pay attention to the feeling of the world around you. It’s only important that the music you choose reduces overwhelm – not increase it. And if you are interested in meditation, take a break and sit on a bench in a park. Just to sit.
3. How To Practice Vegging Out (In A Positive Way)
Well, not exactly “vegging out” in the traditional sense. Practicing Shavasana has a funny catch to it. You will always lose the game. No matter how good you get at the stillness, your body will eventually force you to move. But in this game, losing is a good thing. As you experience the relaxing feelings of stillness, you’re also studying your impulses and your need to react to the same thoughts and desires that lead to overwhelm in other areas of your life. As you practice Shavasana over the coming weeks and months, try extending the periods of stillness longer each time. You’ll find that by extending your reactions in Shavasana, you’ll also be able to slow how you react to overwhelming elements of life too.
4. Do This With A Pen And Paper Every Day
When life hands you a car crash, we tend to react to the overwhelm by piling on worry, concern and more stress. The way around this is to buttress yourself in good thoughts before tough things happen. That way, you’ll have a reference guide to which you can refer. To complete this simple exercise, get a notebook and focus on writing down things you genuinely appreciate. Be specific. If you’re grateful to have a computer, list it. If you enjoyed the smile of a stranger on your walk, make a note of it. And commit to doing this every single day for at least three months. Add these 5 Brain Exercises for bonus points, if you like. Please don’t think this daily writing habit is silly or will itself contribute to your overwhelm. In 59 Seconds, a book by Richard Wiseman, the author gives scientific studies that demonstrate the validity of journaling gratitude. But you don’t take the word of science for it. Give it a try and you’ll find out on your own. Within as short a period as one or two days, you may find that you’re already feeling happier about your life and this new recognition of how things are for you will buttress you against future troubles that really can be overwhelming without a daily defense practice in place.
5. Have Two-Tiered Positive Goals You Can Achieve Now And Later
You’ve probably heard of SMART goals. They are goals that are: * Specific These are all great guidelines to keep in mind when making your goals, and they are designed to reduce overwhelm. As a bonus to the SMART concept, my friend Daniel Welsch down in Madrid adds on two other components that work well. He notes two kinds of things he wants to achieve: * Goals that cost nothing (like spending more time with a loved one) The former can be scheduled immediately. The latter can be worked towards and earned. It doesn’t have to be $1000, but the benefits of having a monetary goal in mind are huge. After all, you’re going to work one way or another and saving up for a specific goal that costs money not only engages you in your work in a more meaningful way. It also lets you give yourself a gift for all that you do. The trick is to make sure that your goals in and of themselves reduce overwhelm while leading to even greater states of calm and freedom in the future.
6. How To Make Your Favorite Poison A Cure
It was often said in Ancient Greece that the cure is always a poison, and the poison is always a cure. In fact, the word “pharmacy” partially descends from this concept (Pharmakia). Computers are like that too. At the same time you can use them to achieve miracles, you can also let them run you into the ground. Set specific limits. For example, no matter what, hit the off-switch at 10 p.m. and stick to it. Then go for a walk and sit on that bench. Of course, everybody knows that setting limits is tough, but the benefits of doing so reduce overwhelm and open you up to receiving so many good things in life that cannot be achieved when you and your brain are chained to a machine designed to bombard all your senses.
7. How To Reduce Overwhelm While Chilling Out With Friends
Social media has many positive aspects. But it’s not a substitute for real life contact. It doesn’t cause your brain to create any of the healthy and helpful chemicals that social interactions bring. And in fact, keeping up with all those posts and liking all those likable links can bake your brain. You also don’t get the challenges your brain needs while using social media. These include being asked questions and asking questions in return, complete with the body language and innuendo that only real life contact can offer. That said, like meditation, social contact needn’t have a lofty self-improvement goal. It can be valuable in and of itself just as something to do. But if you do want something specific to do with your friends, tell them about your minimalist plans to bring more balance into your life. After all, they’re helpful for everyone else too. And teaching something helps you organize information in your brain, leading to streamlined thoughts and crystal clarity that also help reduce overwhelm in your mind. So what do you say? Are you ready to get out of the soul-crushing loop that you’re in and bring in some new habits that will help you reduce overwhelm and boost your success? I hope so, because the truth is that you can free yourself from the suffering of burnout, one small positive habit at a time. The post 7 Minimalist Ways To Boost Success In The Face Of Soul-Crushing Overwhelm appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: 7_Minimalist_Ways_To_Boost_Success_In_The_Face_Of_Soul-Crushing_Overwhelm.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 8:20am EDT |
Thu, 5 November 2015
Or perhaps you’ve just wondered … what on earth makes the people who write all those ads tick? If so, then today’s your lucky day, because on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, the remarkable comic turned copywriter, Kevin Rogers of Copy Chief, holds the truth about …
How To Be Memorable On The Stage And On The Page
So go ahead click on the play button above, download the transcript for this interview or read Kevin’s many words of wisdom right here below. Anthony: Kevin, I’m really excited to have you on the podcast today. There are a number of reasons why I wanted to speak with you in particular. Maybe you could tell everybody listening to this a little bit about who you are and what you do. Kevin: Sure, thanks Anthony for having me. I’m really glad to be here. An interesting, I guess, resume, I am now a freelance direct response copywriter, which means I write the ads that force people to make a decision. Essentially, direct response compared to more sort or traditional advertising means that there’s always a call to action at the end of it. An extreme version would be an infomercial – buy now, buy now and you’ll get an extra set of knives and all that good stuff. We certainly have much more subtle ways to do all that, but that would be the one big distinction between what we do and other types of marketing. My story is that I was a stand-up comedian. I actually left high school a little early because I was restless and after doing some labor jobs that I didn’t feel were a perfect fit, I was dared by friends to do an open mic night at local comedy club. It turned out that was a better fit for me. I was fortunate to excel pretty quickly at that and actually won a contest to take over as the house MC at this club here in Clearwater, Florida. It was a really great opportunity because it meant that I was doing eight shows a week and stage time is everything to a comic.
For instance, in New York City, there are so many comics there, and they will club hop. They might be taking cabs from club to club from 5:00 in the afternoon to 2:00 in the morning just trying to get on everywhere. It was a big deal to get that much stage time at a popular club here in town. Then I went on the road at about 19 and stayed on the road for almost 7 years as a comic. That was an incredible adventure.
How To Turn Your Hair Into A Calling Card
I knew at some point that I didn’t have any control over whether I succeeded or not in that business. Show business is one of those things where it takes a little bit of luck and some knowing the right people. For me, I had no business sense whatsoever. I do know a few comics who had marketing backgrounds and certainly used that to their advantage, Carrot Top being one really good example. Carrot Top was having stickers made of his image when he was still just a road comic. He really understood that his shock of orange hair was his calling card. I had none of that. I had no business sense. I just kind of knew that at some point I would need to make a decision that if I wasn’t getting signs from the business that this was going to pay off for me, somewhere around the age of 30 maybe, I did not want to risk becoming some of the older very bitter comics that I worked with. Because they were amazingly funny and talented, and, they were also really tortured. It was clear to me, and to them, that they had no alternatives. When you spend most of your life as an entertainer and that does not manifest into a big win, then what do you do? It’s a really sad state of affairs for a lot of people I have a lot of respect for. Anthony: We know the image of the tortured comic, or many of us do anyway because we see it again and again. What do you think it is that tortures them? Is it something that links to memories that they’re trying to deal with? What would it be maybe from your own experience? Kevin: Yeah, it’s absolutely that. I think there is an incredibly thin line between pleasure and pain when it comes to how we express ourselves. You know funny comes from pain, period. We laugh as a healing device. Comics – I can’t tell you about a stable person I’ve ever met who is like gut-busting funny. It just doesn’t equate. Not everybody grew up in some terrible condition, although that’s often the case. A very true statement is comedy is therapy for the comic. Very often, these people would be in dire straits mentally without that outlet. It’s funny because hanging out with them or being around them offstage is very often not what you would expect. People just assume a comedian is funny all the time and loving life and it’s nothing but laughter. There are parts of that which are true. For the most part, it’s a bit of – I don’t want to call it miserable – but….
How To Hold The Most Depressing Dinner Party In The World
I’ll never forget a story a screenwriting teacher told about his wife wanting to liven up a dinner party so she invited comedy writers. It turned out to be the most morose dinner party she had ever thrown. It made perfect sense to me. Anthony: I’m curious, how do you remember sets and when you’re doing eight sets like that back to back, are you doing the same thing? Are you embedding it into memory as you go along? What is the artistry there in terms of your own delivery and the role of how you prepared and how you performed? Kevin: That’s a great question. I think what I did, and what I saw, is very typical among comics. There wasn’t a lot of strategy to it other than you always wanted to be coming up with new material. We would start with what we call a premise. A comic would say to another comic, “Do me a favor and watch my set because I’m trying out a new premise.” They wouldn’t really say I’m trying out a joke. Sometimes jokes come to you just done out of the aether. The first thing you do when that happens is you call four other comics, and you go have you heard this before? Because you are afraid that your memory is playing tricks on you and telling you it’s got something new when it’s actually something you heard somewhere else. The worst think you can encounter as a comic is being labeled a thief. We are all very careful that we’re not accidentally repeating someone else’s bit. You bring up the premise, you have some idea of what the punchline will be and you work it into a place in your set where it feels safe because you’ve got momentum and then you know that you’ve got some great jokes after that. You slide it into sort of a safe place in your set and you just work it out. I think most comics prefer to have the magic happen live. It’s almost more about how you introduce the premise than how you execute the punchline when you’re developing a joke. Because at its best, the process is letting the audience sort of dictate live which way the joke should go. Very often things happen in the moment that you couldn’t sit with a pad and pencil and create.
Notebooks … The 51st Shade Of Grey?
As far as memory, people would say all the time, “How do you memorize all that?” I guess it just starts with five minutes. You memorize it enough to – The first time I went on stage that was my biggest challenge. I got on stage. And it felt nothing like I could have imagined. I was very nervous. I couldn’t see. I didn’t expect that. I’ve got these lights in my face. I was just trying to remember the jokes and listen for something that sounded like good news coming back from the crowd. Then you just remember that and then you add on bit after bit, and guys could have hours of material. George Carlin famously would do a new HBO special every year. He would build up new material for that year, and then he would throw it away after the special was recorded. That was done. That was part of the magic of George Carlin. He was dedicated to the craft and to developing and evolving new material. He would take about the best 10 percent of the previous special, use that as the foundation, sort of the safety net to give audiences their money’s worth. Other than that, he’d bring up a notebook and basically just be working out new material in front of a crowd of hundreds or thousands sometimes. Anthony: I was going to ask you about that. Because there are some comics that have trademarks like Carrot Head. There are very few comics that have actually made a bit of a trademark of actually having lines written on a notepad or whatever that they bring up. I wonder if you ever did that too, or had any sort of visible triggers, notes written on your hand or anything like that to prompt yourself? Kevin: It’s a good question. There was like a phase – a thing in the 1990s all of a sudden called alternative comedy. It was the early days of Patton Oswalt and Marc Maron and these San Francisco comics. Janeane Garofalo was a big alternative comic. They would all bring their notebooks up. That was their thing. It was like we are so cool we are not pretending to perform. We don’t care. There is no formality here. Honestly, it was a bit like torture a lot of times. It was just very self-indulgent. It’s not that there should be some hard rule that you can’t bring up a notebook and refer to it if you’re working out new stuff. No problem with that, but it almost became a cliche. You know, like this is all so fresh that I have to look at my notebook to even remember it. With some people, it was BS. They knew the bits. They were just using the notebook as a prop. For me personally, I did later start recording my sets. To be honest, I don’t know how often I actually listened back to them. If I was trying to work out a new joke, I would record and at least listen to that part. Then I might go I forgot the funniest line I had or whatever. It would have benefited me to formalize that a little bit more. For the most part, again like I said, for me and a lot of comics it was about creating a moment. Believe me, when you do create a moment with a new premise and it hits, you will not forget what made it work. It just becomes a part of you because that’s your lifeblood. It wasn’t too formal.
How To Build An Empire Without Wearing Any Pants
Anthony: As a way of seguing from comedy into copywriting and Copy Chief, there is a real funny and compelling marketing video that you put out at one point recently for the Copy Chief community. You were apparently wearing no pants. Maybe by way of saying a little bit about how you went from comedy into marketing you could also talk about, “What is it about comedy that helps persuade people to buy?” and, “Have you ever really left comedy?” Kevin: Great question. So I’ll try to really give the condensed version of this. I did leave comedy and that was a painful exit for a couple of reasons. One, I was really done with touring clubs. That part wasn’t hard. My heart I knew would always be in it and there would be potential jealousy to see friends make it when I had kind of thrown in the towel. I had convictions about it, and I knew it was the thing to do. The other part that was difficult was logistically trying to go get work. That same problem I talked about wanting to avoid. The good news was I was only about 30 so I had plenty of energy and some time. I knew I liked to write and so I would take classes at the local university, University of South Florida here in St. Pete after moved to Florida from Chicago, my wife and I. I would just take all the writing courses I could before I had to actually choose a major and go to real college. Writing was always there for me, and I just had no idea there was this thing called copywriting. I always said I wanted to be a writer. I had no idea outside of comedy writing, which I had decided probably wasn’t for me just because of what I had seen of it in Hollywood and how it worked. It really turned me off. I was doing like these no resume jobs. I bellman, I was a bartender and then I just got really lucky and got into a situation where I met a guy who was a direct response marketing junkie and he introduced me to copywriting. He knew I liked to write and he said I think you’d be a good copywriter. You should check it out.
Here’s Why Comedians Might One Day Rule The World
I slowly became indoctrinated and learned and was able to make a career of it. What is interesting is in trying to sort of transition and “go legit” from an entertainer to a guy who you should hire to push people’s luggage around at your hotel, I realized that bringing up comedy was bad news. People don’t want to hire somebody who wants to talk about how great it was to be a comic. They assume that’s still what you want to do. I was finding other things to put on my resume and really kind of burying that story. When I got into copywriting, I still had that mindset. It just wasn’t on my radar anymore at that point. It was my friend and mentor John Carlton, the legendary copywriter, who, when we began in the early moments of our friendship, said to me – that was sort of what bonded us. He was really fascinated by the idea of standup comedy and that I had actually made a career of this. He had a lot of questions about it. Then he said to me at one point, “Why aren’t you talking about this?” He said right now you are just another copywriter but if you were the standup comic turned copywriter, that’s a much more interesting conversation. He said, “Do you realize how few people in the world have had the experience you’ve had and how many would love to?” I didn’t. I just knew most of the people I knew were comics. It was normal to me. That was a huge revelation to me. It still took years. Then what I began doing was teaching copywriting through the lens of comedy. Then I wrote the book The 60 Second Sales Hook where I took a joke formula and I showed people how to just change the last part of it and it becomes a perfect condensed marketing story. That was very popular.
To Be Memorable, You Gotta Make A Commitment
It wasn’t until recently, Anthony, where I realized it was kind of my duty to strive to be funny again with marketing. Part of it was me just getting comfortable enough in the market to feel like it wouldn’t hurt me to do that. Then it became about, “Well how do I do it? What approach do I take?” I started to just post up videos on Facebook and sometimes they would just be tactical giving copy tips and other times it would just be me doing something stupid like lip sinking to Sympathy For The Devil in my car. It’s funny because I never stop. I commit to the entire song, right. I realize that it’s not funny if I show 20 seconds of it, but the fact that I did the entire song and never broke character for a second. That resonated with people. I slowly started learning what’s funny. How do I merge into now this new technology, this new ability to reach people? That’s when I started having fun with video. It’s interesting that you bring up the no pants video, because that is the result of me spending two days in this very office that I’m talking to you from right now with a camera set up, the lights just right and trying to do a straight pitch for my copywriting course. I was feeling incredibly frustrated and it just not feeling right. I finally got just annoyed enough to go, “You know what dude, just like relax. Go sit at the desk and just look into the camera even if it is babble for a minute.” You know what it was? It was like just going right back to that idea of just take the premise and go with it and see what happens. I literally sat down, turned on the camera, and for whatever reason, I guess because I was sitting at a desk, that’s the line that came out of my mouth. I said, “Hi, I’m Kevin Rogers, the founder of Copy Chief, and I may or may not be wearing pants right now.” Then I kind of ran through some stuff. I literally wrote that video which is about four minutes long in a minute. I jotted down. I came up with the premise of I want to teach something. To me that is the most important thing we can do to brand ourselves is to deliver value. Always be teaching is my motto. I thought, “What can I teach?” Well, I will teach the difference between good copy and bad copy. I just wrote down real quick good copy means this and bad copy means that. I went into these characters. Then I realized at some point well I have to at least tape the part where I don’t have pants. The punch line has to be here that I’m actually not wearing pants. So that’s kind of how that evolved. It is interested you ask that because I did leave comedy. It wasn’t until smarter people than me made it painfully obvious that I needed to be using that and then putting in action and effort. If that’s my brand, if I’m the former standup comic turned copywriter, I’ve got to deliver some funny once in a while.
Anthony: I mean it stuck in my mind in such a way that I came back to it and it was an interesting moment for me as someone who is interested in copywriting and in marketing as such because I had first encountered as a voice only on the Gary Halbert All-Stars Audio. Kevin: Oh, interesting. Anthony: I had always noted a sense of irony in your voice. I’ve listened to that thing probably four times, the Part 1 and Part 2. There is always this kind of flavor of irony especially because of a particular part that you narrate. Getting to actually then see you and know you through video made it, I guess, exceptionally interesting, but what I really am wondering is, is there something about the comedy that you find that persuades people to ultimately buy? Kevin: That’s a good question. I don’t know. I don’t know about buy, but I do know about that “know, like and trust” are major factors in why we buy from one person over another. I do know that if you can get a laugh from somebody, and, in particular a couple of laughs in one sitting – two or three laughs – that is a real bond. People did share that video quite a bit. I had one woman tell me she loved it so much and thought so much of it that when she shared it outside of the marketing community on her personal Facebook wall and nobody liked it, she was angry. She felt like you people don’t get it. That was really interesting to me. I don’t know if that makes somebody a “buyer.” It’s interesting because I’m in direct response. Like I said, our job is to get a reaction whether it is sign up, give us your email and let us give you more value and let’s have a conversation and ultimately of course you would like that to lead to that person being a customer or it is buy right now.
“Look Like You’re Having A Good Time Being Yourself”
It may not be an immediate thing but yeah, if you can show some personality and really look like you’re having a good time being yourself people find value in that. They go I want more of that. I’d love to be that comfortable in my skin. I’d love to wake up happy to be me, and be able to turn on my iPhone and make people laugh or share these bizarre thoughts I have. I think it does make people buy, but not immediately and certainly not in every market. When you’re talking about healthcare or health supplements or things like that, outside of male enhancement products that have been able to use humor occasionally, there’s not a lot of funny going on in those subjects. If you’re marketing and you’re teaching people how to do what is ultimately at least a 50 percent creative endeavor, which is like write better sales copy, guys like me, Frank Kern and others have a pretty good license to let loose and have some fun. Anthony: I’m really glad you made this distinction between buying and knowing and liking and trusting and then deepening a relationship towards having a financial transaction because this to me has a lot to do with making yourself memorable with many touches over the long haul and in a way that hopefully to basically quote Frank Kern that’s “always cool,” but still moving towards the sale. You know, so many people complain about sleazy marketers and all the sales tactics that assault us thousands of times a day. There certainly are those kinds of people in that world. How do we make that many touches that are sometimes necessary to move towards the financial traction of the “know, like and trust?” Knowing that we cannot 100 percent not insult some people or offend some people or annoy some people, but what is the fine line there so that we’re remembered but not rejected so that when that moment comes when the person is readily to buy that they think of you.
Do You Know What You Stand For?
Kevin: Another great question. I think part of it is what you just said in that we can’t please everybody. Some people are going to reject us. I would take that further and say decide up front who you would want to be rejected by. Because if you are, as the great Gary Bencivenga said, (I don’t know if it was his quote but he emphasized the quote), “If you are not against something, what are you for?” I am actually totally screwing that up. I don’t remember how he said it. Basically, you have to have a rally cry. You have to let people know this is the enemy. This is who this is not for. You look at a copywriting colleague of mine, Colin Theriot, who has a thing called the Cult of Copy, 14,000 members in a closed group. Now not all loyal followers but 14,000 people requesting to join a group about copywriting. Pretty amazing feat, right? Anthony: Right. Kevin: Colin is constantly reminding people who that group is not for. It’s not for the timid. There’s going to be a lot of language and there’s going to be things that make people uncomfortable, and if it’s not for you, no problem but never, never tell me not to do these things, because you just don’t get it. So he’s against are the people who don’t get it or feel so righteous and indignant that they need to scold him or recommend to him that he should tone it down or these things. Those are the opportunities he sees to attack. It only strengthens his bond with his followers. That’s probably an extreme case of a guy who like honestly not only doesn’t care if you are not interested but goes after people who raise their hand that explain why they’re not. That doesn’t work in every market, but if you just allow yourself the freedom to be yourself and not hold back, and that doesn’t mean you have to swear.
Why Are Some Words Offensive?
I don’t swear much. I don’t know why, Anthony, I as I mature, because I’ll be honest with you, around the house I swear a lot. I’m sure I’m looser with language with my children than most other parents would be, but to me, I take sort of the George Carlin approach because we talk about why are some words dirty. Why are some words offensive? We don’t get it. At the same time, something in me, there is a filter like in my podcasts, one of guests on podcasts my default is to not swear for whatever reason. I don’t know why, but I point that out to say that it doesn’t mean that you have to swear or go out of your way to be edgy or annoying. Take a minute, I would say to anybody with a product, anybody who wants to build a following, take a minute and open up a notebook and say who am I for and who am I for not. Who does not qualify to be in this group, this tribe I’m building and go out of your way to point those people out? Not in a judgmental way, but in a way that the people who do belong will feel strengthened to identify that with you. Anthony: It’s a good life principal for sure in in many areas. I wonder, you know, speaking about I think what is sometimes called repulsion marketing so that you’re attracting the people that you want, I want to mention your podcast, The Truth About Marketing so people can look it up and it seems like a good example. There is an episode that you recorded with Ben Settle who sort of has that kind of down pat, you know, defining who is with him and who isn’t with him. Kevin: Yes, a big part of his marketing. Almost every email has some shade of that. It’s very strong to him. Anthony: So I just mention that to people listening that your podcast is called the Truth About Marketing and that would be a great example of that to listen to and remember some principals from. Speaking of podcasts, you’re also involved with in Psych Insights with John Carlton who you already mentioned. There is one particular episode on that podcast called How to be a Damned Good Road Dog & Sneak Into “Insider” Status and it connects to something that you’ve talked about on The Truth About Marketing when you were discussing how to impress Michael Jordan. What I like about all these episodes combined, and that really switches certain things on in my mind, is that you’re teaching through examples about getting it wrong when you’re trying to connect with influencers and that is the opposite of repulsion marketing. That’s where you’re repulsing people with, you know, not being consciously aware of mistakes that you are making, or just being kind of awkward. I know I’m often an awkward person. I wonder, first, what do you think if you could define them or list them some of the wrong ways that rookies try to get the attention of a influencer and wind up making themselves forgettable by that person or disregarded and maybe not forgotten but put on the “black list.”
How To Be Socially Awkward And An Epic Failure … Guaranteed!
Kevin: Wow, I’m loving these questions man. I have a great example of this. What is interesting is this is sitting on my desk now for months because I’ve been waiting to teach this. One classic way of doing a poor job of getting the attention of an influencer is to kick the door in. I always coach people to be confident and sort of take the reigns of their business and all that and not wait for permission to go forth and be an expert, because there is always somebody who needs to learn what they know. Being cocky – John Carlton has told this story a few times on our podcast. It is a great example. When Gary Halbert was his mentor and they were very close friends and when they would do live events they would have a lot of fun with each other and they would bust each other’s balls and do a lot of that from the stage. He said, “Once an event there would be that guy who thought the way to come bond with them would be to walk up to them and the bust Gary’s balls.” It was an epic fail every time. That’s a sure sign of showing that you just don’t get the joke. You don’t recognize and appreciate that that’s a bond that only happens after a certain comfort level between two people has been achieved. That’s a classic. Then I received a letter from somebody in three different ways: it was emailed to me, it was hard mailed to my house, and it was hard mailed to my office. This is somebody who clearly believes that they’ve figured it out, they’ve really nailed it, and all they need to do is get this in front of me. I’ve never responded to this person because of the first line of the letter. It says, “Dear Kevin, I need our help. Now I know that sounds selfish so I’m going to offer to help you.” Now that’s probably supposed to be what Frank Kern would call a pattern interrupt because maybe he would think most people who would write to me would start by gloating or trying to flatter me or something. It doesn’t work for a few reasons. Of course, it did get me to read it. If somebody sends you a letter, you know, that is usually enough to get you to read it. He was just so cocksure in how he was offering to help me, and he made so many different assumptions about whether that would actually be valuable to me or not without ever asking, “Hey, would this be valuable to you?” It made me instantly discount him as somebody I would ever want to invest time in or reply to. I think the worst thing you can do is (a) ever make assumptions, or (b) try to open with the joke that can only exist after you’ve been friends for a while. I’ll tell you another great story based on this. Do you know who Mark Ford is? He’s one of the great copywriters. He doesn’t get credit for it. He’s also known as Michael Masterson and he wrote a course called the Accelerated Guide to Six-Figure Copywriting and when I started it was the only course out there really on copywriting. The guy is amazingly brilliant. He runs a thing now called the Palm Beach Letter and he was a big player in Agora Publishing. Anyway, the first time I met Mark Ford it was outside of a conference and every time the guy would stop and talk to one person a group would quickly form around him because he’s a very magnetic person. In such a group, a guy came up to him and he said, “Mr. Ford, I have a question if you don’t mind.” He said, “Sure, what’s up?” The guy said, “You know, I’ve always heard that the best way to connect with an influencer is to offer to help them, but I’ve been walking up to some of the influencers and saying hi, I’m Larry, how can I help you, and they just look at me funny and it doesn’t go anywhere. It feels awkward.” Mark said, “Well, what is it you do and how could you help somebody like Clayton Makepeace that you’ve just had this encounter with?” He goes, “Yeah, that’s the thing. I’m not really sure. I’m just starting out in the business. In fact, that’s what he asked me and I didn’t have a good answer for him.” Mark said, “Well that’s the problem. You don’t even know what you do yet.” The point of going up and offering to help somebody is to know that (a) you really can help them and (b) first make sure that it’s something they need or have interest in. I always remember that story and I thought it was really funny that people just take the really core meaning of the device and then go out and try to implement it and are shocked when it doesn’t work.
How To Really Get The Attention Of An Influencer
I will give you just as an alternative what I think is a great way to get in front of an influencer and what I teach the freelancers that I coach. I say, “Look, if you have somebody who is an active marketer, just do a case study on a piece of their advertising and teach other people what you see going on in the piece. Show what you know. Showcase your own expertise through the lens of what you admire about their copy and make sure that gets in front of them.” When they see that, it’s kind of like hearing your name – you can’t not listen. If somebody says, “Hey, you know, this copywriter did a breakdown of one of your ads.” Of course, they are going to go look at it and if they’re impressed, they’re going to call you. I promise you because they are always looking for copywriters. That’s a really great way to get results in advance and display only your value and sort of generously give to somebody. Even though they never asked, but you also never asked them for anything. You don’t send it to them and go, “Hey I did this breakdown of one your ads. Hopefully you’ll learn something from it! You idiot. You were missing these four key factors that I call dah, dah, dah.” Just teach generously to other people using their stuff and they’ll think wow this person is cool man. All they want to do is teach and I happen to agree with what they’re teaching so why I don’t I get on the phone with this person. Suddenly you’re equals instead of some guy hanging out by their doorstep. Anthony: With this alternative example that you gave, what is an example whether you either have personally or through the mechanisms of the Internet created results in advance for people as part of making yourself memorable and moving forward towards goals that you have for yourself? Kevin: Probably the best example would be the book, The 60 Second Sales Hook. Because the whole point of the book, like I mentioned earlier, is I took a joke formula which is relevant to my story. Then I show people in a very short (it’s only a 50-page book that sort of gets right to the point and talks about story) and I give them the device to write their story and use this formula to make it really effective. That was a big turning point in my career because anyone who read that book and did the exercise was instantly compelled to share it with me sort of as a thank you and because it really did create a special moment for them. A lot of times, it was the first time anybody ever wrote anything that actually looked like copy and worked like copy. People who just thought they couldn’t write their own copy. They would of course naturally also want my feed back and see if – or maybe they would be stuck and say here’s what I’ve got but I feel like it’s missing something. I was giving them results in advance but I was also opening the door for them to want more from me. I found that was a great opportunity because with that opportunity I could kind of do whatever I wanted. I did everything from offer 20-minute what I would call sales hook perfection sessions for like $350.00. I realized that was unscalable and then that evolved into what is now Copy Chief because it was the simple premise of I’m teaching the same things over and over to people one-on-one, what if I could just let a bunch of other people watch that lesson and learn from it and implement it in their own stuff. It would very often solve their problem for a lot less money and deliver similar value. That is how Copy Chief was born and that’s sort of the premise of any effective membership community I think. Anthony: Would you think it’s fair to say that an effectively memorable marketing campaign essentially creates a kind of ecosystem?
Always Be Teaching
Kevin: Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. I guess so, yeah. I’d say that’s a fair thing to say, if the campaign is teaching along the way. This is why I say, “always be teaching.” Teaching is everything. If one of your top priorities for your marketing campaign is to deliver actionable value to anybody who comes into the funnel, the campaign, then you absolutely are creating an ecosystem because especially on Facebook and anywhere if you have a site dedicated to it, people are naturally going to share something cool that they’re value from. Anthony: Well, one thing that I wanted to talk to you a little about is the actual use of words. We’ve already been touching upon it with comedy and it’s come up a few times the idea of having structures and formulas and sort of setting something up so that it almost falls into place later when you come to the punch line. People listening to this may not be familiar with copywriting but we know that there are some particular structures like AIDA and related acronyms. How could you describe those kind of structures even if it is just one or two of them and how a person absorbs them into their memory so they can sort of use it on autopilot or using a crib sheet or something like that but still have an authentic ability to write according to structure? Kevin: I sure you can educate me a lot more on this in regards to how memory works, but I think the best way to do it is not to just recognize a formula but to immerse yourself in the formula. Sort of like what I mentioned about the book being so effective for people because it gives them a very simple formula and then they’re inclined to do it, to use it. It’s sort of fun to use and everybody has a story so they are instantly qualified to use this. They don’t need to go do research or anything like that first. Then they immerse in it.
The Insider’s Guide To Sales Hooks
Part of why that took off for me was that people began to take ownership of the formula. It’s the ISDR (identity, struggle, discovery, result). People would call it that ISDR or the KLT formula (know, like, and trust formula). Because they immersed in it, they knew it and they took ownership of it. What else was cool, what I never would have expected, was people started to recognize it out in the wild. They would be watching a TV commercial and they would go that was The 60 Second Sales Hook. They would send me a clip of the TV commercial or they would take a photo of an ad in a magazine and they go look at this. It’s The 60 Second Sales Hook. It was super cool. I think if it had not been for the fact that it was so easy to immerse yourself in that formula that never would have happened because like most things people would have nodded at it and said that makes sense and then just moved on to the next shiny object. Anthony: I mean it is such a fascinating world and there is so much depth to it all. You mentioned Gary Halbert before, and speaking of depth, he had this idea of neurological imprinting which is something you could perhaps explain better in terms of actually writing out either headlines again and again or entire sales letters. Is that something that you’ve ever done or what do you think is the logic behind that. Kevin: Yeah, it is something I did early on. It was one of the exercises in that course I mentioned, the Michael Masterson course. I found it useful but I also personally kind of got bored with it quick. Other people I know it’s actually become a bit of a cottage industry. There’s a service that does only that. I don’t know if there’s a fee for it or not. But essentially they send out a letter, a sales letter every day and then your job is to write it out by hand. They have kind of built a community around it. It’s a very popular thing to do. Occasionally, I question if that becomes for people, you know, they feel like okay I did my copywriting today but all they’re really doing is copying other people’s copy and I think there is value in that but it also could be a trap. What I recommend to people and it was recommended to me as rote learning. As I understand it, it sort goes back to like a Greek philosophy of how to learn just by doing something over and over and over and does sort of imprint it on your brain and become an instinct. Famously other writers have done this. Hunter S. Thompson handwrote Hemingway he said just because he didn’t want to write like Hemingway. He just wanted to feel viscerally what it was it like to write on that level. I think there’s definitely value in that. Again, I mention Gary Bencivenga, who is pretty commonly regarded as the best ever direct response copywriter. He gives a great piece of advice about a similar thing. His advice is to read a great ad every day, and not just read it, but as you are reading it, ask yourself, “Okay, what’s one thing I would change about this ad that I think would make it convert even better than it did?” To me that’s the real power. So I recommend to people if you’re going to hand copy great sales letters, headlines, stuff and bullets, add that to it. Every time you write a headline, go, “Is there a word I could change here? Is there a line I could add to this that I think would actually make it better?” You’ll begin to recognize that some things are super perfect the way they are.
The #1 Question You Need To Ask Your DNA
John Carlton famously wrote long headlines but you could not replace a single word in them. That’s something to study. Anthony: I think that’s a great way of approaching it. Maybe if I can offer something to you to take back to Copy Chief. There’s a real interesting guy named Kenneth Goldsmith and he runs something called “Uncreativity Courses.” There’s actually a YouTube video, I can send you a link later and maybe you can share it around where he talks about how he gets his students to pick something to rewrite, to retype essentially. He says the surprise assignment behind the assignment is for them to write an essay about why they chose that particular thing to torture themselves to type through. That’s where the insight is. It is in the reflection of the repetitive action. That’s kind of the connection to Greek philosophy that you were mentioning. How do we derive insight from what it is that we chose to repeat? The same thing with Zen archery and so forth, it’s not so much the repetition as such, but the reflection on the repetition. Kevin: Wow, love that. That’s great. What’s the name? Anthony: Kenneth Goldsmith. He gave a speech in the White House. It is the most hilarious thing in the world when you hear him saying to Ms. Obama that I think students should be retyping famous pieces of literature and in fact that’s what they do and the look on their faces is completely, like all these old biddies that are in the White House for poetry day. I will send you a link. Kevin: I’ll definitely share that. I love it. That’s great. Thank you. Anthony: It’s awesome. This has been really great. I wondered if I could pick your brain with a question for the people listening to this who aren’t going to become copywriters, but they aspire to get great jobs and have amazing careers and they need to write compelling resumes. As someone who relies to a large extent on the written word, what advice would you give to someone sending out applications for jobs that strictly require their details in print. How can they not kick down the door but get remembered and ideally called in for an interview so that door is opened? Kevin: I’ve got to be one of the least qualified person ever to talk about how to write a resume. I’m like proudly unhireable. I will say, and I’ve heard that it’s basically computers scanning resumes for certain keywords and that’s how you ever make the pile. The only place I could offer advice is on a cover letter perhaps. The advice I would give for that is speak to the reader like the human being they are. Cover letters that I’ve seen are either desperately boring because they are just trying so hard to sound professional. It’s like mission statements. Companies’ mission statements are typically – you are literally asleep by the fourth word. Compare that to something like Dollar Shave Club. That famous video, eight million views on an ad. Why? Because the guy just kept it real and made it funny and told you everything you needed to know in a very transparent and entertaining way. Humor doesn’t belong everywhere. I wouldn’t try to be funny, but if you could be real. You have got to figure these people are just scanning these cover letters over and over and over, and if you can be the one that makes them slow down their reading and go, “Huh, oh, that’s interesting,” and sound like somebody they can relate to or a niece or a nephew or a friend or someone they care about.
The Human Elements You Should Never Forget
There’s a reason C-level executives go to lunch with the people they go to lunch with by choice on Friday or whatever. It’s not always business. People are drawn to other people. We’re all human. I think that’s one of the biggest mistakes we make saying like B2B copywriting, which essentially this is kind of what this would be. We are so bent on sounding professional, intelligent and qualified that we forget to be human. I would say that would be your one shining example. Take a chance and be human. Anthony: I like that. That’s powerful. What is coming up next for you and how can people get in touch if they want to learn more about you, learn about Copy Chief and what you teach in terms of enabling people to write better and essentially make a career for themselves as a writer if they wanted to go down that route. How do people find you? Kevin: Yeah, Copy Chief is pretty much where you’ll find everything. A copy chief in our business is the person who oversees the ad campaign, the copywriting and my premise for the community is that we all need chiefs. We all chief each other and help each other write better and more effectively. There is a membership community with a monthly fee but there’s also tons of great helpful stuff you can get for free at Copy Chief. You’ll see the blog. You’ll see The Truth About Marketing Podcast and lots of fun little formulas. You can also download The 60 Second Sales Hook book. I would love for anybody – I think anybody no matter what their goal is would find a lot of value in that book if nothing else. I would certainly love to have anybody take advantage of that. Anthony: Well to end on the note of “the truth about marketing,” if – heaven forbid – some nuclear disaster were to wipe away your entire memory, what would be the one truth about marketing that you would want to hold in your mind and never forget? Kevin: Wow, that’s a big question. The one thing? That when all else fails, just be honest. When every other framework feels insufficient, try bold honesty. If there’s a flaw, point it out. If there ares people who something is not for, point them out. Help them identify themselves. Again, by doing so you’ll strengthen the bond with people who it is for. I guess that would be the big one. Know who you’re talking to and speak to them like you would a friend. Further Resources How to Memorize Classic Copywriting Headlines The Darkside and the Brightside of How Marketers Manipulate Your Memory Every Single Day The post Kevin Rogers And The Truth About Comedy, Memory And Marketing appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Kevin_Rogers_And_The_Truth_About_Comedy_Memory_And_Marketing.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:41pm EDT |
Wed, 28 October 2015
Or maybe they just didn’t feel right for you? Here’s the thing: They might not be. That’s just one of the unexpected answers you’ll hear in this podcast and read below. Let’s get started with a wonderful letter I received from a student in the Netherlands: Let me introduce myself. I am Timo, a Dutch high school student. Nowadays I am preparing for my finals, but besides that I am also working on a final paper about the human memory. To be honest, last year I failed to pass my exams, so I decided to learn differently this year. During my summer vacation, I came across your website. While listening to your podcasts, I realized that this would be the best way to learn for me. That I eventually picked out this subject for my paper was a coincidence. Back to the story. The last months I have read many books and scientific articles about the method of loci (or the Magnetic Memory Method). There are not many articles about this matter. These articles suggest that the method of loci is an effective way, but they are written by psychologists. Most of them are sceptic to use this in classrooms. You are, on the other hand, the expert for teaching this method to students. I assume that you use this method almost every week. My practical part of my paper is an experiment with high school students. (This is required in The Netherlands.) Last week I finished teaching them the basics and how to apply the method to a list of random facts and vocabulary words. Now they are preparing to make a test, which I prepared. A university researcher helps me to process the data from these test results. However, I met some resistance with some of the students. They think that this is too time consuming. The teachers are, however, enthusiastic about my research. They want to know more about this subject. Therefore I am considering writing a much shorter paper for all the teachers to explain my findings. Assuming that you are the only one, who gives these kind of courses, could I ask you humble opinion. Most of the books and articles do not give a clear answer, whether or not this method is effective on large classes and is better for the knowledge of the student (long-term memory). So here are my questions:
Is the Magnetic Memory Method a skill that everyone can develop?
No. The Magnetic Memory Method, any mnemonics or set of memory techniques are exclusive to a particular kind of person. First, the person must be open to experimentation and implementation. These personal characteristics appear not to be present in everyone. They require learning a set of tools that must be used in order to truly understand them. Think of a computer keyboard, for example. Anyone can look at the keyboard and understand a description of what it is supposed to do. But without putting their fingers on the keys and learning to press the keys to produce words, words will never form. And the exciting thing about typing is that, once you’ve started learning it, you can learn to write very fast. Not only that, but you’ve become so familiar with the keyboard that you can type entire books without even looking down at the keys or your fingers. Memory techniques are like that, especially if you’re using Memory Palaces. The Memory Palace is a kind of keyboard you build yourself based on a manual like the Magnetic Memory Method. The information you want to memorize forms the keys and the associative-imagery are the sentences you write on the paper of your imagination. And of course, no one types an entire book without making mistakes. But editing is a minor feat and quickly accomplished simply by scanning the record and compounding your associative-imagery or making the necessary changes. The keyboard metaphor is not perfect, but it gives a sense of how mnemonic approaches like the Magnetic Memory Method work. Other metaphors have been given, such as the wax tablet and bird cage metaphors given by Aristotle. In sum, not everyone can develop memory techniques because not everyone will take action. Seriously. Some people prefer crossword puzzles. But even with games and puzzles, a large percentage of those who do get started with memory exercise and other forms of mental training will, unfortunately, abandon the task at the first sign of mental effort. This premature departure is unfortunate because incredible successes are usually just around the corner. Again, memory techniques are best learned by doing. The real job of an instructor in the art of memory is, therefore, inspiring people to take action by learning the techniques and then continuing to take action as a kind of scientist. As a scientist, you create the basis for an experiment based on a clearly defined outcome and track your results. When the results don’t match the desired outcome, you analyze the mnemonic procedures you used and the Memory Palace itself and make the necessary changes, try again and once again track the results. Like many things in life, they who test win.
Is the Magnetic Memory Method worth learning?
Yes, but ultimately that is not up for me to decide. Learning is just one part of the process. You must implement the memory techniques, not just learn them. Knowing what they are and how they work without using them is like holding your fingers over the keyboard but never typing anything. The same holds true of any other memory training you might pursue. I personally believe that everyone should read as many books on memory techniques as possible, but only if they’re willing to try things out. To this day, I continue reading every book on mnemonics I can find. Almost every single one of them has a new angle on an old technique or something entirely new. I always give these new approaches a try and sometimes they become part of what I do in my personal memory practice.
How much time does it take to master the Magnetic Memory Method for tests (and eventually final exams)?
Mastery is not the issue. It’s results that matter and these often arrive fast and hard when people learn the techniques, follow the instructions and implement based around topics they’re passionate about and that will make an immediate difference in their lives. When I say “instructions,” I’m not talking dogma. The Magnetic Memory Method is called a method precisely because you need to come with a spirit of experimentation. It’s not a system and it breaks my heart every time I hear someone talk about their “memory system.” There are no universal systems and you cannot truly use the approach of someone else. Rather, people need a method that helps them create their own, highly personalized system , remembering that flexibility is a requirement as they experiment with making the Magnetic Memory Method their own. You need to understand that the map is not the territory and results only happen when you’re with the rest of us mnemonists down in the trenches and doing the spadework. All that said, people typically learn and prepare themselves for the Magnetic Memory Method
Are there any requirements to make the Magnetic Memory Method easier to learn?
The only requirements are a willingness to learn and experiment with the techniques. It helps a great deal if you also come with a topic you’re passionate about, but that’s not strictly necessary. Even the most boring information from the driest topic in the world can be made thoroughly exciting using a Memory Palace and the other tools mnemonics offer.
How can someone test, whether or not the student has learned the Magnetic Memory Method?
Testing is simple. The student either correctly produces the memorized information or not. That said, unless you’re competing, 100% accuracy is not always necessary. You can create a huge advantage for yourself simply by covering 50%, 35%, 25% or even less of the material on a test. The important point is that you direct the memory techniques where they are needed. Some people pick up lots of information without the need of any technique. Others, for various reasons, are desperate for something – anything – that will get more information into long-term memory. Whether one uses memory techniques or not, testing offers the only means of discovering how much and how deep into long term memory information has gone. The best part is that we know that as memories age, they move into different parts of the brain. (Gary small link). These memories may even be segmented into different pieces that are stored in different places. In this way, the remembered material becomes connected to other pieces of information, leading to what can be considered the formation of knowledge. So it is not uncommon that a person using mnemonics will seek a single piece of information and wind up uncorking a powerful flow of related information. This effect takes place often when the remembered information involves philosophy, history and material from subject-based textbooks. Here’s a quick training on how to memorize a textbook. Testing is a tremendously exciting part of the Magnetic Memory Method because it not only demonstrates that the techniques are working. Merely by testing recall, you strengthen your memory. You also discover more about the techniques and create deeper familiarity with them, ingraining them deeper in your being. In principle, without testing, which amounts to recall, you aren’t really using memory techniques. This is why I talked in this video on card memorization about how memorization really only takes place during recall, and we must take the time spent during memorization and recall together to form a proper assessment of the time investment.
Is your method age restricted? Is it easier for younger students?
I do not believe that memory techniques are any easier or harder for younger students than any other age. The one advantage young people have is a lack of inhibition and a fresh connection to play. However, adults, when they can get their egos out of the way, have the advantage of discipline and focus. They can, by and large, sit still at will and channel their energies towards the imagination. They can also practice meditation and analyze the kinds of imagination they have at their disposal with greater insight.
Could information that someone learns, interfere with other information? For instance, would Latin vocabulary interfere with biology terminology?
One kind of information can interfere with other kinds. This possibility is called either “ghosting” or “The Ugly Sister Effect.” These tend to arise when people use the same Memory Palace more than once without cleaning it first. If the information is too similar – such as when memorizing French and Spanish vocabulary – the interference can be severe. However, Spanish and Russian vocabulary are sufficiently different, something that reduces, if not eliminates jarring effects and confusion. In either case, with a bit of practice, neither need be interruptive. Once you understand the Ugly Sister Effect, you can bend it to your will and make it advantageous.
Do you think that this method is an essential skill in our digitalising world? People are nowadays more depending on their mobile phones than their memory.
Is it really true that people are relegating more and more information to their memory? Or is it possible that they are freeing it up so they have more space and time to learn and memorize more important things? Long before computer technology, people suffered from unexercised minds. We sometimes have a false vision of the past in which all kinds of people were running around with superior memory abilities. Many scholars, yes. But the average Joe? Hardly. More everyday people use memory techniques around the world than ever before. No, it is a lame and technologically deterministic view that blames technology for human laziness. It is the same technological determinism that blamed cars for more sex amongst teenagers and now blames cell phones for sexting. Believe me, young people had lots of sex with each other before cars appeared and many lewd notes were passed from student to student in the absence of cell phones. What is interesting about technology is that it is at the precise moment that it became so central to our lives that a mnemonics Renaissance took on full force. I believe there is no mistake that the World Memory Championships, mind-mapping and a global interest in memory techniques surged as computers grew in popularity. But I do not believe this occurred because human memory was being replaced and weakened. I believe the mnemonics Renaissance began because technology has freed the human mind to remember much more valuable things. For this reason, I often berate those who teach the memorization of shopping lists. What a waste of human imagination and mental energy! No, if you want to truly learn mnemonics and feel their awesome power from the first moment, memorize something that will immediately improve your life, or at least please you. Memorize something in line with your passions, something you cannot relegate to pen and paper or a computer. It’s for remembering these daily concerns that technology exists. Save your memory for the information that matters.
Do you think that the Magnetic Memory Method is a necessity for all students around the world?
No. Some students do perfectly well without mnemonics. I believe they would do even better with them, but what matters is the results they want and the results they get.
Should education institutes implement the Magnetic Memory Method in the classroom? How could teachers successfully teach this skill?
Yes. However, I do not think the MMM or any form of mnemonics should be crammed into the classroom with other subjects. Mnemonics is a subject on its own. It has history, and like math, has different forms. If math has addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, mnemonics has linking, association, rhyming, keywords, abbreviations and the mothership that bears them all, the location-based Memory Palace. If schools were to create a semester-long, or even a year-long course in mnemonics, our world would be a much different – and better place – almost overnight. We would be faced with an information revolution far more powerful and interesting than the computer revolution because more people than ever before would be using the software in the hardware of their heads at the highest level ever in the history of humanity.
How often do you use the Magnetic Memory Method, and what for?
I use memory techniques nearly every day of my life. When I meet people, I memorize their names. When I study a language, I memorize vocabulary and phrases. When I read books, I remember dates and facts. When I study music, I memorize scales and lyrics. When I sit in lectures, I memorize the messages in real time. When I warm up for memory projects, I memorize short runs of playing cards. Above all, I spend the first minutes of nearly every day practicing dream recall. Even if I can’t remember a single dream, I make a note of it to help stimulate recall the next night. And nearly every day, I spend a small amount of time writing in my gratitude journal. It is a powerful means of never forgetting just what a wonderful life I’ve got. No matter where we live or who we may be, our existences are tied deeply to memory. And where memory is absent, the mindless void of forgetfulness and repetitive fantasy and negative messages persists. Only by focusing on strengthening our memory can we remember to be present with higher and higher levels of clarity. In this way, using memory techniques are a powerful form of meditation and perhaps the ultimate path to enlightenment. Further Resources If you’re interested in developing your memory by using Memory Palaces so that you can create genuine knowledge and achieve your most precious goals, you’ll love the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass that you can try completely risk-free. I’d be honored to be the one who helps further your education in mnemonics and get you the results you seek. The post 11 Unexpected Answers To Your Questions About Mnemonics appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: 11_Unexpected_Answers_To_Your_Questions_About_Mnemonics.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:43pm EDT |
Mon, 12 October 2015
You forget where you put your keys. Your car disappears from the parking lot. You left the stove on again. Well, guess what? There’s a cure for absentmindedness. It’s called focus, and you’re about to learn three ridiculously boring ways to develop it. The following techniques work best in combination, but obviously life changes work best when you add them one by one, so pick your favorite and dive in. But if you have to begin anywhere, I recommend that you start with establishing a basic framework by understanding …
The Stunning Magic Of Being Boring
Boring? Oh yes, and here’s why: Just about every successful person in history has lived a life of constraint. Check out the following video and beneath that, I’ll break out some of the key points. As you’ve just learned, highly boring people live exciting lives. They reduce everything they do to the essentials, including:
The reason developing a life based on constraints helps develop focus and eliminates absentmindedness is because you give yourself far less about which to be absentminded. Not only that, but should you fall prey to absentmindedness, you’ll find your way back to focus. Why? Because the mountains you climb in your daily life won’t be hidden behind the fog of multitasking. Frankly, when you limit your activities and focus on the essentials, you’ll not only find and climb your mountains, you’ll move them entirely out of your life and move on to finer things. Even if you have a boss, it should be possible for you to isolate your most high margin tasks. Write a proposal, make a meeting and ask to redefine your activities. If your boss rejects your suggestion, either track your time on your own time to prove what you can do on your own, or …
Find Another Boss!
Speaking of which, if you want to bypass working for the man altogether, becoming an entrepreneur or self-employed is a great way to develop focus. Placing yourself in a situation that forces you to get results or starve will rip absentmindedness from your life and leave it wriggling on the floor like a helpless insect. As you can see, developing a boring life really can add tremendous excitement to your days on planet earth. So get started. Time is ticking.
The Extraordinary Power Of Sitting Still For No Reason Whatsoever
One of the most regular activities you can add to your life involves one of the most boring and yet tremendously exciting activities ever invented by humanity … Yes, we’re talking about meditation. Would you like to know why so many people struggle to incorporate this simple activity into their daily routines? The answer is simple:
It’s Because They’re Trying To Meditate
Sorry, dear Memorizers, but that’s the wrong road to enlightenment and a quick path to suffering. But before we talk about how to meditate the Magnetic way, here’s what meditation can do for you. All of these features of the world’s oldest brain training technique are scientifically proven and should persuade you to add meditation to your daily routine. Meditation …
Each of these benefits of meditation reduces absentmindedness because when you’re not in pain, and you eliminate mind wandering, focus glides in to replace these distractions. To maintained your renewed focus, all you need to do is keep meditating. Boring, right? Not necessarily. Not when you know …
How To Meditate In A Buddha-shaped Nutshell
Surprisingly, proper meditation is super easy to do. You need only chuck the idea that meditation is about experiencing socalled “nomind” and sit just to sit. That’s it. Sit down and let your mind wander. When first starting out, don’t bother with breathing exercises or mantras. Sit just to sit. After a few moments, you’ll become aware of the fact that you’re sitting on the floor, completely lost in thought. When this happens, you’ll become present. You’ll be in the room, totally focused on the present moment instead of fantasizing about the future, playing some alternative version of things you’ve done in the past, or talking to yourself. In reality, all that inner-dialogue is far more boring than meditating. Why?
Because You’ve Repeated All That Junk To Yourself Before!
When that moment of clarity comes, even if it takes a few sessions to get into it, you’ll feel pleasure, elation, and yes, enlightenment. That’s all enlightenment is: the elucidation that the present moment is all we have and you can be in it. Here’s a practical, step-by-step meditation guide you can use every day for the rest of your life. 1. Pick a time. Morning, noon, evening, it doesn’t matter. Regularity matters. If you can’t commit to an actual time of day, create an After X meditation practice. For example, meditate after eating a major meal. Meditating after eating can feel especially profound because, so long as you’ve eaten nonirritating foods, you’ll be physically content. And who knows? You might also digest your food better. 2. Pick a place to meditate. It could be your bedroom floor, basement rumpus room or backyard garden. Face East, West, North, South … Take your pick. Which direction doesn’t matter, so long as you have one. Remember, the way to eliminate absentmindedness and increase focus is to eliminate decision fatigue. If you give yourself too much to think about, you eliminate the chances that you’ll get down to business. 3. (Optional) Set a timer. Tim Ferris suggests that you do less than you think you can. In other words, if you think you can sit still for ten minutes, set the timer for eight minutes, maybe even five. If you do this, I would add that once the timer rings, you turn it off and then sit a little longer. You can move a little or even stand up,but do squeeze a few more moments into the session. It’s often in this second, untimed session where the magic happens. 4. Sit and do nothing else but sit. A lot of people teach that you should progressively focus on each muscle of your body from head to foot. This practice is often called a “body scan.” By all means, experiment with this. But understand that it is not waiting for your awareness of the present moment to arrive. It is not allowing yourself to be lost in thought so you can catch yourself everywhere but here. 5. When you finally arrive, enjoy and observe. The more you practice this simple form of meditation, the longer these moments of arrival will last. Clarity will also bubble up in different ways throughout your days. Although it’s unlikely and undesirable that absentminded fantasizing can be eliminated from your life, you can limit the amount of time your mind spends wandering out of control. There are also dietary reasons why you can’t focus. If that’s the case …
Cut The Booze With A Vengeance
Drinking’s awesome, right? You get a buzz, inhibitions loosen and that ugly stranger across the room starts looking a lot more attractive. By the same token, your vision blurs. Your speech slurs. You develop difficulty walking as your reactions slow. Worst of all, you impair your memory, including your working memory for two days or more. Worse, alcohol interrupts neurogenesis. Scientists once thought that the brain doesn’t generate new cells, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. However, we now know that new brain cells generate from stem cells and alcohol interferes with this process. The lack of new growth in super important parts of your brain (like the hippocampus) leads to foggy thinking, reduced concentration and poor decision-making. Of course, not all people react the same to alcohol, but even so, why take the risk?
Dump The Sugar
Did you know that sugar changes the structure of your brain? Not only that, but it messes with neurotransmitters like acetylcholine. That, dear Memorizers, is one supercritical substance when it comes to your ability to learn. Sugar also leads to brain atrophy, which itself leads to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Those conditions involve more than absentmindedness. They are a complete and permanent journey into the void. Eat brain healthy substances instead. These include:
Warning: Dark chocolate (but beware of this because prepared chocolate bars usually dissipate the helpful ingredients. You’d need to eat 70 or more to experience any benefits) And of course, drink water. Like there’s no tomorrow. Without regular hydration, your brain will shrink in mass and it can’t detoxify. And it’s 85% water, after all, so it’ll feel in good company when you keep it swimming.
This Is Just The Beginning
There is a lot more you can do to increase focus in your life. Reducing clutter, regular walks, playing games and being social all contribute to greater focus. Simple stuff, right? Put these simple practices into your life and you’ll reduce absentmindedness to the bare minimum. You’ll focus like a hawk on your goals and become the Magnetic King or Queen of your realm, just like you’ve always wanted to be. The post 3 Ridiculously Boring Ways To Add Focus And Excitement To Your Life appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: 3_Ridiculously_Boring_Ways_To_Add_Focus_And_Excitement_To_Your_Life.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:43am EDT |
Thu, 8 October 2015
I’m from realfastspanish.com and over there I help Spanish students get a conversational level of Spanish using specific tactics and strategies to improve their effectiveness as language students. And in this post I’m going to teach you how you can apply some of these strategies to significantly improve your effectiveness when it comes to your memorisation challenges using the principles of the Magnetic Memory Method. Whether you are just starting out with memory palaces or you are a seasoned professional, today you will learn three ways you can improve your effectiveness with memory palaces in order to achieve your goals with less effort and in less time. If you are already using Memory Palaces and mnemonics you are well ahead of the curve. You already know that using memory techniques improves the efficiency of learning. But, it is still possible to get even more out of your approach to memorisation. It doesn’t matter whether you are using the Magnetic Memory Method for language learning, acing exams in school, vying for a memory championship title or trying to impress friends at a party. There are three steps you need to consider if you want to have even more success with your memory challenges. Memory Palaces Are a Means, But …What is the Goal?
“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question; I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” — Albert Einstein. “Begin with the end in mind” — Stephen Covey. Before you can start to maximise the potential of your memory palace training you need a clear vision of what you are a trying to achieve. A memory palace is a tool that you can use to achieve any number of outcomes with incredible efficiency. But the real power comes when your outcome is sharply defined. The problem is that, often, we don’t clearly define where we want to end up, which makes the path to get there a lot harder than it needs to be. Recently, I met a guy who works for an oil company and was telling me about his vision to become rich. He said he had his whole plan mapped out. His plan was to buy property after property and then subdivide and develop. He told me he wanted to have a few million in property, a few million in stocks and a few million in cash for those “just in case” moments. After mapping the whole plan out, I looked at him and said “Why? What is all this money for? If money is a means to an end, what is your end goal?” He said “I want to work with children”.
I Couldn’t Believe It
I said “why don’t you become a teacher?” He said “I want to work with disadvantaged children”. He then told me that he didn’t need the money to pay for programs for the children, he needed it so he could live without needing to work to free up his time. I told him he didn’t need millions of dollars to do that. I told him about a good friend of mine—a high school teacher who quit her job to work with disadvantaged children. She left her job here in Australia and moved to the Solomon Islands where she is working and living on a small allowance to cover her board and her food. She is working with the local teachers to develop a new curriculum in the school. As well as helping and teaching the children that live in the local area. She didn’t need millions of dollars, she was clear about what she wanted to do and she went and did it. After telling him the story, he just stared at me blankly. He offered a few excuses but it was obvious there was a disconnect between the goal and the means for getting there. Without a clear vision in mind, it is possible he will spend years trying to achieve a poorly defined goal. What if it takes him 30 years to meet his goal? Will it be worth it if he gets there in his 60s? Or worse, if he doesn’t get there at all?
Don’t Get Caught With A Poorly Defined Goal
He is not the only one, though, who got caught with a poorly defined goal. I too have found myself without a clear vision at times. Seven years ago I decided I wanted to be fluent in Spanish. I did some online research and found some resources for beginners. I printed everything off and got to work. I practiced for quite some time learning whatever I could about the Spanish language. Within two years, I organised my first trip to Spain. Before I got there I was so excited for the fun and adventure I was going to have with my new language skills. I was going to make local friends, I was going to go to interesting places only the locals knew about and I was going to experience Spain the way a typical tourist couldn’t.
Does Language Learning Overwhelm, Confuse And Frustrate You?
When I got there, the reality was a completely different thing. I was overwhelmed, confused and frustrated. My Spanish was hopeless. It was miles from what I thought it was. I couldn’t understand what the locals were saying. I couldn’t remember what I had learnt. And when I did remember how to say something, I translated literally from English and got a lot of strange looks. When I returned to Australia I was deflated. I thought my abilities in language learning were worthless and I should move on to other pursuits. Shortly after my return, I met up with a few friends in bar. They brought along a friend from France. Her English was good but not amazing—it was good enough to communicate, better than my Spanish at least. I told her about my experience in Spain and for the next few hours we shared language learning war stories. She told me about her struggles with English. I asked her “despite what you are saying, I understand you perfectly, you can communicate. How did you get to this level?” She then told me something about language learning that changed everything for me. She said “you can just keep learning forever, and that’s it!” I asked her what she meant. She told me that, if I wanted to, I could spend every day for the rest of my life learning something about the Spanish language. But, if I wasn’t clear about what I actually wanted to do with the language I would be lost learning for learning’s sake. What do I mean? In the English language there are over 250,000 words yet only 20,000 are used in regular day-to-day communication.
Sure, You Can Memorize A Gazillion Spanish Words … But Why?
For Spanish, these numbers are even better—there are a total of 100,000 words in the language yet the top 1000 most frequent words make up 87% of spoken communication. It is really quite amazing, you only 1% of the total number of Spanish words in existence for almost 90% of the conversation language. What I discovered after talking to the French girl in the bar was that I could spend the rest of my life learning about 99,000 words in Spanish, but if I couldn’t use the most common 1000 words properly I would never have a chance to meet the locals and experience parts of the culture I had always wanted to experience. So the question is — how well have you defined your goals? How well do you know and understand the outcome you truly want from the use of your memory palaces? And is there actually a disconnect between the information you are placing into your memory palace and what you actually need to know? Anthony has mentioned that one of his most popular podcasts was How To Memorize A Textbook. It is possible to memorise a whole textbook using memory palaces. But as Anthony mentioned, and I reiterate here, before you start filling your memory palaces, you should start by eliminating components of the textbook that you aren’t actually going to need. If you are preparing for an upcoming exam, are there components of the course that you won’t be tested for? For example, imagine you have an upcoming chemistry test. The teacher tells you that the test will be on the periodic table. The question is—do you have to memorise all 118 elements? Maybe some quick research uncovers from the previous exam tests or maybe the teacher tells you that they will only test your memory for the first 50 elements. Now you only need 50 memory stations instead 118. Through defining a clearer goal you have made the path easier. If you are studying a language, are there low frequency words that you are unlikely to ever use? Or are there words that you can eliminate because you can easily say them in another way?
The 3 Person Test
If we use language learning as an example, one word that I don’t particularly like is the word fluency. I encourage all of my students at Real Fast Spanish to stop using this particular word when trying to set goals in language learning. For example, I mentioned that there are 100,000 words in the Spanish language. If you wanted to be “fluent” in Spanish, how many of those 100,000 words should you put in a memory palace? It is unclear, right? But …
What Does Fluency Mean?
Instead see if you can define a better goal for yourself. How? By using the 3 person test. Start by coming up with an appropriate goal to help you move you from where you are now to where you want to be. Then ask 3 people if they clearly understand your goal. If they do, it is a good goal, if they don’t, you need to go back to the drawing board. What you ultimately want from the 3 person test is a consensus from your panel of 3 when you have achieved your goal. Let’s look at a few examples. Imagine your goal is to count to 10 in Chinese. If you could do it, then the panel would all agree. Yes you have achieved your goal. Now imagine your goal is to be fluent in German. When you ask three people if they think you are fluent then it is very possible you could get three different answers, when you think you are. One person might say ”yes”, one might say “maybe” and one might answer the question with another question. In this case your goal would fail the 3 person test. Knowing and having a sharply defined outcome is the first step to maximising your effectiveness with your memory challenges. A clear end game allows you to carefully select the right information to place into your memory palace which will save you time and effort later. Let’s look at the second step.
How to Overcome Resistance
“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work” — Steven Pressfield. Once you are clear about what you actually need to put into your network of memory palaces and you have eliminated all unnecessary memorisation, you simply need to create the associated images and locate them where you know you can to find them later. But, this is easier said than done right? In order to fill your memory palace, you need to actually do the work. You need to overcome resistance. Resistance, unfortunately, is a part of nature. It’s everywhere. In the physical world, resistance is called inertia. Have you ever tried to move a large boulder? Or have you ever tried to push a car when the engine isn’t running? If you want to move large objects in the physical world you need to apply a lot of energy. You need to find a few friends or get the help of a large machine to apply enough force to start moving the object. In the biological world, resistance is called homeostasis. In the human body there are hundreds of processes all working to maintain the status quo. There are buffers in the blood to maintain pH. Insulin is used to maintain sugar levels. Our bodies also use metabolic and perspiration processes to maintain a constant internal body temperature. If you want to change your internal body temperature—which is not recommended—you need to go into a freezing cold place or an extremely hot place and stay there for enough time to break down the body’s internal regulation systems. In other words, a lot of thermal energy is required to overcome biological resistance. In the psychological world resistance is called procrastination. Let me ask you this question—have you ever procrastinated?
Why Do We Procrastinate?
It’s because procrastination is similar to inertia and homeostasis. And here’s the thing—it’s not your fault! If you have ever procrastinated it’s because resistance is everywhere in nature. Nature loves to resist change. So if you want to overcome procrastination, like the large boulder or the internal body temperature, you need to apply enough energy to overcome the resistance. If you want to successfully populate your memory palace with all of the carefully selected data you have chosen in step 1, you need to overcome your psychological resistance to change. How? If you want to overcome resistance you need to apply enough energy. For psychological resistance …
You Need To Apply Emotional Energy
What does that mean? Have you ever had a big exam, assignment or report due for work that you left to the very last minute? Maybe you left it until the night before or the morning of. Let me ask you this question—in the end, were you able to pull an all nighter or some other feat of poor health in order to get the assignment done? If so, what changed? In the lead up to the assignment, you were resisting it—naturally. Then when the deadline came close, you started to worry about failing or getting in trouble at work. At a certain point the resistance to doing the work was overcome by the emotional energy that came out of the fear of failure or getting into trouble. Knowing this, if you want to successfully fill your memory palace, you need to develop enough emotional energy to overcome the naturally occurring psychological resistance.
The Test of the Five Whys
One idea that you can use to build emotional energy is the test of the “the five whys”. This idea originally came from industrial manufacturing as a strategy to pinpoint the cause of potential breakdowns in the production chain. They needed the test because human beings aren’t particularly good at getting to the heart of an issue. If you want to truly understand why you should do something you need to ask “why?” five times. The true answer is rarely obvious from the first why. If you want to unearth a limitless source of emotional energy for overcoming resistance, you need to get to the heart of your motivation. Let’s see an example. I will give an example for learning Spanish because it’s what I’m used to. But you can apply the test to whatever memory outcome you are striving for. Imagine you have a well defined small task to place 10 new Spanish words into a memory palace. The five “whys” test would go as follows: Why do I have to learn these Spanish words? Because they are important for Spanish. As you can see, by using the five ”whys” test I have connected the trivial task of placing 10 words in a memory palace with a higher life purpose. By asking the question “why” five times you can access a deep well of emotional energy and use that energy to overcome procrastination and resistance. Once you have a sharply defined goal and you have overcome resistance at a task level, the final step is to create a routine that will allow maximum effectiveness with the Magnetic Memory Method.
Creating a Routine Allows You to Create
“Discipline allows magic. To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her.” ― Lili St. Crow. “You try to sit down at approximately the same time every day. This is how you train your unconscious to kick in for you creatively.” ― Anne Lamott. One important aspect of memory palaces is the creation of associated imagery. If you want to fill a memory palace you need to create and be creative. You need to take an abstract word, sentence or formula and create an associated image that you can use to recall the idea later. Said in another way, if you want to be more effective with memory palaces you need to improve your creative muscle.
How To Be More Creative
How then can you be more creative? If I said the key to creativity is routine there would be artists all over that would cringe at the suggestion. Creativity is about spontaneity. It’s about moments of inspiration that can’t be bottled. And these types of moments come when we least expect them, right? At least that what I used to think. What do Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Albert Einstein and Mark Zuckerberg all have in common? They all wore the same clothes every day. Steve Jobs is famous for his black turtle neck and blue jeans. Barack Obama has said that he simply either wears a grey suit or a blue suit. Zuckerberg rocks a black hoodie. And Einstein was known for wearing a similar grey suit every single day. Why do they limit their wardrobes? They all choose to wear the same clothes everyday because of a concept called decision fatigue. The idea behind decision fatigue is simple—every time you make a decision a future decision will be slightly compromised. In other words, every time you make a decision you are more likely to make a worse decision later. For President Obama, decision making is a crucial part of his job. He can’t afford to make bad decisions. Therefore he limits simple decisions like what to wear or what to eat to someone else. What this does is leave him more decision making power for the important decisions—the types of decisions that could affect the future of the country. Have you ever had the feeling at the end of a long day at work or college and when it came time to do something as simple as choosing what to have for dinner, the decision of what to cook was overwhelming? This is due to decision fatigue. So what does decision fatigue have to do with creativity?
There Is A Trade-Off Between Every Decision You Make And Your Highest Order Thinking
Creative types like Steve Jobs and Anne Lamott know that they need to reserve their best thinking for creation. In order to do this they cut down decision making in their lives to an absolute minimum. They did this through routine. Either by wearing the same clothes or sitting down at a desk to write at the same time every day. The evidence of other artists that used routine for creation is overwhelming. In Mason Currey’s book “Daily Rituals: How Artists Work”, Currey lays out the daily routines and habits of 161 of the world’s greatest artists such as Woody Allen, Agatha Christie, Leo Tolstoy, Pablo Picasso, Benjamin Franklin and Jane Austen. Why does routine work so well for creation? Charles Duhigg, the author of the power of habit, says that the brain starts working less and less as we start to form regular habits. The brain can almost completely shut down and this is a huge advantage because it means you now have free mental space that you can dedicate to something else. This is how the world’s greatest artists work and you can test it for yourself.
How To Easily Assign “Pre-Commitments”
If you want to harness the power of routine and minimise decision fatigue, start by creating pre-commitments. A pre-commitment is a decision that you make a head of time. And ideally a decision you make only once. There are so many decisions you may be making on a daily basis—decisions that may seem inconsequential but add up quickly to fatigue of your highest order thinking. What you want to avoid is having to make hundred of decisions in any typical day: – What should I eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner? Then after all those decisions: – When should I sit down to work on my memory palace?
But There Are So Many Decisions … It’s Overwhelming!
Start by taking stock of all of these daily decisions and start making pre-commitments. Try to make decisions ahead of time. For example, you could decide on a Sunday evening everything you are going to wear for the week and eat for every meal. Here is a powerful strategy: can you work on your memory palace at the same time for the same amount of time every single day? Can you remove the decision of when or whether to work on your memory palace completely? If you don’t have to make a decision of whether to work on your memory palace, you can save your best thinking for the first, second or third location based image you have to place in your memory palace. Can you avoid decision fatigue? Can you use pre-commitments and routine to minimise as many decisions in your life as possible? If you can, you will leave your mind maximum freedom to create and be creative. A freedom that will allow you to create amazing things, crazy and vivid imagery that will infinitely improve the power of your associated images and the effectiveness of the Magnetic Memory Method.
What Wikipedia Won’t Tell You About The Real Path To Overcoming Procrastination And Learning At The Deepest Possible Level
Memory devices and mnemonics improve learning efficiency. The Magnetic Memory Method is a wonderful framework for putting the use of memory devices in a usable process. Put simply—it works! If you want to take the Magnetic Memory Method to the next level and be a more effective memoriser you should start with a clear vision of the outcome you want to achieve from the use of your memory palaces. A clear vision allows you to save time by first removing information you don’t actually need to memorise. This in turn means you can focus more intensely on the information that truly matters. Once you are clear about your destination, you then need to overcome psychological resistance to change. You can do this by connecting deeply with your underlying motivation in order to build the emotional energy you need to overcome procrastination. And finally you can maximise the effectiveness of the Magnetic Memory Method by minimising decision fatigue and incorporating routines into your daily life. If you can reduce the daily mental load of simple inconsequential decisions, you can release your creative potential for a vivid world of associated imagery. The post Why Goal-Setting For Memory Improvement Should Be Your Number One Priority appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Why_Goal-Setting_For_Memory_Improvement_Should_Be_Your_Number_One_Priority.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 8:16am EDT |
Tue, 29 September 2015
You know what it’s like struggling to come up with mnemonics. It can feel a bit like pulling nails out of dead wood with a pair of rusted tweezers. And what really makes the pain so bad is that you know that your brain is teeming with ideas. Great ideas … If only you could catch them. Here’s the good news. In this unconventional brain training post I’m going to teach you how …
You Can Catch More Great Ideas Than The Most Successful Fishing Fleet In The World (Catches Fish)!
Just pick and choose from these super simple brain training activities and start with the most appealing. We’re going to go deep into each one so that you’ll have the fullest possible understanding. Add one or more per month over a year’s time and you’ll enjoy an overflow of ideas so powerful it will take ten lifetimes and thousands of employees to handle them.
Just Kidding – Most Will Be …
Crap. Seriously. As awesome as having boatloads of ideas can be, the real power comes from the refinement brain training brings. We’ll talk about that too a bit further on so your ideas will always come out shining. But here’s the important thing for now: You can’t refine what you don’t have. And you can’t get more ideas to refine if you aren’t already producing a lot of ideas in the first place. That’s why you need an unending flow of ideas that you can turn on at will and focus into form with laser intensity whenever you choose. Here are 3 unconventional ways how brain training can make that happen.
1. Milk Your Mind For Ideas Each And Every Morning
Most people flush their most vibrant ideas down the toilet as soon as their feet hit the floor. It’s true. By the time you hit the head, you’ve forgotten most, if not all, of a valuable stream (pun intended) of ideas you’ll never get back. I’m talking about your dreams. Of course, most of what we dream makes little sense, at least not without practicing the art of dream recall. Even then, dreams remain fundamentally surreal and devoid of fixed meaning. But just because they may be meaningless, doesn’t mean your dreams can’t help you create meaning. Au Contraire!
Since the early beginnings of literature, for example, Daniel in the Bible, making dreams meaningful has been a practice powerful enough to direct the choices of kings. And with The Interpretation Of Dreams, Freud created an entire industry by empowering people to interpret their dreams and generate ideas about what to do and how to live in the world. You don’t have to use the dreams you remember to influence world leaders or deal with childhood trauma. You can simply jot down what you remember and then free-associate to the images and vignettes. Here’s a quick way to get started with this form of brain training: 1. Get a dream journal and pen/pencil. Make it exclusive to your dream capture practice. 2. Place the journal where it’s impossible to miss near your bed. You can even date it before you go to sleep and leave it open at the page you’ll write on. 3. Make the commitment to remembering your dreams. Just say your personal version of, “I remember my dreams. I write them down.” That mantra in itself will serve as powerful brain training. 4. Free-associate to one or more of your dreams. It helps if you get relaxed first. Let ideas come to mind and jot them down. Don’t think about it or try to guide them. Let them breathe. If you recall no dreams …
No. Big. Deal.
Write down, “no dreams” and perhaps a few notes about how you slept. Before you know it, you will start remembering your dreams with depth and intensity. And when you practice associating with these dreams, you’ll always be able to come up with new ideas. The best part is that you’re journaling your dreams. This brain training practice means that you don’t have to associate only with recent dreams for new ideas. You can go back through those pages for as long as you’ve been journaling. You’ll have a treasure trove of images, narrative snippets, and longer sequences as often as you please and always find some new angle on the material. To give you an example, years ago I dreamed about the pyramids. I saw them filled with a scented lava that poured down the sides, creating a river. When I finally got to visit Egypt, for some reason, I remembered the dream and started to explore it for ideas. I was there to research ancient Egyptian culture for its relationship to memory and reincarnation, past lives, etc. That was all fine and dandy and I learned some great stuff in some of the museums I’ll be telling you about soon. But the fact that I remembered this dream and the lava was scented led me to think about aromas, and I wound up wondering if there is a relationship between scent and memory. It turns out there is. I have found a wealth of research material on the matter, much of which centers on the use of oils in mummification – one of the most memory-centered activities in all of history. Would I have thought to connect scent and memory without this dream that helped product it? Maybe yes. Maybe no. But the point is that without the practice of dream journaling as a form of brain training, I probably never would have thought about scent and memory in the context of mummification and essential oils in Ancient Egypt. Deliberately remembering your dreams is a way of engineering happy accidents and generating new ideas that come power packed with resonating value. It’s easy, fun, quick and easy to do. It creates long term value and can change your life in many other ways too.
2. Brain Training Pulls Ideas Out Of Thin Air |
Tue, 29 September 2015
What if I wanted to memorize a chapter in a textbook so I could ace a test on that subject? That would be cool, wouldn’t it? Good news: It’s 100% possible. No JokeWhen I was studying for my doctoral examinations and later for my dissertation defense (rigorous 2 hr. + grilling sessions in front of a committee of 4-7 accomplished professors), I read a total of over 500 books and articles. I’m not kidding. I almost broke my back at the library on several occasions!
Here’s exactly how I used to operate – and still do when I’m conducting research or just want to memorize the contents of a book using memory techniques. It’s an ongoing memory improvement project to continue learning from textbooks and it all begins with this important step every time:
Leave Your Fear At The Door: |
Thu, 24 September 2015
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Wed, 16 September 2015
… started to love it? Or have you seen a movie that thrilled you, only to find that your opinion suddenly sours? If so, then it could be that …
Someone Is Seriously Messing With Your Memory!
And there’s bad news. The people involved in changing how you feel about products and media you’ve consumed hold more than one weapon of memory destruction. Let’s look at just one of the ways advertisers manipulate your memory. But please understand that I am in no way talking about subliminal advertising. The tools we’ll explore rely solely on images and procedures that rehearse, train and retrain how you think by accessing your memory in particular ways. One tool, for example, involves …
Blatant And Phoney Misinformation About The Competitors
Do you remember the Pepsi Taste Challenge? How thinly they disguised the fact that they were testing Coca Cola with the poor citizens they ambushed on the streets with Coca-Cola? How Pepsi used to call Coke, “the leading cola?” By representing their main competitor in these challenges by association, Pepsi was capitalizing on the fact that human memory is constructed. Our memories don’t come from one location in the brain, but several. This means that as our memories come to the fore, they can be changed by the catalyst responsible for summoning them. And because the advertisements make use of nostalgic images, rousing music and cleverly placed sound effects that also invoke nostalgia (the sound of a soda can being cracked open or bubbling pop snapping against ice), they create feelings. These feelings cause your brain to associate positive experiences with the product and negative feelings with the competition. Because as this documentary reveals, it’s not about selling a product. It’s about selling an idea: At least, that’s the theory. Scientists and marketers call this effect “memory blending.” At its highest level, the injection of blended memories into your mind makes you think that you’re the one who formed your preferences. And if advertising can change how you feel about something you’ve purchased in the past, you can be led to buy more and …
… Think It Was Your Idea!
Soda companies aren’t the only ones to use product comparison and misinformation to create blended memories. Many companies do, including airlines, stereo and speaker manufacturers and fashion designers. The craziest part of all is that in so many cases, the difference between the products is marginal to none. If information is to be perceived by consumers …
It Must Be Done By Advertising
And because what matters most in these advertisement campaigns rely on how we feel about past experiences, advertisers constantly make references to childhood experiences. Playing with toys, camping in the woods, munching on cereal. You might see a mother with a child, a doctor with a patient or athletes with their trainers. Or the ads may feature running on the beach, playing tennis or eating in a restaurant. These iconic, universal cues apply to almost everyone living in the West. Even when traveling in countries like Egypt, I have seen ads nearly indistinguishable from those we see in North America and England.
Two Routes To Radical Memory Change
Let’s look deeper at how all of this memory change works. As we’ve already discussed with the Pepsi Taste Challenge example, the ads work at altering your subjective experiences if the past. Secondly, the ads change how you think about an objective experience from your past. Many ads, especially the Pepsi challenge, blend the two together. To take another example, let’s look at an interesting experiment conducted by Kathryn Brown and reported upon in 1997. In the experiment —- demonstrated that consumers will take second-hand information and use it to reconstruct memories of past experiences. They will do this completely outside of conscious experience. Here are the basics of the experiment: 2o female and 30 undergrads at a university in Iowa were shown the trailer for a Johnny Depp movie called Nick of Time. https://youtu.be/3ylx6aTM2hU The researcher chose this movie because: 1. The plot and marketing were shaped to appeal to Generation X. 2. The movie had not been released in Iowa, reducing the likelihood that students were aware of it. After viewing the film, the researcher asked the students to give their opinion of the film. They were asked to rate the trailer on traits such as acting, directing, pacing, etc. Brown also asked the participants if they would like to see the film in the future. The researcher then thanked the participants for their time after a twenty minute period given for watching and rating the film. For all intents and purposes, the participants thought the experiment was over. Next, however, the students were given reviews of the film to read. Although the reviews were professionally written, students were not given the names of the reviewers or the names of the newspapers or magazines from which the reviews were taken. Students, for example, might have a positive association with Rolling Stone magazine that could influence the experiment. The reviews given to the students were either thumbs-up with 5 stars or thumbs-down with 0 stars. After reading the reviews, the students were given a surprise memory test. The test asked them to reevaluate the movie trailer and then talk about how much they felt the reviews affected them. Although it was an option to say that they couldn’t remember their previous evaluation, less than a measurable percentage took this option. As a result, students who received the positive reviews shifted to more positive evaluations the second time around. Likewise, students who received the negative reviews downgraded their opinion of the film. Overall, when questioned, most participants believed: 1. That they had been consistent with their original evaluation. 2. Their original evaluation had not been affected by the second-hand information. The results of the experiment suggest one thing:
Your Memory Of Opinions You Once Held Can Be Eradicated!
Not only that, but in addition to changing your thoughts about past opinion, your future choices can be altered too. Those who said they would like to see the film based on the trailer but were given negative reviews tended to change their mind. And we’ve probably all had this experience. I remember being very excited to see Jupiter Rising after watching the trailer at the Sony Center Cinema in Berlin. But the reviews completely decimated that desire and to this day, I’ll never really know whether I might have liked the movie or not until I maybe one day watch it. All this said, there’s one big fat white elephant in the room …
Is This Experiment Valid?
It seems so, but we need to question: * The likelihood that they would not have seen the trailer on a national TV station. They do not appear to have been quizzed about their television viewing habits. * They were university students, so we can assume that at least some of them came from another state. We do not know when they might last have traveled to another state. * When people can’t properly remember their previous opinions, how can we trust them to remember whether or not they’ve seen a movie trailer before, let alone the entire movie? Nonetheless, as worthy as these considerations are, I don’t think these problems affect the experiment too deeply. But everything we learned about today does raise one very important question …
Is Selling Evil?
One of the world’s most successful marketing “gurus,” Dan Kennedy, often says that people selling products need to come to grips with one essential fact: Marketing is always manipulation. However, the extent to which manipulation to buy through the use of product comparisons, nostalgia and reviews is unethical or even insidious has much more to do with the product than the marketing. Joe Polish sums it up best when he said in a video that … And so if the product is crap – and let’s face it, soda pop does rot your body – then the marketing of the product may well seem to be evil. But if the product is awesome and makes your life better, than you may have had that experience of saying, “I’m glad I saw that ad.” And in fact, here at the Magnetic Memory Method Headquarters in Berlin, hardly a day goes past when I don’t get an email that starts something like, “thank god I found you.” So even if the quality of products may differ, the tools of effective marketing – the written ads, radio jingles and video presentations that get you itching to buy …
These Tools Of Unabashed Manipulation Are Exactly The Same!
And so at the end of the day, you’re truly on your own. You can do nothing more than decide for yourself. And that’s why guarantees are so essential in today’s world. Whether it’s Amazon’s 7-day return policy or the Magnetic Memory Method 1-year guarantee, not trying items is that interest you is relatively risk-free in today’s world. Just don’t be a jerk and ask for a refund when you’ve used a product and gotten value from it. In the words of the Fonz and one of my favorite marketing mentors (Frank Kern) … Always. Cool. And if you’d like to grab my four free video series and Memory Improvement Kit, then you’re more than willing to do that. I promise, I’ll improve your memory, not bend it. And once you’ve done that, I guarantee that between now and the next time we meet, it will be easy-peasy for you to keep your memory 100% Magnetic. The post The Darkside And The Brightside Of How Marketers Manipulate Your Memory Every Single Day appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: The_Darkside_And_The_Brightside_Of_How_Marketers_Manipulate_Your_Memory_Every_Single_Day.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:26am EDT |
Thu, 10 September 2015
Whereas we often use the word “memory” as if it’s a singular, globular entity, memory is more than one thing. It’s a collection a multiple entities that deal with different kinds of information, even …
Information About Things That Haven’t Happened Yet!
First we have, prospective memory. Prospective memory is that wonderful device that helps you remember tasks you need to complete and events you’re booked to attend in the future. The only problem is … … prospective memory isn’t necessarily all that good. For example, how many times have you forgotten an appointment, to take a pill, to wash the shampoo from your hair? These slips happen, but even more interesting is how prospective memory tends to fail us most in areas that it should be the most reliable. I’m talking now about routinized tasks. For example, most of us do our own shopping. And yet, why is it that we so often forget items we need and know we need? Even pilots have this problem. Without checklists, even the most routine – and absolutely necessary operations for flight safety – would be forgotten as easily as you can forget eggs or milk.
Spend One Dollar And Benefit From This Memory Exercise Forever
For prospective memory to work, you also need retrospective memory. Retrospective memory helps you recall information that you learned in the past. Your home address, directions to a restaurant or where you put your medication all rely on your ability to recall where things are located in space. Without this kind memory, even if you do remember to take your pills, you won’t have a clue where they are. Prospective memory and retrospective memory work together, and it’s quite easy to keep them fit. Here’s a fun exercise: Go to a dollar store and buy an object. It could be a ball, a pack of clown stickers or hair elastics. Next, visit a friend and ask them to let you hide the object in the back of a closet or somewhere deep beneath a bathroom sink. The more of the home you must navigate to reach the object, the better. In other words, don’t put your object in the hallway closet directly inside the entrance. Put it down in that creepy basement bathroom where a hole in the wall exposes all those rusty pipes. Then make an appointment to come the next day, the next week or even the next month to reclaim the object. When you get home, replay the entire journey in your mind. See the entire path from your home to the store to the creepy basement in your friend’s home. At the same time, see the object you placed in the home and nourish that image. Make it big, bright and colorful. Infuse it with a crazy energy, almost to the point of bursting. Then, use the Major Method in combination with Dr. Jim Samuels‘ method for memorizing appointments and associate the object with the date and time of the appointment you made for pickup. To complete the exercise, keep your appointment and claim your object. Then go hide it somewhere else and repeat the exercise as often as you like. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Not really. It’s the way you use to exercise your memory as a kid, after all. Only back then, you called it a treasure hunt.
And Now For Another Episode Of The You Show On The Brain Channel
Having gone to the store and the secret hiding place, you now have a nice little story in your head. Your ability to recall that story is called episodic memory. Always connected to time, episodic memory makes it possible for you to recall elements of your last vacation, going to the movies and just about any expanse of experience that features a beginning, middle and end. Then there’s semantic memory. This kind of memory trades in general facts that aren’t bound with time (as such). Vancouver, for example, is a city in British Columbia, one of several provinces in Canada. Of course, if you’re a historian and can rattle off the dates of when Vancouver was founded and when British Columbia became a province, then you might be blending in a touch of imaginary episodic memory, For example, when I think of places like Vancouver becoming a city, a little flash of story enters my mind. I see stiff European dudes with quills and parchment tricking the Natives into giving up all that precious territory for a few bottles of whiskey and a stack of shiny dimes. To take a more practical example, if you know that Vancouver is in British Columbia, Canada and Seattle is in the American state of Washington, and you’re also aware of the fact that a ferry runs between them … … you can take the ferry and then use episodic memory to recall all the beauty you saw along the way. But here’s the weird thing …
Episodic Memories And Semantic Memories Are Stored In Two Completely Different Parts Of Your Brain!
Do you remember that interview on the Magnetic Memory Method podcast with Dr. Gary Small? In that interview, he told us that our memories go into different neighborhoods of the brain. In those neighborhoods are tiny little houses in which parts of memories live. In order to simultaneously remember facts about places and episodes of time that you may have experienced, your memories have to leave their respective neighborhoods and come together in yet another part of your brain. It’s like having a family reunion where everyone comes in from different cities to eat at Recall Restaurant on the tip of your tongue. (link to tip of tongue podcast) And last but not least, there’s a very strange kind of memory, a kind of memory that often …
Doesn’t Require Your Conscious Awareness!
We fall this mysterious form of recall “procedural memory.” Some experts disagree whether it is a kind of memory all on its own, or a subset of semantic memory. I don’t know about you, but the ability to ride a bike without thinking about it seems quite different than the semantic knowledge of how and why bicycles work as they do. The same thing goes for guitar. Knowledge of where to find notes on the fretboard and how to form chords requires a different kind of memory than the procedural memory that takes over when some maestro is ripping it up on the stage. Of course, even though procedural memory can be accessed without conscious awareness, episodic memory can intervene. For example, your mind can wander during rehearsal or performance, breaking the flow of the song and causing you to mess up. Likewise, bike riding on autopilot while daydreaming can cause you to sail through a stop light or crash into another cyclist. And then these too become episodic memories. Like, for example, the time I was hit by a car crossing an intersection on my bike and how vomited into my mouth the last time I performed on stage because my joint pain had gotten so bad.
Fun Stuff All This Memory Business, Isn’t It!
It sure is. And now that you know about these different kinds of memory, you are truly empowered. You can exercise each of these special memory types and improve them. And if you use the Magnetic Memory Method, you can probably already see exactly how my unique approach to encoding, storing and recalling information lets you harness the power of each kind of memory you’ve just learned about. But if you don’t know about the Magnetic Memory Method, why then now is your chance to avail yourself of my special Memory Improvement Kit and 4 FREE video series. Grab hold of the magic of these truly special memory techniques right here. And until next time … Keep Magnetic! The post These 5 Kinds Of Memory Make The World Awesome appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: These_5_Kinds_Of_Memory_Make_The_World_Awesome.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 2:15am EDT |
Wed, 2 September 2015
… almost on auto-pilot? Here’s the good news: Even if you don’t use elaborate memory techniques and mnemonics, the following 5 ways will help you improve your memory almost without effort.
1. When Darkness Falls …
Go to sleep with the sun. Seriously. What have you got to do after dark anyway? Netflix? How boring. Drinking in bars? How destructive to your memory. Playing Scrabble? Well … okay. That’s at least halfway good for your brain. But the reality is that we’re killing our memory by stating up late and waking up early. And when you kill your memory, you murder something else too:
You Murder Your Intelligence!
And as with all acts of murder, you will get caught and you will be sentenced to life in the prison of stupidity and forgetfulness. Mark my word. Next to getting more sleep, it’s essential to …
2. Keep Your Brain Moist As The Soil Of A Mighty Rain Forest
That’s a fancy way of saying, drink lots of water. All too often we forget to imbibe the world’s mightiest drink. Oddly enough, some people don’t even like it. This strange, but true fact is responsible for forgetfulness around the world. But it doesn’t have to be you. And if for any reason you struggle to remember to drink deep from the tap in your kitchen, the solution is simple enough. You can create a visual mnemonic by placing a big fat bottle of water on your desk. Or you can print out a picture of a bottle of water and stick it on the wall or window directly behind your computer. In addition to this …
Use Every Bit Of Technology You’ve Got To Remind You
Smart phones … Dumb phones … Computer calendars … All of these of these come equipped with programmable alerts. Most of them can be set to repeat every hour on autopilot. It’s easy enough to ignore these alerts, however, so it helps to get theatrical. Instead of “drink water,” program in something like:
Drink Water Or Else All The Cats On YouTube Will Suffer One Thousand And Seven Deaths!
If that doesn’t get your attention, I’m not sure what else will. Well … maybe this:
3. Funnel Words Into Your Mind Like The Wind Shapes The Desert
One of the beautiful things about living in Berlin is that they still have bookstores all over the place. Not only that, but you still see people reading books too. Here’s a quick guide on how to read a book: Buy a book. No, it doesn’t have to be a book by me. Whatever you read, by all means read on Kindle or some other digital reader, but I recommend also holding a physical book in your hands once in a while. As this article suggests reading books instead of Kindles can improve your memory, concentration and good looks. Reading in general helps improve your memory because you hold the details of a story in your memory over an extended period of time. You also retain and maintain details about characters, objects and locations. But you can also deliberately memorize elements of the books read by using memory techniques. For example, instead of relying on bookmarks or dog-earing pages, you can memorize the number of the last page you read before pausing. This provides you with delightful memory exercise. Speaking of which …
4. Get Your Fat Butt Into Gear
Exercise is one of the best ways to improve your memory. It sends oxygen rich blood to your brain and brings fitness to your entire body. Awesome, right? You can also use your exercise time to reminisce over the books you’ve been reading. If you’re not a reader, you can play movies you’ve seen beginning to end in your mind (link to breaking bad movie post). And if you use Memory Palaces (you do use Memory Palaces, don’t you?), then what better time to practice Recall Rehearsal than when you’re out and about, huffing and puffing and sweating up a storm? Exercise also improves your mood, and when you use memory techniques, your mood improves even more. Nothing feels better than combining jogger’s high (wiki link) with the edification of recalling foreign language vocabulary. Or mathematical equations, song lyrics, professional terminology, or whatever else wets your whistle.
5. Stop Rolling Like A Stone And Gather A Bit Of Moss For Once In Your Life
Meditation makes everything in life better, including your memory. The problem is … most people have been misled by weird definitions. For example, many people think that they’re supposed to sit like a stone. And like a stone, they’re not supposed to have thoughts. No, dear Memorizers. No, no and a thousand times no. As the great Alan Watts pointed out …
Sitting Like A Rock Is Boring, Useless And An Utter Waste Of Time!
Instead of eradicating thoughts from your mind (which is technically impossible), don’t bother doing anything with them. Watts most famously said that the best way to practice meditation is to sit just to sit. Don’t “try” to do anything. Just sit there on the floor. Let your mind wander. Be mindless as you sit and float around in fantasies about the future, alternate versions of the present and strange wishes about an alternate version of the past. Maybe not the first time, but eventually you’ll wake up from the mindless fantasies that have your mind the vice of your grip. It’ll go something like this. When you’re sitting there, all of a sudden you’ll say …
Holy Moley! I’ve Been Sitting Here On The Floor Lost In Thought And Didn’t Even Realize It!
Nothing will prepare you for the enlightenment that follows. It might not last for long, but the edification you feel will stay with you and bring a completely new shape to the contours of your day. Not only that, but the experience will be hard to forget. And then the more you meditate, the more you’ll remember that you’re seated on the floor, sitting just to sit. Your periods of mindfulness will lengthen and you’ll take these levels of awareness deeper and longer into your days. And the more mindful you are throughout the day, the more you’ll pay attention. And the more attention you pay, the more naturally and effortlessly you’ll remember the events and facts you experience as you go through life.
How To Be A Memory Scientist In The Laboratory Of Your Mind
You’ve now had just a taste of some of the ways you can increase your memory by barely lifting anything heavier than a book or a bottle of water. In the case of sleeping more and practicing meditation, you don’t have to lift anything at all. Go ahead and give these few simple techniques a try. Keep a memory journal as you experiment so you can analyze the results. By measuring what you’re doing and when you’re doing it, you can create a picture of your daily life and how your memory serves you throughout. And analyze every Memory Palace you create. By taking time to go through them, you’ll deepen your familiarity with each and every one. Memory Palace work, even without memorizing anything, is great mental exercise. But …
The Easiest Way To Experience Massive Memory Improvement Is …
… do daily memory drills. An easy and compact way to do this involves a tiny set of objects known as playing cards. All you need to do is mix them up and use the Magnetic Memory Method to memorize them in ever knew arrays of random order. And if you want to learn how to do that, then I invite you to join the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. But start by grabbing my Free Memory Improvement Kit in order to make sure that the Masterclass really is something for you. If the Masterclass is something for you, then I want you to join it. If the Masterclass isn’t something for you, then I don’t want you to join it. Nothing could be simpler than that, dear Memorizer. And so until we touch base again, never forget to keep yourself well-rested, well-hydrated, well-read, fit and fully meditated. Oh, and of course, always … Always … Always keep Magnetic. Further Resources The Amazing Doctor Who Wanted To Cure His Patients By Memorizing A Deck Of Cards The post The Five-Fold Path To Memory Improvement appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Thu, 27 August 2015
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Thu, 20 August 2015
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Thu, 13 August 2015
How To Outsmart Forgetfulness Forever With Superhuman Memory Skills!Jonathan: Hello Ladies and Gentleman, and welcome to the Becoming Superhuman Podcast. I am your host Jonathan Levi. For those of you who don’t know, I teach a course on a web platform called Udemy, which is one of the world’s largest online course platforms. It is through that platform and through that platform and through being an instructor that I met my guest today. Dr. Anthony Metivier is an experienced author, consultant and an expert in the field of memory and learning. Dr. Anthony is a fellow instructor on Udemy and he’s been a friend of mine since I originally appeared on his highly rated podcast, the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. Anthony’s innovations in the field of mnemonics helped him teach people all over the world to exceed in academics, learning languages, memorizing poetry and a whole host of other amazing skills. This podcast goes into a lot of different topics and Anthony and I cover a lot of ground from different mnemonics and memorialization techniques all the way to meditation. So now I am very excited to introduce you to Dr. Anthony Metivier. So Anthony, good evening, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for making the time. I had so much fun with you on your podcast, the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. It was one of the things that actually inspired me to do this show, and I want to thank you for that, and I thought it would be really fun to have you as one of our first guests. So welcome. Anthony: Well thank you for having and I know my audience of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast really responded well to your interview, and I know it sent some people to your course so it was fantastic. Jonathan: It did and thank you for that. It was such a blast and I think the audience picked up on that. You and I kind of having this mind meld, and we had a really good time and I’m sure we’re going to have a great time on this podcast as well. Anthony: Yeah, absolutely. I think people really respond to it too because it’s not really coming from MENSA or championship stuff, and nothing wrong with that, but it is more down to earth and real application to our studies and so forth from people who use it for those purposes. Jonathan: Definitely. Actually you have been involved in memory and accelerated learning for a long time. Before I was and also before it became kind of a really trendy topic. Maybe share with our audience the story of how you got into this field. Anthony: Well it was just happenstance and a very lucky one because I had been in graduate school in Toronto at York University and these hard Toronto winters and something wrong with my biology sent me into a real bad depression. I couldn’t think and I couldn’t concentrate. I had the weight of all these exams on my shoulders for my doctoral exams. For people who aren’t in a PhD program now or have been, then they would know that there is these committees you have to go and sit in front of and they grill you over hundreds and hundreds of books that you are supposed to have covered, and I could hardly get out of bed. So it was just a crazy time. To avoid life, to avoid facing all of this and to avoid the horrid pain of cracking another book of obscure French philosophy with terms like architectonic tautology and just things that rattle your brain, I was starting to play with cards and magic tricks. I could focus on that. I could watch these videos. I didn’t have to read a book or anything like that. You don’t get far in the world card magic without coming across one of the holy grails which is a memorized deck and most people to some kind of trick. It’s not really memorized but there is another class of people who actually memorize the deck. There is a whole bunch of different techniques. I thought no way this is crazy I thought I would never be able to do this because I can’t even read. I couldn’t even read Harry Potter which is one of the books I had to read for a course where I was a teacher’s assistant and barely able to get out of bed for that. I apologize to all of those students that I misdirected with showing up to class unprepared for Harry Potter. In any case, I tried it and it was incredible. It is like a light saber through all that fog and all the inability to concentrate. That is what really hooked me on memory techniques. It is irrelevant how bad you feel. It is irrelevant how tight you are. It is irrelevant how hungry you are. You can actually just go to this place in your mind and these images that you have created and they are bulletproof so long as you’ve created them correctly. That was real miraculous for me. It has actually helped with a lot of concentration issues and a lot of mental confusion. Those things are still there and I still have to take medicine for them, but these memory skills when used properly just do not fail regardless of what the mood may be or the condition. I kept using them and studying and I have done hundreds of hours of research, thousands of hours really of application and figuring out the best ways that work. Then through a series of mysterious and unusual circumstances I wound up teaching them at a school and I wrote them down for the students. That wound up becoming a series of books and video courses. That is how I got there. Jonathan: Amazing, and I assume things kind of turned around in the PhD program once you kind of learned how to use and learn how to process all of that material. Anthony: Yes, it got kind of ridiculous because then I was saying things like, “Oh, and by the way that’s on page 19.” I think for everybody who gets into this stuff there is always a little bit of a showing off period. Nonetheless, it was incredible because I would go to these things and just be able to recall all this information and really crazy stuff. It is a funny story, but when I finally got to my dissertation defense, they call in a person from outside the University and outside the country if possible and he is called the external-external or she is called the external-external which means they are external to the program and external to the university. Anyway he came and they were grilling me really hard and they asked some tough questions and there was someone who even wanted to fail me and I knew she wanted to fail me really badly. At the end he said, “You know, you are cooler then Miles Davis. You hardly blinked during this whole thing and all the stress that these people were putting on you.” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even really know that much about Miles Davis, but I just thought, “It was memory, man, that’s all it is.” There’s nothing to be nervous about it all. Jonathan: Amazing, and actually your Magnetic Memory Method rubbed off on me quite a bit. You were one of the people who convinced me to start using these kind of techniques, the spatial awareness techniques to put it into my course and to use it in my own daily life, but maybe our listeners don’t know about the Magnetic Memory Method. They might not be familiar with mnemonics and you and I are telling these awesome stories about them. Maybe we can explain what the Magnetic Memory Method is and explain a little bit about how it works. Anthony: There is a lot to it and I don’t want anybody to feel cheated if I kind of gloss over certain things but it brings together a whole bunch of elements. The core of it is to actually use locations religiously and make the Memory Palace the foundation of all this. Because there are so many memory techniques is there are stairs to heaven (in the Led Zeppelin song) there is just so many. A lot of them just involve just making mental associations and pictures and they are just floating around in the void of your mind. That never worked for me very well. What always worked very well was combining the basics of memory techniques which are creating exaggerated images and then locating them somewhere so that they could be found and you essentially increase your chances the more that you combine location with these exaggerated images. But then I started to go farther. I thought what if we study this information in a particular way and break it down into components so that you could link sounds with parts of words and create images that are very, very integrally linked to those images and those actions that the images make. Then they are in those locations and make it more and more powerful and it got to like Jedi levels of thinking about this and actually implementing it and applying it. It is a bit involved to learn and it sounds almost insane, but for the people who use it, they get such amazing results. It is incredible and I have just been super pleased that it wasn’t just something in my head but something that other people could use. But there is definitely a formula to it and there is a recipe to it. I specifically call it a method rather than a system because there is a need for people to adapt it to their own learning style in their own ways of going about things in their own homes in their own buildings that they are familiar with. So there is universal principles that structure it, but there is a methodology that you need to adapt. It is kind of like the difference between kung fu or karate and wrestling. You have forms in karate and you have certain if-then, this-that kind of interactions with your enemy. But wrestling is more flexible and wrapping yourself around and innovating on the fly and there is not as many rules as such but there is universal principles. Just so that you could flop around like a fish when you need to and get the job done. Jonathan: Definitely. I am actually dying of curiosity. How many Memory Palaces do you have? Can you quantify them are you in the hundreds or? Anthony: Yes there is now 183 actually. Last June was 175 and I added to that since then for some various experiments but there is a go to amount as well. I mean I build some that actually never get used but the actual building of Memory Palaces is an important activity in and of itself even if you don’t use them because it just strengthens every other one you have. It strengthens your understanding of how they work and what you can do with them and it’s just a great way of preparing yourself. It’s like having extra bullets in your gun belt. Jonathan: Of course. So you are kind of walking around your city or cities that you visit and exploring buildings with that purpose? Anthony: Yes, a lot of people ask me, you have this idea that we should be having dozens of Memory Palaces. Where are we going to find them all? I always just think, on my street there are still places that I haven’t explored. There is like a clinic I could go into that I’ve never gone into. So if push came to shove there is one, and that’s not to mention the dozens of buildings on the streets around me that I have never really gotten exploited. Every time I travel and make special note of the hotels that I stay in because they are all perfect for their own little tiny Memory Palaces admittedly but they can be quite useful. There is another good reason to use Memory Palaces that you build from travel and that is because when we’re in novel locations or new locations we’ve never been to the brain secrete something called norepinephrine that makes things a lot more memorable when we have this chemical rolling around in our brain which tends to happen when we are traveling. Those can become super powerful Memory Palaces if you choose to focus on them in that way. Jonathan: Incredible, plus the benefit of remembering more of your vacation and that’s a huge benefit. Anthony: Yes, it kind of goes along with that feeling where you feel that you can really remember your first time in the city when you first arrived there. Those first couple of days can be very impactful and that has a lot to do with that chemical. Jonathan: Incredible. On of the important steps for me when I kind of became what I call a SuperLearner was to understand the differences between working memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. Now that we understand a little bit about how your method works can you give us an idea of how you managed to create memories that stick not just in your short-term memory, a month or two until you deliver your thesis, but also for years and years and years? Anthony: That is really quite simple. There is different theories and all kinds of things and one of the guys who had theories that are half-correct and half-tested and debunked and still very interesting one way or another is a guy named Hermann Ebbinghaus. Ebbinghaus had these ideas like the forgetting curve and he basically suggested there is something called the primacy effect which is that if you were giving a list of words he would remember the first second and third words very well and then maybe the last three and four words very well but in the middle there would be this decay. I thought about that a lot and tested it and it seems pretty well correct, but I thought there has got to be a way to hack this. So if you had a Memory Palace for example and there were 15 stations you would experience that primacy effect. The way to hack it is to actually go forward through the Memory Palace, go back through the Memory Palace, start in the middle of the Memory Palace go back to the front, and start the middle and go to the end, and the leapfrog over all the stations. You do this about 5 times a day or for a few days. I mean it sounds kind of weird to be doing this, but how many times you go to the washroom and you could do this with a list of really important information. I mean that is just to be bulletproof. You can do a lot less but that’s just kind the bulletproof thing if it really counts that you have this information. It is kind of like being a spaced repetition software machine organically and not relying on external technology to do the repetition for you, but deciding what your list is or what kinds of information you are memorizing and actually visiting it intentionally and that is what is going to get it into long-term memory. Dominic O’Brien has a rule of five but I think the rule of five is not enough. It should be a little more rigorous like five times a day for five days and then after that, once a week for maybe five weeks and something like that and then you are really going to get it into long-term memory. Jonathan: Wow. So I know you have some very successful book for learning languages and poetry and again, you have been providing me mentorship and guidance in publishing my own book, but what are some other applications that your students use the Magnetic Memory Method for with success? Anthony: Oh there is so much. For instance, programming languages. I know that is basically language, but the application is quite different in the sense that those are pretty obscure codes and whatnot. Then there is mathematical formulas and just practical things with numbers. A lot of people couldn’t tell you what their credit card number is for example and that is an incredibly useful thing to know actually. The amount of time you can spend looking for your wallet and digging it out and going back to the computer and typing it out and getting it wrong, you know you can really change your life just by having your credit card number and the amount of time you spend. Yes, there is all kinds of things. There are people who have used some of the techniques that I teach in my Names and Faces course to memorize or get a better sense of locations that they had visited so that they can actually go and paint them. That is been an interesting thing that I hadn’t heard of before. Then there is just the general boost in the critical and creative thinking that. People experience because of how the this opens them up to different ways of using their mind and their creative intelligence. So it spills out all over the place. Jonathan: Definitely. Actually, that raises another question especially talking about creativity and I know some people think creativity is innate. Others understand that it is very largely trained, but my question would be can anyone do this? You know I have some strong opinions on it considering I also teach accelerated learning, but I’m curious to hear whether you have seen a difference in some sort of innate ability and all the students you have worked with or do some people just generally have a better memory out-of-the-box? Anthony: I don’t know if anybody has a better memory out-of-the-box, but there seems to be that phenomenon, there seems to be that feeling. I find that when you ask people who just have a “natural memory” they usually describe the process that is very close to what happens in mnemonics. They sort of do it anyway without having to train. It isn’t really the case that anybody has some special edge on other people. Because, the people who win all the memory championships, they are as dull as doorknobs without those techniques. They are all great people but they will always be the first person to admit that I couldn’t do this without those techniques I’m just a plumber or whatever they may be. There is nothing particularly innate, but there is one kind of criteria I believe and that is actually wanting to achieve the outcome, and it seems being interested in doing the work and getting a kind of kick out of it. Because if you’re not having fun, then I don’t think all of the cheerleading in the world is going to get you over the hump of doing something that makes you miserable. I don’t understand why it would make anyone miserable, but some people just don’t have fun with it, and I have to accept that. I’ve done all kinds of clowning around and jokes and fun and games and there are still people who don’t enjoy doing it. I think that that’s really the great divide is having fun are not having fun. That applies to just about anything. Jonathan: Definitely. One of the things that we added to our course was an explanation of Malcolm Knowles’ work. This guy in the 1950s basically figured out that there are six requirements for information to get in and stay in for an adult learner and one of them is do they enjoy the material and do they have a practical application. Which is to say, you know kids, a lot Anthony: I think that there is two real things that this reminds me of with adults and not having fun with the memory techniques is because they don’t always completely understand why thinking about crazy monkeys cutting cheese off of the Statute of Liberty is going to help them remember something. They also often feel very compressed and restricted, and they don’t allow their imaginations to produce that kind of imagery. So they can be quite conservative and that is another sort of issue, but if they allow themselves to relax and have fun, then I think that they will find that their imaginations are much more equipped to create the kind of zany images that become memorable that allow you to encode information in order to have this kind of fun. Jonathan: Right. Anthony: It’s not that they aren’t fun it is just that there are a lot of barriers to finding them is fun. Jonathan: I think, honestly, your method added a lot of fun. You and I talked about it a little bit when I was a guest on your podcast and it kind of influenced me. Since then, first off, I have a lot more fun. I am personally learning Russian right now which can be to put it lightly not very fun. But I’m having a lot of fun and I can learn usually about 20 new words in a 20 or 30-minute session. I use is really fun outrageous visual markers that you gave me. For instance the Russian word for open is открытый. I think about myself with a migraine standing in front of a closed pharmacy just shaking my head in this absolute pain, or I can picture myself with a bullet wound, heaven forbid, and thinking the pharmacy ought to be open because it’s critical, right. So with открытый and that’s been really helpful. My question and I have a little bit of a personal motive on this, what about learning grammar? I am struggling quite a bit with Russian grammar, and I’m sure you’ve overcome this in the many languages you teach for your books. Anthony: With the exception of English I haven’t produced anything specifically about memorizing grammar, but the principles are more or less the same. So basically if you had a Memory Palace you wanted to focus on some grammar, the first thing to do would be to figure out what grammar you want to focus on. So instead of being overwhelmed by the giant engines of grammar you just pick one. So for instance declensions of verbs or whatever, and then you start in one corner and you and you think about how that is declined for that particular piece of language and you follow that linearly. In Spanish, for example, you have yo for I, and then you have tú for you, and then you have el or ella for he or she and you have all of these things. You put those in corners and then you add the next thing. You know what I’m saying? Like you add what the next word part is. So if you get to ellos which is the last of that list in Spanish then you would see a big sun. So that would be ellos sun. Or tú aires you would see a big statue of Aires in that location doing something really crazy. Jonathan: How interesting. Anthony: You know things like that. I am just going to my own Memory Palaces for that and then you go to the next set of principles and you go to the next set of principles and you just lay them out. In essence you make images to create the examples and you create kind of a crib sheet. Then what you do is go out ASAP once you got the stuff in your memory and you start writing sentences. You start speaking. You start listening to the language every day and to add that memorized material to a flow of other encounters. Because the more you include the memory techniques and the memorization process with reading, writing, speaking and listening then you create an ecosystem and things can get very fast after that. Jonathan: Right, I definitely need to do that. I hadn’t thought of actually breaking down the connecting words and stuff like that. In Russian you have I think it is 18 different ways to say “this” which can be very challenging. So I need to start creating these visual images for each one of those different variants it sounds like. Anthony: Yeah, I mean that’s what I would do and I would have them patterned out against Memory Palace and then do that exact thing, forwards and backwards, from the middle to the front, from the middle to the back and then a bit of leapfrogging from station to station like one, three, five, seven, or two, four, six, eight and you will really get a lot of speed and quickly wrap it into midterm and long-term memory acquisition, and, then again, reading, writing, speaking and listening. You can use all the memory techniques in the world but it is not going to lead to fluency without those other big four activities. Why that I came up with this is because I am pretty good at those for other four activities. The only problem is I can’t remember anything. So it’s really been the magic bullet so to speak. I mean it is a magic bullet that takes effort to take it out of your gun belt and put it into the gun enroll the chamber and point it at the target and shoot the gun. That’s all effort and so forth, but once that bullet is spinning, I mean that’s as magical as it gets. Jonathan: Right. I had kind of a little bit, kind of not argument but disagreement with my partners when we were building our course because I’m of the belief that people need to understand how it works and people should understand just a little bit of the neuroscience behind mnemonics and how do they work and why does your brain respond to this stuff. Do you think that that’s the case or do you think that it is something like with a good technology product where the confusion and the technicality should be hidden from the end-user? Anthony: What I had the great honor to interview Harry Lorraine who people probably know that name. He’s really one of the kings of the memory-training world, and I asked him the same question. I said you talk in your books all the time about how people don’t care about the science they just want to know how it works. I tend to fall on that myself. Although I have had criticism from a podcast listener who said that I have deeply undercut my credibility because of how I dismiss science and the science of memory, but that is not technically true and it is also because I do kind of fall in that camp that if you’re interested in the science by all means go and study it, but it in and of itself is not the recipe to get results. I mean there is no right answer to it but I know for myself when I am reading books and I start getting into memory books and they start explaining to me about why it all works and how it all works in the brain I just skip over it because one thing that is very important actually for people to know is that science is a process. It is in process everything that you read about science is going to be improved upon, it’s going to be changed but what is not going to be changed are the fundamental techniques of how memory skills work. They are ancient. There are innovations that come now and again when somebody comes up with some things that other people can copy and use for themselves, they are pretty rare but they happen. In principle but universal techniques are not going to change. So again, I don’t mean to undercut science but I still fall in that camp that if you’re interested in it, there are loads of books about it, but if you want to get the results from memory techniques, the science isn’t going to change the fundamental techniques and they are not really going to give you some deep insight about how they work. What is going to give you insight about how they work is learning them in using them and you are going to learn more from using them then you are about reading them. There is more to movement than meditation and reading about the science is a form of meditation rather than taking action. Jonathan: Interesting. You mentioned that there are innovations every year in these techniques and I think that that is one of the interesting things. Also you mentioned that these are thousand-year-old techniques and both of those are topics that come up in Joshua Foer’s recent book, Moonwalking with Einstein. I think that is an interesting book because it has really brought to the mass public the techniques that you have been teaching for years or you know that the Greeks were using 2000 years ago. What do you think about the recent popularity of guys like Joshua Foer or Ed Cooke, some of these memory athletes who are winning champions and stuff like that? Anthony: Well I think it’s fantastic. There is absolutely nothing to criticize although with Moonwalking with Einstein, if you go and read the reviews a lot of people are disappointed that he doesn’t actually teach the techniques. He sort of glosses over them but it is really a book of cultural history and this phenomenon of what is sort of an underworld. Not that many people know about memory championships and so forth. It is a really interesting book and it has brought a lot of attention to these ancient techniques. Ed Cooke also with Memrise and the things that he does. There is a really great interview with him recently on Tim Ferriss’ podcast that I recommend people listen to. At least the first hour, after that they kind of get drunk. Jonathan: They end up in the woods as that podcast often does, but it is really enjoyable how Ed kind of walks through and he tricks Tim into memorizing this list of really ridiculous stuff. Anthony: That gets back to the thing about having fun. You’ve really got to trick yourself into doing it then you see how much fun it is and you get hooked and things really change for you. I think that really what it comes down to, a lot of these people, not Foer or Cooke in particular, but the whole world that has been around for a long time and is just growing and growing, is a lot of people use the word system and there are no systems. There are just methods that allow you to create your own system. I think things would be a lot easier for people if more of these big names in memory would make that clear. So that is really important. I mean it has just been this kind of idea of it being a system since Giordano Bruno did his stuff in the 16th century. I don’t know if people are aware of him, but he had these really complicated books that he wrote for royalty, or at least so that they would fund the printing of the books, they are always dedicated to royalty, and he just created these massive systems but he just says use these instead of here’s the principles behind how I have used these for you can map your own learning style and your own interests in your own homes on top of them. So that is what a lot of these books have been about. They have been about how the other person used them but not extracting the methodology behind it and making that is clear as possible. Jonathan: I think you are absolutely right. I think the actual nuts and bolts are much more obscure. I mean down to like the nitty-gritty things like what kind of loci or locations or anchor points are better than others? Am I supposed to be storing my memories on a bookshelf or can I put a couple of memories on the bed? It’s like to really nitty-gritty details of okay great, I have built my Memory Palace, how do I actually use this thing and what do I put in it and where? Anthony: Basically that has been the core of my success because I go into all of that stuff in detail. I have written more than 1000 pages just with those specifics about can you use a bed, can you use under your bed, can you go underneath the sheets. I mean every possibility I’ve gone through one way or the other and yet at the same time hardly a month goes by when someone doesn’t email me with some new application that they are using that I never thought of before. Jonathan: It’s interesting. Anthony: It’s pretty crazy. Jonathan: I’d actually be very fascinated, I assume our audience would be as well, can you walk me through may be one of the first sentences you learned in another language and tell me what words are where out of curiosity? Anthony: Sentences in another language. Okay. That’s interesting because I actually don’t normally memorize sentences, just vocabulary, then because I know the grammar it’s not that I really memorize phrase. I’m focusing more on vocabulary so nothing leaps to mind, but I can give something in English because memorizing poetry is more where I would use that. I will explain exactly how it works. There is a famous little book called the Iliad by some guy named Homer. This is a particular translation, this is Dryden’s translation, there are others that you will come across is what I’m about to say doesn’t quite match what you come across. It says, “Of Peleus’ son, Achilles, sing, O muse, / The vengeance, deep and deadly; whence to Greece / Unnumbered ills arose.” It’s not even the first sentence, but it’s the first major statement. To do this I created a Memory Palace and actually I was memorizing it to demonstrate to a coaching client I had exactly how this could be done and I used her school, because she had the school, she still has school. I used the coffee room where coffee is made and then decide that there is a wall that has a painting and then there is an office that I sometimes worked in myself and then there was a classroom and that’s all that was needed for this particular thing. You want me to go through that and unpack that and how that works? Jonathan: Sure, if you don’t mind. I find it very fascinating. Anthony: Here is where I have to actually, because you don’t really need the training wheels after a while, but basically what I saw was Brad Pitt who played Achilles in the movie Troy, and he is kicking a pail. So “Of Peleus’ son, Achilles, sing, O muse.” He’s kicking the pail at the Statue of Liberty who is singing and she gets hit in the head by this pail which makes her feel vengeance, and she’s also at the same time digging in the dirt, “The vengeance, deep and deadly;” and throwing it at a map of Greece that has replaced this painting that’s on the wall in this school. So “whence to Greece” and then I’m standing at this office door wiping away numbers on the chalkboard. “Whence to Greece unnumbered ills arose.” You might notice that I’m not accounting for every single word in that line but just enough. That’s an important question that a lot of people have. Do I have to have an image for every single word? And the answer is no. You just had need to have enough that you want to honor your mind and let it fill in the blanks. You say potato. I say potato. You can fill in the blanks and your mind has that kind of ability so you give it space. As beginners you might want to do word for word but it’s really just a simple image. Brad Pitt kicking a pail of Statue of Liberty who is digging in the earth throwing the dirt at a map and I’m wiping away numbers. Jonathan: I noticed you compressed those symbols. We talk about this a little about this in my course create linkages between them. So it’s not a statue of Brad Pitt and then a statue of a pale but rather Brad Pitt kicking the pail and that’s in one location in your Memory Palace. Anthony: The real secret to it is it is a vignette that is strung along a journey and it has space in it. A lot of people will try to do that same thing inside of a single room or inside of a single image as you are suggesting, but I think that the fluidity comes from giving it space and obviously the entire Iliad would require a lot more space than this one school would offer, but that’s just how it works and if you wanted to, then you could find all that space to do the entire Iliad and people do. It is not unusual actually. When you look into it there’s all kinds of people walking around with entire books in their head. Jonathan: Well I think it’s interesting that you said “and people do” about the Iliad because people did and one of the things I found so fascinating about Foer’s book is he talks about some researchers who figured out that most of Homer’s works were written and reproduced for so many years with Memory Palaces. Just by the structure of the text they were able to figure out that you wouldn’t really write it this way unless someone was trying to convert it to a visual symbol, and the story would kind of double back on itself if it wasn’t being somewhere along the way someone crossed their own memory journey. I think it is so fascinating because these books are known for being huge volumes, very long works that were actually committed for thousands of years to memory. Anthony: Well sure, there was only eating, drinking, going to war and memorizing. That’s all they had or reciting what they memorized. Jonathan: It’s amazing as a species what we did before we had these tools that in a lot of ways help us but in a lot of ways, who even knows any of their friends phone numbers anymore much less credit card numbers or anything like that. When I was a kid I knew all of my friends’ phone numbers and then cell phones came out. So slowly but surely we have completely obliterated the skill of memory as a species and as a culture which is just a shame. Anthony: Well, but at same time, what is so interesting to me is that it is at the same moment that we appear to be eradicating our memory through technology, that memory techniques have basically come into a Renaissance. It is almost like a tidal wave has built the ship that will save you from the storm. Jonathan: Well also in Homer’s time, someone was very lucky to come across one, or two or three or ten such stories, the entirety of mythology and stuff like that was just about everything they were learning, whereas today I try to read two books a month and I try to read ten blog posts and articles a day. We don’t digest and redigest and reprocess the material. We are really going for breadth more than depth. Anthony: That’s true. There was always a saying when I was a student that you are better off mastering one book than knowing 1000. To the extent, and that is a bit exaggerated, but there is that question that I often think about when I read certain things is so much of what I am reading is either ignorant of or grounded in things that I already know from having a more traditional training. That does come from knowing a few books really well rather than 1000 not so well at all, if you know what I mean. Jonathan: Actually that raises another question, if I can kind of dig a little deeper into the Magnetic Memory Method. I think there is two ways to organize. Let’s say I do a lot of reading about programming and technology in general. I can organize it by here is a book that I read and every single book gets its own palace or I could be grouping, right. So any blog post that I read goes into a palace about Ruby on Rails if it happens to touch on that, just a just as an example. Do you group information book by book in its own palace or do you kind of take subjects and put them into their own palaces and many sources can feed one palace? Anthony: Well it depends what is going on. When I was studying for my dissertation defense for example, I made Memory Palaces per philosopher. It wasn’t as if Jacques Derrida would mention ____ or vice versa that I would somehow have to have this big confusion of what I was going to do. It is they just independent based on who they were and that person. Incidentally those Memory Palaces had what I call a bridging figure and is bridging figures would be those would be those philosophers and just sort of follow them around through their adventures and to be able to recall the stuff. But in terms of like branching out and having tunnels between this and that, I don’t deliberately build that because it builds itself anyway. It becomes what I call rhizomatic which a lot of knowledge and education is taught in a top-down tree structure, so you go from the branches down to the truck and into the roots, but a rhizome is something that is more beneath the earth and spreads out laterally and can even pop up new bulbs in ways that don’t even seem connected to the original plant. It can go up/down, left/right and center, diagonal and all kinds of different kinds of permutations can just pop out at anywhere, but I think that that is best produced by having kind of a grid that you don’t deliberately try to interweave too much other than you interweave it based on your understanding of the world around you using those buildings that you know to deliberately create well structured journeys and memorize stuff there and the actual connections will happen on their own. Jonathan: That is super interesting. Have you ever made a list on pen and paper or on the computer of your hundred and 83 Memory Palaces and what they contain or is that complete blasphemy? Anthony: Again, that depends on what the project is and it is not blasphemy it is insurance. It is actually the best thing to do because you are getting multiple modalities going at the same time. Basically, you asked me before about midterm and long-term memory and this is basically one really great way to use paper and pen or your computer in combination with these techniques. Let’s say you’ve got a list of 50 words that you want to memorize and you have a 50-station Memory Palace and you actually have that Memory Palace in your mind and you have it as an Excel file. So 1 to 50 and it lists the station and it lists the words that you memorized and another column lists the meaning of the word (or one or two meanings, you don’t want to overburden it at first, you can go back and add later). Then the next column has the record of the image you created. As you are going along making your associative imagery, you make a record of it you can do it with a pen on paper or you can do it with an Excel file and then you are going to go and remove yourself from that source material. No books, no dictionaries, no computer, nothing. Just you, a piece of paper and a writing device, pen or pencil. Then you reproduce everything from your mind and you go and check it against the record. Jonathan: Wow! Anthony: That’s the full-bore method. Again, you can do this the forward and back and from the middle to the end and all those different ways that I was talking about but do it on paper completely from your mind and you are achieving multiple things at the same time. You are deepening your knowledge of your Memory Palaces and your memory techniques. You are deepening your knowledge of what it is that you are studying. You are deepening your ability to use imagination, imagery and actions and you are deepening your discipline to actually sit and be able to reproduce information from your mind and then you are rewarding yourself going back to that list and seeing, oh my goodness, this is 90 percent correct, 98 percent correct, 88 percent correct and it gives you the basis to make corrections and go back and say, well that man hitting a cat with toast is really not working. I have got to make that cat battle tighter or whatever and you can make corrections and that again makes you more imaginative and it gives you more exposure to what it is that you are trying to memorize. So it is just a completely different way of approaching information and working with information that is fun and exciting and more interesting than just trying to hammer it into your head with pure raw repetition. Jonathan: I think you have inspired me. I’ve been working on Russian with the tips you gave me last time but I think I’m going to try to commit it to actual physical locations in a Memory Palace. The only issue is Pushkin, who the Russians love to admire, and they have this saying that “Pushkin is our everything.” Their language is what they are most proud of in their culture. The guy knew 50,000 words, which is why there is a lot rumors about him similar to there were about Shakespeare that there could not have been one person writing this work. So I am going to need to really start accumulating quite a bit of Memory Palaces. Maybe one for words that start with O and one for words that start with P and so on and so forth. Anthony: A lot of people think I’m pretty crazy for suggesting that. But the benefit of doing that is you don’t have to learn 50,000 words because when you are using an alphabetized Memory Palace system you are actually studying how those language works in a much more detailed way to the point that you can just start guessing what words mean. You are not going to be right all the time but your familiarity with the structure of the words and how they are patterned out develops really in this rhizomatic that I was suggesting. So you can read quite easily and you know we do it in our own mother tongue anyway. We read and go, “Oh, what does that word mean again or I never heard that word,” but you get the context and you just keep going or you make note of it and check it out later. I mean 50,000 words in Russian would be absolutely fantastic but whether it is a requirement to understand Pushkin I don’t know. Jonathan: I would be happy with 10,000 words at this point. The words, like I said, are only a very small part of the challenge of such a complex language. You mentioned in the beginning of the podcast memorizing cards and I happen to pick up as I was doing my research for this podcast, you actually just released a new course on Udemy on memorizing cards. Tell me about that. I’ve never actually had the motivation to do it myself. I know how it’s done and some of the latest techniques in compressing but explain why someone would want to learn that skill, and why it might appeal. Anthony: There are lots of reasons why. It is one of those things, again, where it just sounds absolutely crazy. Why would anybody want to do this? Jonathan: Unless they are going to Vegas, in which case you know if you can memorize four decks of cards in order you might be in pretty good shape. Anthony: You would certainly give yourself a small advantage, you know like maybe a 1 to 2 percent advantage but especially if you can do number calculation system as well like with blackjack. I just gave that example from the Iliad and I talked about having space in between things. One thing that makes my card memory a method rather than a system is unique is it teaches you to create that space between things. It is not necessarily the fastest way to memorize cards and I don’t teach it as a speed drill as such, although you will get faster. I teach it as a creativity drill and getting better at using locations in combination with images. So if you are interested in memory techniques, that is one thing that it will help you do. You can apply these card drills to everything else you want to memorize and it is something you can do for 5 minutes before you memorize foreign language vocabulary just to get the mind warm. There is other benefits also just in terms of being something you can carry around with you to practice and you can get apps for it as well. You are just studying how your mind is working. You are thinking about your creative imagination. . You are applying your creative imagination and there is also so something to the repetitiveness of it. So it is kind of like running where you get to a jogger’s high. You train yourself to feel that and you can apply that feeling to other things. Jonathan: Fascinating. So it’s a very good way to practice the entire methodology in a standardized way. Every deck of cards, you know, standardized deck of cards looks the same, has the same characters and so people all over the world I guess are practicing the skill and it is a great way to develop subsets of that skill that can then be applied to memorizing credit cards and phone numbers. Is that what kind of what you’re saying? Anthony: Yes and the other thing that is neat about it is it is a real nice combination of concrete and abstract things. That is a really great thing to have mastery of especially if you’re going to learn foreign language vocabulary and grammar principles. You recognize it, you know what letters are, you know what sounds are, those are the concrete parts and yet what their meaning is completely abstract. So what is the meaning of seven of diamonds, nothing. But you learn to apply meaning to it because you create it through a process into an image and by taking things that are largely abstract and applying imagery to them you get very good very fast at applying that to anything else. Jonathan: Right and any new piece of knowledge, especially with foreign languages for example, you start out with something like the 7 of hearts that means nothing right now and needs to soon mean something very real and tangible and memorable to you. So I can definitely see how learning to apply that would have huge repercussions, positive repercussions for anything you want to learn. Anthony: The way I teach it is actually quite different than most people teach it. So definitely explore other things and if you do listen to that Ed Cooke interview and see some of his videos on YouTube he has a completely different way of doing it and mine is less arbitrary. So if you are into that kind of way that he approaches or the Dominick method of approaching it, that’s totally fine but there is a way that is much less arbitrary and based more snuggly on principles they can reduce some of that arbitrariness. Jonathan: very cool. So I really enjoyed it. Actually the last time I listen to your podcast it happened to be in an episode where you shared a message that you had from a student who was really impacted by your methods and I found that (a) to be a really great thing to include in a podcast, but (B) super inspirational. Do you have any recent stories that you have gotten our recent messages that you might want to share about some student’s success? Anthony: I mean almost every day something comes but there was a student who was really stressed out about the exams that he had coming up and it was actually really nice he had never even really bought anything yet but just sort of cobbled everything together from my podcasts and he thanked me and he said, “I got 98 percent on this test and it was just unbelievable.” Then he bought my Master Class (www.MagneticMemoryMethod.com) which is not on Udemy but its own separate thing and it was just kind of like this big thank you because of the results that he got from the Magnetic Memory Method. Yes, there is people all around the world. I heard from a guy in Italy who is just super happy that he is making so much progress with the dictionary that he got. I suggested that he look at a particular kind of dictionary that he was able to find. It is just incredible. I heard from a law student today who is working on Latin and in order to get a better understanding of the law and he is doing really great. He is even teaching this approach at school now and the dean has invited him to give a presentation about it. It is really just spreading like wildfire, this particular approach which is great. I am very happy that if it’s just even gets interest in memory techniques in and of itself. Because to me that is really the most important thing is that people just start to see the magic and the power of this and just do something because there is so much suffering in the world that has to do with memory and there is so much opportunity that is lost because people cannot achieve their goals without it, and that suffering is simply just not necessary. Jonathan: Definitely. I also struggled a great deal through high school. To a larger extent, you know when a lot of the memory stuff was happening with when I was a lot younger. I just suffered and suffered through history class and through math class largely because of memory. There is no real teaching of this in academia which I just find mind-boggling. Nobody ever stopped and explained to me that I needed to create visual memories not until after college. I was lucky to run into someone like yourself who is an expert, and I tell the whole story kind of in my courses, but I just think what if I had never encountered this and I went through my entire life thinking that there was this huge barrier to learning. Today I am learning how to podcast, and I’m learning how to blog, and I’m learning all this different kind of stuff that it doesn’t faze me at all to approach a new language in my free time because learning has become this fun, friction-free process, and I just think what a shame that people think they have to suffer to learn. Anthony: There are all kinds of theories about why schools exist in the first place. I don’t necessarily want to get into that. For anybody who is suffering with school, know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you can start using these things now to make your school experience a whole lot more enjoyable if you are still somewhere in the middle of the road. Jonathan: Definitely. I have also heard from a number of my students, if you are dealing in and at traditional academic setting where concessions are made for the fact that learning is very hard for people who do it wrong to be kind of not politically correct. Once you start using these kind of techniques, the kind that you and I both teach, it becomes like fishing with dynamite. At least 98 percent test results are pretty common among people who know how to apply the proper methods and I just think that is so much fun that you probably have students all over the world who are setting the curve and really angering their classmates and it is simple stuff that is accessible online and takes a little bit of training. Anthony: I think that thing about angering their fellow classmates, one thing that I always try to do in just about every message that I send if you have learned something from this is pass it on because two things happen. You get better at them, because something taught is something learned twice and you also get to help those other people. There is no competition in the world. People who are tied up in competition are really just hurting themselves. But fishing with dynamite is a great metaphor and I think that also raises the important thing that you and I as teachers, and if you do take up these skills, becoming a teacher of them is that we really need people who know how to fish and are not waiting for fish to land in their boat. That has really been my great passion in and how I approach teaching in terms of showing how it is done rather than getting a lot of examples on how to do it. Jonathan: Definitely and that is without a doubt one of the most rewarding if not the most rewarding part of teaching is forget the ego boost, forget all of that stuff is when you get an email from a kid who has been seeing a psychiatrist for years and years about severe ADD and stuff like that and all of a sudden gets to stop seeing that psychiatrist. The psychiatrist cuts him back to once every 2-month meetings because hey, you are getting 90 percent on all of your exams and you are not having suicidal thoughts before every exam. That is a really impactful thing. So what is next for you if you do not mind sharing, what are you working on? Anthony: I am about to release a book on sleeping. Jonathan: Really? That is actually another topic that you and I share a lot of interest in. Do tell. Anthony: Well it is probably one of the more unique books on sleeping that is out there. I’ve certainly never encountered anything like this and I have been using it for years. The book, and it will eventually be a video course, is called The Ultimate Sleep Remedy, How To Fall Asleep Anytime And Anyplace With Ease, The Life-Changing No-Nonsense Rapid Results Guide To Getting A Better Rest And More Sanity In Your Waking Life which is one of these great long titles. Jonathan: I was going to say do you have a Memory Palace to remember the title when people ask you at cocktail parties? Anthony: Well you have to when you write titles that long. Basically, one of the things about a lot of sleep remedy books and training and stuff like that is if they tell you shouldn’t stay in bed if you can’t sleep and go out of bed until you feel tired and then go back to bed. That is something that I have found that is true to a certain extent, but there is a better way. I talk about that. The other thing is that there are all kinds of sleep rituals. Like brush your teeth at the same time and go to the bathroom 2 hours before you sleep or whatever. We are not robots. Nobody is going to brush their teeth at the same time every night. What we need is the ability to lay down in bed and fall asleep. So what I teach is being comfortable lying in bed no matter how painful it is to sit there and not be able to sleep and learn to be comfortable in that situation. That is the true path to sleeping at will basically. Is just to think about sleep completely differently and think about lying in bed differently. I wrote a whole book about it. Jonathan: Amazing! I have two questions on that. The first is do you think you can teach to fall asleep sitting up because I’m one of these guys if I am not lying on either my stomach or my side it’s not going to happen which makes long haul flights absolutely miserable. Anthony: Well yes, I think this would work for sitting up and I have sort of used it that way in terms of just being generally relaxed but not as a sleep remedy but I am sure that it will address that need as well. Jonathan: My second question, and you’ve already sold me, my second question is are you a believer in in biphasic or polyphasic sleep? Anthony: I don’t know that much about it and I’ve done some reading about and experiments and so forth. But again, it’s kind of one of these things where I’m personally not such a person that has such rhythms and to even try to get on the surfboard and let alone ride the wave is just going to be not something that I would gladly happily do and just the rhythms of my day don’t respond it. It would just be a losing battle to do that kind of like hacking. Jonathan: I have found, specifically in grad school, I found that the nap worked really well but anything above that, you know getting into the two, three, four naps a day just completely wreaked havoc on my lifestyle. So I thought I would ask if you similarly had experimented with it. Anthony: Well I certainly have used napping but there is a moment in napping where your brain will start to secrete chemicals that put you into the position of longer-term sleeping so that is why you often feel hung over and worse off than when you went to sleep. I think that meditation has always worked better for me. Jonathan: You read my mind. Anthony: But again, it is not like with the clock, ding-ding time to meditate or anything like that. I think that the real power with meditation is actually to meditate all the time. It’s like nonstop shopping. You just develop a kind of awareness and of course that awareness is broken but you can get it longer and longer and longer and become more conscious and aware for greater lengths of time and then combine that was sitting. I always loved Alan Watts’ idea of sitting just to sit and as being the ultimate meditation. Jonathan: When you say sit, I mean a lot of meditation enthusiasts use the term “sit” and they actually mean sit meditation. I get the sense that you mean just sit quietly eyes open kind of thing? Anthony: Yes, because basically what happens if you sit just to sit, then you are going to fall into those other sorts of techniques and strategies anyway. You are going to sit there and you are going to be aware eventually that you are just sitting there and you will start to laugh or whatever and you will come into basically “enlightenment” and the enlightenment is only 5 minutes away. It is just sitting just to sit and just wait for something to happen. Don’t move until something happens and you will know enlightenment very quickly. At least that is my feeling and I have developed it to a certain thing but I just love these moments were I am just walking around the streets and I went shopping or whatever and I suddenly catch myself not present at all and I just start to laugh because it is just the most hilarious thing to be mindless. Jonathan: Yes and it is the most common thing on the planet as well. I think in a vast majority of people just by the way we live our lives we spend a lot of our time even once we are aware of presence and mindfulness, we spend the vast majority of our time caught up in a lot of minutia that pulls us out of kind of our present state. Anthony: There is no one who is free from it but there are varying degrees of freedom and it is definitely worth cultivating because it can really change your life in some very powerful ways. Jonathan: And your brain, which I think is really interesting and they are starting to do a lot more research. I have my ticklers that send me whenever there is new research about this but they are really starting to understand the neurological changes caused by meditation and presence and even stuff like positive affirmations are literally changing the mechanical structure of your brain. I think that for anyone who is taking anti depression medication or attention deficit medication that is a really exciting prospect like I can sit for 20 minutes a day and I can change my neurochemistry for free. That has got to be one of the most exciting things happening in science to me. Anthony: It is actually pretty amazing because you can get free opium and all you have to do is sit for 20 minutes to get it or even shorter periods of time. Jonathan: Right, without the withdrawal Anthony: In fact it is totally without the withdrawal. It has the opposite effect. It is give me more withdrawal whatever. Jonathan: You sit, and when I say sit I mean meditate, eyes closed, focus on breathing kind of thing. Do you sit every day? Anthony: I do all kinds of things. So I will sit. One of the most powerful medications that I ever learned was the corner exercise which is just to find the corner of something and look at it and then start to be able to look at the space around it and see that air is really a kind of Jell-O that is pushing against everything and that object is pushing against the Jell-O and it is just kind of a neat way to blend yourself into presence in the room and think about that air pressing upon you as kind of like really a Jell-O. Air is an object and in and of itself an object filled with many objects. So I will do that and I also do certain kinds of breathing when I feel like it or I don’t and I really like something called psychic nostril breathing which is without using your finger to hold down a nostril, you just imagine the air is coming up your left nostril and out your right nostril and then up your right nostril and out the left nostril and you just sort of cycle that. Then you can combine that with something called Pendulum Breathing. Pendulum Breathing is breeding in and then breathing in again and breathing out and breathing out again and you swing your breath that way and you combine those two things together, it’s a little bit like syncopated drumming, but once you get used to it is just an incredible thing in and of itself and you don’t do it for any kind of end goal. You do it just to do it while you are sitting just to sit in the most incredible things happen. Jonathan: Right. I think that is really cool because a lot of beginners, myself included, start with a very common meditation practice and you are supposed to sit there just focus on your breathing and inevitably your breathing is not very interesting. So I like the idea of making it a little more interesting. Sometimes my breathing won’t captivate my attention so I will listen to Anthony: What do you think about combining meditation with technology? Jonathan: You know I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand you have this very pure beautiful practice that is estimated to be about 5000 years old. In a lot of ways it shares that characteristic with the Memory Palace. You don’t need a technological innovation to use a Memory Palace. It is something that we as humans have kind of inherited down from ancestry and I think there is beauty in that. On the other hand, I think it is an amazing way to connect to millions of people and if you look at an app like Headspace or Calm, these apps are all over the news and they are raising awareness and they are creating what some people call the mindfulness revolution. I think that is great. I personally got into meditation because someone told me to try out Headspace and I tried their 10-day trial, at which point I decided that, no matter how lovely Dr. Andy’s accent was, I’d probably be better off with just some noise isolating headphones. But I will tell you one piece of technology that I’ve been very excited and very disappointed by is kind of home ECG. So I have this had been sitting here that is supposed to measure my brain waves and tell me how I am doing and help me understand the changes in my brain. How are my alpha waves changing? How my delta waves changing over time? I think that is really motivating and really exciting. The technology is definitely not there yet and I’m looking forward to a time when that will be there. But I don’t know what you think about it? Anthony: I am not that big of a fan either but there is some benefit to it sometimes. I really like an app called Stillpoint, which plays three different kinds of sounds and you can mix them. So you have like a baseline, not a bass guitar line, but a baseline sound and then you can add like some sort of heartbeat or something like that and then you can add a periodic ohm are periodic tootle-lou or whatever. You’ve got different options and when my mind is really sped up, sometimes I will go to that because it is just really pleasant to listen to and really does provide a point of focus that I may not be able to give for myself. Jonathan: Interesting. Is it a little bit like binaural beats? Anthony: Yes, except for without the binaural stuff. I mean I don’t know, to tell you the truth, I didn’t memorize the packaging when I got it but it really struck me as being quite interesting because it wasn’t really in that sort of fringe of science and I’m not that studied in what research they have done but it was just kind of like this is just sounds that you can put together to help you focus and no real claims above that were beyond it. But you reminded me of something when you mentioned 4000 years of meditation and a lot of people think the Memory Palace technique came from ancient Greece but the reality is that it did, except for that it also came from the ancient East and a lot of the Buddhist meditations used location-based memorization. Jonathan: Really! Anthony: For example, I learned a meditation one time and I thought man this is a Memory Palace. I mean it is one of those specific meditations where you are not just sitting to sit but you are actually doing stuff. The teacher said imagine that you are in this temple and at this particular location there is a bridge and as you walk across the bridge you see all these people at the bottom of the bridge and they are throwing stones at you trying to make you fall down. At the other end of the bridge you are at a party and everybody is cheering you on and offering you food and wine. Then over at this corner of the temple imagine this big black dog and that dog is always chasing you and that is the representation of death, and then it went on and on. I remember this because I am going through my mind right now thinking of all these things. This is 10 years ago that I had done this meditation and so all of these things represent stuff. Like the people throwing rocks at you are reminding you to remember all of the people you dislike or that you consider his enemies and forgive them. The people at the party are also your friends but you forget them they are trying to poison you with all the good stuff or whatever. And the dog is death literally always behind you and you practice the meditation realizing that death is coming. It is a Memory Palace basically. Jonathan: Fascinating! Anthony: And that meditation is thousands of years old. Jonathan: Amazing! So Anthony I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know you are quite a prolific man and you have very much lived up to your Miles Davis nickname from your PhD dissertation. I know you are doing books. You are doing podcasts, Udemy courses. You also have a Master Course that apparently I really need to check out. If listeners want to learn more about you or maybe start training in the Magnetic Memory Method, where did they start finding all this different material? Anthony: Well, what I would really like to do is give listeners to your podcast some worksheets and a free video series which you can find here. Jonathan: Awesome, that would be perfect. I know that there is so much different stuff that you have put out there and you know thousands of pages on whether or not I should be storing Brad Pitt in my bed that I would love to speed read through so I’m actually going to check that link out myself. Anthony: Yeah you’ve just got to decide above the sheets, below the sheets or Jonathan: I think it depends if it is a female listener or a male listener. Anthony: Yeah, but for people who are listening to this and who are really interested there are worksheets and there are videos that will make it a lot more concrete and you can see what is going on. Jonathan: Awesome and we are going to put up notes to all the different resources, some of which I’m going to research myself, different links we talked about, books, stuff like that, it will all be up on our website. Anthony: Cool. Jonathan: Awesome. Anthony thanks so much for your time it has been a real pleasure as always chatting with you. Anthony: Well thank you and keep up all the good work and I can’t wait for the next time. Jonathan: Awesome take care. Further Resources Jonathan Levi’s Becoming A Superhuman Podcast Download the transcript of this interview as a PDF The post How To Develop Superhuman Memory Skills appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_To_Develop_Superhuman_Memory_Skills.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:46am EDT |
Thu, 6 August 2015
But then you start reading all the books and watching the videos and within seconds … Improving your memory suddenly starts to feel like a lot of hard work! It’s understandable. Using a Memory Palace, associative-imagery and practicing Recall Rehearsal can be tough. It involves a lot of moving parts. But if you’ve gotten hold of my free Memory Improvement Kit, then you know that in reality, it’s actually pretty simple. But if you’re not interested in beelining directly towards total memory mastery, no sweat. Here are three games and exercises you can play starting today. They will exercise your memory, move the muscles of your imagination and renew access to parts of yourself you’ve probably long forgotten.
Warning!
Before we get started, you’ll need something to write with. And what you’re about to experience could well change your life forever. (In a good way, of course.) And when I say write, I mean “write.” Sure, you can play these memory games by writing in Evernote or whatever. But don’t. You’ll get more from them by using old-fashioned pencil and paper. You can also use your mind on its own too. These exercises can be completed while daydreaming on a park bench or wherever you find yourself. But with writing, the pages you fill will prove to you that your mind is a vast place with many recesses. And you’ll enjoy the exercise more when you see what emerges from the depths of your imagination. Plus, you’ll be able to feel the weight of your memory in the paper on your hands. And that is a sensation you can’t get from any app in the world. (Though a device that gets heavier the more information it contains could be a fun option for those who want to go on a data diet!)
Do These Things Now If You Want To Improve Your Memory Without Sweat, Blood Or Tears
1. Make a list of all the places you can remember visiting.
Start local and go back as far as you can remember. For example, here are some of the first places that I remember visiting:
Immerse yourself in these memories. Think about colors, smells, textures. Recall the people you were with and call up as many people as you can. Then you can start listing other towns and cities. Again, go as deep into the past as you can. I remember flying to Prince Rupert with my dad where he bought me cowboy boots.
Get All The Memory Guidance You Need From Someone Close To Home
Next, take these early memories and ask someone in your family to give them your version. When I press my memory for sensory detail, I remember nothing of the flight. But I do have glimpses of how the city looked, and I can smell beer on my dad’s breath. For bonus points in your own memory play, move from the deep past up until the present. And do your best to establish a linear time line so you have a feeling for the chronology. But at this point …
Don’t Worry About Exact Dates …
… except for seasons if your sensory memory provides them. For example, in my first memory of watching my dad train one of the dogs, he’s wearing the white sweater my mom knit for him. Although there was no snow on the ground on those mountain plains, white clouds were shooshing from the dog’s noise as it ran after the dummy. And I remember my dad letting me the starter pistol and how cold it felt in my hand. These details make it safe to assume it was Fall. Once you’ve gotten your sensory details gathered, come back and add dates if you wish for an extra memory massage. For that you should learn the Major Method for memorizing numbers. Or you can proceed the next of our memory games:
2. Recall the names of every classmate you can remember.
Again, go as deep into the past as you can. From preschool, I remember Ryan and Clayton. Ryan moved away with his family in grade one, but I would know Clayton for many years to come. I believe the last time I saw him was grade nine, and we’ve only had a quick series of exchanges on Facebook since. For each friend you can remember from this deepest place …
Fill In As Many Sensory And Narrative Details As You Can …
Recall their homes, their parents and your activities together. With Ryan, I remember a white house at the top of a lawned hill with a backyard with white wood fences on either side and a chicken coup at the back. We played downstairs, and he once proudly displayed an American dollar. His mom worked for the Buy & Sell newspaper, and I distinctly remember eating tomato soup. With Clayton, I remember much more. It would take a novella to write it all out, but I find sharp highlights in my memory. These include building blanket tents, watching Chuck Norris movies during sleepovers, going to the pool, smoking cigarettes for my first time and once getting our bikes taken by weird apple orchard farmers for trespassing. Later our bad-ass dads, both bikers, spun by on their Harleys and sorted things out. Clayton’s bikes were always cooler than mine, but I was happy nonetheless to get mine back.
Amazing, Isn’t It?
There’s a ton of detail tumbling around in the depths of my memory. And yours too! But the point of all these examples isn’t to wow you with the details of my life. I mean only to show how much amazing information lays dormant in your mind. Do a little spade work and when you hit a pipe, you’ll be amazed by the valuable oil that gushes out. And your memory will get an easy workout. The exercise will expand your sense of place and time. And the more friends and classmates you list, the more you’ll enjoy the wines of those times you haven’t thought of forever.
3. Recall the Rules of Childhood Games
First, list all the games you can remember playing: Although with these games, there’s not a huge amount of rules to remember, you can still pull up sounds, sensations and locations. You may also recall different versions and hear the sounds of your playmates in your ears. Then move on to card games and board games: I can distinctly remember the friends of my parents visiting to play Uno. The sensory parts are easy, but it’s a workout to remember the rules. Plus, it’s inspiring to think about how on earth I could have understood those rules at such a young age. From there you can list video games and role playing games. I remember Pong as the coolest thing on earth, Chuck Norris and Tron for Coleco, Pacman and Space Invaders for Atari and Contra for Nintendo. The list goes on and on. The more you press your memory for the details and rules of each game, the more fitness your memory will receive.
Did You Like Learning About These Games?
I hope so. Obviously, these are memory games you can come back to again and again. And it took me less than an hour to draft what you’re reading now. Just think of what you can do yourself in a cafe some afternoon using nothing more than a pen, pencil and that special thing called memory floating between your ears. Want to learn more about how to improve your memory? Check out this FREE Memory Improvement Kit and learn how to build a Memory Palace so you can learn, memorize and recall anything at any time, anywhere and under any circumstances. Further Resources How to Teach Your Kids Memory Techniques 3 Simple Exercises That Make Your Life Worth Remembering 5 Brain Exercises That Ensure Memory Improvement The post 3 Memory Games You Can Play With Your Childhood appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: 3_Memory_Games_You_Can_Play_With_Your_Childhood.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 6:59am EDT |
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Wed, 29 April 2015
Have you ever wanted simple memory improvement tips that you can use straight out of the box? If so, then you’re in full a real treat. On this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Dr. Gary Small offers you some of the best ideas from his book, 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain. It was such a pleasure speaking with memory training and brain health fitness expert Dr. Small that I’ve had the interview transcribed. You can read it below or download a PDF version of the interview using the link at the bottom of the transcription. Enjoy! Why Even The Young Can’t Avoid Memory Loss
Anthony: Dr. Small, what is your first memory of being interested in the subject of memory?
Dr. Small: Well, I think I got interested in it when I started studying Alzheimer’s disease and geriatrics. When I got into the field of gerontology, I realized that one of the biggest problems we face is cognitive decline as we age. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of that decline. It turns out, before people get Alzheimer’s disease, they have milder memory complaints. There is just so much worry and concern among millions of people about these age-related memory slips and what we can do about them. That’s really how I got started.
Anthony: You mentioned in the book that memory can start decaying or getting worse even younger than we think. What is one of the typical ages that memory loss can start to occur?
Dr. Small: Usually people begin to notice it in their 40s and studies of neuropsychological testing, pencil and paper tests done on many, many research subjects, has found that for the average 40‑year-old a decline in memory performance can be detected. However, we have done some recent studies, collaborating with Gallop Poll, where we find that people even in their early 20s begin to start complaining about their memory. Now, their complaints are probably different from those of somebody who is in their 70s, but still the methods we’ve developed for the book apply to people of all ages.
Anthony: Given this wide age range, is there a common so to speak anti-memory activity that people are engaging in every day and if so what are those things and how can they be treated or how can people go about their daily activities differently so that they are honoring their memories and their brains?
Dr. Small: That is really what the book is about and it takes the latest science of the brain and explains it in a way that people can understand. It then translates that science into practical strategies that people can begin using.
In the 2-week program, we introduce them to these exercises, strategies and they gradually build up their mental strength, and memory power over that 2-week period and it is just long enough for those exercises to become habit-forming. It involves physical exercise, it involves mental stimulation, stress management, nutrition and learning techniques to compensate for any age-related memory challenges people are experiencing.
Can We Really Trust Memory Exercises To Ward Off Alzheimer’s?
Anthony: You mentioned a lot of different memory exercises in the book. I am wondering if you have a personal favorite out of them all that addresses some of the prevention of Alzheimer’s and just longevity in general that you enjoy the most that you do yourself?
Dr. Small: Let me just clarify. I do not know that the memory exercises will prevent Alzheimer’s, but I think that physical exercise very well may delay the onset of symptoms as will general mental stimulation and proper diet. What the memory exercises will do is to compensate for the decline so people can have a stronger memory longer even as their brains age.
If you look at all of these different exercises, it really boils down to two methods that we now call focus and frame. We need to focus our attention because the biggest reason people do not remember is they are simply not paying attention, they are not getting the information into their brains.
Frame is shorthand for trying to frame the information, providing a framework so that it has meaning. If something is meaningful, it will become memorable and we do that by using visual images. Our brains are hardwired to remember visually very effectively.
We can take a very common memory complaint like names and faces, forgetting names and faces, and teach people how to create visual images to link the name to the face. Therefore, if you meet Mr. Foreman, you might notice that he has a prominent forehead. You notice that distinguishing figure and that links it up with the name in a visual way.
The Shocking Truth About Visual Skills And Memory
Anthony: Many of the memory exercises do involve some sort of visual imagination, and one thing I hear from a lot of people is that they are just not visual. They are maybe more auditory or kinesthetic or conceptual. Is there any advice you would have who would feel they do not have the visual capacities that many of these exercises seem to call for?
Dr. Small: That gets down to a common principle that we want to train and not strain our brains and try to cross-train the brain. Everybody has innate strengths and weaknesses. In areas that are weak, it may be visual skills. Those can be built up gradually. In areas that are strong, we can leverage those strengths to help us compensate better. People who are better with auditory skills can say the name or word to themselves or think up a musical jingle that might help them remember something better.
The Minimalist Guide To Einstein’s Brain
Anthony: You mentioned in 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain a few times Einstein’s brain and maybe you can describe that a little bit. Why does not everyone have a brain automatically like Einstein’s brain?
Dr. Small: I think, to a certain degree, it is genetics. Let us face it some people are Einstein’s at birth and others are not. When they looked at Einstein’s brain remarkably, it looked very much like the average person’s brain except for this area called the corpus callosum, which is the connecting point between the right brain and the left brain. What we might theorize is that Professor Einstein was better able to process information quickly compared to the average person.
Another point we make in the book is that genetics is only part of the story. In fact, the MacArthur study on successful aging taught us for the average person nongenetic factors are more important to keeping your brain young. That is why we emphasize all the simple things that people can do every day to get their brains to function better and their memory to be sharper.
What Video Games Can Teach You About |
Thu, 23 April 2015
Me too. If I don’t use the simple memory improvement techniques I’ve learned, my memory has about the same chance as a dog hearing “sit” once without a shred of repetition. It doesn’t do much good for improving memory. But we’re not dogs. And we have memory techniques. We can hear something once and memorize it forever. And without being dramatic or theatrical (a rare thing for me, dear Memorizers), I can tell you that I think that not developing the skill to do so is a crime against humanity. Failing to memorize using the simple techniques I teach robs not only yourself, but many others of the benefits of this powerful skill. Plus, you get to share information that you’ve placed in your mind. Valuable knowledge that you can produce at will. Change the world kind of stuff. Or it can be the memorize of simple things that makes a huge difference. Like when you’re boarding a plane and you keep forgetting your seat number, holding up the line to look at your ticket for the umpteenth time. Or when your child asks you what year some important event took place for his or her exam at school (major). Or when you’re playing Blackjack and you have no idea how many cards are out (could be major, could be minor depending on your pot). Or when you’re talking to someone and you have to ask them for a second time what their name is, sometimes just 30 seconds or less after the first time you heard it … This final point is a real doozy. Memorizing names is a moral obligation because it tells the person you’re meeting that you care about who they are, that they’re someone worth knowing, that their name has value. Some names are easy. You don’t need a special method to memorize Tom, Dick or Harry (at least most of us probably don’t). But the world is becoming more and more internationalized. We’re meeting more and more people with name structures that we’re not familiar with. And we need to be able to remember them in to be more sociable and to ensure that people know we value them in the daily interactions we make. It’s not that difficult. Hear a name, make a bizarre, exaggerated, big and bright picture filled with zany action and you’ll have that name memorized in a Magnetic second. As you know, there are many others. And a lot of fine details that structure each. It makes a huge difference if you know what they are and how to use them. That’s why I’m making the crazy offer of joining the Masterclass for the trial price of $1. For just a buck, you get 7 days access to the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. That’s seven days to work on improving your memory. Seven days to feel the power of memory improvement. Click here for more info and a lesson on 8 Important Memory Principles You Should Follow. The post Improving Memory And The Moral Obligations Of Memory Improvement appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Improving_Memory_And_The_Moral_Obligations_Of_Memory_Improvement.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 7:10am EDT |
Wed, 15 April 2015
Guest post and podcast narration by Tor Refsland. You’ve finally made the decision. You are going to improve your memory by building a Memory Palace and learn how to memorize things fast using memory techniques. You are so excited! You know that learning how to memorize things fast will give you the unfair advantage compared to the rest of the world. So you close your eyes and start to dream of your new future. The feeling of being able to impress your family and friends by reciting stored information as if you were a super computer can only be described with two words … Freakin’ Awesome! Perhaps your friends will be so impressed that they will insist on buying you drinks every time you go out. And your parents might finally realize that you are the prodigy among your siblings and make you the sole inheritor of your family`s legacy. There is only one problem. You are a victim of one of the biggest success crushing myths…
You THINK you don’t have time.
But if I could prove to you that you actually have more than enough time to learn memory techniques, would that be interesting to you? If so, then read every single word of this post, because it could really change your life. Let me show you how to find time to create a Memory Palace and start using it in record time.
How To Create More Time
Since we all only have 24 hours per day, time is our most important asset. But you already know that from reading Time Management Chef, right? The real issue is that you are super busy and your schedule is packed, right? Welcome to the club! That is why creating more time is the most important skill you will ever learn. But before I move on and tell you how to create more time, let me start by explaining my definition of productivity.
This Productivity Formula Will Double And Even Triple Your Free Time For Using The Magnetic Memory Method
Time period x Goals achieved = Productivity Your productivity is the total sum of the goals you achieve in a certain period of time. There are only two ways to improve your productivity: – you can achieve the same goals in a shorter period of time – you can achieve more goals in the same amount of time If you want to become a productivity superstar you can dramatically increase your own productivity by shortening the period of time and increasing the amount of goals you achieve. That is the exactly what I did when I increased my own productivity by 200%. 200% is insane. If you could experience the same boost, that means you would increase your productivity by four times! Using this formula, I now do in 2 hours what I normally used to do in 8 hours. Even better, you can take this free memory improvement course first:
The Surprising Tip That Will Free Up Your Time – Fast!
So how do we actually create more time? Let me give you a quick crash course. There are 3 components that will help you create more time: 1. Planning and prioritizing The experts say that every minute spent in planning will save you 10 minutes in execution. In my article at Successful Blogging I talk about planning and prioritizing. For example, you can use the ABCDE method to prioritize your tasks: A: Tasks I must do – serious consequences if it doesn’t get done B: Tasks I should do – mild consequences if it doesn’t get done C: Tasks I could do – no consequences if it doesn’t get done D: Tasks I delegate E: Tasks I never do Never do a B task before you have done all the A tasks. Likewise, never do a C task before you have done all the B tasks, etc. And apply the 80/20 rule: you need to identify each day, which 20% of the tasks on your to do list will give you 80% of the results. By starting to implement the tactics above, you can literally increase your productivity with 100 % over night. 2. Focus One of the most important skills when it comes to becoming more productive and achieving your goals in a shorter period of time, is the ability to focus. As I talk about in my article on Blogging Wizard, true focus comes with some requirements. In order to be able to laser focus, you have to: - knowing what to do (work from a plan – to do list)
3. Increase productivity Increasing productivity means that we are able to increase our results in a shorter period of time. Becoming more productive is key when it comes to freeing up more time in your life, so you can spend it on practicing memory techniques. On Skip Prichard’s site, I’ve talked about one important factor – a factor that can change everything once you understand it. Studies have shown that most people are most productive the first 2 hours after they get out of bed in the morning. Some people are most productive in the evening or perhaps during the night. What does this mean? It means you have to identify at WHAT time you are the most productive. Then you have to reserve that period of time for your most important tasks. This will literally turbo boost your productivity. In combination with the time management and productivity techniques you’ve just learned, to improve your memory fast …
You Need The Right Tools
When Anthony asked me to write a guest post for his great website, I asked him for more information regarding the memorizing technique topic. He recommended that I read one of his posts about creating and populating a Memory Palace. Needless to say, Anthony Metivier is one of the best in the business when it comes to helping people learn how to memorize things fast. So what did I do? I read the article and decided to use my productivity formula, then I got cranking.
How To Create A Memory Palace
Since I had never created a Memory Palace before, I wasn’t aiming for a world class Memory Palace. But as a time management and productivity expert, “how long will it take to create a Memory Palace?” was the first question that came to mind. My next question was, “where should I start my path through the Memory Palace?” To keep things simple and quick, I decided to use my most familiar place. So I drew an outline of my apartment, and set a station in every corner of every room. To make sure the Memory Palace followed the Magnetic Memory Method principles, I made the starting point in my Memory Palace the front door. In order to keep my path linear, I made sure to create the journey so that I always follow the right side of the wall.
A couple more decisions later, I had built my first Memory Palace. My success felt awesome! I thought I was going to spend at least 30-40 minutes on it! But 32 stations in just 10 minutes? That`s incredible.
Will you be able to complete your first Memory Palace in less than 10 minutes? If you follow the principles, I don’t see why not. The most important thing is that you ask the same questions I asked myself and then complete your Memory Palace as soon as possible. And remember the following:
– move around in the Memory Palace in a logical manner If you haven`t created a Memory Palace, please spend up to 10 and no more than 15 minutes to create it now. Have you done it? Awesome. Okay, what`s next? Then it`s time to… Populate the Memory Palace With Killer Information!
As with most things in life, the more passionate you are about the subject, the easier it will be to remember. Since I`m a time management expert, I don’t spend my time on anything that doesn’t either save me a lot of time, or give me a good amount of value for the time I have spent. I’m always about getting the biggest ROI (return on investment). After all, what’s the point of building a Memory Palace only to populate it with boring, trivial information that you almost NEVER use? In addition, your first Memory Palace should consist of information that won`t get outdated and that you won’t need to switch out. The best information to memorize is the information you want to hold in memory forever. And because it’s important and excites you, this will increase the speed and intensity you bring to the memorization process. So what did I do? I had the following criteria:
Since I have my own blog where I write about time management, I needed to pick a topic that would be useful for my business. I ended up with headline templates for blog posts. Notice, I didn’t say headlines. I said headline templates. Why? Because knowing X amount of headline templates is better, than knowing the same amount of headlines (which you would need to dissect, analyze and convert into a template anyway, if you wanted to use each headline in the best way possible). No need to recite the best headlines ever made, if you can`t apply their formula? Right? And as you continue reading, you might want to think how memorizing templates might help you in your studies or profession. For my purposes, I decided to memorize 8 headline templates from Jon Morrow’s free 52 Headline Hacks: 1. The Zen of X 2. Can`t keep up? The 11 Ways to Simplify Your X 3. How to Take Charge of Your X 4. The Minimalist Guide to X 5. 10 Shortcuts for (CTP – completing tedious process) in Record Time 6. Get Rid of (recurring problem) Once and for All 7. How to End X 8. How to X in 5 Minutes After 30 minutes I had memorized them.
All of them!
How did I remember them ? I started with memorizing bullet point 1 with a vivid picture. Then I recited bullet point 1 and created bullet point 2. And so on. It looked like this: 1. Memorize bullet point 1 It looks rather easy, right? No degree in rocket science needed here. Just following a simple system will do the trick.
How To Find Time To Maintain Your Memory Palace
In order for you to train your memory and to be able to find and recite the necessary information even quicker, you want to take a walk in your Memory Palace daily. How do you find the time for doing this? Spend the time that you are already using on other routine activities. You can recite your whole Memory Palace and everything in it while you do your morning routine, when you are taking the commute or when you are working out. I would recommend going through your Memory Palaces once a day at the same time everyday. Think about it. You will be brushing your teeth no matter what. Why not take a morning stroll through your Memory Palace at the same time? You may be thinking: Okay, Tor, I get it. But when do I find time to expand my Memory Palace? Well, let`s cover that in the next section…
How To Find Time To Expand Your Memory Palace
When to expand your Memory Palace, depends on your need. However, when you are a beginner when it comes to using memory techniques I would recommend to start slowly. The most important thing is to actually build your first Memory Palace and maintain it by reciting it daily (for example, as part of your morning routine). You can for instance put new bullet points into your Memory Palace every Saturday after breakfast, or when you are doing commute or working out. When exactly you do this depends on the schedule you have set for yourself in order to reach your specific goals.
Remember …
… the most important thing is to have fun and to just start applying it. If you set a schedule that is too hard when it comes to expanding your Memory Palace, you will become fed up and probably look at it as a tedious, boring task. But it should be neither tedious nor boring. There’s too much to gain by expanding your memory, increasing your brain capacity, boosting your confidence and saving time reciting stored information. In addition to the benefits above, I know that when you are willing to set aside time, you can learn whatever skill you want. Now you have the recipe for how to create a Memory Palace, how to memorize things fast and how to do both in record time. So get out there, expand your memory and have fun! If you want to learn how to create more time, click here to get my free eBook Insane Productivity Hacks and learn how to DOUBLE your productivity in 7 days. The post How to Memorize Things Fast Using These Time Management Tips appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_to_Memorize_Things_In_Record_Time_Using_These_Time_Management_Tips.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:21pm EDT |
Thu, 9 April 2015
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Thu, 2 April 2015
They want to remember their dreams with clarity, consistency and in ways that change their lives. Profoundly. And although I don’t do lucid dreaming myself all that often (and try to avoid it), remembering dreams can help you feel more lucid during your waking life. Here’s what I mean with props to my friend Stefan for his incredible lucid dreaming and memory questions: Even with this powerful information, I wonder how many people will ever develop the skills needed to recall their dreams consistently? If the number is low, I find that incredibly sad. Because here’s the consequence: Now being able to remember your dreams means you will never develop fluency in one of the world’s most prominent languages: the language of dreaming. Worse, you will never experience the nuances and layers of experience made possible by advanced dream recall.
Why Is Remembering Dreams Just As Difficult As Lucid Dreaming?
Why is dream recall such a struggle? Many would-be dreamers blame a lack of sleep time. They don’t have enough time in bed for effective dreaming. But with proper training in dream recall, you can learn to notice yourself entering the dream world even before you’ve fallen “unconscious.” Don’t believe the REM myth that dreaming begins at some special hour after you’re in deep sleep. The notion that dreaming only occurs during REM has never been true. In fact, you are dreaming right now but have not yet learned to see and experience it. In short, dream recall begins by changing your definition of what counts as a dream. Then try some of these tips: But even with an improved definition (you’re always dreaming), some still claim that dream recall is too hard. And no doubt. Authors on the top don’t make it easy. They teach that you should draw symbols on your hand, practice “reality checking” and engage in other tedious methods. The truth is that you don’t need to artificially create “triggers.” There are better ways, more enlightening and elucidating ways, and ways that can improve all aspects of your life. So what helps with dream recall? 1. A Dedicated Memory Strategy For Remembering Your DreamsStrategy starts with motivation, so before you start, please make sure that you really want to remember your dreams. It’s an important consideration because you learn a lot about yourself when you recall dreams at an advanced level. And you motivation requires method if you’re going to experience real gains as you stretch your memory muscles. 2. Believe That Dream Memory Strategies Will Work For YouPeople often tell me that they cannot remember any dreams. They never have and never will. But such statements usually come from disbelief. Dream recall has been going on for thousands of years using different techniques. If you can accept that you’re not different than anyone else, your memory will amaze you with what you can achieve. Try out the main technique discussed in this episode of the podcast and you will marvel at the progress you’ll make. 3. Stop Thinking That Memory Strategies Are Too Much WorkYou will need 1-5 minutes every morning to practice the dream recall technique talked about in this podcast. There’s nothing to it. You only have to do it over a period of two or three days to get results. Often, you’ll get results as soon as the next day. The best part is that once you start, dream recall will serve your life in many ways. So I have a suggestion for you before you finish the podcast and start your journey toward advanced dream memorization skills. Believe in yourself. When I started working on dream recall, I told myself it wouldn’t work. I wasted a lot of time with this false belief. But once I settled into the practice, dream recall hooked me. Now I’ve got a YouTube playlist all about the practice: The ability to remember your dreams with near-100% accuracy creates wonderful things for you. And it opened the world’s doors for me. It also healed me in many ways and changed how I view reality. As a result of dream recall, I am more a positive, productive and contributing member of society. And I’m confident that becoming an effective dream memorizer will do the same for you. Please note that I’m not talking about anything “New Agey” or “NLP-ish.” I base the dream recall techniques and related approaches I teach on scientifically demonstrated principles known to increase the happiness of individuals. Dreams remain essential to the human experience. And those with an advanced ability to engage with their dreams experience greater pleasure and more interesting lives. So I hope that you will take the time to practice dream recall after listening to this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. And if it changes how you think about lucid dreaming, let me know. You can also check out the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass for more information about advanced dream recall. Further Resources Lucid dream article on Wikipedia A dreamy article about using movies and series as Memory Palaces The post Memory Strategies For Your Nightlife And Why I Don’t Do Lucid Dreaming appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Memory_Strategies_For_Your_Nightlife_And_Why_I_Dont_Do_Lucid_Dreaming.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 6:50am EDT |
Thu, 26 March 2015
Ever Felt That Skull Melting Stress When Preparing For An Exam? If so, this may be the most important information you ever hear and read. Download the episode and keep reading this post all the way to the end so that you never struggle with passing an exam again. And if your schools days are over and you’re the parent of a student, be their hero and pass this information onto them. These techniques work for everything you need to learn, even difficult topics like memorizing human anatomy. How The Regeneration Of Your Cells Can Set The Stage For Making Your Memory Razor SharpWanna know why you forget so much of the information you read? It’s because we miss so much detail when we only listen or read a book once. Not only that, but you’re a different person the second time around. I learned this from my Uncle Walter. Unfortunately, he died in a train wreck, but he told me something I’ve never forgotten: Read the most important books you’ve encountered at least once every seven years. Every cell in your body will have been replaced, and you’ll be coming to it as a completely new human being. Of course, if you’re re-reading memory improvement books, be careful. Even the best memory improvement books are sometimes wrong. No amount of rereading will fix that. In any case, I’ve taken Walter’s advice to heart, but when it comes to podcasts and audiobooks and learning how to enhance memory, it’s possible to revisit them much sooner. And I love using Audiobook Builder by Splasm in conjunction with my iPhone so that I can get in all that info super-fast without affecting the sound quality. And today’s Q&A gives us the opportunity to talk about how to use this software in combination with the regeneration of your cells to learn and memorize everything you need to pass any exam: Schoolwork Can Be A Ball———- Dear Anthony, When memorizing textbooks, is there a good general guideline as to what key points to place in memory palaces? Only focusing on the most relevant information is a great way to save time when studying, and I am curious if you have a strategy as to what information is placed in a memory palace using your index card method. Are these key ideas derived from what is taught in lectures, or are they based on what is most interesting to you? I have downloaded your video course Memory Secrets of an A+ student as well as read many books on memory, and your methods make learning and memorizing more fun and effective. I discovered that schoolwork can be a ball no matter what the subject is, all thanks to me stumbling upon you website. ———- This question is great. And there are a lot of ways to answer it. For example, How To Memorize A Textbook remains the most popular episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. But for now, the first thing I would say is that … A Good Lecturer Will Make It Clear To You What Key Ideas Are ComingFor example, I used to write down all the “keywords” on the side of the chalkboard in a column. Students could literally “read” what I was saying and match them against the keywords. It seemed really effective because when the final quiz arrived, hardly anyone had trouble getting 98% or higher. Not all lecturers do things like this, or even present structured talks. Sometimes I don’t follow a plan myself because I like to use tangents and ask questions in the middle of a lecture. In cases like these, it’s a matter of listening for what jumps out at you. I also recommend taking no notes and recording the lecture. Some nice professors will even allow you to place your recording device on the podium. If not, you can still get a decent recording if you sit in the first row. And what are you going to do instead of taking notes? Harness The Secret Power Of DoodlingSeriously. Give it a try. Your mind will “scan” what’s being heard, and when something strikes you as a key point, write down one or two words in the middle of your doodle. You can mindmap too if you want, but I like doodling. Or sketching. I find that I can listen intently and deeply when doing this. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that I’m paying far more attention than anyone else in the room precisely because I’ve got more than one representation center of my brain operating. At least, that’s my speculation. And that speculation is a key part of learning how to enhance memory in many respects. Here’s What To Do NextGo home and listen to the lecture again with a Memory Palace prepared, and a stack of index cards as described in the How to Memorize a Textbook episode of the podcast. And remember, there are only 4 Memory Improvement Systems You Need to be successful every time you study. If you’ve been given additional reading as part of the lecture, you might want to do that reading first before returning to the lecture. Again, the most important information is going to be the stuff that leaps out at you as the most interesting first. Why? Because you’re more likely to remember this information without the assistance of mnemonics and Memory Palaces. You won’t have to go to the Method of Loci for this stuff – though later you can if you want. And it’s just good practice to do so. But the point is that you go to your Memory Palaces primed with interest. That will make your memory Magnetic. And that way, the not so interesting stuff will stick with greater ease because you’ll be using the power of familiar locations and well-constructed Memory Palace principles. And you’ll be connecting it to what interests you. But of course … A Lot Depends On What The Instructor Is Looking ForSo if you want to be a cutting edge student, here’s what you’ve got to do: Go to the instructor. Make an appointment if you have to. Then ask the instructor to make the evaluation criteria clear to you. He or she may have a specific rubric. And if you can – record this talk! Why? Because when you hand in your work or answer questions on an exam that don’t give you the results you were expecting, you have a record of this conversation. Of course, you don’t want your teachers to feel like they’re under observation in a totalitarian state, but the fact of the matter is that you (or your parents) are paying their wages. You deserve to have the requirements made available to you in crisp, clear and sparkling detail. And That’s How You Know What To Focus On In Your StudiesIt doesn’t get any simpler than that. To review: 1) Pay attention to the things that jump out at you. If you’re interested in these details, they’ll be much more Magnetic. You’ll be memorizing them more for detail and ordered recall than anything else. They’ll also be a great “connecting” device for incorporating the information that you don’t find so interesting. 2) Know what the instructor wants and make sure you’ve memorized that information. When learning how to enhance memory for your studies, it only makes sense to focus on the information they want you to know. The rest is icing on the cake. 3) Come prepared with a well-formed Memory Palace. If you don’t know how, scroll up to the top of the page and register for my free Memory Palace Mastery course. 4) Perform proper Recall Rehearsal 5) Listen to this podcast with Scott Gosnell. He talks about a very special way to build a Memory Palace for prepping for exams. I hope this guidance helps you out. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Further ResourcesNote: The program mentioned at the end of this presentation is no longer available. A modified version of Memory Secrets of an A+ Student (now called The Masterplan) can be found in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. If you’re interested in taking that memory training, here’s where to go next: Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass The post How To Enhance Memory And Pass Any Test Or Exam appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_To_Enhance_Memory_And_Pass_Any_Test_Or_Exam.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 8:54am EDT |
Thu, 19 March 2015
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Thu, 12 March 2015
How To Build Memory Palaces – Even If Your Home Is Microscopic!It’s true. Housing in Japan is notoriously tiny. And that can make it challenging to use them for effective Memory Palace construction. As always, however, I’ve got a solution to suggest. Today’s podcast Q&A will give you plenty of ideas that will boost your success no matter how small your abode may be. And the best part is that you can read the entire episode right here too! Your Cramped Home Is Bigger Than You ThinkHello Anthony, I am just having a few obstacles come up with completing the worksheet and building the foundations of the Memory Palaces. For example, I know that I have been living at various spots throughout my life, but maybe I am not so confident about the layout of say, the school I attended, or the shopping mall I visited, etc. How vivid and detailed do these locations have to be in order for them to qualify as a Memory Palace? Another question would be about distance. What if I cannot remember in detail where things are in my journey of the Memory Palace? For example, walking around campus in my University. Things that I do remember are sometimes far apart from each other. Also, I am just naming spots, like the library, the parking lot, etc. I can probably go online and look at a map and that would most likely jog my memory as I mentally walk through the campus, and it would have the proper names of the buildings and the locations. How do I not get crossed up in a cramped area like my apartment? I live in Japan, and things are unbelievable tight in these apartments. This could be a real challenge. Are there strategies for not getting crossed up when memorizing the layout of a memory palace. Do we stay on one side of the wall or walkway and exit through the other side? For example, the school I work at now. How would I navigate this? (I could also pdf you a map of the layout). Imagine a Square with one side missing. And classrooms go down to the end of each side. Also, are we walking or are we flying / floating through our Memory Palaces since walking through large spaces like a Shopping Mall, or a University Campus, or an Amusement Park would take too much time to navigate? Thank you so much for your help and support. How To Wake Up Your Imagination And Make Even A Fishbowl Seem Like A Football Stadium In Your MindThanks for this question! Ultimately, a lot of these questions will be answered by experience. But based on my own experience, I can tell you this and then expand on some ideas: I personally don’t need my Memory Palaces to be so vivid. However, when I take the time to go through various exercises I’ve created (or heard about from Magnetic Memory Method readers and course participants), each Memory Palace becomes more vivid. And the effects are more immediate, intense and long-lasting. The exercises are simple, but depend upon being relaxed. In fact, all of the technical strategies aside, the number one piece of Magnetic Magic underlying the Magnetic Memory Method is relaxation. The Surprising Techniques That Makes Everything As Easy As Whip CreamSo here’s what to do first: Get yourself in a relaxed state. Use mediation, Pendulum Breathing, progressive-muscle relation and any other principles you know. Everything will come together. Once you’re in a relaxed state, all you need to do is wander through the Memory Palaces. Figure out if you can take a journey through the Memory Palace in a way that follows the Magnetic Memory principles of not crossing your path and not trapping yourself. The journey can be simple or relatively complex so long as these principles are in effect, and you can make a natural journey. I also recommend that you don’t try passing through walls like a ghost or jumping out of windows, etc. Why? Because these activities use mental energy and take the focus from simply going from one station to the next. You need that so you can quickly decode the imagery you’ve created and placed at the station. Can you proceed to memorize using a network of Memory Palaces without following each of these? Of course … but you risk spending mental energy on remembering where to go next. And this prevents you from focusing on what comes next during recall practice. Very Private Matters That Only You Can TackleAgain, personal experimentation is key. Dealing with distances is an interesting issue, but it is again solved by personal experimentation. I use the campus of one of the universities I studied at extensively, but always focusing on individual college or administrative buildings. There were also not any unusual distances between the buildings. But if I were to face long distance issues, I would consider creating multiple journeys and labeling each accordingly. In sum, it sounds like your apartment might not make an ideal Memory Palace. But don’t throw it away! You can save it for when you are at a more advanced level and start working with virtual Memory Palace elements. These would include bookcases and the like. How To Play Memory Like Music In Your MindAs for flying/floating, I came up with the term “Magnetic” because as things work for me, I am simply drawn from station to station. Almost as if a Magnet had pulled me there. You might like to fly or float, but this is something you will learn from practice and experimentation. I realize that I “pass the buck” onto practice and experimentation a lot, but there’s a reason for that. It’s because learning the Magnetic Memory Method is essentially like learning music. There are many elements that come together in order for a musician to produce sound based on reading marks on a page. The Magnetic Memory Method is those marks on the page and you are the musician. Sure, there are a few shortcuts here and there, but if you want to experience the music (i.e. the boost in fluency made possible by memorizing vocabulary en masse) then you’ve essentially got to know 1) How to read the music and 2) How to perform it on your instrument (which in this case is your mind). But There’s A Paradox!A lot of people say “but my mind is different!” To a certain extent that is true. But how music is written and how it is performed relies on the same eyes, ears, fingers that most of us have to work with. And the principles of music are more or less universal. Yet each person who picks up an instrument has the amazing ability to play it in a way that is unique from every other musician. I don’t know if Heavy Metal is your thing, but there is no one else on earth who can write and play riffs like David Mustaine from Megadeth. You can actually use musical terminology to describe his note preferences and some of the flavors and tones he uses. But at the end of the day, only he can do it. This is true of all musicians, whether they are great musicians or not. And this is true of all language speakers. Whether it’s our mother tongue or a second language, we learn it and then use it through a vast network of personal mental associations. These are our entirely our own and yet are still based on universal principles. And That’s A Wonderful Thing!Why? Because you have all the “Rock Star” substance you need to excel. You’ve just got to take this piece of music I’ve given you, fill in the words you want to memorize and then start to perform. The last thing I would suggest to you (for now) is that you start visiting new places and take care to pay attention to their layout. If you haven’t got enough places in your past, the good news is that the future is a big place. There is no end to the new locations you can collect for: a) General enjoyment in life and b) Memory Palace development Carry a notebook with you, make a list of new places you’ve been and take a few seconds to draw a layout or take some photos if that helps. Trust me, you won’t regret it. It’s True: Size Does Not MatterOn the matter of size, I was in Leipzig the other day, but it really doesn’t matter that the hotel room was small. I still made a mental image of it because there are all kinds of occasions where even just a tiny space can quickly provide ten stations for memorizing something. There is no building too large or small for Memory Palace construction and use. I hope these thoughts help you move forward! Let me know if I’ve missed anything or if you have any further questions and I hope to be in touch again soon. Further Resources How to Renovate A Memory Palace The post Memory Techniques Are Big In Japan appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Wed, 4 March 2015
You’re standing in the Kitchen with the refrigerator door open. You know you’re not hungry, but for some reason you’re staring inside. You think to yourself, “What was the reason again I’m here?” But nothing comes. You’re mind is blank. You can’t remember why you went into the kitchen at. “Curse this short term memory of mine!” you say. “If only I had a better memory…” Do You Make This Epic Mistake About Your Memory?Many people give up on trying to learn a foreign language because they have this notion that they don’t have the memory for all of the vocabulary words involved. We’re here to dispel that myth. Many believe a strong memory is something you are either born with, or are lacking and are doomed for all of eternity. People watch the World Memory Championships and think “Man … I could never be like that”. The truth is, improving your memory is a coachable skill that like any coachable skill, can be improved upon by proper training. We’re not talking about training through rote memory, which is simply the process of memorizing through repetition. We’re talking about the use of Mnemonics. How To Understand Understand |
Thu, 26 February 2015
It’s no secret and certainly no shame about it. People get depressed. Ain’t nothing new. Before depression, was melancholy. Some called it “deprimare” (Latin). Some called it “melas” (Greek). Manic comes from the “manikós” and “manía” (Greek) and means inclined to madness. Latin later turned the word into “mania.” The names may change, but the states remain the same.Mania and depression are the sorts of thing that can happen to anyone, at any time, for any reason … or for no reason at all. I hope these states never happen to you, dear Memorizers. But if they do, I highly recommend that you supplement your medical treatment with mnemonics. I’m not a doctor (at least not the medical kind), so I’m not qualified to offer medical advice. I can only tell you that when the black bile of melancholia hit me during my graduate studies, it hit hard, it hit bad and it did its best to sink my Magnetic ship into the rough seas of depression. Anyhow, the inspiration for today’s episode and sharing these memory improvement tips for students suffering from Manic Depression comes from a listener of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. He wrote: Thanks for sharing your story. I also have bipolar. It’s a tough thing to deal with and I appreciate your willingness to share your story. I have always wanted a doctorate degree. But for reasons you are well acquainted with, it has been a massive struggle. Another one of my life goals is to learn Russian and be fluent. I feel skeptical that the methods outlined here can help someone like me to accomplish these goals, but I’m willing to take a deep breath, and give it 100%. Honestly, what’s the worst that can happen? It either works or it doesn’t, right? I’m going to try hard to make this work, and I will be in touch to let you know how I’ve progressed, but for now I wanted to just thank you for bringing the possibility to me, and for sharing your struggle with bipolar. In today’s episode of the podcast, I address this letter in detail, giving you the reasons why you should feel the mania and depression and do it anyway. There is nothing that you cannot achieve just because you have this emotional dis-ease. Concentration Zen For Students With Brains Bipolar Medication Has Turned To MushI’ve talked several times before about my personal history with concentration issues, so you’re not alone. I was thrown into a severe depression as a grad student and that’s one of the things that led me to memorization techniques. And of course, no sooner than I emerged from the depression, I found myself riding back up to the sky. And it’s hard to focus when you’ve got the wind blowing hard in your face as you blast towards the moon. But even with memory techniques to guide me during these torrential states, they didn’t completely eliminate the concentration issues. One practice that I found helpful (though not always) was to read out loud. Narrating books can put strain on the voice and requires a lot of water, but it also helps generate focus during especially difficult passages. When narration wasn’t possible, I found audiobooks whenever I possibly could. This is usually easy for novels, but not so easy for dry theoretical texts – hence reading out loud. But the point is not to “read” the audiobooks while walking around or cooking bacon. For the purposes of serious study, you want to have the actual text in front of you and read along with. That’s why I always listened and read at the same time. And If I had to, I recited the book myself and then listened to my own narration while following along with the book in hand. How Memory Techniques Saved The Lovely Voice You Hear Today On The MMM PodcastNext, I studied memorization techniques (you knew that was coming). These are great because they sharpen the mind and improve concentration. I think it’s because practicing with Memory Palaces and related techniques sends more oxygen to the brain. It also helps improve recall (of course) because it’s a simple matter to store key points in a carefully prepared and predetermined Memory Palace. Along with memorization techniques, meditation is incredibly helpful for avoiding all of the 17 student fails I’ve talked about elsewhere on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.. Nothing fancy. Just sitting, breathing, watching your thoughts. 3-5 minutes is good, 10 minutes is very good and 15 minutes is exceptional (that’s a loose quote from a meditation training I heard once upon a time). Three 15 minute sessions a day works gangbusters for me. Then there’s the matter of diet and exercise. Sorry to spread the bad news, but eating processed foods and anything wrapped in plastic or bolted into a can is probably not going to help concentration. I’m not a doctor (well, I am, but not the medical kind) so I can’t give any dietary advice. But you know the drill. Eat well and keep fit. While You “Treat” Manic Depression With Memory Palaces … Look At What Else They Can Do …And then read these … Further Resources Memorizing Vocabulary Fights Depression Robin Williams And The Most Unusable Memory Palace In The World Dr. Jim Samuels on using mnemonics to relieve stress Before I go, don’t think that you have to have a mental illness to benefit from these memory tips. They’re good for anyone and everyone. The post Memory Improvement Tips For The Manic Depressive University Student appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Memory_Improvement_Tips_For_The_Manic_Depressive_University_Student_Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:28am EDT |
Wed, 18 February 2015
Plus, I want to show you a number of Memory Palaces created by Magnetic Memory Method readers and course participants. Incredible Images That Show You Exactly How You Can Build Your Own Rome Of Memory In A Single Day!So read every word on this page, watch each and every video from beginning to end and listen to the entire podcast. First up … A Killer Resource For Becoming A SuperHuman! Not so long ago, I interviewed the great Jonathan Levi, a fellow instructor over at Udemy and now podcaster extraordinaire. He interviewed me in an hour long session that covers all kinds of memory topics that you’re going to want to listen to right away and then subscribe to the Becoming Superhuman Podcast. What you’ll learn in this special Magnetic Memory Method interview includes: * How to reduce stress with mnemonics … * Fundamental principles of memory and how I improve my memory every day … * How to increase memory power simply by understanding what noripinephrine is … and then acting according to its whims! … * Memory improvement tips for overcoming the “primacy effect” like a sabre-toothed tiger glides through the jungles of forgetfulness … * How to improve short term memory by understanding the Method of Loci and creating top-notch, bulletproof and 100% Magnetic Memory Palaces … * … and much, much more! Next up … The Unbelievable Secret To Getting Free Donuts While You Relieve Boredom At Work And Get Really, Really Fat!It was just another Magnetic day here at the Magnetic Memory Method headquarters until I opened my email and a subject line leapt out at me … Thanks for the Donuts! And so I asked myself … What manner of spam chicanery is this? No chicanery at all. Check it out! Good Morning Anthony! I am emailing to thank you for the donuts. As a fun activity and to help take our minds off of work, I made a wager with my fellow office coworkers that I could memorize – verbatim – a chart of makes, submakes, model numbers and letters, RV types, sub-types, and the 2-digit VIN identifier of 83 RVs as produced by our company. Again, this was for fun and by no means a testament to memorizing things “verbatim.” If I lost, I would buy the office donuts. If I won, the office would by donuts and I could have as many as would be considered gluttonous. Though this apparently seemed to them a silly bet that I could never win, I did warn the office that I was quite confident in my ability to do this. So, after a 2-week study window and a 20-question “test” (plus many shouts of random VIN IDs from the non-believers) I received enough donuts to move my belt out a notch. Again, !!THANKS!! For the donuts and I’m sure you will be happy to know I passed your information out to everyone as a gift for their participation. Sincerely, Matt Simon And because this email comes with an amazing graph of what Matt memorized … I made a video for you so you can see it! Next up … A Memory Palace Made Of BEAR MACE!Okay, not really, but check this Memory Palace sent to us by the amazing actor Matt Newby who has a hilarious produce spoof over at Famousoldie.com. He writes: Hey Anthony! Wanted to share with you some things! First when I started keeping a memory journal I found myself not wanting to open it because well I guess it just looked boring to me … nothing to exciting about a green composition book. So I printed out of retro futuristic designs and things this resulting in Now I want to open it! Second I’ve been doing cards using the Person Action Object method and an 18 room Memory Palace I built in Minecraft. Between Dec when it started and today I’ve done it 17 times with an average time memorized 12min and an average time recalled 9min missing about 4 on average. I feel like I’ve hit an “OK plateau”. Do you think I haven’t done it enough times to feel that way yet? I’ve done a lot of work with the PAO method. I got your book last night about cards and I feel like I’ve done so much work with the PAO I don’t want to switch methods just yet. I did however love the idea of breaking it down into 4 sets good way to make it seem easier! I will get this down to 1 minute! Do you have any drills I could do? Should I try other methods? You da main man with da plan! Matt PS I’m an actor I loved your last podcast! Having come this far, I thought … Why Not Show You Some More Amazing Memory Palaces Created By People Just Like You?Why not, indeed? Here’s one by a young person in grade school sent to me by her teacher (with the permission of the parents, of course). Here’s another presented by a Magnetic Memory Method course participant down in Australia: And to close off this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, let’s look inside one of my very own Memory Palaces! So, I hope you enjoyed this episode. But even if you hated it … what are you waiting for? Get out there and build some Memory Palaces so that you can memorize anything you please! Further Resources Mentioned In The Podcast Jonathan Levi talks about Becoming A Superlearner. My take on the Person Action Object method … and serial killers! Tap the Mind Of A Ten Year-Old Memory Palace Master for more information on using Minecraft as a Memory Palace generator. Magnetic Memory Method Interview with Marc Shannon who talks about How to Remember Anything. The Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Method of Loci article on Wikipedia. The post Improve My Memory And Get Free Donuts! appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Improve_My_Memory_And_Get_Free_Donuts_Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 2:53pm EDT |
Wed, 4 February 2015
Even if you’re not an actor, you’ve probably wondered what it would be like to get up on stage and completely forget your lines. Or maybe you’ve just asked yourself what that would feel like … To go completely blank in front of a crowd. It does happen, even to the best. For example, Matthew Broderick once had to call for his lines many times during a play. In this case, it was due to multiple dialog changes shortly before the performance. But just imagine the pressure one tiny slip up must bring! And think of how much energy it must take to hold all those lines in the mind, sometimes for months if it’s for a play. It must be mentally and physically draining. Unless of course you’ve got top-notch memory techniques. Doing my research, I was quite surprised by the range of activities actors use. And yet not all actors use straight-up mnemonics, making each of these memory tips interesting in their own right. 1. Don’t Memorize Your LinesSounds weird, right? After all, Peter O’Toole famously said that he and most of his colleagues get paid to memorize lines. The acting they do for free. But many actors forgo memorization, at least at first. Instead, they read their scripts again and again. Anthony Hopkins, for example, talks about reading his scripts several hundred times. But if they’re not memorizing the lines, why all the repetition? It’s because they’re looking for intentions. Motivations and the emotional experiences their characters go through. As we know from mnemonics, emotions are very memorable and build a lot of connections. And if you think about it, the most memorable scenes from movies all feature hugely exaggerated reactions based on emotional states. In sum, all of this repetitive reading builds associations at a microscopic level. The smallest detail in the dialog can make the lines much more memorable to the emotional being of the actor who must react from feeling just as much as from memory. And it’s the smallest twitch of a facial muscle that can make the difference between a blockbuster flop and an Oscar-winning movie. 2. Use Location and MovementActing takes place in time and space. It is an art of change, and as Plato and Aristotle pointed out about memory, change is always movement. And just as actors link their lines to emotional states, they also link them to movement. Knowing where a character says something, in which emotional condition and in response to what context all provide powerful cues. This cool technique resembles Memory Palace work in many ways. But instead of using a familiar home as a Memory Palace, the film set or theater stage becomes a specific-purpose Memory Palace designed to accomplish a specific task. Both Mark Channon and Scott Gosnell have talked about different ways of making Memory Palaces like this on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast before. As an actor himself, Channon has used the technique just described. And Scott told us about going to an examination room before you take a test to install your imagery. This “immersion” technique works extraordinarily well because you’ve got a real representation of your Memory Palace in front of you. This immediacy lets you focus on the memory triggering power of your associative-imagery with great immediacy. And if you’re an actor or want to perform well on an exam, you need immediacy. In fact, you need the target material to leap into your mind like mice on cheese in a world free from cats and barriers. 3. Focus on EmotionsWe’ve already talked about emotions in the first part about mentally processing the lines of a play again and again. The idea here is that the more you read the lines, the more dimensions of the character in the context of their narrative world you’ll understand. But the actor also needs to feel those emotions at a legitimate level. And theoretically, by making oneself feel the emotions in a genuine way, the lines should be more memorable. And if you think about it, you’ve probably had more than one experience in your life where you could remember parts of an argument word for word. Maybe you’ve experienced arguments so intense that you can still remember things you’ve heard and said. And it’s this power of supercharged emotions that actors use to help them remember their lines. They hunt for that same spike in feeling in real life that people use to win arguments and memorizers use to make information more memorable. Those are the three main ways actors remember their lines and they can all add something to your practice as a memorizer. And you don’t have to go to your high school or college examination room to get results with real location projection. Try using your home as a Memory Palace sometime. Take lyrics from a song or a poem and stand at or beside or on a station. Create associative-imagery for the first line and with eyes both open and closed, burn that imagery into place. Do this with a couple of lines, physically moving from station to station. Then, looking back, see or reconstruct your associative-imagery using words and decode it. If you like, go back to the station itself and put some motion into your “act of recall.” If you’ve struggled with decoding associative-imagery before, this simple exercise in acting may be the breakthrough you need. Other Ways Actors Have Memorized Their LinesSince we’re here, let’s look at some other ways actors have “memorized” their lines. This part of the post is just for fun, so don’t try any of the following when the stakes are high like during an exam for school or professional certification. You could wind up failing your exam or even getting kicked out of school. 4. Don’t Memorize Anything At AllThis tip for improving your memory is not going to help much, but it is a tribute to the talent of many film and television actors. They simply show up and have their lines fed to them, one at a time. Remember when we talked about using the set of Deadwood a little while ago as a Memory Palace? Well, go ahead and use it to practice virtual Memory Palaces and recalling information, but rest assured of this. Although the actors on Deadwood certainly prepared by memorizing their lines, rarely did they deliver them as scripted. Why? Because the creator of the series, David Milch, changed the lines up to the last minute, including during the shooting of Deadwood. To deal with these changes, actors would assume their places and call “line” in order to be told by someone off-camera what to say. And then they would repeat the line, and their call for help would later be edited out of the footage during post-production. Knowing this behind-the-scenes fact about Deadwood certainly has increased my appreciation for how well those actors managed to stay in character. How about you? 5. Scatter Your Notes Around The SetIt was pretty awesome having Marlon Brando play Superman’s dad back in the Richard Donner film, wasn’t it? But it seems that the much-adored thespian was either lazy or Super-forgetful because, in this bit of film history, he insisted on having his lines on pieces of paper scattered around the set. The people who worked with him were not pleased by his lack of professionalism. Yet, when you watch the film, he certainly does a great job of playing the father of one of the greatest superheroes ever invented. And keep in mind that reciting from a script does not equal bad writing. Cartoon narrators do it all the time and no one criticizes them for that. Still, it’s kind of a weird feeling to think that Brando couldn’t be bothered to memorize his lines in this film. But I’m sure most fans will forget this fact and forgive him. 6. Use An App In Place Of An AssistantThere’s an app that looks interesting called Rehearser. It’s only available for Andriod, so I haven’t been able to assess it, but the idea is that you can import a script and it will feed you the lines that go before yours. These prompts train you to respond without needing an acting partner or a coach. Throw a dedicated Memory Palace strategy into the mix and you’re golden. 7. Let The Gods Of Acting Pump The Lines Invisibly Into Your EarAngela Lansbury will likely never be forgotten for her role as the star of Murder She Wrote. Yet, as age has taken its hold, and she’s boldly refused retirement (and apparently the Magnetic Memory Method), memorizing her lines has become increasingly difficult. http://youtu.be/g7s8NWAqVS8 Her solution when acting from the stage? She wears an invisible earpiece that lets someone offstage feed the lines to her when the going gets tough. Now You May Be Wondering …Is there a way for an actor who needs radio controlled prompting to make improvements, regardless of age or present mental condition? Of course there are ways. Lots of them. I would probably begin with some basic training in the correct construction of Memory Palaces. People who fail to have success with them usually haven’t had exposure to the finer details, which is why I created the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Following that, I would add a few simple memory drills. Memorizing a deck of cards would be one of them. Purely for strengthening visual association skills, it’s a great exercise. It’s also a memory exercise that paves the way for memorizing increasingly abstract words and phrases with greater speed and accuracy.
But were I to coach an actor with memory issues, I would soon add a simple drill we’ve talked about before: Memorizing using dice. Starting with just one die and a poem or longer speech from a play, I would have the actor roll and come up with a number. Whatever number comes up, that’s how many lines she or he will memorize. For example, take one of Adriana’s speeches in Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. If the actor rolled a one, then we would work on memorizing one line on one station. If the actor rolled a five, then we would go for five lines. I would them send the actor home and let them roll that die a couple times a day for a week with the goal of having as many lines as possible memorized. Then, when they show up for the next coaching session, we would roll again. Except this time, if they rolled a three, they would need to recite three lines starting from the third station. If they rolled a six, it would be six lines from the sixth station or six lines backwards if the actor had reached the end of the memorized material. From that point onward, we would add more dice every week. And you can use this memory tip for anything. If you’re working on a foreign language, roll the dice and memorize as many words as the number indicates. Then, use the dice to recall as many words as the dice indicate. Giving yourself a sort pattern like this is the mental equivalent of working out in a gym with skipping rope. Just Do ItAs I’ve hoped to show, actors use many different ways to memorize their lines, and we can take some tips from them to improve our memory abilities when using memory techniques. So what are you going to do with this information? Let it sit like an unproduced play collecting dust on a shelf? I hope not! Get out there and put these ideas to use because taking action by staging a play in the gym of your mind is the only way to get results. And these fun and games? They’ll make your memory Magnetic. Further ResourcesMagnetic Memory Method Podcast Episode on How to Increase Memory By Watching Movies And TV Series Magnetic Memory Method Podcast Episode on using dice to memorize. Superman info on IMDB. Check it out! The post Memory Tips From Actors Who Don’t Clown Around appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Memory_Tips_From_Actors_Who_Dont_Clown_Around.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:25am EDT |
Wed, 28 January 2015
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Grand Master of Memory Mark Channon talks about memory improvement from his perspective as an actor, personal trainer and game show host creator. As the author of How to Remember Anything, Channon presents us with stimulating ideas and actionable techniques you can get started using right away. This interview truly demonstrates just how profound his Total Memory Blueprint will be for you. And in this interview, you’ll learn: * How to build your memory skill set, even if you’re a busy person. * How to memorize the streets of London using a Memory Palace, a bit of 21st Century technology and mnemonic chaining. * How to create powerful reference stories that you can refer to months and years later to recall information. * Exactly how it feels to compete in the World Memory Championships. * How to deal with the occasional “effort” involved in the fun and games of using memory techniques by discovering your purpose. * How to develop concentration, even if your body is busy as a beaver. * How to let go of your inhibitions and remember more without even using any memory techniques whatsoever. * The secrets of being present and active listening and the three levels of communication to focus on. * How to memorize lines for an addition for a Stephen Spielberg film in a foreign language – even if you’ve never learned a word of that language before! * The best mindset to develop for memorizing long texts verbatim. * How to create visual (and yet invisible) cue cards. Use these during a presentation to recall a memorized speech without taking yourself out of the moment. This is great for people who “skip a beat” while searching through Memory Palaces. * What you can learn about mnemonics from Iron Man in the Avengers. * How to use relaxation to create focus and energy without putting yourself to sleep. * How to harness the power of “tiny habits” to be more present, remember more information and deal with information overload. * How to use memory techniques to get tips if you work at a bar or restaurant and one crazy party trick that will amaze your friends – and make them wonder if they can trust you! * The importance of incorporating the fun of play into your memory improvement efforts. * Why you should focus on memorizing “anything” rather than “everything.” * … and much, much more. Amazing Clip From the Pilot Of Mark Channon’s Memory Masters Mini-MMM Review Of Mark Channon’s How To Remember Anything As you know, books on memory skills are a dime a dozen. And few are memorable. But what makes Mark Channon’s treatise and training on the art of memory so unique is its blend of unique ideas and Channon’s emphasis on sharing the sources of his learning and inspiration. And you’ll want to be following up on many of those sources. Ranging from training for actors to ideas drawn from psychologists, Channon not only helps you take control of your memory. You learn to take control of many other aspects of your life too. How to Remember Anything highlights the paradox of memory. It is both absolutely central and at the same time, peripheral to much that we do with it. Channon talks about the power of forgetting – or at least allowing ourselves to align so completely with the present that the ego steps out of the way. And when that happens, you can let memory fulfil its natural role of providing exactly what we need at exactly the right time. Channon compliments the book with brain science, but not to the point of overwhelm. If you’re interested in how and why the brain works, this book presents a snackable primer and all the resources you could ask for if you want to explore further. Each chapter of the book is well-structured and the exercises pack a punch. Many have value apart from raw memorization as well. You can use them to learn more, develop creativity, think critically at a higher level and elevate your communication style. In sum, How to Remember Anything gives particular understandings of the classic memory techniques that will widen your perspective of how they can be used. And there is plenty more for those interested in memory improvement that you won’t encounter in other books on mnemonics, so be sure to check this one out. Resources Mentioned In The Podcast And More! Mark Channon’s free resources on his Memory School website Mark Channon’s World Memory Championship stats How to Remember Anything on Amazon The Memory Workbook on Amazon BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits The post Memory Improvement Fun And Games: Mark Channon Talks About How To Remember Anything appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Memory_Improvement_Fun_And_Games__Mark_Channon_Talks_About_How_To_Remember_Anything.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:34pm EDT |
Wed, 21 January 2015
C’mon, admit it. You think that learning how to increase memory skill and ability is going to be a drag. You’ve seen all those pictures of memory champions with their sound cancelling headphones and nothing could seem more boring. But the truth is that you can improve memory ability simply by using something you already do almost every week, if not every day. That’s right: Merely by watching a movie and thinking about it in a few deliberate ways afterwards, you can exercise and improve memory by an impressive margin. Here’s how: Use The Power Of IntentionBut intend to do what, exactly? Intend to pay attention for the sake of your memory. Harry Lorayne makes the point again and again in his books that memory ability begins and ends with our attention. After all, you simply cannot remember anything to which you haven’t consciously attended. Pay attention to the next movie you watch with the intent to remember more and you’ll already give yourself a cutting edge memory increase beyond belief. Reconstruct The StoryYou probably haven’t done this since you were a kid. You watch a movie and then immediately get on the phone and retell the entire story to a friend. At least, I remember doing this as a kid and I loved hearing my friends recount what they had seen. Back then, after all, if you missed a movie at the theatre, it could be six months to a year before it appeared on videocassette. And even then, there was no guarantee that a video store in your town would carry it for rental. “A Story Told Is A Story Shared”The exercise here is to watch a movie and retell the story to someone. If you cannot find someone to relate the narrative to, tell it to a pet. Speak it into a recording device. Or even just write it down. Who knows? You could wind up becoming a great film reviewer and critic and memorizing what happens in movies for a living. For bonus points, do both: verbally recount the film and write your description down. This will exercise more parts of your memory and improve recall in a deeper way, especially of you make this a regular affair. And keep in mind, this description doesn’t have to be super-lengthy. When I recall the plot points of a movie in writing, I can usually squeeze it all on to a mid-sized index card, the kind that is about half the size of a sheet of paper. If you’re interested in more about memorizing plot points, you can check out this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on memorizing plot points. For extra extra bonus points, listen to someone else tell back the story of a movie they’ve seen. There will probably be some back and forth as they revisit the story from memory, but just let them talk it through. Commit to memorizing at least three major pieces of information.
Hold On To The Names Of CharactersMy girlfriend at the time and I had been watching Deadwood. If you like Westerns, this is a great series. Anyhow, in season two a new character showed up and we both immediately recognized the actress. “What was her name in Breaking Bad?” my girlfriend asked. “Skyler,” I said immediately, “Skyler White.” How did I remember this character’s name so easily and my girlfriend did not – even though we had watched the entire series together, episode by episode? I deliberately paid attention to character names, that’s how. Now, to be fair to this former girlfriend, she never liked Skyler much and doesn’t have the same ten year plus track record that I do as a Film Studies professor. Plus, she didn’t work on memory development using movies the way I do. Or learn how to enhance vocabulary with a Breaking Bad Memory Palace like you see in this video: In this case, it’s not so much that she couldn’t remember Skyler’s name, but that she found it too unimportant to hold in memory. And perhaps her active dislike for the character (who is admittedly dislikable), actively deleted the information from her mind. It would also be hard to say that I would have remembered her first name of I hadn’t actively paid attention to it. Her husband, Walter White, is easy. It’s alliterative, for one thing, which is a simple aid to memory. Plus, “Walter” brings so many character-associated traits to mind: he’s old-fashioned, conservative, cantankerous and it’s easy to see him becoming an old man sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of The Walton’s. Finally, “White” makes you think of the white hat of the good cowboy and innocence is a constant theme throughout the series as Walter White transforms episode by episode into the monster Walter Black. Anyhow, even though Skyler’s name is not as easy to place thematically and has no mnemonic alliteration like the W. W. in Walter White, it was still easy to instantly memorize. How? By associating it with other information worth memorizing to build fast familiarity with the story and increase memory with this simple exercise. For example, I noticed that the story takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There’s almost always a blue sky in this part of the US – at least as seen on the show. Thus, a simple memory association locked the name instantly into place. I also happened to have known a First Nations person named “Calm Sky” when I first started my higher education at Okanagan University College. Bringing this simple fact together strengthened the association even further. Doing Your Homework Has Never Been So Much FunYour homework is to pay attention to character names in the movies you watch and create associations. Are the names obviously constructed to be memorable and thematically rich like “Walter White?” Or are they more abstract like Skyler? You can also create a simple rhyme. For example, Skyler rhymes with Tyler, so you could see her kissing Stephen Tyler from Aerosmith and say it in your mind as you picture it: “Skyler kisses Tyler.” Maybe you’ll even hear an Aerosmith love song as you do this, strengthening the memory by adding color and emotion to the extended context. Believe me, you can think about these questions, answer them and do rhyming exercises while watching a movie without skipping a beat of the story. And it’s great mental exercise that will show you how to increase memory while you’re doing it. It’s also a wicked amount of creative fun. Pay Attention To Where The Characters Live And Where They GoThe mind has an incredible ability to map its surroundings, especially when buildings are involved. Although buildings in movies and series are less distinct than the ones you experience in real life, you can still use them to increase memory power. For example, think of a favorite show or movie. The Lord of the Rings as a whole is fairly indistinct to hold in the mind, but you can probably reconstruct a fairly accurate image of what Bilbo Baggins house on the Shire looks like on the inside – assuming you’ve seen the Peter Jackson film. Same thing for the home of Walter and Skyler White in the Breaking Bad house. You might not remember the exact layout, but in effect, there is the master bedroom, the baby’s bedroom, Walt Jr.’s bedroom, the heating closet where the cash is later hidden under the floor, the washroom, the kitchen, the dining area, living room, patio, pool, fence and driveway. These are all clearly defined areas throughout the series. And if you think about it, you can probably reconstruct the different places that Jesse lived, Hank’s house, Mr. Fring’s And if you can’t bring all of these places to mind at even a superficial level based on the stories I’ve mentioned, then it’s easy to get started on using them to improve memory. Do These Steps To Exercise Your Spatial Memory* Watch a movie or series episode And you can take all of this one step further by using the materials from this memory exercise and turning them into a Memory Palace for use with the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Also, if you go to movie theatre, you can use that location as a Memory Palace too. But that’s a topic for another time, so please do make sure that you’re subscribed to the Magnetic Memory Method for more training and ideas like these. But Wait! There’s More …In the meantime, there’s so much more you can do to improve memory by watching movies and series. For example, you can try to hold the clothing of a character in mind as you move them through the location you’ve mentally reconstructed. It’s almost like playing with Barbie dolls or GI Joe figurines to develop hand-eye coordination. Except in this case, you’re doing it entirely in your mind. Throw drawing into the mix, and about 300 physical muscles will join the game, exercising your brain, your memory and small but critical parts of your body all at the same time. And although there will be more work involved, you can extend all of the techniques you’ve learned to novels. You just need to fill in more of your own details, which as Stephen King talks about in On Writing, you’re probably going to do that anyway instead of following what the author says by the letter. And if you are going to use your own visual imagination as you please, why not do so deliberately and experience memory improvement as a result? It all comes down to the same old truth. You make improvements by taking action. So get out there and watch some movies! Further Resources Complete lists of characters from Breaking Bad and Deadwood. Use them in your memory practice. 8 Movies About Memory Manipulation And How They Inspired Real Neuroscience The post How To Increase Memory By Watching Movies and TV Series appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_To_Increase_Memory_By_Watching_Movies_and_TV_Series.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 6:59pm EDT |
Thu, 15 January 2015
There’s a feeling of powerlessness that comes with failing to recall information, isn’t there? And the more important the information – be it a name, a mathematical formula or a word – the higher that feeling of having no power over your memory becomes. But you really don’t have to suffer from this powerlessness. You can learn how to increase memory power. And the good news is that a meaningful transformation can occur almost overnight using these three simple steps.
1. Determine what “memory power” means to you.
Go ahead and get out a piece of paper or something to write on. Then, without thinking about it too much, write down everything that comes to mind related to your personal concept of memory power. If you like, you can also create a mind map. Mind maps are great because they free you from many aspects of linear thinking and let you see different connections that normally go unnoticed. Make sure that you spend 5-10 minutes on this exercise before taking a break. Then come back to it, assess what you’ve written and add any more details that come to mind. In particular, search your writing and/or mind mapping for three kinds of information that can be placed into different categories. These categories are “fears,” “opportunities” and “strengths.” (I’ve adapted terms from a coach named Dan Sullivan for use in your world of memory improvement, but if you’re an entrepreneur, check out his teaching sometime soon.) Then, on another sheet of paper, put a headline on top that says something like “how to increase memory power.” Beneath that, create three columns, one for each category. For example, when I completed the prose version of this exercise, I wrote: Memory power means the ability to recall anything I’ve studied at any time and under any condition. Relaxation is always part of the process of memory power. It also means learning and memorizing information that will actually make a difference to the quality of my daily life. True memory power exists when I’m able to share the processes and results of how to increase memory power with others. The mind map version (because I think it’s important to do both) looks like this:
* Memorize Facts Next, on the three column sheet, map everything onto the three categories. Scroll to the Further Resources section of this post to download a worksheet if you prefer that to free writing on a blank page. Fears Not being able to concentrate Strengths Creativity Opportunities 45 mins for memorzing vocabulary
This Memory Power Exercise Eliminates All Fear
In sum, this exercise helps not only define what memory power means to you and how to improve it. The exercise also identified your fears. With awareness of these, you can eliminate them one at a time from your life before proceeding to the next exercise. Some people may think this first step towards memory improvement is too involved. However, this should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. You might want to revisit it every so often to see where you stand, however. In other words, your personal definition of memory power is not a “set it and forget it” thing. It’s living, breathing and subject to change as your memory power evolves into something much better.
2. Set a specific goal and study memory techniques.
Every body has heard of SMART goals. To quote from the Wikipedia entry, SMART goals are: Specific – target a specific area for improvement. Measurable – quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress. Assignable – specify who will do it. Realistic – state what results can realistically be achieved, given available resources. Time-related – specify when the result(s) can be achieved. On the final note, it is often suggested that you add a deadline. However, the extent to which this matters (or any of the SMART goal conditions matter) is entirely up to you. In truth, even just having a goal in mind is better than nothing. But the more you can specify the conditions of the goal, the better. That’s why it’s important to include research as part of any goal. Although this means adding an additional step to your goals, it also means you’ll be able to proceed towards your goal on an informed basis. What does research mean when it comes to learning how to increase memory power? As we’ve seen in the previous exercise, it means starting by researching yourself and your memory improvement needs. But the next step is to do some research into memory improvement techniques themselves.
Brace yourself, because there are a lot of them – or at least, there are a solid core of different memory techniques that are taught in different ways by different people. This can lead to the impression that there are literally thousands. But as in card magic where there appears to be a zillion tricks, the reality is that magicians are presenting variations on a small set of themes. To help you navigate the vast world of memory training, I’ve created the Memory Training Consumer Awareness Guide so that you can make an informed decision when choosing a memory training that’s right for you. Please take some time to go through it in either its Mp3 or PDF format and feel free to let me know if you have any questions at any time. After you’ve researched memory techniques and started using them, it’s important to keep practicing. It’s kind of like the way a musician approaches an instrument or an actor approaches the craft. No matter how good you get, you keep playing and performing. It’s not just that the skills need to be maintained – it’s that they need to become a way of life. And just as actors are called actors and musicians are called musicians, there is a name for people who take up memory techniques as a lifelong practice. They’re called mnemonists, though you can also just use the term Memorizer. No matter what you call them, these are some the most Magnetic people on the planet because they’ve taken the natural abilities of their minds – normal abilities that everyone has – and sharpened them. How? Certainly by spending time in self-analysis, doing research and setting goals. So if you’re ready to join their ranks, here’s another exercise.
Determine Exactly What You Want To Memorize
List these down on the a piece of paper. For me, the most important things are foreign language vocabulary, grammar principles, names and faces, facts about art and poetry (which includes the ability to memorize quotes, jokes and even entire speeches). For you, it might be math, programming languages and passwords. There are all kinds of needs, and better you can identify what your memory requirements are, the better the memory training you can seek. My advice is that you concentrate on the memory needs that are going to help you the most right now. If memorizing poetry and all the things that go along with it (quotes, jokes, etc.) have no value to you, then save that for later. Focus on what will get you through school as an A+ student, get you a better job or whatever will bring you immediate pleasure first. Know what motivates you and then look for the memory training that will help you most directly. This will quickly boost your existing motivation even higher because you’ll suddenly see and feel just how quickly you can achieve your goals through memory improvement. Obviously, there are a lot of memory trainings to recommend, but I think you’re best off doing some research of your own. And in addition to my consumer awareness guide, you can readily visit the Magnetic Memory Method resources section too. But because research is such an important part of self-development, do make sure to do some – you’ll learn what research is best by simply doing it, but in brief, here are some tricks of the trade I’ve learned over the years as a student, graduate student and research professor.
Get. Off. The. Internet.
Look, the Internet is awesome. No one is denying that. However, so little of all the print material has yet to appear online. There are books, magazines and articles, audio programs and even old videocassettes that still work that are not and probably never will be online. If you want the fullest possible range of knowledge, go to libraries, used bookstores and for older trainings, go to the Internet, but look at Ebay for old memory training materials. You’ll probably be amazed by what’s kicking around. Here’s another way to get off the Internet with a simple visualization and memory exercise:
When On, Use The Internet Intelligently
Most people run to Google and pop in a bunch of words. However, there are specific search terms you can add in order to radically narrow and improve your searching. Try, for example: Intext More search parameters exist, but these are the ones I typically use. * If you have access to a university library, read journal articles, dissertations and even entire books exclusive to these services. Some public libraries can grant you access to these as well, so ask a librarian. People who don’t physically go to libraries and many people who do don’t realize what a powerful resource a trained librarian can be. They literally search and organize material to be searched and found for a living. * Read outside of the memory improvement genre. Not only do memory techniques appear all over the place in different kinds of books and personal development trainings, but such resources contain all kinds of techniques that you can build onto your approach to memory. This is one of the many aspects that makes the Magnetic Memory Method unique. Relaxation, mindset and scientifically verified methods for generating greater happiness have been included. Of all the books I recommend on a regular basis, 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman is probably one of the best. The simple technique of writing down 10 good things that happened to you every day is worth more than a billion dollars, and I’ll probably repeat that simple lesson a billion times if I live long enough to do it. It’s been that valuable to me and I know it will be that valuable for you too. And it’s ideas that you’ll come across when you read outside of the memory improvement genre. But don’t just rest on the ideas – act on them. You’ll never experience flight by reading about airplanes. At some point you’ve actually for to get on one and actually get into the sky. This is totally an aside, but in writing this, I’m reminded of the poet Ezra Pound. When investigators brought him home from Italy to America to stand trial for treason, he strolled the aisle and whistled as the plane loped the sky over the ocean. This was used as evidence of his mental instability at his trial, but even though he would spend the next 12 years locked up in a mental hospital, the truth is that he was just happy. It was the first time he had ever flown. As with the other exercises, all of this should be fun. Even just 10-15 minutes a week can expand your expertise of the world of memory in rapid order while making you a better researcher overall. Making research part of your memory improvement goals also serves as several memory exercises at once because you’re expanding your knowledge of the field. Working memory processes information and you’re feeding yourself details about ideas and books that you can recall later from long term memory. If you want, you can even use a Memory Palace to memorize the titles of books and articles you’ve read for revisiting later or for your overall knowledge of memory techniques and memory improvement strategies. 3. Create A Personal Memory Power Improvement Program
Now it’s time to implement what you’ve been learning. But implementation without a plan is a dangerous business. Why? Because if you’re working and not getting results, you wind up frustrated. Frustration leads to inactivity. Inactivity leads to abandoning goals. Abandoned goals lead to more frustration, and before you know it, you’re far from where you could be. Worse, you might never wind up coming back. And that would be a tragedy because success with memory techniques is always just around the corner. (Even if you’re already accomplished, the next level also awaits if you regularly implement, experiment and make modifications according to your carefully defined goals.) As is clear to those who follow the Magnetic Memory Method, the Memory Palace is the be-all and end-all to your success with memory improvement. This doesn’t mean that it’s the only way, and this recent correspondence with a reader of How to Learn and Memorize Russian Vocabulary shows that. However, for most people, a well-designed Memory Palace is easy to create and even easier to use. Everything you need is available in the free Memory Palace Mastery video series (click the registration link at the top of the page). It’s never to late to develop this simple skill. Although the explanation is detailed and will take a little time to learn, the reason I go into such depth is because I want to ensure your success. I’ve seen it time and time again that most people experience the highest levels of success when they get the Memory Palace part of the memory improvement equation right the first time. Please don’t miss this special memory improvement opportunity available to you now for free. Once you’ve got a Memory Palace prepared, it’s actually time to build another one even before you start using the first one. I know this probably sounds crazy (and in fact some people have told me that it is crazy), but the reality is that you need more than one Memory Palace and multiple Memory Palace construction is in and of itself an extraordinary memory development exercise. If you’re building Memory Palaces in a fully informed manner, each one should take approximately 5-10 minutes each. Later, with a couple of Memory Palaces under your belt using the Magnetic Memory Method free video training and worksheets you get when you subscribe, pick something that fits one of your goals as described above. There’s no point practicing memory techniques by memorizing a shopping list (the typical, boring exercise that most memory trainings start with) – unless you absolutely love shopping and this ability will improve your life immediately and/or bring you enormous joy. Otherwise, pick something that interests you fiercely and will improve your life. Many people who are learning a language and have struggled a bit with the process will get an immediate boost from doing this. If you’re a businessperson, you might opt for learning to use Memory Palaces for names and faces or numbers first and practicing these will be of the greatest benefit. If you’re a student, you might want to practice with a list of important facts that are bound to show up on a quiz or a test. The more aligned your practice is with your goals and ambitions, the more you’ll be able to lock them onto your opportunities and eliminate your fears. It’s really that simple and really that fun. And the impact will move forward through time as you grow in life as an individual, as a learner and as a Memorizer (or mnemonist) if you prefer. In sum, increasing your memory power is easy and fun to do. That doesn’t mean it’s not without effort, however, though as I always like to say, even chocolate and sex require effort – and they’re both fantastic, as are advanced memory abilities. Don’t get scared off by the word “advanced.” It really means “forward,” as in moving forward. And as long as you’re moving forward, you truly are advanced. And that forward movement is the most important thing in the world. Without a doubt. Further Resources Download this worksheet so you can fill out your own Memory Power fears, strengths and opportunities sheet and start making massive improvements to your memory Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan Previous episode of the Magnetic Memory Podcast: Want Unlimited Memory? Get This Book! Magnetic Memory Method article on Tony Buzan, a master of memory and deep thinker of how to make world class mind maps Fabulous list post on Year Planning Mind Maps from mindmappingsoftwareblog.com All of Richard Wiseman’s books on his blog. Hint: The link to Night School points to Amazon.co.uk. If you replace the “co.uk” with “com” without changing any other part of the address, you’ll find this book on the U.S. store. This trick works for other Amazon stores around the world too. It’s magic. The post How To Increase Memory Power With These 3 Fun Exercises appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_To_Increase_Memory_Power_With_These_3_Fun_Exercises_Magnetic_Memory_Method.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:27pm EDT |
Thu, 8 January 2015
Program Notes Kevin Horsley’s recent book, Unlimited Memory is worth your time. If you’re a student and user of memory techniques, this written version of the podcast will tell you why. There Are No New Memory Techniques Under the Sun … Or Are There? As most people interested in the art of memory techniques know, there’s nothing new under the sun. The memory improvement methods were invented thousands of years ago and refinements have been slim. But that doesn’t mean that innovations haven’t occurred. Not only that, but memory techniques improve every time someone takes up using them and feels the power of empowered recall. And that’s why no matter where you are in your journey as a memorizer, Horsley’s book merits your full attention. Why? Because if you’ve never learned memory techniques before, his straightforward and energetic manner will serve as a great introduction to memory improvement. And if you’re already an old hat with using mnemonics but have lapsed, Horsley will inspire you to get back in the saddle. New Ways To Think About Old Techniques Plus, you’ll find new ways to think about the techniques. Fresh perspectives can be more valuable than the techniques themselves in some cases if they inspire you to keep going. And the book is filled with great quotes that place memory techniques in interesting new contexts. In fact, every single one is worth committing to memory. Horsley’s quotable too. “Conflict,” he points out, “is the opposite of concentration,” and much of the book talks about removing everything that gets in the way of your progress so that you can focus on. Horsley’s point about conflict in this context should be confused with having conflict in your associative-imagery, however. Although I’m not interested in being critical of the book, it is slim on how to include rigorous to help you a) memorize information and … b) recall it. Mnemonic Examples On Almost Every Page For those who feel the need for examples, you couldn’t find more to choose from. For each principle, you get tonnes of written illustration to imagine along with. From a pedagogical standpoint, this may be overkill and the book lacks some guidance on how to be creative and “see” those images in your mind. In terms of visuals, there are a couple throughout the book, with the illustrations limited mostly to explaining number memorization using the Major Method. I personally like the limited number of illustrations because it is important to recreate what you see in your mind, not what others see. This is why the overkill on text-based images can help you so long as you work at recreating them in your mind. Use These Powerful Visualization Exercises If you would like some fast and easy exercises for developing your visual imagination, try looking at paintings and then recreating them in your mind. You can also verbally express them on paper in a short paragraph and use what you’ve written as the basis for recreating the imagery in your imagination. And please realize that you don’t need to literally “see” the images in your mind in order to increase your memory power when using this memory technique. It doesn’t have to be high-definition television. Verbal expression in your mind (even without writing the words down) can be just as powerful. But please do work on visualizing. And to develop the skill further, think about what being visual in your mind actually means to you. If you struggle in this area, you might be pleasantly surprised at how simply thinking through this issue and defining what imaginative visuality means to you can give you the basis for truly creating improvement. How To Take Your Brain To The Gym Think of this defining process as laser targeting what’s really going on. It’s kind of like the difference between going to the gym to reduce general flabbiness and getting no results and going to the gym with a trainer who knows exactly which muscles to develop so that you burn the most calories. And of course you need to eat the right foods to support this process, which in the case of developing your visual imagination means looking at art on a regular basis and mentally recreating it. Horsely uses the gym metaphor himself when he talks about memory training. He points out that no one is born ripped out with big muscles. They must be trained. The same goes for memory power. Your mind is a muscle and you can develop it. Even just reading about memory techniques can help, but nothing beats getting into the gym and pumping the iron of actually memorizing information that can help improve your life. The Most Interesting Practice Items You’ll Ever Find In A Memory Improvement Book And that’s a cool feature of Unlimited Memory. Unlike so many memory training books that guide you through memorizing lists of objects and food items for your next grocery item, Horsely is a bit more creative in his suggested practice items. You’ll have to check him out to see what I mean. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and Unlimited Memory is one of the strongest books you’ll find in the department of giving you great practice material that serves more than one purpose. If you’re looking for in-depth training on Memory Palace construction, you may be a little disappointed, however. The Method Loci is covered, but the instruction lacks the nitty-gritty matters of making sure the path is linear and not crossing your own path. Following these principles will limit confusing yourself and spending unnecessary mental energy while maximizing your attention on decoding the associative-imagery you have no problems finding. Criticisms completed, let’s return to the good stuff – but please don’t let my nitpicking dissuade you from reading Horsely’s Unlimited Memory. It is a powerful resource and I intend these comments to supplement the book rather than poke a stick at it. You can, in truth, never read enough books about memory improvement even if not all of them are created equal. Learn How To Eliminate All Your Negative Memory Beliefs And Unlimited Memory excels in teaching the cost of negative beliefs and replacing them with constructive ideas that propel you into positivity. For example, Horsley encourages you to keep your mind open while showing you all of the little thoughts that are constantly working to shut your open mindedness down. This will help keep you on the path towards experimenting with memory techniques and getting results. Unlimited Memory Is Also An Amazing Research Memory Resource Horsely is also tremendously generous in sharing the books he’s read and the fruits of his research. Not just what he’s read about memory, but self-development books too. You’ll want to supplement your reading of these as well. And this such a powerful area that really makes the difference in a memory book. Without pointing you to other resources, so many books on memory development rob you of the chance to take the next steps in this field of specialization, which will always involve reading one more book. After all, the best books on memory are always yet to come. As Phil Chambers says in this podcast interview, the limits of memory improvement have yet to be reached. And as we push forward into new frontiers, new books documenting and teaching the processes will emerge. I hope Horsely will be there to write again. In sum, Horsely’s Unlimited Memory is a powerful introduction to memory techniques and you cannot go wrong because he points you to other reading and gives you much more interesting examples to start off with. And if you’re already on the path, you’ll find a good review and interesting perspectives. You simply cannot lose by reading Unlimited Memory. Further Reading & Listening Remembering the Presidents by Kevin Horsley Moonwalking with Einstein on Amazon The Art of Memory on Wikipedia
The post Want Unlimited Memory? Get This Book! appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Sat, 3 January 2015
Photographic memory techniques, sometime confused with eidetic memory, are usually connected with a scam. Photographic memory is always scammy because …
Photographic Memory Does Not Exist!
Not only that, but it’s really not even something any sane person wants. Think about it: Why, unless you’re a painter, would you want to memorize every single detail of, say, a room or landscape? Even then, most serious artists would still want to make a quick study sketch, if not take a legitimate photograph. Thus, in most cases, the ability to clearly memorize only what you need always serve you much better than cramming it all in. That’s why spending some time clarifying exactly what you want to memorize is so important. For example, a lot of people ask me about memorizing an entire book, specifically textbooks. But I caution against spending time on this. So much so that I created an entire podcast episode about how to memorize a textbook the right way. In reality, you need only memorize the most critical pieces of information needed. The fear so many people have that makes them wish they had a photographic memory is this: They Don’t Know What Information Will Be CriticalThere’s a few solutions to this problem (also covered in the textbook memory training I linked for you). But the biggest step of all is this: Give up the phony notion photographic memory techniques exist. Even better, get my free memory improvement course and Memory Palace kit: After registering for this memory training material, understand this:
Your Memory Can Be Better Than Photographic. |
Tue, 30 December 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn the connection between Robin Williams and the most unusable Memory Palace in the world. At least, the most unusable Memory Palace for me. And you’ll hear about why and how I’m trying to change it so that, even if it can’t be used, I can at least reduce the unhappy memories associated with it. Program Notes This week’s episode is based on a somewhat crazy email I sent out to Magnetic Memory Method Newsletter subscribers. For these program notes, I’m providing you that letter in its entirety. What I’m referring to at the beginning of the newsletter doesn’t really matter. Let’s just say I wrote something a bit harsh and some people rightly called me out on it. But there was madness behind my methods, and so I took the opportunity to explain the context behind the disruption. And I think it’s a nice way to begin 2015 on a positive note. Because when you listen to this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll find an idea about how to eliminate negative associations you may have with places that you would otherwise find impossible to use for the Method of Loci in a Memory Palace or any other mnemonic technique. So without further adieu, here is that newsletter: Dear Memorizers, The following newsletter won’t teach you anything about memory skills. But it will tell you about the one place that I will never, ever use as a Memory Palace. If that’s of no interest to you, now would be the best time to stop reading. If you’re curious, I’ll tell you a little bit about it. First, though, a note about the message from the day before yesterday. Some people found it cool and said so. Others found it uncool. And said so. I’m not going to bandy around the bush with apologies and the like for those who felt offended. I’ll say only that you have a Bipolar operator at the helm of this ship – or at least that’s the label I given me in the Memory Palace I’ll never use. What does this mean? It means that when people say that I’m unprofessional … They’re right. Not that being professional was ever my intention. I’m just some dude who writes about memory skills. The same memory skills that without exaggeration saved my life. Since Robin Williams died, I’ve been trying to find a way to say something about it. And what some people considered yesterday’s meltdown (others heroic), finally provides an avenue. Of sorts. You see, Robin Williams crushed me, and more than a little. Taking his own life crushed a lot of people, but perhaps the Bipolar more than most. Not that he self-identified. Carrie Fisher, another nut enjoying the all-too brief blasts of sun here at Club Manic, wrote that he doubted he was Bipolar. Only, the way she recounts it, he doubted it in a rather Bipolar way. Anyway, Robin Williams factors into the development of the Magnetic Memory Method in an important way. I’ve talked lots about how I discovered Memory Palaces during a deep depression. I’ve share how this lucky enabled me to keep going through grad school and in the end succeed. And it’s an important part of the original of the MMM. What I haven’t talked about much, if at all, is how this “Bipolar” journey got started in the first place. In truth, who knows, but in the most evident way, I once upon a time wrote a poem. A really long poem. I still have it. It was even published in a good old fashioned book. Eventually. Anyhow, I stayed up for 5 or 6 nights with almost no sleep writing this epic poem. When finished, I ran around campus with an armful of copies and gave it to friends and strangers alike. I also emailed it to all my professors and their teaching assistants. Some of those professors expressed concern. One of the teaching assistants took it upon himself to catch me after a lecture. I had a face full of tears, beading at the brim from learning a bit too much about Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale. It’s a beautiful poem. Enough to tear your soul apart. If your soul’s Magnetic, that is. The assistant told me he’d read the poem. He said it was good in parts, but also extremely sexual. And violent. Of course it is, I told him. I quoted Shelley. “I fall upon the thorns of life. I bleed.” What else did he expect from a young punk stuffing Romantic poetry down his maw like a butcher grinds pork? The assistant wasn’t buying it. He thought I was sick and drew a map on the pack of this 30 page poem. A map leading straight to a hospital. A hospital in which I would remain for 3 months. And it would have been longer if the doctor hadn’t mentioned the name “Robin Williams.” I’ll bet it was part of the doctor’s schtick. He said it to everyone who refused to take their meds. And yet the name that seemed to be little more than a therapeutic tool to this doctor proved useful. It was an extraordinarily persuasive way to convince me to pull out the poetry blocking my throat and start pouring the pills in. Here’s exactly what he said: “If Robin Williams had diabetes, do you think he’d refuse to take insulin? The only reason he survives the same condition that you’re in now and has become so successful is because he takes medication. The same medication we’re recommending to you now.” I remember the scene well. I was high. Superman-high. I had every explanation in the world for why I could see the alphabet in everything. I knew the code that would unify the world if only the city of Toronto would evict its pigeons. I could break apart the number zero itself if only someone would recognize that I was the One. Stuff like that. Reams of it. Scattered over pages. Streaming from my mouth. But with the name of Robin Williams in my ear, came the image of reason. Because as the doctor carried on, his point was that I could still be crazy, and yet be sane. I didn’t have to lose the energy, the rollercoaster rides along the rails of sloping ideas. And I could do it all without the piercing knife of dark that always landed. Sooner or later, the knife of depression always returns to your heart. Picks at the front lobes just behind your eyes. When you’re high, it’s impossible to remember. When you’re low, it’s impossible to forget. Well, the good doctor abused the name of Robin Williams that day, but I guess it’s a forgivable sin. I started taking their fancy little pills, after all, and soon after, they let me leave. Leave the one place I’ll never, ever use as a Memory Palace. You can mark my Magnetic word on that. Once out, I didn’t return to university for an entire year. I wanted to avoid the shame of seeing those same people before whom I had danced, inviting them to gaze upon the shores here at Club Manic. But I got myself back on campus. And there I stayed, going up and down and up again. Superman one day, bumbling Clark Kent the next, never knowing when the super powers might return again. Until I found Memory Palaces and memory techniques. Mnemonics have never replaced the pills. Mnemonics never will. But along with a lot of the other things I’ve connected with memory and tell you about from time to time, Memory Palaces provided a system. It’s faulty, as all systems must be from time to time. But it provides a decent set of checks and balances. But then a week like last week comes along, and it’s hard. It’s always hard to lose a giant. A zany giant, but a gentle one. Deep, deep sadness in his eyes. Even when smiling. Of course, none of this is an excuse or an apology for why I sometimes wind up sending weird editions of the Magnetic Memory Newsletter. But more and more I’ve become outspoken and public about Manic Depression as much as I am about Memory Palaces. Why? Look, it’s a stupid term. Not even Jimi Hendrix made it sound convincing. (Sorry, Jimi). But the fact of the matter is that there are positive and negative ions that flow through the synapses between the neurons in the human brain. Sometimes these go fast. Sometimes they go slow. In some of us, they go way too fast and then too slow. Sometimes several times in the course of a single day. And if there is one thing I can do – and am ethically bound to do – it’s to say something about it. No, Memory Palaces aren’t the cure. But they are a form of preparation. As I’ve been reading post after post about Robin Williams, the advice to the afflicted is to “get help.” Such advice couldn’t be more right and wrong at the same time. Why? Because when you’re in the high, you don’t need help. And you make sure everyone who tries to tell you otherwise knows it. The list of proofs in Club Manic are exceedingly long. And when you’re down, sometimes it’s hard even to speak. It’s easy to paint the mouth, but impossible to paint the scream going on inside. You’ve got to prepare. I recommend adding things like the Magnetic Memory Method to the mix. Not just because Memory Palaces are a great means of keeping yourself centered. Keeping yourself in the now by paying attention to this things you want to memorize in a whole new way. A way that bleeds out into everything you do when you’re watching the world for new Memory Palaces. In this way, Memory Palaces are a healthy part of creating presence in the moment. The other reason stems from the emphasis in the MMM is on adding relaxation to the mnemonic mix. Meditation if you can. Chilling out, not taking everything so seriously. Letting your imagination be what it wants to be without judging it. And that message is worth climbing up trees for. It’s worth tossing Magnetic coconuts into your inbox for. Every day. Unprofessional? Not really. More like anti-professional. Just the kind of stuff you’d expect from some dude who writes books about memory skills because he knows they can change the world. I’m hardly the first (yes, there have been crazier!) I definitely won’t be the last. But until next time, I remain Magnetic. Until next time, help someone else learn about Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of the best ways to learn a skill and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we can make the world a better place. The more we remember, the more we can remember. And the more we learn, the more we can learn. Sincerely, Anthony Metivier P.S. If you know people who might benefit from memory improvement, feel free to use this Twitter link to send them the good news about Memory Palaces and exactly how to build them. The post Robin Williams And The Most Unusable Memory Palace In The World appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Robin_Williams_And_The_Most_Unusable_Memory_Palace_In_The_World.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:30pm EDT |
Sun, 21 December 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method, Scott Gosnell, the translator of two books by the mnemonist Giordano Bruno talks about the man, his writings and the application of his memory techniques to everyday life. Since recording this interview, a lot of people have asked if they should read Giordano Bruno. My answer: My opinion aside, listen to Scott’s knowledge on this Magnetic Memory Method Podcast interview. You’ll learn: * How to use Star Wars (or any movie you’re familiar with) as a Memory Palace. * Why Scott’s translations of Giordano Bruno are the product of perhaps the best form of procrastination you’ll ever hear about (and maybe even be inspired to do some similar procrastination of your own for the good of humanity). * Scott’s amazing Memory Palace technique for students, possibly the most amazing technique you could add to your studies that I’ve ever heard! * Bruno’s idea that an intelligible system exists behind the world and how this connects to memory. * How to use memorized objects as Memory Palace locations. * How studying Bruno’s systems could help you coordinate your knowledge while learning to retain it. * Why Francis Yates’ interpretation of Bruno’s activities in The Art Of Memory and Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition may not be the best way to think about his memory improvement projects. * Why Bruno was really interested in the psychology and neuroscience of the human mind – not magic. * Why Bruno thought his memory system could give you an internal representation of the entire universe … or did he? * Why Bruno felt it was a practical concern to keep your Memory Palace well lit and not place your associative-imagery on a background of the same color. * How context sensitive cues can either help or harm your memory. * Why Bruno likens Memory Palaces to writing so that you can scan a Memory Palace for memorized information the way you would scan a page looking for a particular word. * Why Bruno’s execution probably had nothing – or at least very little – to do with his mnemonic systems. * Thoughts on Bruno as a “marketer” of memory techniques. * Why memory techniques were a very useful talent for a king to have (and still are even if you’re not a king). * Why Bruno most likely wasn’t a spy – but probably would have made a good one had he been. * Why Bruno thought that the Memory Palace was the best and most effective memory method available, even though he also used smaller methods like linking, lists and poetry. * … and much, much more. Further Resources De Umbris Idearum by Giordano Bruno, Translation and Introduction by Scott Gosnell On the Infinite, the Universe and the Worlds by Giordano Bruno, Translation and Introduction by Scott Gosnell Startup Geometry by Scott Gosnell (Forthcoming) Scott’s De Umbris Idearum website Scott on Twitter Scott’s Windcastle Venture Consulting Giordano Bruno on Wikipedia Giordano Bruno: Philosopher Heretic by Ingrid D. Rowland Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer Cool Documentary Featuring Animated Bruno Giordano For About 10 Minutes: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – Episode 1 “Standing up in the Milky Way” Novels Featuring Bruno Giordano: Heresy by S. J. Parris (one of many in a series of books structured around Bruno) The Solitudes (The Aegypt Cycle) by John Crowley (also know as Aegypt) Tony Buzan On The Paradise Of Multiple Intelligences 2018 Giordano Bruno Memory Techniques Update!
Miskatonic Books has released a new translation by John Michael Greer. Please visit their store to order one of the limited editions of On the Shadows of the Ideas by Giordano Bruno. Or if you’d just like to learn more about my initial impressions of the book, check out this replay of my recent YouTube Live Stream about On the Shadows of the Ideas by clicking play on this video:
The post Scott Gosnell Talks About Giordano Bruno appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: The_Most_Sophistated_Memorizer_In_History.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:21pm EDT |
Tue, 16 December 2014
Wanna Know Exactly How To Master Any Language?
I got good news for you. The amazing polyglot Luca Lampariello showed up in Berlin and we had a good long chat about language learning. And the best part is … We’ve got it on video! Take a look on YouTube or download the full MP4. You’ll find the full transcript below and can also download it as a PDF for future reference. Anthony: Hi, this is Anthony Metivier. I’m here with Luca Lampariello, and we are doing a very special interview. We are here in Berlin. I live in Berlin but Luca is visiting. Luca: Yes. Anthony: We thought, “Well I’m the memory guy and he’s the language-learning guy.” We both operate in the same sort of industry so to speak, because his business is memorizing words and my business is helping you memorize them. It’s really not a business. It’s more like a passion. Luca: Yes. Anthony: For people who don’t know you, you’ve got dozens upon dozens of videos on YouTube that train people in a particular brand of language learning, but for people who do know you, which I think probably many, many people who are watching this already do, one thing I’ve noticed is that we have never heard much about your personal life and I mean I don’t even know if you have a ‑ Luca: You meant to pry. You want to know the real secrets. Anthony: The real stuff, like the dirt; for one thing, I’ve never asked you if you have a middle name. Luca: Yeah, actually my name is Luca, everybody calls me Luca, but my other name is Vittorio because my grandfather, that’s my grandfather’s name. The Italian tradition is to call a son or a daughter after your grandmother. It’s an old tradition coming from the south. I don’t know if it’s the same thing in Canada. He is actually my father’s mother. His name was Vittorio. He was a physician, a doctor who used to be in World War II unfortunately, and he was in Africa. Unfortunately, I never got to meet him. My mother told me he had very interesting stories to tell about World War II. Because one of the things I like the most, apart from language, is history. Anthony: Did any of those stories survive that you remember from your grandmother? Luca: Yeah, I remember a lot of things that my mother told me. Not only my grandfather actually, my other grandfather as well and my grandmother, I got to know my two grandmothers and they were telling us about what happened in World War II. One is from Calabria which is deep south. The Americans and the Allies invaded Sicily and then went up to Calabria, and my other grandmother actually comes from the north of Italy. I’ve got the whole family from everywhere in Italy. So I have all these different traditions and also dialects. One thing that I never say is that my grandmother when I was a little kid just talked to me in Calabrese dialect. I learned that as well. Anthony: Well that’s a lot of different parts of Italy but I know you are living in Rome at the moment. Is that where you were born? Luca: Yes, that is exactly where I was born and I’ve been living there for 34 years almost because I’m turning 34 actually in two days. Anthony: Thirty-four in two days. Luca: Thirty-four, I’m an old man. Anthony: Well happy birthday in advance. Luca: Thanks. Anthony: But you’ve also lived in Paris? Luca: I lived in Paris for three years. I lived in Paris and Barcelona. Anthony: Okay so the three places. What strikes you as being some of the major similarities and major differences? Luca: That’s a very interesting question. Barcelona is very similar to Italy – the weather, the people, the traditions. I always say that Spaniards are a little bit like our cousins in a way because I believe that the language is like part of the culture and our languages are very, very similar and that reflects a certain kind of mentality. Paris on the other hand, the French are similar to the Italians in so many ways but at the same time they’re different. Paris is like a northern European city and the weather is kind of different. It’s a little bit chilly there, like here in Berlin. Actually Berlin is not as cold as I thought. It’s like 6. Anthony: Plus 6. Luca: Plus 6 you know. So I’m kind of liking it. A month ago I was in Russia and expected to be minus 20 and it was plus 8 and now it’s plus 6 so I might bring good weather or maybe I’m just lucky. I tend to lean towards the second. I have to say that the French and the Spaniards and the Italians are very similar in so many ways. It’s not easy to pin down these things because you have to live to understand, but basically I also believe that the language plays a huge role, and obviously history. We’re all Latin peoples so to say so there is a common trait to our culture and the way we eat food and etc. Anthony: You mentioned history as one of your interests. What interests you about history? Luca: Well everything interests me. The thing that interests me the most is that if you know history, I feel that if you know history you know the world you’re living in right now, because we’ve been shaped. We’re the product of history. We are the product of all the things that happened in the last 4,000 years actually, the last million years. So what interests me the most, if you want to be more specific is World War II, because I find it, I might be a little bit maybe naive to say that, it’s really like I see it as a clash between the good and evil even if sometimes you think of it the Allies bombing German cities and so many people dying. Is that good? Does that serve a specific purpose? Was it strictly necessary? Yeah, obviously it served the purpose of defeating Nazi Germany but at the same time was it strictly necessary. We’re not going to delve into politics but I’m very interested in like how it was possible that all that thing happened and the fact that we’re living in, I wouldn’t go so far to say that we’re living in a peaceful world, that is not true, but at least in Europe, if you think about it, that’s the longest period we have had peace, 70 years. If you think about it, Europe has been ravaged by war for centuries and there’s been a period longer than, I don’t know, never been like 70 years. We’re lucky. Canada as well. It’s been at peace for a long time. So we have to consider ourselves lucky. We take it for granted but it’s not granted at all if you consider all the wars actually right now in Syria and in many, many other places in the world. Anthony: Absolutely. I want to ask you about some of your other interests but just not to abandon this for a second, do you think that the capacity for language learning has been involved in the peace that has developed over time not just in terms of as if anybody has any better abilities now to learn languages but the spread of language training both hardcopy things and online. Luca: I believe so. I believe, for example, if we had a war right now it wouldn’t be the same. People are biased in so many ways. For example, the Italians tend to (not all Italians obviously) tend to think that the French are a little bit snobbish or the Germans are a little bit close minded. It’s absolutely not true.
Are We In The Best Period Of History For Learning A Language?
The fact that we live in a peaceful society right now, I’m talking about Europe obviously, has so many – for example yesterday I was at a party. There were so many people from everywhere around the world. You could talk about anything and people want to mix. There is not this, “Okay, you’re a foreigner.” No, you are part of the European community and this has revolutionized, I would go as far to say that it has revolutionized the way young people, this young generation is learning languages. I don’t know if you ever heard about the Erasmus project. Canadians and Americans might know about it, but it’s a European thing, where a student can decide to live abroad and learn a language. It’s not just because they go study there. Obviously they go study there, but the people who went there just completely change the way they see their own country and their own existence and their own traditions, etc. So I do believe that peace has contributed enormously to the development to this multilingual society in which we live in. This is a fantastic thing. Obviously the Internet plays a huge role as well. But I do believe that the peaceful conditions in which we live do play a huge role in the way we live and we consider the reality around us. Anthony: Okay so we’ve got history, and we’ve got language, and it seems that they’re tightly wrapped up in one another. Do you have an interest that you would say has nothing to do with language? Luca: Yes. Before I talk to you about my other interests, I just wanted to say that for me, when people talk to you for example talk about you and talk to you and say oh, you’re the memory guy, they’ll refer to you as the memory guy. Maybe yourself you’ll refer to yourself too as a memory guy, but the thing is that, and when they talk to me, the first thing they want to know is how many languages I speak, and the people who already know me treat me as friends as well. We talk about a lot of things but mainly they think that my main interest is languages. Now, actually languages is one of the things that I like but it’s not just the only thing I do. When I think about history for example, I’m very interested in World War II and specially the Eastern Front and what happened between Nazi Germany and, for example, the Russians. That helped me delve into this and actually sparked this interest in understanding how the Russians saw the war, and I’ve been reading a lot of books in Russian and a lot of books in German to understand how the two parts lived the war. So this is just one event in the course of history but there are many other events which actually push me to read more and more in the languages. We have just spoken of the countries that were involved in the political-historical processes that I was trying to understand and read about. So history is actually contributed as other interests to perfect and improve my language skills. And to go back to your question, as other interests that have nothing to do with languages, sports doesn’t necessarily have to do with languages unless you want to read a blog about running for example in English or in other languages. Sports is one other thing that really interests me. If I think about it now, for example, I really like movies but this has to do with languages right. Luca: So I’m trying to find something that has nothing to do with languages, and I would say sports. I like jogging. I’ve been trying to jog. I decided to jog in 2003, I decided that I wanted to try it. Have you ever run? Have you ever tried? Anthony: I have actually. Unfortunately, I developed arthritis in my knees so I can’t run. But I did run quite avidly as a young person. Luca: And also football. I used to play football a lot as well as with my twin sister. Yeah, she’s a professional now. Yeah, so this is for example one of the things that I’m interested in that has I would say not – everything potentially has to do with languages because language is the way we convey our thoughts, but yeah sports is one of the things I’m interested in and that’s it. Anthony: Well the sports thing is very interesting I think because there is a phenomenon of jogger’s high and actually I’ve interviewed you before and you mentioned the relationship between joggers high and language learning as a kind of finding the zone or finding a spot where things really start to come together and happen and you mention that also in your master class. Luca: Absolutely.
Sleep, Meditation & Fitness Can Make Or Break Your Language Learning Experience
Anthony: What I wonder, a question that I’m thinking is, and I’m not sure exactly the best way to elaborate it, but one thing I work on is meditation and finding this clear spot without thought, without thinking and, well that’s not the best way to say it, but a place where thought is so focused and intent that it’s sort of beyond language or one word, and I’m just wondering as someone who has dealt with so many languages and found mastery in so many languages how do you get silence in your head? Is it just the running or do you have any other kinds of personal practices? Luca: That’s a very interesting question. I’ve been thinking about mediation a lot recently. I’ve never done it, but I’ve been hearing more and more people actually trying to meditate because they have been overwhelmed by life. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by life, like myself. You were right when you said that sometimes I’ve a storm of languages or thoughts. I think one of the most difficult things to do is actually to find a moment where you’re not listening to anything, not even to your inner voice, you’re just at peace with yourself. If find it a very difficult thing to do because we live in a world where we get stimulated continuously all the time. This is one of the things that I actually want to try because I’ve never tried it before. I think that, going back to the running thing, you are right that when I run I think better for some reason. Maybe chemically because you’ve got a lot of chemical substances like serotonin and we release substances when you run and are more relaxed. When you go back home you take a shower and you are peace with yourself and with the world, but at the same time you still have this flux of thoughts and memories is stilled. I don’t know if it ever happened to you that you try to sleep and you have so many things that you can’t, so many things in your head, whirlwind of things that you can’t concentrate. So this is the next frontier, the next thing that I want to try to achieve is actually silence. It might be strange for a polyglot or a multilingual person with a lot of speaking so much because I do like speaking, but actually this is one of the things that are the New Year’s Eve resolutions. Anthony: Well I’m working on a book right now actually called The Ultimate Sleep Remedy and I’ll hook you up with a copy after and it gets into mediation and different strategies that you may be interested in. Luca: I have an article on my blog myself. It’s a guest post from a friend Joseph, he’s Swedish who actually gives very valuable advice as to how to sleep because some people just can’t sleep. Insomnia is one of the biggest problems. People don’t talk about it that much, but actually there’s a lot of people that can’t sleep and not being able to sleep is a terrible thing. Anthony: You know that’s another thing that has come up when I’ve spoken to you before. You are talking about being with Richard Simcott, and he uses the story of him staying up so late at night and just being fascinated, and just not stopping. How do you, given all that you do and all that’s required of your brain power, how to do manage to do so much and also be well rested. You’re obviously a very fit and healthy guy. Luca: Fit, I don’t know about fit. Anthony: But I mean what’s with sleep, and your ability to retain and working memory and all these kinds of things that are required for learning a language. Luca: I’ll give you one very simple answer. My answer would be that I manage to speak and maintain languages because I live them every day. I found the best environment for me. There are a lot of people focused on the best method, the best approach and then they focus on getting the materials, etc., but first I believe that the human factor is one of most important things. Language has been created in order to communicate. We convey thoughts through language and if you find the best conditions, your brain and your capacities are going to thrive. So what I did is I told myself when I started speaking more than three or four languages, I told myself that the only way I could maintain so many languages at a certain level was to live them. On the one side you can structure your day so that can for example listen to the radio when you’re washing the dishes or you can read books. But that’s time you choose to spend on the languages. But on the other side, if for example you live in a city like Berlin or Rome or Paris and you surround yourself with what I call the microenvironment with foreigners. You live with foreigners, you go out with foreigners, and you tend to speak languages all the time. Like currently for example I am living with my friend Davie. He is from London, you know him, and a Dutch girl, and that allows me to speak Dutch and English on a daily basis. I also go out very often with a lot of friends who live in Rome, and I tend to speak other languages. I have a lot of friends everywhere. One the one hand in real life I have this microenvironment where I speak two or three languages at home plus when I go out I speak other languages with other people, with my friends, and I work with languages.
Why Language Learning Is More About Managing Your Time Than Words And Phrases
As a language coach what I do is basically I give classes in the language about language but also about a structure, how to organize your time, etc., and I do it in various languages, for example in all sorts of possible combinations. For example, Americans want to learn Spanish, Spaniards want to English, Italians want to learn English, Americans want to improve their Italian, and so on, from Russian into English, English into Russian. So I’ve got to practice a number of languages on a daily basis and one of the best ways to learn is to teach. If you teach you learn a lot. I guess it happened to you as well. You’re trying to figure out ways to help as many people as possible and this means that you are going to do some research and you’re going to apply it to yourself. So you’re going to understand the process better. This is exactly what I’ve been doing in the last five years, trying to figure out ways to help as many people as possible, figure out their best way. So it’s not only a psychological growth, because you have to understand people better. It’s not just understanding people better. A good language coach and even a good language teacher doesn’t necessarily have to speak the language perfectly but has to have the capacity of understanding the student’s needs and tastes, etc., being able to relate to him, and I think the psychological process, I’ve said it a number of times, is absolutely important to thrive in language learning, because without psychological aspect, you can try to nail everything but things probably will not work. Anthony: So speaking of coaching, if I were to come to you and say, “Luca, I want a coach and I need that personal attention from an individual because nothing else is going to work.” What is the first thing that you’re going to say to me in response, assuming that we go through the mechanical stuff of transactions and filling out forms? What’s the first thing that you’ll say? Luca: The first thing I will say is why do you want to learn this language? First I’m going to ask you about the reasons why you’re doing this and then your personal story, you’re personal history in so far as language learning is concerned, and I’m going to ask you about yourself. What do you do? What are your interests? First of all it’s about trying to figure out who you are, what you want, why you want it and all the lessons are tailored around your tastes and needs, and I take into account what kind of person you are. For example, let me give you a very concrete example. If you are a very shy person, and you have difficulty expressing yourself some reason, the very first thing that I am going to do is focus on the things that you are good at, for example, at reading or listening and small tasks to get out of your comfort zone. I’m not going to talk to you immediately, okay, we’re going to have this conversation in the language right now. Because it might be detrimental actually. So the very first thing that I do is to try to understand, you know language experience does count. Because I’ve noticed that the people who have never learned a language before and maybe they’re in their 50s, struggle a little bit more than people who say have learned another language. But it’s not just about language experience. It is multiple factors that play a role and you have to try to tackle every single aspect and to try to do it from the very beginning.
Why Children Suck At Language Learning
Anthony: You mentioned people who are in their 50s, and you’ve said before and you mention in your master class that actually we often make the mistake of saying that children have some special advantage in language learning and older people are thought struggle more than children, but you kind of have an interesting take on that, and if you could say something about that kind of paradox about age and language learning. Luca: It’s a paradox because first of all I don’t believe, this might sound absurd to a lot of people who have been claiming that the acquisition of your first language is different from the acquisition of the second language, I believe that the mechanisms and the way we learn languages as adults or kids are almost the same. There are differences in the way our brain is wired that’s true. It’s true that in a way that kid’s brain develops fast and that it’s a little bit different psychologically. They want to blend in so what they do is they tend to play with their schoolmates, etc. They develop the language in a certain way. If you think about it, I’ve met in my life, I’ve met adults that speak a given language, a foreign language extremely well, because for example they have lived in the country for three years and they have family. Let’s suppose a French guy living in the Czech Republic. He moved there maybe 30 years ago, and he’s been speaking the language ever since, and he’s got a family, and he speaks to his kids in Czech, to his wife in Czech. He might have an accent, but he might develop the nuisances that are characteristic of a native speaker. I lived in France for three years. I’ve learned so many things. Not just about the language, the way they talk, the way they move their mouth. These are things that I actually do. When I speak English it’s a very different thing but I digress. What I wanted to say is that basically I think that any person who speaks his native tongue well can learn any language. Think about it, as a native speaker you can hold hundreds and hundreds of thousands of words, hundreds of thousands of combination of words and expressions and it’s amazing. I strongly believe that our capacity of learning anything is not infinite but it is huge. If you think that we have more neurons than there are stars in the sky, there are millions, I don’t know it’s a mindboggling number. So I believe that you can accomplish anything in life if you put yourself in the right circumstances, conditions, etc., your brain is literally and your capacity is really going to thrive. People think for example that it’s exceptional that a person speaks ten languages. I would say it’s exceptional because just a few people do it, but it doesn’t mean that people can’t do it. It’s just because it’s a combination of things. I do believe that talent can play a role. It can facilitate the process, but I also believe because I’ve seen it firsthand that, I’m talking about language learning but this goes for everything, you can do amazing things or supposedly amazing things that look amazing but actually they are within our brain’s capacity.
You Don’t Have To Be Talented To Learn Another Language
Anthony: Talk a little bit about talent. I mean we did some magic tricks the other night, and I just want to bring that up because you were saying teach me a trick. Some people show me tricks. They never want to teach me trick. That’s true. There are certain things that I can do with cards that you can do too and there is nothing particularly talented about them it’s just putting in the time and analyzing where the hands need to be and analyzing the audience and doing this and doing that and saying this at a particular moment and not another moment. But I think the number one challenge is actually sitting down and doing it. But if there were more, what are some of the talents that you think that you have in particular that have gotten you this kind of success that another person could look at himself or herself and say I am lacking in that area and then they could actually build a talent. Because we’re talking about age and all that stuff, we know that neuroplasticity is a reality and the brain can change and certain activities that we engage in can cause new neural networks to form and that sort of stuff. What do you think that you have in particular that others may not that they could then work towards getting in order to put some stuff in their toolbox? Luca: You ask very interesting questions. Thinking about language, language is a huge field actually. I would say that the thing that I have developed which may differentiate me from other people might be phonetics. It might be the way I pronounce languages. But I don’t really know whether I have a talent for that or I have a knack for sounds. I would say that I believe, I strongly believe that the reason why I pronounce certain languages well or supposedly well, that’s what people tell me, is that I train. I train not just sitting down and thinking okay now I’m going to train. I train in every possible situation. Think about it, I don’t know if you ever talk to yourself. That might sound a little bit crazy but everybody does. Once in a lifetime they’ve done it. Anthony: I’m talking to myself right now. No I’m listening to you very attentively.
Use This Butt-Naked Fluency Secret First Thing Every Morning
Luca: What I do for example instead of sitting down and thinking okay I’m going to deliberately spend some time doing this activity, I just train while I take a shower or while I go walking. Once I was even in the metro, and I really felt like speaking. I couldn’t talk to anybody. I just couldn’t come up and say, “Hey, hi, how are you doing?” But start a conversation like in the metro would have been a little bit weird unless I had a specific purpose, right? So I just got my phone out of my pocket and I just started talking as if I were having a conversation with my girlfriend. I was calling this imaginary girlfriend and talking with her in Dutch because I wanted to practice Dutch. So I was imagining and literally taking pauses as if I were listening to this person talking to me and I was replying. So I was imagining this conversation for the purpose of training. I was calling her. I remember that I was imagining in my mind imagining her sitting with her friends and talking about stuff. What are you doing? Where are you going? What are you going to do tonight? All sorts of things. This helped me actually articulate the sounds. I don’t remember how many facial muscles we have but you have to train your facial muscles as well as your mouth, etc., because it’s like sports. When you start jogging, the very first time you go jogging you are like breathless and you tell yourself who made me do this. You’re cursing yourself for going to the park, but actually it becomes easier. It is the same thing for languages. When we speak languages we tend to step out of our comfort zone so far as sounds are concerned because we have to utter sounds that are completely different. Sometimes they are very, very different and difficult to pronounce at the beginning but if you do it consistently it gets easier and easier in a matter of two, three or four months and the way to go about this is not just – you can do some work at home sitting down but what counts is that you find a purpose. You tell yourself I want to communicate certain idea to somebody even if it’s an imaginary girlfriend that you are talking to on the phone in the metro and you just talk. People tend to consider, this has been my experience, tend to think and tend to focus too much on the small details instead of taking a look at the bigger picture. Imagine that you are taking a look at a picture and somebody tells you, you start looking at this picture and you focus on the small things instead of figuring out the message the picture wants to convey. What I do is, in very specific terms, don’t focus on the pronunciation of the single words but try to utter a sentence. If you want to practice one word say it within a sentence. This is called a top-down approach. Because if you start with bottom-up approach, what happens is you start with pronouncing single words, then might pronounce a word correctly or very well, but when you have to chain sounds one after the other in a sentence, then it gets a little bit difficult. But if you start from the very beginning with short sentences then it gets better and better.
How To Enter The Mazes Of Phrases And Get Out Alive And Fluent
For example, let’s suppose an Italian wants to practice the word church because it is difficult for us to say church. So instead of telling him to try to say church, church, church, for ten times, just try to say I want to go to the church. You would practice it a number of times, and then maybe you can make your sentence longer and try to say I want to go to a church because I want to meet some people because I love God, etc., etc. So you start with a short sentence and then you make it longer so that if you think about it you’re practicing the pronunciation of ten words instead of just one at a time. It makes a huge difference in the long run. Anthony: So what do you do with someone who says but I can’t memorize, I can’t even get myself to memorize or pronounce “I want to go.” Luca: What I tell them is that don’t think about the fact that you can’t memorize, just do it. Meaning, what I would say, the meaning of the thing that I would say is that remember that you speak your first language. Why do you speak your first language, we talked about in another podcast that languages are just networks. What I would suggest and this is my approach, maybe yours is different in memorizing words, but what I do is I always tell them that if they build the network like a spiderweb then the flies, which are the words, are going to get stuck automatically in the long run. One concrete example, this doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily super easy, when it comes to languages for example that are very different like Russian, Russian is a Slavic language so a lot of words have Slavic roots and they are difficult to remember. But when you start delving into the language you’re just recognizing the small clues that are inside words. Once you memorize that it becomes so much easier to memorize words. Because some words even contain other words. So when you start at the beginning, you might struggle a little bit but if you expose yourself, and you still consider the language always as an effort when you read, when you listen, when you talk, etc., things become easier and easier. For example if you have to remember the word РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ, it’s difficult to pronounce. You can focus on the sound. You can focus on РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ, which means common, but instead of just thinking wow this is like a long word. I’m not going to remember. You might remember it now because you are going to commit it to your short-term memory, but then you have to actually remember it maybe in a couple of days and then in a conversation it’s going to get a little bit complicated. So my suggestion is even when you have words like that, break them down into shorter pieces. For example РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ, you can divide into РАС-ПРОС-ТРА-НЕННЫЙ and then if you break it down, this is a technique called back chain, you repeat this word a number of times and then your brain will actually figure out the elements. One other example, German is very famous for putting words – you can see these words are huge because they are made of four or five words. But actually if you spot the words or a pair it becomes much easier. They put an “s” to put these words together sometimes. So, everything boils down to how you see things. If you see this word and you tell yourself this is too difficult, you’re already lost, you’ve lost the battle. But if you tell yourself, hmm, let me look at this word actually. Take two seconds to look at the word and tell yourself actually this word is not so difficult because look at this. This is like spot the “s” in the case of German and you will see that the “s” separates two elements, and then you will see these two elements and maybe if you know one you just have to remember the other one.
Why You Need To Use All Of Your Senses (And Your Muscles)
And I always suggest this is probably how I figured out my memory works. My memory works visually meaning that I can – actually when I’m fairly advanced in a language I can memorize words also just by listening to them, but normally I strongly believe that if you want to commit any piece of information to your long-term memory, what you should do is you should try to use all the senses. Well not all of them but like sight, so you have to see the word. Then you have to listen to it and then you have to pronounce it so you’re using your mouth, your using your ears and then you’re using your eyes and the more you do that, instead of just listening, some people advocate that you just listen and it’s great, but then if you don’t have a base, being able to see the word might help. So I just put all these elements together and then I don’t sing in the shower, I just talk. Some people sing in the shower, I just talk for example and even in the car. I don’t know if you ever noticed it, some courses just give advice and they say, you know, maybe when you’re driving the car just talk to yourself. The person next to you and think you’re totally crazy but maybe you’re just talking on the phone. A person talking to themselves the first thing you’re going to see is you’re going to try to spot a microphone or try to spot a telephone to help them see maybe they’re not crazy. They’re just talking to somebody. And it turns out to be true like 95% of the time. Depending on where you go. Anthony: That’s hopeful anyway that they’re doing something like that and not talking to themselves. But let me think here, so I’m not going to try and do the tongue rolls but РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ ‑ Luca: РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ Anthony: Yeah okay. So, break that down a little bit. When you are learning that, that means common right? Luca: Yes. Anthony: And so, just the process that you, just quickly, you encounter that word. How did you encounter it and/or in what context and then what do you do next, and what do you next and what’s going on? Luca: Very good. What I do is just, if you want to memorize that word, I think that you not only understand and this is the first process, you first decipher it. You break it down. You then get a text, not a list of words. So you just have to grab a text and it should be interesting to you. I believe that one of the reasons why a lot people fail learning languages is school and not only at school because they tend to be exposed to text or materials which stops and they’re not interested in. If you’re interested in something, you know, thing about five things you like. Then you just go and look. The Internet allows you to search for any sort of material. Then you just get exposed to it, preferably with an audio. Then what I do is, I try to listen. I try to read at the same time and what I do, for example, I stumble upon a word like РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ, first I break it down into parts. The very first phase is to decipher and understand the text because you can’t learn something you don’t understand. If you understand you’ve got a higher chance of retaining the information. Then what I do, I might have delved into this because this is very specific, but what I do is to use a system, a space-time repetition system. A space-time repetition can work/cannot work. I know that for some people it doesn’t work, but it depends on how they do it. They have to personalize this process as well. If you hear that the best technique is to have a space-time repetition system in which you have to repeat a word every single day or every two days, it doesn’t work.
Possibly Each And Every One Of Us Learns In A Different Way
Every brain is different. Possibly, each and every one of us learns in a different way. So you have to find the best way that adapts to the way you’re learning and committing information into long-term memory. Mine was to build a system where I found out the best intervals of time in which I’m not just repeating stuff but I’m using that word or attacking that piece of information from different angles. One day I read it, one day you listen to it and one day I use it. The other piece of advice that I’ll give is use this thing. Languages have been created to be used. If you can use these things you’re telling your brain that this or that piece of information is important, and the brain is going to retain it. So this is kind of important. So I’ve structured, I’ve built a system in which I tend to first of all put myself in the best conditions to understand something, and then to use it basically. Then to review it in a certain way and then finally to start using it. Obviously there are some words like РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ which is a common word in Russian but there are like very uncommon words that you might not use in your lifetime. The reason why we know it as native speakers is because for some reason we’ve been exposed to them, or when you read. But how many times are going to use words like “grate” in English. I don’t know. It depends right.
Why Word Choices Are Personal, Context-Specific And Based On Practical Use
Anthony: I use it all the time. Luca: Well you use it all the time but the point is that everybody is different. So some people and this I think this has not been tackled anywhere, my way of dealing with words has to do with – I believe that we have this core of words that that everybody uses because they’re absolutely necessary. You can’t avoid using these words. Some words might not carry a lot of information like “and, the, on,” etc. These are common words. But there are other words that depend on the specific field of your work, of your life, etc. Maybe somebody working in the lumberjack business, for example, might know some specific words that have to do with wood or their specific work. Screwdriver for example, somebody working the specific field. Some other people will never use that word. Screwdriver is another common word but if you think about rate, if you think about things that are very specific, once I saw in forum a person say if you don’t know these words it means – I remember it was hot flashes. I didn’t even know it at the time when I saw it, hot flashes, first I’m not a woman. Anthony: Well you can get andropause if you’re a man. Luca: I can get andropause, that’s true. But I didn’t know this word and I found it a little bit shocking that some people really believe that fluency has to do with – it does have to do with the amount of words you know up to a certain level because you have to know a lot of words in order to speak fluently, but for some people advocating that if you don’t know like ten words that are almost never used or it’s going to be very unlikely that you’re going to hear it, then you don’t know the language. If you think about it, even in your native English and my native Italian, we don’t know a lot of words. We know actually a tiny fraction of the words that exist and our vocabulary is huge. There’s hundreds of thousands of words. English has, I don’t know how many words, a million words? It depends. Obviously some people want to know all the words but in most of the times you don’t need to know all the words but you need to know who to use a tiny fraction of the words that you have to use in order to communicate. So my idea is what a person should do is to learn how to put them together, syntax, how to structure a sentence and then you can learn all the words that you want. So to me it’s first build the structure, and then add the content, the meat. Anthony: Well we’re talking about words and words and one of the things that I always get asked about is what do you do if a word has more meanings than one. So for instance grate which you were mentioning can also be to grate, to make something small, like grated cheese. So how do you contend with that? Luca: Interesting question. Anthony: Because many, many words have that quality of meaning more than one thing and the technical term for that, speaking of the million words in English is polysemy, the polysemy of words, the poly – the many-ness of the semantics. Luca: Which is another aspect that is quite important. Well I would say the easiest way to tackle this is to get exposed to language as much as possible because with multiple contexts you’re going to see that these words are used in a different way in languages such as Chinese, for example, they don’t have many sounds and very often a sound, I’m not even talking about a word, a certain sound can mean not only different words but can be a verb, can be an adverb at the same time, to be a noun depending on where you find it. So you have to, if you want to tackle this, you better tackle it immediately and you have to tackle it with a certain mentality and tell yourself, when you look up a word, don’t just restrict yourself to thinking okay this word has just one meaning but go and actually look at dictionaries, like online dictionaries such a word reference has this but many dictionaries offer that. Try to see the possible meanings or the possible uses of that word. Okay this word РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ means common, got it. No, try to see it in two or three sentences where this РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ could mean different things. I’m not talking about РАСПРОСТРАНЕННЫЙ but another word. In English you use some words it can be a pronoun or can be a verb or can be an adjective depending on where you find it. In Italian it is the same thing. There are some special cases like in Chinese in which this is particularly important.
Language Is Almost Like DNA
But the idea, it all boils down to the way the mentality with which you approach a problem. If you think that there is just a simple correspondence between one word and the other words in language and that one word has just one meaning then you’re missing out on the bigger picture. I wouldn’t go so far to say that it’s detrimental but it can slow you down because you have to see a language, once again I know that I insist on this, as a network. Like DNA almost. So a certain piece in a certain position has to be linked to other pieces around it in a certain spot. It’s different in another spot. Anthony: So given this kind of need to see things in a network sort of sensibility, what do you think is the number one thing that people do that prevents them from entering that network, to becoming a part of it and keeps them outside rather than in the field so to speak. Luca: There are a number of things that can keep you from figuring that out. First is to consider words as isolated elements of the language and the other thing is that I think it is actually important is they don’t use the language. They might think okay I just am studying this language and using books but they’re not using it. So my piece of advice, especially in languages that are similar to your native tongue, is to start using the language and make it meaningful to you. One of the best ways is to get to know people. Nowadays even if you live in Alaska or Australia or some places like in a small island near New Zealand you can still find people on the Internet or people you can talk to, and you better find people you want to talk to. If you find a person or stumble upon a person you don’t want to talk to or people have the same interests or whatever, what counts is that you’re starting to use the language and the language becomes meaningful to you and all doors open because your brain is going to absorb the information in a much easier way. If a language is confined within the realm of just books or things that are not even interesting to you, you’re going to struggle. You will see that the moment you start using the language, and using the language mind you doesn’t necessarily mean speaking the language, you could even just type or you can listen. There’s a number of ways you can translate. You can do a number of things to make it meaningful to you that don’t necessarily imply speaking. Speaking would be the best option because by speaking you reinforce certain mechanisms and your brain learns how to use the language like live with people and emotions are involved and it facilitates the process. But you can do a number of things once again without necessarily speaking if you are a shy person or simply if you don’t feel like speaking to somebody. Anthony: One thing I’ve always wanted to ask you, I’ve actually thought about it before, it came up after our second interview, and I just thought wow why didn’t I ask this. Having to do with language coaching and so forth, I wonder if I were an actor, like I was going to be in a new movie with Tom Cruise and I had a pretty big part and I needed to speak Russian, and I don’t want to learn Russian. I just want to be able to look like I can say 12 lines of text perfect, dead on and everything like as if it is just exactly my mother tongue. What would you do in that case and or would you even touch such a case as a language coach?
Like An Actor, You Need To Understand Why You Say Things In A Certain Way
Luca: Yeah, why not. Anything is feasible. What I would do first of all is to teach them how the language works, the basic intonation patterns. It’s a very interesting thing that if you think about it every language has basic intonation patterns that can be reproduced, it can be easily spotted if you do a certain training and this is a training I’ve been doing for a number of years in five to six languages, and instead of just telling them you have this text learn it by heart, I would tell them first of all try to understand why you say things in a certain way. Let me give you an example. If you are an Italian native speaker and you want to learn, for example, a sentence in English, you have to understand why certain things are said in a certain way. If you say, “I want to go to church because I like it.” Instead of telling this Italian guy, okay just listen to this and say, “I want to go to church because I like it.” Think about it. You say you have two sound units. So as you attach all the words together the first thing that you say is “I want to go to church” and then you raise the frequency, you know the vocal cords vibrate. They have like a certain fundamental frequency and you go up, and I will tell them, the reason why you go up here and you say “I want to go to church” ‑ you can say it in a number of ways obviously, but the reason why you raise your tone is because you’re about to say something else. If you think about it we constantly raise and lower our tone to convey meaning and to let the other person understand what we’re about to say. Every time we raise our tone in certain spots within the sentence, we are actually telling the other person that either we have finished delivering one piece of information, or we’re about to say something else. All the sentences that have a secondary clause, something like “I want to go to church but,” “I want to go to church and,” “I want to go to church although,” and I have this pattern. You build and you actually train people. The first thing is I would train people in basic patterns. I would say every time you say a sentence, you should probably start with short sentences, you have a point where you have to lower you tone because it’s a statement. Any statement, any possibly statement unless it’s a question, has to end somewhere. So you see the end just by seeing it written. But the end in terms of sound is simply when you lower your tone on a certain syllable within a word which is very often the last word but not necessarily and that means that you have finished. That means that I have finished, fi-nished and all the rest is low. So every single sentence you have to see every single sentence as a message. So if somebody who wants to be a good actor, the very first thing is what is it that you’re trying to communicate. The thing that you’re trying to communicate is a message and if you have that message and there are small mini messages inside the message as well. So instead of telling, once again, you have to repeat this by heart, which could be difficult. If you understand something it is going to be much easier.
Break It Down
You first break it down into smaller chunks. You first explain. Then you explain to them why the chunks are pronounced in a certain way. You focus on the chunks and you put them all together. This is basically how training works and it works very well if you know how exactly. They commit it to long-term memory because they understood it. You can tell, even if an actor is very good, you can tell that if they speak the language or they don’t speak the language. For example I suspect that you might know the guy. I don’t remember his name, memory fails me, but there’s a very famous movie by, I don’t remember his name either, but wait, I’m going to do this like I’m going to try remember Tarantino, Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds, and you can tell, I don’t know if you’ve seen it? Anthony: Yes. Luca: And there’s this guy that speaks a number of languages. He is a fantastic actor. Anthony: Christoph Waltz Luca: Yes, you’re the memory guy, you surely have a better memory than I do. For example, I have a problem with names. I don’t remember names. Not because I don’t remember them, it’s just because maybe I’m not interested. Well this is another thing. Anthony: I can help you with that. Luca: You’re going help me with that. So fixed. Deal. So we have Christoph Waltz who speak a number of languages very well, like he recites very well but I could tell, I suspect, I don’t know, I’ve never looked it up, maybe we can do it later, that he speaks French because his French is natural. He does not look like, oh of course it’s not perfect, he sounds foreign, but his French is so natural in the way he talks that I suspect that he knows French well. English the same thing. Italian instead he just recited a couple of lines but you can tell it’s a little bit stiff. So even if he’s a very good actor you can tell obviously its normal. It’s not his native tongue. I don’t think it’s that easy to pronounce language perfectly, but I still believe that there are certain things that can facilitate the process. If he had probably understood like how Italian intonation works, and he put some more possibly, you know a lot of people don’t think that it’s necessarily important that he speaks like a native. It adds a flavor to it if you speak as if you have a foreign accent. But in that case I think that for some actors if they want to recite 12 sentences in a language I would spend some time training, four or five days in making them understand why things are the way they are, and then things are going to be much easier and provide a visual aide, visual guidelines. People talk about they can see the notes when they play the music, musicians. You can do the same thing for language. You can literally find a system which is consistent. In phonetic books there are all sorts of systems that can be used, visual systems but every system is different depending on the author but what they have in common is that they are consistent. These are the things like for raising tone you use something like this. You’re going up with an arrow or you’re going down, etc. Other people do other things. What counts is that if you have a visual guideline, actually it’s going to be very, very helpful for your memory because you are understanding things, you’re breaking things down, and you’re going to repeat and produce something that you have not understood that has a meaningful message. Anthony: We have been talking about acting now, and we talked about magic earlier, and there’s an old saying that says that a magician is really just an actor playing the part of a magician, and I wonder to what extent you think that that might apply to language learning. Luca: It applies a lot because the moment I’m talking to you now for example in American English I feel a different person. So you have to be an actor in a way. Obviously it’s difficult to be an actor all the time, because an actor is just reciting. But I would say in the big show of life, if you are consistent, you’re telling your brain that when you speak the language you have a certain way of moving and talking to people, etc., and if your brain absorbs it, then it actually becomes easier to be phonetically consistent and to speak in a certain way.
Language Is In The Hands
Now if we talk about sounds, because language is mainly sounds that you would produce, but it’s also in the way use hands. For example the way I’m using my hands right now, I would not use them in the same way as if I were speaking Italian. I would go more like crazier, I don’t know. But the way I use my eyes, my nose, my tongue, my hands, my body is different and whenever I speak the language the amazing thing that happens is that, I suspect and I’m not a neuroscientist, but I believe that the reason why I speak in a certain way is the product and the result of the experiences I lived through that specific language. In English sometimes I see things, I see specific sentences and specific situations that I’ve seen actors use, heard actors use in certain movies for example. So movies and the characters who are in the movies played a role as well as the people I met in real life and they all contribute to my personality, or I wouldn’t go so far as to say personality but a side of my personality, because I don’t believe that speaking a language changes my personality but actually it shows another side of the personality that I have when I speak another language. So a person potentially can express all the facets of her or his personality if he spoke a number of languages, and I do believe that’s exactly what happens when you speak a language, and the better you speak a language the more evident this becomes. Like in English I hope I speak English easily. I have this, this thing, this is very evident. Like I feel a different person. I’m not a different person but I feel different because I’ve lived the language, and I have a parallel life. I have my Italian life but I also have my life I live through Engligh which makes a huge difference. It’s because of the experiences that I lived. Anthony: Your English is excellent. Luca: Thanks. Anthony: But it’s interesting what you mention about gestures because I don’t think I’ve done this nearly as much as I have since living in Germany because as a Canadian we just don’t do that that much. I’m not sure what the alternative is in Canada. I wonder, as you’ve traveled around living in these different countries, do you ever feel that you have become less Italian? Luca: Yeah, well that’s a yes and no. That’s a difficult question to tackle. I believe that I have, I’m still Italian, but I wouldn’t say that speaking other languages made me less Italian but it made me richer, it made me more. It didn’t make me less Italian. It made me more international. So I’m Italian but I’m more international. What I would say is that it made me understand, it made me see Italy and Italians and myself in a bigger framework so I understand why we say certain things, why we think certain things, and other people think certain things. It made me understand my own country better. It made me more conscious of the person I am living in this world but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it made me less Italian though.
Can Living Abroad And Learning A Language Destroy Your Cultural Identity?
Anthony: It’s kind of a weird way to phrase the question. I was just thinking of a friend of mine who told me that when I first moved New York he said, “Oh, three months from now you won’t be Canadian anymore.” It will be impossible because the country the flowing. It’s in its own zone so to speak and once you’re out then you re-enter. It’s like you can’t step in the same river twice kind of philosophy. I just thought, come on man, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I’m Canadian and I’m going to be Canadian for the rest of my life but eight years later, I go back to Canada and I have no conception of where, I don’t recognize the place anymore and I don’t recognize myself inside of it. It’s what they call reverse culture shock. I kind of did not mean to say that less Italian, that was a weird way of phrasing it, but that kind of thing of can you reenter and have it. Luca: That’s a different ‑ Anthony: You know what I’m trying to get at? Luca: Yeah, absolutely. Well the thing that happened after living three years in Paris is that I became a little bit more, I don’t want to use the word intolerant, but there are certain things that I cannot stand anymore that I took for granted. For example waiting for the bus for 45 minutes without anybody telling you, maybe under pouring the rain, without anybody telling you why that is happening is very irritating. In France if something like that happens, people are going to start the second revolution, the French revolution. So there are certain things that I found difficult to accept after living in a country which is, let’s face it, more efficient, and on the one hand I appreciate some things more because every country has problems and every country has good and bad things. Italians I believe they are a wonderful people but there are some things that could be changed if we, and I include myself, put some energy and some will into. There’s just no will to change things because Italians say we got this far and who cares. So in a way, once again, I’m not less Italian, I’m just more conscious of the things that could be better, things that other people might not be conscious of because they’ve been living in that environment for their whole life. So they don’t know that actually things can be different, it can be better and that’s it. I think it made me a richer person and because I see and I think I can see a problem or a reality from different perspectives. There’s not one bad thing I could say when somebody tells me, this is quite common actually, oh yeah, you are just good if you speak English. You have been living in Germany for eight years right, if I remember correctly. Anthony: Well I’ve been out of Canada for that long. Luca: Yeah, for a certain amount of time, would you think that your experience would be same if you didn’t speak a word of German? Anthony: Uh, I don’t know because I do speak, I speak lots of German. Luca: But at the beginning would you think that if you didn’t speak a word of German you wouldn’t be able to talk to certain people and people might speak English to you but they might not be as warm and trustworthy and all sorts of things if you didn’t speak their language. There’s like this English bubble. People can live here obviously, people can understand you, you can order things, you don’t need words, you just need your finger to just point at things. But speaking the language gives you the experience and the thing you experience are completely different. Anthony: Yeah, that’s actually an interesting question, and you probably have this experience as well. Being a second language speaker or third language speaker, you’re always speaking in context. There’s always a frame, a framework around what you’re doing. So there’s something called Amtsdeutsch in German which is the kind of German that you use in public offices. So when I go to the Ausländerbehörde which is the immigration office, there is a special kind of German there that is used and if you’re Canadian then that special kind of German that you might be struggling through is treated differently than if you are from a poor impoverished country that these people struggle to get in. So there’s that kind of issue that goes on in language learning and then there’s the kind of German that you hear at a doner stand or where you get grilled chickens and there’s just all kinds of different Germans. There is not one German language and so I wonder what you think about that. That’s another piece of the puzzle of language learning. We treat it as if we are learning a language but each language is languages in and of itself. Luca: Yeah, I agree. There are all sorts of languages within a language because in ever context you can learn to express yourself in a certain way or you have to use certain words and there is registers. You would not talk to your friend, you know you’re having a beer in a bar, and you would not talk to him or her in the way you would talk when you go to an office or when you have to go to university and you have to talk to your professor, you have to talk to your friends and family, etc. So there are all sorts of things you have to understand.
Why People Are The Most Important Part Of Learning A Language
It’s about cultural consciousness and this is particularly important when it comes to the languages like Japanese. In Japanese there are these registers and I believe in Korean it’s even worse. The situation is even worse. People actually get angry at you unless they understand you are like a foreigner because you’re just talking to your professor as you would say, “Hey buddy, how you doing? What’s up?” Image you walk up to your professor and you say, “Hey buddy, what’s up?” Your teacher is going to take a look at you and say he’s crazy. I’m not going to talk to this guy or you are going to fail and flunk the exam. Which is a more likely possibility. So it’s absolutely correct that you have to learn that the language you find in a book might not be the language you actually get to hear every day. Actually that’s the reason why people are so important. When you watch a movie and you watch it with foreigner, I’m sorry, when you watch it with a native speaker, it’s so enriching because you might not understand a word or that person and that happened to me quite a lot of times and say you know, this is a common situation. This is this the thing that people say in that situation. This is a very common sentence because everybody knows this movie. So they are helping you understand not only, it’s called pragmatics, how you’re supposed to use the language. They read a book by Oscar Wilde and then I go around and talk like the book, like Oscar Wilde, people obviously would say you’re talking like the book. You’re still communicating but talking like the book is not like talking in normal life. So, this also is kind of important because I think that one of the mistakes, the very common mistakes is that people tend to focus on things that are not strictly necessary. If first you understand your goal, if you actually realize that your goal is one of communicating with people, it’s one thing. If you want to understand and read literature, like ancient literature in a given language that’s another goal completely. So if your goal is to talk to people, just start talking to people and you’re going to understand and you’re going to realize very quickly what kind of language is being used. Well the book is something else or you can do both. A native speaker normally does both because most native speakers have a certain path. They live within a family, they go to school, they go to university, so they understand all these sorts of things by living the language, but a person who is an adult or like a second language learner and who learns a language in a certain way might actually end up learning just one piece of the language and not understanding that actually there are a lot of facets, there is a lot of aspects to a language they are not aware of and they should be aware of if their goal is to speak like a native speaker or speak a language fluently and blend in. Anthony: Speaking of speaking like a native speaker, you’ve got a new course out which is a master class. Can you tell us a little bit about that and the benefits involved in being a student of that course. Luca: I have been learning, I’ve been teaching, I’ve been training I would say, I would use the word training a lot of students in the last five years but still I’m just one person. So I can help people. I saw how beneficial this can be for people if you just show them the way. I don’t know if you’ve heard of this thing that a great teacher is the one who shows you the way but doesn’t tell you what to see. What I mean is I try to show them the way and but I couldn’t help the one-to-one conversation or one-to-one class. So I have in the last five years I’ve had so many requests from people, and I can’t possibly work with everybody because it’s impossible. So I told myself the best way to do this is to create a course that people can actually watch and they can take, extract information, valuable information, and I basically tackle what I consider the most important things for a language learner to make somebody independent and to figure out for example, the things that we’ve been talking about, to figure out how to decipher intonation, pronunciation with a very special approach. This is one thing. Another thing is how to tackle a conversation because I believe that holding a conversation is a kind of art, and how you can develop your language skills very, very fast by knowing how to use Skype. Skype is just an instrument but if you know how to use it, it becomes very powerful. Obviously also the memory thing, how to use your memory efficiently because one of, I think, the biggest struggle is to remember words. People want to remember a lot of words. They’re like the bricks of the language, they don’t know how. I believe that the reason why a lot of people can’t is not because they can’t because they speak their own native tongue. To speak thousands of words is possible. They just don’t know how to do it. If you know how to do it things are much, much, much easier. I told myself, I figured this out. I want to give this to people because I think that it can be very, very beneficial. I’ve been seeing governments spend thousands and thousands of Euro and like you go to school for five years and you can’t string a word together. Why is that? There must be a reason. The reason is that their people are not trained to learn languages. They are taught the language. I don’t believe that you can teach a language. You can lead a horse to water. You can’t make him drink. So what I think every school should do or every institution is show, train people to learn and then you show them the direction. You’re not just telling me, going back to what I was saying before, if you tell them what to see, for example grammar patterns, they’re not going to nail them. They have to understand how to tackle grammar patterns and they’re going to do them themselves. If you try to teach them, so I put this comprehensive course together tackling what I believe the most important things and especially focusing on training people and the last thing is for example time management. I believe that time management is absolutely important. People don’t know how to manage their time. People, me included sometimes, I told myself I don’t have time for this. It’s not that you don’t have time. Every day you have to find the time to do something you like. So it’s not about having time. It’s about finding the time and if you start, you will revolutionize your world and every time you tell yourself you don’t have time. Instead of telling yourself I don’t have the time you say I did not find the time then the next day you might find the time. You know what, I do have the time actually.
Learn A Language By Doing Something You Like Every Day
It’s just every day you do something you like. Every day you do find the time to listen to music, to take a walk or whatever. So you can do exactly the same thing for language and in only 30 minutes a day or 15, 15 minutes is nothing if you thing about it, 15 minutes a day you can accomplish a lot. I explain, for example, how to use your time effectively in all sorts of situations even when you’re waiting for the bus. It’s all these things together and a lot of people actually watch that master class. I’m very happy about it. Anthony: Yeah, I’ve taken it myself actually and even as I guess I would say an intermediate language learner, I wouldn’t say I’m advanced in that sense, but certainly advanced in the memorization field that goes along with language learning, but I learned a great deal because and I’ve been on both sides of the coin, learning in a language class and learning in a self-taught context and the idea and the structural – basically it’s not really a system but there’s a systematic element to what you’re teaching where you can help yourself come up with your own system is very well described and expressed and just some of the diagrammatic elements that are laid out for you are really fantastic and I learned a lot and benefited a great deal. Also, I don’t want embarrass you or anything, but you’re a great teacher. It’s interesting to listen to, it’s fast paced and there is useful things that you can take away if you keep notes and revisit the course more than once because you’re not going to get it all in the first time, and I think above all there is the most important thing which is the inspiration to take action that you get from going through this and seeing it from a master the actual procedure that he’s used himself. It’s not theory handed down by the government that goes into a classroom from a teacher who is getting paid almost nothing to handle a bunch of students who don’t want to be there in the first place. This is someone who loves language learning. Who has demonstrated beyond the call of duty by helping so many people on YouTube and so forth that this is real, and this is a methodology that works no matter who you are or where you are or what your situation is. So I have benefited from it a great deal and am very grateful that I had the opportunity to do so. Luca: Thanks, I’m glad you have appreciated it. Anthony: Absolutely, and the website where people can get a free introduction to the course with a number of videos, maybe you can share that. Luca: Yes, it’s called Master Any Language. Anthony: All right Master and Language and we’re going to have that on the screen as well and I highly recommend you go and get these free videos and really one of the most amazing things I thought is your introduction on that page you’re speaking multiple languages and with subtitles so you can really see for yourself just how rapidly Luca can switch between these languages and read the message in subtitles if you don’t know those languages and it’s one of the best paths that you’re going to find in the world that will get you to learning those languages or even just one language.
Can You Learn More Than One Language At A Time?
I guess my last question would be for you, one that I get a lot, is it possible or is it recommendable or is it realistic to learn more than one language at the same time. Luca: Absolutely yes. If you know how to do it, it all boils down to if you know how to do it and you know how to manage your time you can do it. I’ve been learning two languages at the same time since 2008 and there are some guidelines even and I elaborate on my blog talking about how people can learn two or three languages at the same time. My suggestion is to learn two languages at the same time. Three might be a little bit too much unless you’re a very experienced language learner. But it is absolutely feasible. I see no reason why you could not do that. But once again, it’s not just about a matter of learning two languages at the same time but you have to try to find a system where you can maintain the other languages that you are learning because one of the things that I heard very often is that, for example, if an American learns Spanish, goes to Spain and he spent three years in Spain, speaks Spanish quite well, then he moves to Italy and starts speaking just Italian then there is going to be a conflict and every time, for example, I’ve heard this a number of times, the person says, “Oh, now I speak good Italian but I’ve forgotten everything about my Spanish.” The reason why that happened is because you just stopped speaking Spanish. But if you go to Italy and while learning Italian you find a partner and you tend to practice Spanish, then you’re going to speak both languages well. When it comes to learning two languages at the same time, remember to structure your time so that you can learn these two languages but you have to maintain the others. This is exactly what I’ve been doing in the last 20 years. I told myself I’m going to learn a new language every two years but while I was adding languages I made sure that I kept reinforcing and maintaining the languages I already knew. Sometimes even using some languages I had already learned to learn others. It’s true up to a certain point that the more languages you learn the faster and easier it gets if for example the language that you’re learning is similar to one of the languages you already learned. If a language is completely different from any language you’ve ever learned, you’re going to struggle at the beginning a little bit because it’s completely different. But, obviously the more languages you learn the higher the chance that the language you want to learn is going to be similar to one of the languages that you have under your belt. To answer your question, it’s absolutely feasible to learn two languages. There are no limits. The only limits you have are the limits that you have in your mind. But if you can break the barrier, anything is possible. The reason why a lot of people think it’s not possible is just few people have accomplished supposedly amazing things because they took action. Anthony: Well speaking of taking action, what are you working on now? What’s your next step? Luca: Insofar as language learning is concerned, my next step and we were just talking about that is Hungarian. The language is completely different from anything I’ve ever learned. I’m going to learn, I’m learning Japanese right now. It’s a really big commitment and my next language is going to be Hungarian and I want to put together other courses which are going to be more specific and I really have a passion for this. I really believe that to show the way is the best way. If you can show the way, you can consider a couple of texts and you show them, for example, how the intonation in Spanish works, that they can tackle any text. This is one of the things that I would really like to do. One of the projects is to start tackling specific languages for specific learners because I do believe that everything depends, everything is relevant as Einstein used to say and if you’re a native English speaker, learning Spanish is going to be different that if you were an Italian speaker. So you have to also consider the relative systems. I see language as a system. So if you have a certain system you have to consider that in order to learn how another system works. One of the first things that I do with my students is to show them how, if they speak the language I speak, how their language works phonetically to understand how the other language works, the new language they want to learn and this is very, very important because if they’re conscious of the way their language works, it’s going to make things so much easier. Anthony: Well this has been very inspiring and very helpful, filled with lots and lots of valuable information, and I really want to thank you for meeting with here in Berlin. Luca: Thank you. It was a pleasure. Anthony: So we will talk again soon and for everybody out there that URL again is http://master-any-language.com/ so go and check that out and avail yourself of the free videos that Luca has for you and we’ll talk again very, very, soon.
Further Resources Luca Lampariello on Language as a Net Luca Lampariello on Working Memory And The Oceans Of Language A Magnetic Little Tip On Memorizing Foreign Language Vocabulary Kerstin Hammes Talks About The Real Meanings Of Fluency Olly Richards Talks About Language Tech And Communication The post Luca Lampariello On How To Master Any Language appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Luca_Lampariello_On_How_To_Master_Any_Language.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:39am EDT |
Fri, 12 December 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn how to find more Memory Palaces, even if you live in a small town and … … don’t want to appear creepy to the locals. You can use the Method of Loci anywhere for language acquisition, and yet, what if you don’t have access to a big city? What if you live in the boondocks? What if you’re a prisoner and haven’t seen daylight for a hundred thousand hours? Well, I haven’t got answers for all of these questions, but as I talk about in this episode, often the questions are more important anyway. Why? Because questions open up the mind. Questions trigger the search for solutions. Throw experimentation into the mix and the next thing you know, life changes. And usually for the better. That’s why I especially admired this recent letter I received from a member of the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Give it a read as a supplement to this week’s episode, followed by a basic prose version of my answer. As always get in touch if you have any questions. I’d love to help you if I can. The Magnetic Questions Of The WeekI’m going to apologize in advance, this email is going to be a bit long, and…I am very sorry for that. I would be, however, very grateful for your help. I have to say this… I watched a lot of your videos, listened to a lot of podcasts, and…I honestly am pumped to get started really seriously learning Japanese vocabulary. However… At the risk or sounding like I’m obfuscating things…I just have a few quick and simple questions, involving the “Art of Association” itself, so to speak. Should one prefer memory palaces, or images? If you have looked at Japanese before, you probably have noticed that its spelling is in no way similar to western languages, so I came up with two possible ways to memorize vocabulary, but, I’d rather do things the right way, the easier and more efficient way, right from the get-go. So, in idea one, I thought of treating each kana as a sentinel, to give each one a specific image that will be tied to vocabulary. I’d create 26 memory palaces, a-z, and store words based on their first letter when transliterated. Then tie the actual first kana image, to the rest of the word. That way I can have words like yasai and yokoshiro in the same palace, with distinct “sentinel” images attached to them, to give away the first kana itself. This idea uses less palaces, but more images. And is, as I think of it, “Palace-Conservative”. The second idea, (Don’t worry,there is only two), is “Image-Conservative”, and, the general idea, is to use a single palace for each kana. Now, there are variations to this, really, in variation 1, I only looked at the hiragana, (because katakana uses the same sounds but different symbols), and would store words based solely on the first kana in the word. (no transliteration). Including the Datuken, I would require 70 palaces. If I included “Combo-Hiragana”, I’d require 106. (Roughly). To blow this up even more, in variation 2, if I were to treat the katakana and hiragana separately, to remember the proper spelling of words (Like, which kana syllabary to use), I’d need roughly 212 palaces. I’m brand new to memory palaces, and the magnetic memory method, and really, the “Palace Conservative” idea sounds more intuitive to me, but, haha, this is coming from a guy who thought rote learning and spaced repetition systems like Anki were the only way to go. And I really, really didn’t like them. Memory Palace Acquisition, a problem? For me, yes. Let me explain: I’m 21 years old. I live in a town of 5000 people. Nearest town has maybe 500 people. Nearest city, of 250,000, is 400km away. I have no car. I have no drivers license. I also have a night job, and sleep during the day. I have spent 13 years of my life here, about 8 years of my life in that small nearby town, and 4 months in Barrie. I don’t remember those 4 months very well, I was only 7, and…well, I was extremely depressed, and in short, that’s the reason I ended up back in this town to begin with. Anyways…during the Palace Recitation exercise I was only able to come up with about 60 palaces. And I really thought about this, with a lot of time and effort. Occasionally, 1 more might pop up, but…I believe I have pretty much maxed out now. And I really don’t want to sound pessimistic, I love this method thus far, and I can see myself using it forever, and ever…and ever. But, until I’m able to move out to a city, where I can actually just “go memory palace hunting” so to speak, I’m stumped about what to do. I don’t know if you ever lived in a small town before, but just going out and getting new friends and doing all that, is really…it’s very hard to do. For example I can’t just, you know, burst into the little high school we have and start socializing with a bunch of the kids there. It’d be…inappropriate, to say the least. I played one of my favourite video games, Ocarina of Time, as remade for the 3DS back in 2011, and spent about an hour, really visualizing and exploring one of the “Dungeons” in the game, both as a visualization exercise, and because I may use it as an imagined memory palace. I was thinking of using many, many more buildings I have found in video games as well, but…recalling these structures adds a layer of complexity on top of storing the images…so, I wanted to know how “practical” it would be, in general, to save up a bunch of imagined memory palaces? What about large imagined memory palaces? Okay, so, recalling large, real buildings, is fairly easy. Our brains are tuned for that. But what about…large, imaginary buildings? I know it sounds like a no-brainer, like, “it’s imagined and it’s large and so there’s more to try and remember about the layout, so of course it’ll be harder to remember!” But, I was wondering if it’d be more practical to memorize a large imaginary palace, (Take Ocarina of Time’s Shadow Temple or Spirit Temple for example), versus, trying to memorize the layouts of say, ten or fifteen small or medium sized imaginary buildings? I suppose it depends on the volume of related information I’d want to store in it, but…if I wanted to learn about multi-threaded programming, and store it all in imagined palaces, should I store all the info across several imagined palaces, or contain it in a single, large one? Not crossing your path, and long hallways… On the note of not crossing your own path in memory palaces. During my “Virtual tour” of the “Shadow Temple” in ocarina of time, I realized there are many hallways and, “leaf” rooms. Or, really, a hallway that leads to a room, and that room leads to 5 more connected rooms, but the only way to get back, is to go down that hallway again. Does that…count as crossing my path? Or does it only really count, if there are stations in that hallway? Okay I’m done bombarding you with questions for now! I hope you can answer, and…I hope they are good questions (Well, there’s no such thing as a bad question, really) but, I hope they are at least…entertaining questions or…something positive. I love you videos, your method, your website, (I also love that it is mobile-friendly), and your podcasts. I listen to them while I’m at work! Prose Version Of My AnswerThanks for your questions! First off, I apologize for the lateness in my response. I was on a research trip in Italy so that I can bring more valuable ideas to the Masterclass and Mastermind. Do you know of Giordano Bruno? He had some great memory systems and I’ve been able to look at some archival documents and will be putting together something special over the coming year based on his work. But I also fell ill and should have seen a doctor while I was there. So I am on a lot of antiobiotics now and haven’t really been able to get to the computer until yesterday and am struggling to catch up. I had seen your email and apologize for not answering it, but I was shivering in bed with fever and all manner of nastiness and really could only do the minimum. I haven’t even had a podcast up for almost three weeks and though I’ve been blessed by having lots of emails asking if I’m okay, I feel terrible about getting behind. This is my biggest passion in life and it sucks to get ill. Maybe one day I’ll have an assistant who can at least send out an email that I have to be away. But hopefully I won’t get this sick again, and no matter where I might be in the world, I will make sure to see a doctor one way or the other. All that said, I’ll do my best to address your questions with respect to using Memory Palaces for language acquisition and we can carry forward from there if you have any more. I really appreciate them and am dedicated to helping you in every possible. The honest answer is that you should try both. At first glance, I think your sentinel idea is going to work better, but I still think the only way to know is to at least give a percentage of the 212 Memory Palace version you are thinking of a try. Why? Because it might open the floodgates in your mind in a way that will never happen if you opt for just the one. I’m going through the same experimentation phase with Kanji and I simply have to do the extra steps of trying different approaches I come up with or risk never knowing what will a) Work best There’s a third way, however, and one that I don’t think you should take because you’re obviously advanced enough not to need it. And that’s to either use Romanji or the principle of homophonic transliteration to create your own Romanji. Ultimately, this can create more problems than it solves and I only recommend it to people who need to get their foot in the door in order to at least have speech recognition and the ability to speak, but since you want to read, spell and have such a high order of thinking already working for you, go with these two options and settle on the one you like best. You’ll figure it out in short order. With respect to life north of Barrie, Ontario, I lived in Toronto for 10 years, so know your neck of the woods quite well. I’ve driven through at least 5 times throughout my life. I’ve also lived in places smaller than you, though admittedly Silver Creek is within 20 minutes of Salmon Arm by car. Of course, I had to hitchhike a lot to get there, but it was still not that big of a deal and I did wind up walking more than a few times too. In other words, I think I understand your situation and have to say that 60 is an impressive number given the circumstances. But I think you can probably stretch it out further. About using the school you mentioned, often schools have evening programs and public events. It’s Christmas time, so maybe you can go to the Christmas concert or take a one-day seminar. There’s probably a community events calendar available online that you can look into. Failing that, you could just go to the principal’s office during the day, tell him about the Magnetic Memory Method and say that you need a new Memory Palace. Tell him that you know it sounds creepy, but if you could make an appointment a 4 or 4:30 after you’ve woken up and all the students are gone home to have a guided tour, that would be great. If you’re upfront with people, they’re usually very helpful, no matter how strange your story may be. Have you tried the local hospital? You should be able to walk around in there without anybody even asking about your presence and get lots and lots of stations. I don’t know if you’re a religious person or not, but there are often tasty snacks after the Sunday service and churches make for great Memory Palaces. I have several. Have you covered the gas stations and restaurants? Admittedly, these aren’t the greatest, but a gas station with a restaurant can work wonders just by sitting for a cup of coffee. Finally, when I used to walk those long stretches, I encountered many barns and I can still remember them. Even without seeing the inside of them, I know that they all have four corners and have used these corners to memorize information. About virtual Memory Palaces, I really don’t find them practical for most things for the precise reason you’ve expressed: they add a layer of complexity. More than that, you have to rebuild them while you’re staging and decoding the associative-imagery. It makes no sense in most cases. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment with it. You most certainly should. I’ve had some interesting successes with them, especially with memorizing poetry and other verbatim texts. This is because the text itself serves as a kind of aid to memory because it’s a chain. So one thing you can do is practice Virtual Memory Palaces based on video games using poetry first and then adapt them for other purposes such as vocabulary. This represents an extra step, but I think you’ll find that it pays off in the long run. You get good with using Virtual Memory Palaces with something relatively trivial first and that lends itself to the practice and then switch the ability you’ve gained over to something more difficult. It’s kind of like how a baseball player practices swinging with 3 or 4 bats in hand so that they have more power and agility when they gear down to just one bat during the game. About crossing your own path, the solution here is to not enter the rooms. Just glance into them. I call this at certain points in the Masterclass the “Peer vs. Enter” technique. And it literally is just that: peering in through the door and casting your mental eyes around either clockwise or counterclockwise depending on the nature of your journey and then moving on. It helps a lot of people a great deal. The other alternative is not to travel your Memory Palace at all. You don’t have to be a figure that moves along the journey. You can be like a god who lifts up the roof and then peers down at the layout, looking from room to room and station to station. There will be path-crossing issues with this too, but it is another way to think about travelling through a Memory Palace. Back to Virtual Memory Palaces – I do have a full video about this that I haven’t uploaded to the Masterclass yet. It goes through some of the more advanced techniques and will give you some ideas. Please extend me some patience with getting it in there. There are other videos coming too that I know you’re going to love. And to thank you for your questions, I’m going to feature them on the podcast. With any luck, I’ll be able to get that out today. I’m really glad that you enjoy it and hope that you won’t mind that I make your letter and this response the basis for an episode. But I think it would be of tremendous value to people and maybe I’ll get some more ideas as I’m talking through the material. You’ve also given me some ideas of illustrations that I can make to better demonstrate the Peer vs. Enter technique. As you know, using a Memory Palace with these optimized methods is one of the best memory care home solutions we’ve got, so I’ll work on these and make them exclusive to the Masterclass. I hope that these notes answer your questions. Please do be in touch if you have any more and let me know when that something special I put into the mailbox for you the other day arrives. Sincerely, Anthony P.S. Visiting this dude nearly killed me. LOL!
Further Resources Mentioned In This EpisodePrevious episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast: A Magnetic Little Tip On Memorizing Foreign Language Vocabulary. Giordano Bruno on Wikipedia Interview with Scott Gosnell about Bruno’s memory techniques Scott Gosnell’s translation of Bruno’s De Umbris Idearum: On The Shadows Of Ideas. Difference and Repetition by Gilles Deleuze What is an Author? by Michel Foucault The post How To Find Memory Palaces appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Sun, 23 November 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we talk about how to use Memory Palaces to memorize foreign language vocabulary. In fact, one of the most important questions around memorizing vocabulary without struggle is raised and answered in-depth. Program NotesToday’s question involves your language of focus. When memorizing foreign language vocabulary using a Memory Palace it can be hard to settle on which language to feature along your journeys. These considerations combine a location you’re familiar with and the Method of Loci. The inspiration for the podcast came from a reader of my book on how to learn Spanish vocabulary and memorize it. Focusing on Spanish words first and then finding the English definitions confused him, so I answer the issue in this episode. In brief, you should always focus on the target language and use images to memorize both the sound and the meaning. How To Remember What You LearnThis is important because you want to train your mind to think in the target language by using imagery. Although you are connecting the images to your mother tongue in a real way, the stronger the images, the faster the meaning will come to mind. This effectively skips thinking about the meaning your mother tongue and drives you directly to the concept. As I talk about in the podcast, you want to think about memory techniques as being a kind of bicycle. They involve universal principles that touch everyone the same way, but we still need to adjust them to our own uses. The Method of Loci and the Memory Palace you use for this or that language learning project will need to be adjusted to your needs and learning style. As ever, the most important thing is to get started. Build a Memory Palace using all the tools provided by the Magnetic Memory Method. Then get started memorizing the foreign language vocabulary you’ve selected with care. Choice Is The Ultimate Language Learning Memory EnhancerThere are lots of different ideas about how to focus on the right vocabulary. Some of the different opinions can be downright controversial. But there are also good discussions about word frequency lists and how to compile them using existing resources. Or you can create your own. Luca Lampariello is one of my favorite polyglot teachers who focuses on what it really takes to master the art of language learning. And the good news is that he has been a guest on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast twice before! These episodes are called: Luca Lampariello On Working Memory And The Oceans Of Language Luca Lampariello On Language As A Net Speaking of Luca, I’m looking forward to meeting with him soon for his birthday and some discussions about language learning. He also gave a great suggestion for the translation of my book, The Ultimate Language Learning Secret. Originally my translator gave me the following choices: Il Segreto Ultimo Per Imparare Le Lingue Imparare Le Lingue: Il Segreto Ultimo Imparare Le Lingue: Il Segreto Svelato The first two are more or less literal translations. The third is roughly “Learning Languages : The Secret Revealed” in English. However, part of the trickiness of the situation involves the structure of the book. I can’t discuss more about why here, but it’s likely that each of these titles will be misleading in the end. That’s why I’m so grateful for Luca’s suggestion, which is (drum roll, please) … Il vero segreto di imparare le lingue This translates more or less to: “The Real Secret To Learning Languages.” Due to the nature of how the book discusses the secret, this truly is the best title. Thanks Luca! Further Memory and Language Learning ResourcesHow to Memorize Concepts (with video) Kirsten Hammes talks about the Real Meanings of Fluency Olly Richards Talks About Technology and Language Learning The post A Magnetic Little Tip On Memorizing Foreign Language Vocabulary appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: A_Magnetic_Little_Tip_On_Memorizing_Foreign_Language_Vocabulary.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 9:37am EDT |
Mon, 17 November 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method podcast, you’ll learn how to make changes to a Memory Palace you’ve already created (and when not to do this at all). Please supplement the podcast episode with this video on re-using Memory Palaces:
You’ll also likely encounter ghosting or confusion, often referred to in memory science as The Ugly Sister Effect. Use that episode of the podcast and the blogpost to make sure you never have trouble with it. Episode Notes On This Podcast Today’s episode features a question about making changes to a Memory Palace to add new information. There are at least 3 options that we discuss in detail in the podcast. These are: 1) Creating Virtual Memory Palace elements. These can include imaginary bookshelves other types of invented or imaginary stations. You place these between pre-existing stations and the information memorized at/on/beside/in or under them. This technique will be most useful for those Memorizers who already have some experience using Virtual Memory Palace elements in combination with the Method of Loci. 2) Create a mnemonic palimpsest. Although not recommended, you can use Memory Palace stations twice. But as discussed in the episode, it’s much better to add new phrases to words. That way you’re preserving the original station and adding new material without having to add Virtual Memory Palace elements or shift things around. 3) Create new Memory Palaces. Instead of modifying existing Memory Palaces, create new ones. For example, create 3-4 Memory Palace per letter of the alphabet. You could have: A1 … and so on. Then, when you have new words to memorize, you place them in a new Memory Palace altogether. This technique works well if you want to maintain old Memory Palaces and still add new words to your vocabulary. You can also use the Principle of Word Division with multiple Memory Palaces. Thus, you would have: A1 = Words that start with “al” A2 = Words that start with “an” A3 = Words that start with “at” … etc. … Although multiple Memory Palaces for each letter of the alphabet may have limited appeal. But once you give it a try, you’ll find that it works a charm. The worst that can happen is that you wind up not using some of the Memory Palaces you create. But that’s hardly a problem. It will give you a lot of practice in Memory Palace construction and you can always go back and use those Memory Palaces later. Your mind loves this kind of exercise and the experimentation involved. You just need the mindset, the willingness and the determination to succeed and you’ll find more success than you imagined possible. Multiple alphabetized Memory Palaces also work wonders when you’re memorizing vocabulary around themes. For example, if you’re memorizing words based on the theme of restaurants, instead of having one Memory Palace with 50 words, you could have 5 with 10 words each. In fact, you could think of 5 restaurants that you’ve enjoyed and use these. This will create a nice connection between the theme you’re working on and the actual Memory Palaces you’re using. As always, please let me know if you have any questions. And if you want more detailed training, over 20 hours of videos and dozens of PDFs and Worksheets await you in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Further Resources 7 Ways To Make Your Memory Swiss Army Knife Sharp Method of Loci article on Wikipedia The post How To Renovate A Memory Palace appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Sun, 9 November 2014
Program Notes As you all know, I focus on memorizing vocabulary. I also share some ideas about memorizing poetry and decks of cards. And other ways to awaken the possibilities of your mind. Lots of other ways. But above all, my goal is to help people succeed in their target language studies. Or within their profession so that can excel with sophistication and ease. The method I teach involves creating many Memory Palaces based on the alphabet. Each Memory Palace features a journey, some long, some short. But memorizing vocabulary isn’t the whole story when it comes to becoming fluent in a language or profession. So in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we talk about 5 other ways you can get a superboost of fluency. So let’s get started: 1. Expand your fluency by studying the background of your language or profession. If you’re studying French, turn to books on the history of the language. Read up on the countries where French is spoken or its influence has been felt. Look at how it has shaped cultural customs, political structures and its speakers. The same is true for reading about, say, medicine. Look at the history of the field and its cultural impact. You can look at how medicine has influenced art, theatre, literature and other aspects of culture. 2. Read within the language itself. This means not only children’s books. In fact, as discussed in the episode, these can be more destructive than helpful when learning a language. They often have non-standard words that can be hard to find in a dictionary. Try online magazines and newspapers instead. You can find a breaking news story in your mother tongue and then look for it in the language your are studying. Write down some of the words and phrases you’d like to learn and use the Magnetic Memory Method to memorize them. 3. Test what you’ve memorized. This is critical. Recall Rehearsal not only tells you how accurately you’ve memorized the material, but it also does at least two things: a) It improves your memory abilities In sum, the Method of Loci and Memory Palaces are best used by … Using them. 4. Seek, develop and use motivation. As discussed in this episode of the Podcast, motivation is a slippery fish. You don’t want to visualize goals that you can’t achieve. At the same time, you don’t want to encourage yourself to be an underachiever. It’s kind of cliche to suggest this, but choose SMART goals. But the fact of the matter is that they work. From Wikipedia, courtesy of Peter Drucker, SMART goals are: * Specific. This means that they target a specific area for improvement. * Measurable. You need to be able to quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress. * Assignable. You have to be able to assign the goal to yourself. If you can’t do it, who will? * Realistic. If it’s impossible to achieve, the goal will be of limited use. * Time-related. You should specify when you expect the results. Using SMART goals will help you a great deal as you continue your fluency development. 5. Teach. As people often say, something taught is something learned twice. And it’s true. If you haven’t externalized a subject you’ve learned, you haven’t really internalized it. Without teaching it, you haven’t fully processed it. Like good coffee, knowledge needs to be percolated and then shared. The same goes for everything, including mnemonics and other work with memory techniques. into place and the theories lose their complexity. As always, thanks for listening to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. If you’re looking for information about the Masterclass, it’s currently open. If you’re already a member, please login now to continue learning about how to improve your memory and the quality of your mind. You really can learn and memorize anything. The post 5 Ultra Fun Ways To Super Boost Your Fluency appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: 5_Ultra_Fun_Ways_To_Super_Boost_Your_Fluency.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:43pm EDT |
Sat, 1 November 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn the 7 best ways to make your memory sharper than a Swiss Army Knife. MacGyver, in case you’ve never seen the show, is a secret agent with a background in science. He’s always building bombs and troubleshooting problems. His favorite tools? Duct-tape and a Swiss Army Knife. He also had a cool boss who was also his best friend. How many secret agents can say that? But what has MacGuyver got to do with the Magnetic Memory Method? A lot, actually. When you use the Magnetic Memory Method, you’re transforming your mind into a Swiss Army knife and duct-tape at the same time. Your mental Swiss Army knife extends just the right associative imagery at the right time. And your mental duct-tape (your Memory Palaces) makes those images stick. They stick for as long as you want to keep the information memorized. And there are a lot of tools that go along with it. Here are just 8 of those tools in your Swiss Army knife-brain that you might not have spent enough time on yet. Listen to this episode of The Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and read the following to learn how. 1. Sensory Whether you’re building your Memory Palaces or filling them, it’s important to be aware of your five senses. The more of the main senses you activate when working on your language learning goals, the easier it will be to recall your vocabulary. 2. Intensity Your mind has the amazing ability to make its contents more vibrant, hilarious, and strange. This will help you memorize and recall information. And it’s easy to do. You need only focus on the associative-imagery you’ve created and then amplify it. Make it even more colorful, large, vibrant and strange. 3. Distinction This point relates to intensity. But the difference here is that you focus on differentiating the images in your mind. One way to do this is to focus on the borders of the images you create. For example, let’s say my image has Fred Flintstone kissing a frog in a tutu. I can make the image more outstanding by taking a few seconds to really see the edges of the image and strengthen them. You can pretend that you are tracing over them with a black marker like you might do in a coloring book if it helps. It’s kind of a weird thing to do, but once you try it, you’ll find that your images are at least 10x more memorable. All because you’ve focused on making them distinct. It doesn’t have to be black lines either. Try silver, gold, red, the color of duct-tape – any color will do. 4. Emotion Believe it or not, there’s a little pea in your brain called the amygdala. It deals with emotional content, both positive and negative, and … You can hack it. Just by presenting it with crazy imagery. This works because the amygdala is designed to sense emotions and literally scream, “pay attention to this! It’s important!” And so you can supercharge your associative images, and the Memory Palaces themselves, by giving them strong emotional elements. 5. Survivalist impulses Our brains come with some heavy duty wiring to ensure that we have the necessary drive to survive. And it’s not just a physical thing. We need to survive – and thrive – emotionally, mentally, financially, nutritionally, etc. In other words, if you want your memory to work better, make sure you’re well-fed, well-watered and well-rested. 6. Personal connections I’ve had some people tell me that their life histories interfere with their Memory Palace language learning work. I find this surprising, because I think it would be just the opposite. Part of the mnemonic principle that underlies the Magnetic Memory system is association. Normally associations to things that you’re already familiar. Things that need zero memorization (because they’re already in memory). To each a zone, of course, but do experiment with increasing the personal importance of the images you use. It will make everything more memorable. And it only stands to reason that your favorite TV shows, actors, musicians and movies are personal connections that you can draw upon with ease. It doesn’t just have to be family and friends. 7. Repetition A lot of people have told me that because I’m against rote learning, I’m against repetition. This is absolutely not the case. There’s smart, useful and results producing repetition that takes less time and effort. Like using Memory Palaces and the Method of Loci in your work with mnemonics. And then there’s the other kind. I call this the .. Blunt Force Hammer Of Rote Learning The fact of the matter is that the Magnetic Memory Method lets you recall on demand based on associative imagery. But you perform the repetitions based on what you’ve memorized, not as an attempt to memorize in the first place. Sounds like a winning formula to me. That’s all for this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method, dear Memorizers. Until next time, get out the duct-tape and then teach someone else what you’ve learned about Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of the best ways to learn it and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we can make the world a better place. The more we remember, the more we can remember. And the more we learn, the more we can learn. And if you want to learn more, then feel free to check out the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. The post 7 Ways To Make Your Memory Swiss Army Knife Sharp appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: 7_Ways_To_Make_Your_Memory_Swiss_Army_Knife_Sharp.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 2:46pm EDT |
Sat, 25 October 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we discuss visuality, science and a new book on memorizing numbers and math. Note: If you are visiting by no later than Sunday, October 27th, then How to Learn and Memorize Math, Numbers, Equations and Simple Arithmetic is free on Kindle. If you don’t own a Kindle, you can get a free app for most devices on the US Kindle Store. I want to thank you kindly for visiting and look back to this page soon for a full discussion of the episode, the Method of Loci, mnemonics, creating a Memory Palace network and all of that good stuff that we tend to talk about. Here is the correspondence I received as referred to in this episode of the podcast: Hi Anthony, I have a question I would like to ask. Using mnemonics what have you committed to memory? I’m interested in using mnemonics to educate myself, to learn and be able to remember a vast sum of knowledge, that I find enjoyable, and I find it inspirational to hear, what others have achieved using such techniques. Kind regards. This is a great question, and answering it helps me describe just how versatile the Magnetic Memory system – and mnemonics in general – happen to be. Over the years I have memorized: * Foreign language vocabulary * Musical notation * Dates and facts * Seat numbers on airplanes and trains * Poetry * Famous quotes * Randomized decks of cards * To-do lists (which as Derren Brown points out, Memory Palace to-do items are for more likely to get done) * Philosophical concepts * Names of people I meet * Street and city names * Addresses * Phone numbers * Film and book titles * Recipes * Call numbers at the library * Appointment times * … and I’m sure there’s much more. For me, the ultimate trick has always been to use locations. Some people toss their visual associations “into the void” of their minds without locating them some place. And for some people, that’s just fine. But I’m an advocate for localized organization. Why? I’ve talked about this a lot before in other editions of the Magnetic Memory newsletter, the key idea being that we have an unconscious fear of losing things (especially our minds). Thus, when we create a visual image to help us remember something and then stick it in a clearly visualized mental location based on an actual location with which we are intimately familiar, we eliminate the fear and anxiety we naturally have a losing things and can focus on embedding that information instead. Just a theory? Perhaps. But the theory is irrelevant. This stuff works. And there’s science behind it too. Anyone who knows me knows that I have very limited patience for anything that can’t be empirically demonstrated in front of a council of disinterested men and women in lab coats. That’s just the way my Magnets roll. Further Resources: In Praise of the Mnemonic Peg System How to Memorize Numbers with the Major Method Method of Loci article on Wikipedia
The post On Math, The Science Of Mnemonics And Memory Modalities appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: On_Math_The_Science_Of_Mnemonics_And_Memory_Modalities.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:16pm EDT |
Wed, 22 October 2014
I’ll bet you feel horrible when you procrastinate. You do? Good. That means that this podcast may be the most important episode you ever hear. Look, procrastination is a reality. And falling prey to it is understandable. Especially if you’re a doer. Here’s what happens: Many times when we start a new activity, we experience an initial rush. And everything seems not only possible, but nothing can go wrong. A feeling erupts that says you can conquer the world in a single day. But before you know it, that energy drops off. And then the resolve drops off. And before you know it, you start sabotaging yourselves by finding excuses that take you away from moving forward. Again, it’s understandable. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Especially not when you’re using the Magnetic Memory Method. But even then some people fall off the path. For example, you might come across a challenging word. But instead of popping it into a well-designed Memory Palace … it’s time to do the dishes. Or attend to the laundry. Or play games. Or check email. Anything but the work of memorization. Yet we all know one important fact. That fact is this: If you want to memorize a lot of vocabulary, terminology, math equations, or whatever it is that floats your Magnetic boat … You’ve got to actually engage in the key activity of using the Method of Loci in your Memory Palaces. Luckily, this isn’t work as such (more like play), but it still trips a lot of people up. The question is why. The answer is often simple. It’s fear. People fear a lot of things when it comes to success. There are two in particular: 1) The fear of failing 2) The fear of succeeding People usually address the first fear by never getting started. Crazy, but true. And in some ways, it’s a pretty rational approach to avoiding failure. After all, if you never take action, you cannot fail. Only problem is that not taking action is the biggest failure of all. Fear of success is its own kettle of fish. It’s connected to the fear of change. After all, if you achieve one of your goals, you’ll have power. Great power. And with power, as the comic books and Superhero movies tell us, comes great responsibility. Think about it. If you were to use the Magnetic Memory Method to gain massive boosts in French fluency, for example, you would have to use the language. You’re not going to be fluent in a language you’re not using, after all. No matter how much you use a Memory Palace or general mnemonics. And just imagine what would happen if you aced all your exams? You’d be morally and ethically obliged to study even more and even teach so that others could enjoy your knowledge. You’d have to become a superhero. Success has consequences. And that’s why so many fear it. Here’s another weird reason that people fear success: They don’t believe they deserve it. And without self-worth, even bigger negative believes sail in. They are the seeds of weeds that start growing and distributing even more seeds. Before you know it, no machete will get your through the jungle. What are some of these beliefs? That other people are: * Faster Could be true. In fact, it will almost always be true. But it doesn’t matter! There’s always room for another drop in the ocean. And the next time you’re by the shore, take a drop away and see what happens. (I’ll leave that as a riddle for you to think about.) Finally, some people fear that success is impossible. A lot of this comes from the fact that they haven’t defined what success means to them. If you don’t know were to find Eden on the map … Good luck finding it on the ground. Look, there’s a Golden Rule when it comes to what is achievable and what isn’t. That rule is this: If someone else can do it, you can do it too. And if that’s the case, then there’s no reason to fear that it’s impossible. So long as the evidence behind it having been done is solid, then it can be done. And as I talk about in the podcast, you can even achieve impossible things without being the doer. Like if you’re a sports coach, for example. You can be the conduit, the strategist, the inspiration. And perhaps in this case, it might be true that some things are impossible. Because without you at the helm, they would never get done. So, now that we’ve got all these issues cleared up, make sure that you listen to the podcast episode. This will help ensure that you understand how to overcome these fears and turn procrastination into a tool. There’s simply no reason to let procrastination get in the way of using mnemonics, your dedicated Memory Palace strategy and all the ways you approach the Method of Loci in combination with the memory techniques you know. So be sure to check out the resources mentioned in the podcast before you memorize another single unit of the valuable information that will bring meaning, value and positive change to your life. Because if you’re going to procrastinate, these resources will be a powerful diversion indeed.
Talk soon! Sincerely, Anthony Metivier Further Resources BBC article on concentration and focus Tim Ferris on “Productivity Hacks” The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Do This One Thing And Stop Procrastinating (From Psychology Today) The post Defeat Procrastination And Memorize More With These Tricks appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Defeat_Procrastination_And_Memorize_More_With_These_Tricks.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 7:31am EDT |
Fri, 17 October 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I mention the Peg System as an alternative to the Method of Loci and the Memory Palace method. Do you really need an alternative? Probably not, but giving you options is so central to what we do here on the site and the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. So here’s a brief rundown of what a Peg System is and when you might want to use one. The Peg System is just what it sounds like: the exercise of “pegging” (or linking) one thing to another. It assumes that you know the first thing, so it’s just a matter of Magnetically connecting the next in your mind. I’m going to be giving some examples of how this works, and I want you to follow along. But here’s an important caveat: Following my examples or the examples of any mnemonist is not the best way to learn memory techniques. As you read, treat these examples and demonstrations only. Immediately create your own images in your mind. Only in this way will you be accomplishing two things: 1. Learning the link system Let’s get started.
How To Hang Information On A Number
Have a read through the following list of rhymes: 1 is a gun 2 is a shoe 3 is a bee 4 is a door 5 is a hive 6 is a stick 7 is heaven 8 is a gate 9 is a line 10 is Ben 11 is heaven 12 is a shelf Etc. …
What On Earth Is This All About?
It’s about hanging one piece of information in the other. In this case, you are hanging a rhymed word onto something you already know and will probably never forget (the numbers 1-12). You’re associating them. There are some problems with the rhymes I just gave you, however. Here’s the major issue: Although all of the items that rhyme with the numbers (something that is in and of itself part of creating memorability), not all of the words I’ve given you are directly visible. For example, what does heaven look like? Clouds? Angel wings? Fields of grass as shown in Gladiator as Maximus makes his way to Elysium? Who can say? And that lack of specificity can be a problem. But not usually if you know your system and always use it … religiously.
Here is why:
What we’re going to do with these rhymes is use them to memorize more information. For example, let’s say that you’re going to an important business meeting and you’ll be meeting twelve new people. The 11th person you meet is named Ralph. How are you going to associate Ralph with 11? Well, you could see him floating on a cloud (heaven). Or you could see him with angel wings bursting from his back (heaven). Or you could see him on the roof of the Sistine Chapel flirting with God’s finger (heaven). The important thing is to be consistent. And include wild, exaggerated action in a visual way. It’s great if you can make it absurd too. So instead of seeing wings bursting from Ralph’s back, you could have them bursting from his chest, perhaps even poking through the “Ralph” nametag on this chest.
A Concrete Alternative
Or better yet, I might include some other Ralph I already know to “peg” Ralph even deeper into the connective tissue of my mind. For example, Ralph Macchio from The Karate Kid might show up and do some fancy footwork in a fight between Evan and my new business associate Ralph. It would be large, bright, vivid and filled with zany action.
Go One Step Further
To make this process truly Magnetic, you can add a Memory Palace component to your pegs. In fact, as I suggested in this episode of the podcast, pegs are perfect for use within Memory Palaces as much as possible. Why? Because having a location increases your chances of recall and reduces that anxiety we were talking about. Not only that, but you also use and strengthen your spatial memory. And the more you do this, the more you’ll become a Memory Palace fanatic and get the massive results that only Memory Palaces make possible.
In Conclusion …
Let me leave you with three fuller examples from the list above, but this time with examples of names and how they could be memorized. Again, make sure to come up with your own examples so that you can learn this method by doing instead of just running the examples through your mind. Don’t make the mistake of hoping that they’ll work for you next time if you’ve only just read this over. That’s activity. Go for accomplishment. 1 is a gun. Memory Palace station: My bed. Target name: Kirsten. Associative-imagery: My gun shoots a gun made from pillows and the curtains where Kirsten is standing. Notice the similarity between “Kirsten” and “curtains” in terms of sound. This is the principle of compounding. Use it as much as you can. 2 is a shoe. Memory Palace station: My desk. Target name: Amir. Amir plays a drum kit made of mirrors using shoes instead of drum sticks. Notice the “mirror” contains the “mir’ sound of Amir. It is the most striking part of the name, so the image is centered on capturing that for decoding later. 3 is a bee. Memory Palace station: The wall where my guitar rests. Target name: Phil. I see my other friend Phil swatting at a bee with my old philosophy textbook while my new associate Phil puts a filter on his camera lens before shooting the action. Notice that I am using a friend I already have named Phil, plus a book of philosophy. I also have Phil putting a differently spelled but similar sounding filter on his camera. To some people, this compounding procedure might sound like overkill. However, I recommend that you practice getting good at it. It will make the difference between memorizing material effectively just some of the time and all of the time. And since I assume that you’re into mnemonics for total memory mastery, then you’re going to want to get started with the principle of compounding right away. I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of the podcast. Thanks for listening. I appreciate it! Sincerely, Anthony Metivier
Further Magnetic Resources:
The Only 4 Memory Improvement Systems You Need Peg System article on Wikipedia A Peg-esque way of Memorizing Numbers Magnetic Memory Method Article on the Major Method The Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass The Original Letter That Forms The Basis Of This Podcast Episode Just in case you aren’t able to listen to the podcast, here is a copy of the original letter I received. If you’d like to write in and have a question addressed on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, please feel free to get in touch. Associating in the void does work although I have to admit that your loci system for storing vocabulary may have two advantages:
I would like to expand a little on number two. I had used the peg system for 30 years before I started using the loci system. Once I started using the loci system I began to notice that there are actually two separate associations one makes with the loci system as contrasted with peg system. One is the interaction with the item stored there at the locus. The other is the visual image of seeing the word one is trying to remember at the locus with no real interaction except visually being there. With the peg system in contrast there is only the interaction between the word one is trying to store in memory and the peg word for the numeral. So in conclusion I think that loci system involves an extra association with essentially two chances to recall the word or image whereas the peg system only involves the actual interaction between the peg and the word to be recalled. Even so I would like to see the two systems compared experimentally. Keep in mind that the peg system could be used for language learning as well as simple list learning just as the loci system can. The post In Praise Of The Mnemonic Peg-System appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: The_Memory_Palace_Cure_For_Fear_Anxiety_Stress_Worry_And_Strain.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:36pm EDT |
Mon, 6 October 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Jonathan Levi talks about how to become a SuperLearner using speed reading and memory techniques. Tune in now and learn: * Why speed reading is not snake oil and Jonathan’s amazing bucket, hose and water metaphor for understanding your memory. * Why long term memory functionally has no limit and how to maximize what you can place inside your mind. * The precise meaning of what a “superlearner” is and how to achieve this ability not just in your mind, but in your body too. * Why you must change how you digest and interact with information in order to improve how you learn and memorize information. * How to get more done in less time when it comes to learning just about anything. * Why improving your mind is like putting advanced cabling into a house. * The bottleneck effect that comes from using Duolingo, Spreeder and other rote repetition programs and how to use your mind to gain an advantage over those who limit themselves to these tools. * Why the memory tool “chunking” may not be good for learning every single topic and why you need to have multiple tools. * The relationship between driving manual transmission in your car and using your memory. * Why adults learn differently and how to make sure that you can fulfill this requirement throughout your life. * Why Jonathan prefers the term “Memory Temple” rather than “Memory Palace,” “Roman Room,” “House of Memory” or “Method of Loci.” * Why Jonathan doesn’t use the word “mnemonics” and why it caused all kinds of suffering and even made him resent learning. * The “kinesiology tape” phenomenon and how it relates to memory competitions and the culture of memory games discussed in Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking With Einstein. * The Daniel Tammet issue and how it relates to psychics, mentalists and magicians (and why you should never fraudulently represent your advanced memory abilities once you’ve developed them). * Jonathan’s amazing story of demonstrating exactly how someone who thought she had a bad memory easily memorized a phone number using memory techniques – without even realizing it! * The two dominant ways to memorize huge strings of numbers and the kind Jonathan relies upon predominantly – including the reason why the Major Method is not his go-to method. * How to use association to memorize pronunciation (using a fatty example from Russian). * How Jonathan used Superlearning to solve his knee pain and restoring himself to health. * SMART goals and why using them will help you become a Superlearner and maximize your time. Resources Mentioned On The Podcast: The Adult Learning Theory – Andragogy – of Malcolm Knowles. About Jonathan Levi: Jonathan Levi is an experienced entrepreneur and angel investor from Silicon Valley. After successfully selling his Inc 5,000 rated startup in April of 2011, Levi packed up for Israel, to gain experience at Rhodium, a Venture Capital Firm specializing in New Media and Mobile. While in Israel, Levi enlisted the help of speed-reading expert and university professor Anna Goldentouch, who tutored him in speed-reading, advanced memorization, and more. Levi saw incredible results while earning his MBA from INSEAD, and was overwhelmed with the amount of interest his classmates expressed in acquiring the same skill set. Since acquiring this superlearning skill, he has become a proficient lifehacker, optimizing and “hacking” such processes as travel, sleep, language learning, and fitness. The post Jonathan Levi Talks About Becoming A Superlearner appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Jonathan_Levi_Talks_About_Becoming_A_Superlearner.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:11pm EDT |
Tue, 30 September 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we’re going to talk about how to memorize numbers. More specifically, we’re going to talk about memorizing numbers using the Major Method. And even more specifically than that, we’re going to talk about doing this in a way that will get the numbers you memorize into long term memory. But if you want to jump over to how to apply the Major Method to music mnemonics, that’s cool too. Just make sure you know how to memorize numbers with letters, as discussed in my Get Good at Remembering Numbers playlist on YouTube: With that covers, here’s more information, inspired by a very nice letter I received from a young high school student who takes Advanced Placement courses. As you can read in his letter, he is a very advanced young man indeed! Dear Anthony, I’m proud to report the success of my first memory palace! I’ve been reading your newsletters daily since summer back in June and I haven’t been able to take your Masterclass lessons or fully read any of your books yet, since being a high school student in a magnet program, taking college level classes, I don’t have any time to get a job to make a little money, so my only money comes from my birthday and Chanukah in December. I have though read previews of many of them, and in December, I plan on trying to take the Udemy course or buy the medical terminology book you wrote. I’ve been reading your newsletters daily and each day I find myself wanting to use the Magnetic Memory Method more and more, but frankly, I’ve never gotten around to experimenting with it yet because of school work and studying for tests. Also, I’ve been a little apprehensive of using the Magnetic Memory Method before taking any of your courses because I don’t want to make a flawed Memory Palace. I was able to check in on a small portion of the live streaming you did awhile back for free, and took some notes. Couple months go by, I’ve been continuing to read your newsletters, emailing you ideas about using the music in Memory Palaces and using the same memory palace but with different conditions, but still haven’t created my own Memory Palace. Last Friday, on the hour bus ride to school, I listen to your podcast, Hindi Alphabet Memory Palace Secrets, and on the way back home I listen to a majority of your podcast, How to Memorize 50 Spanish Provinces On Your First Go, and they get me excited thinking of the possibilities of the Magnetic Memory Method. The weekend goes by working on school work and essays I had due today, and this afternoon on the bus, I searched around for a way just to test out the Memory Palace. I just wanted to try it and use it successfully, I wanted the short term success, he was talking about that he had on his first memory palace, even if it was minuscule compared to the 50 provinces he remembered. I took a list of ten items and wanted to memorize them: fish, margarine, a chess set, milk, light bulbs, a football, a ladder, a clock, measuring tape, and a dog bowl. My “journey” was short and simple and went like this: I get on the bus and my bus driver has a chef hat on sitting in the drivers seat with a black steel cooking pan containing a grilled fish, he then smiles at me and throws a thin square of margarine butter on the finish and it sizzles, I then say good morning and turn to walk to my seat when I notice the back half of the bus has been turned into a limo like setup with a huge chess table like lounge, with sophomores sitting around it playing chest, one invites me over after taking a sip of milk from a glass and accidentally spilling it on herself, she laughs and invites me over, all the sudden the bus turns dark, and rainbow light bulbs light up my way to the lounge around the chess table, just as I sit down comfortably, a shout of victory comes out from another student as he wins, and out of the roof of the bus a disco football comes out of the ceiling, and it then flies out onto a ladder laying built into the back of the bus window, and jumps each set of the ladder leading up towards a clock, when hits the clock it buzzes like a hockey buzzer, and two measuring tapes shoot out across the bus from the roof, and out from the ceiling of the bus bowls of dog food plop randomly landing on the strong measuring tapes holding them up. I created this journey little over two hours ago on the bus, and I was thrilled to have recalled the list perfectly, in increasing time intervals, started the timer on my iPad 5 minutes, recalled the journey, 15 minutes later, recalled the journey, 30 minutes recalled the journey, now a hour later and I was able to recall the journey and the list. It did take me awhile to create the short journey and for only memorizing ten random items does make the success feel a little minuscule but I know once I’m able to take or read one of your products in about three months time, I’ll learn how to apply this method to bigger feats like learning Spanish. I also want to learn how to apply it to memorizing more than just what one word is this, or memorizing a list of items, but how to memorize content like this for my AP US History class: Back during the period of the second president of the United States, John Adams, signed the Jay’s Treaty with Britain giving them exclusive trading rights with the States in return for their promise not to impress our seamen into their navy. This resulted in France getting angry and attacking American merchant ships. John Adams sent three ambassadors to France to negotiate a peace treaty ending up becoming the XYZ affair resulting in France wanting bribes to be able to start negotiations. Instead of declaring war against the French, John Adams takes Washington’s advice given in his farewell address, and takes a passive indirect approach causing many American colonists to criticize him. To quell the criticism Adams passes the Alien and Sedition Acts, which resulted in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, resulting in the idea that the States created the federal government through a compact and they could nullify any federal laws if it broke that compact. I was wondering if it was possible in some way to use a Memory Palace and take a journey to memorize content like this… How would you use the senses and imagination of imagery to associate to such content? Also, I don’t know if you already have something like this, but maybe you could do a YouTube video or a podcast, or make a short PDF, just giving interested people a small concise summary of the magnetic memory method and a short example of something to memorize, like a ten item list, without giving your premium content away, to show people the effectiveness of the magnetic memory method. Give them a small sample of the power behind it and then entice them to buy your premium content to be able to apply the method to incredible feats. Just witnessing the power of the small journey I created was incredible. In conclusion, I’m excited this December to be able to take the method to the next step, until then I’m going to try to experiment a little and make tiny journeys for practice stakes, just to get in the hang of it. I’m starting to introduce one of my friends to the method too and so far, being the brainiac he is for philosophers, like Newton and so forth, he liked the historical context of the Magnetic Memory Method. Here’s My Written Response Hi there, It’s great to hear that you’re using these techniques! You can definitely use a Memory Palace to memorize this historical story. All you need to do is apply the same techniques you’ve used to memorize the list you’re talking about to this material. The first thing you need to do is create a Memory Palace. Next, start with the first piece of information you want to memorize. But here’s a tip: Don’t say “back during the period.” This is not proper form. Figure out the dates used by historians and memorize them. Be specific. Teachers tear their hair out when students write things like “back during the period” or “several hundred years ago.” Demonstrate that you know something through specificity. Use the same tools you used to memorize that list to memorize the date. It’s really easy and fun and important. Plus, I’ve dedicated this episode of the podcast just to you, so … Have a listen, share the post with everyone who needs it and let me know if you have any more questions. And keep experimenting. It’s the best way to gain traction and keep moving forward. If you’d like more information on using the Major Method to memorize numbers in combination with a Memory Palace or method of loci and other mnemonic techniques, please study my treatise on the topic. The post How To Memorize Numbers With The Major Method appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_To_Memorize_Numbers_Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:46pm EDT |
Wed, 24 September 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, MMM practitioner Rose goes into detail about how she memorized the Hindi alphabet using the most potent memorization tool known to humanity: The Memory Palace. Even if you don’t want to learn Hindi, you’ll learn a lot from this podcast, so be sure to tune-in. And in case you prefer to read, here’s the … Prose Version Of Rose’s Guest-Podcast! I did it! I did it! I am so excited to learn Hindi! And I’m having a blast doing it! You’re right Anthony! You can learn an unknown and many-charactered alphabet in an hour and a half using the Magnetic Memory Method! For me it was actually an hour and 40 minutes for 48 distinct characters of the Hindi alphabet (There’s actually 60+ but I’ll get into that in a moment). My name is Rose and I am on the edge of my seat, so to speak, with so much enthusiasm and ‘can’t wait to do more’ kind of energy. I am recording my initial experiences for you in case it is of some benefit to another person who’s thinking about learning this outrageous method. I hope any background noises from a roaring monsoon filled river and many singing birds outside my window here in the foothills of the Himalayas won’t interfere with hearing this. To be clear I am able to start anywhere in the alphabet, go forward or backward, jump around, etc. I recognize and remember the symbols and stories and locations of where I ‘planted’ them; I can retrieve them quickly and it’s all vivid and hilarious. That is astounding! Yet even more amazing, which to me is nothing short of a miracle, I thought I’d see how well I’d do at writing the symbols. I figured that would require more sessions of practicing, practicing, practicing. To my astonishment I was able to easily draw them all correctly just by remembering the image/ picture/story I had given it, and I did that in less than 5 minutes! I am truly blown away by this! Recognizing something visually and then taking pen to paper to draw it are two very different mindset applications.
I can understand why you would love to see more and more people using this astounding method!!! And I see what you mean when you say building Memory Palaces does a lot more than help memorize vocabulary, poetry, names, concepts or whatever. Once I started coming up with images it became easier, just as you say. It was as if the rusty cogs in the brain machine were getting oiled. But even better, I was having a blast coming up with more and more outrageous images and stories. Feeling more creative? Trusting my imagination and what it brings forth? Laughing out loud while memorizing a foreign language? Are you kidding? Wow! I’m 62 and I now know I can learn Hindi and have fun doing it. This should be taught in all schools!! Can you imagine kids being excited about learning? So let me back up to how I arrived at this – The preparation required to even begin the actual memorizing part was enormous, but what a fantastic learning experience. You recommend to just get started. Just do it and see how it unfolds. I figured if I waited to read everything you’ve written or listen to all the podcasts before actually doing anything, I’d never get around to doing anything. So I took your advice and your course and just dove in…. and nearly drowned….but your Excel spreadsheet idea was my life preserver. Here’s why. The first thing was determining how many letters there are in the Hindi (Devanagari script) language. That was an adventure unto itself and my first challenge. Depending on which source I looked at there are 11-13 vowels and 33-40 consonants (I won’t get into all the whys and wherefores of this). So anywhere from 44- 53 distinct symbols. Add to this the fact that 10 of the 11 vowels have two forms, two distinctly different symbols depending on what positions it holds in a word. So you have to learn 10 more distinct symbols. Then there are many conjuncts but 6 have unique symbols that don’t look anything like their individual parts along with making a new sound. So those must be learned. Now we’re up to what number? I’ve lost count. I’m saying all this just to point out how important it is to know where to begin, what you’re dealing with. I began with pencil and paper. I thought I knew how many stations I’d need, etc. Then I’d check one of my resources and there’d be another variation. Okay. Cross that out, start over. New piece of paper…..this happened several times. This is when I thought I was going to drown, going a little crazy, saying well, what the heck is the alphabet then? I just want to build a darn memory palace!! Using your Excel spreadsheet idea (another learning curve for me) I was able to make changes and adjustments more easily. I also went out and purchased a 1,000 page Hindi to English dictionary (no English to Hindi in it!). This was a great investment. I figured the Oxford version should be reliable. It was actually a great exercise and very enjoyable (I can’t believe I’m saying that) to just flip through the pages and learn about the history of the script, how Oxford went about setting up the dictionary, how the letters are ordered and organized, and very importantly which letters had a lot of pages or just a few which would help me know what size memory palaces to build for each letter when it comes time for me to start memorizing actual words. All of this preparation took several hours just to get to a complete ‘alphabet’ and how I was going to set up the memory palace. I may have belabored it more than I needed to, but it just wasn’t a straightforward alphabet. It was the best thing to do though. It helped me understand how the script is put together, what some of the nuances and exceptions are and I have a much better foundation to build upon. Now I see why your video on ‘Preparation and Predetermination’ is so valuable.
About memory palaces in general. I didn’t see how I would ever be able to come up with so many memory palaces as I’m a rather reclusive kind of person. But your suggestions of homes you’ve lived in, neighbors’ and relatives’ homes, neighborhoods, parks, schools, doctor’s offices, stores, streets, and on and on, got my mind rolling. So I just put the course on pause and took a long walk down memory lane starting from my childhood, thinking of all the places I had been. It was actually an interesting journey to see who and what popped up along the way, but I easily came up with over 100 potential memory palaces just from that one 15 minute effort. So I now know I can easily build on these. And you’re right, you do start paying attention to your surroundings and ventures out into the world more! Just last night I went to a local restaurant and looked at it from the perspective of using it as a memory palace. I just have to laugh. I now understand why you are so specific in your guidelines such as beginning your first memory palace with one word or letter per room,. Well I didn’t do that because with an alphabet of 60+ distinct symbols I couldn’t grasp (at the time) how to do that with multiple memory palaces. I surely didn’t have a place I could recall well enough that had close to that many rooms. I also wanted to keep the alphabet in my current home, which is on the small side. By the time I really understood why you said that I had gotten too far into the process to make such a drastic overhaul. But I got to learn from experience that my first memory palace had too many substations in each room (8 in each) and it required more thinking and remembering on my part, just as you say. In fact, each room had a different number in the beginning. I realized soon on that would be too much remembering. Does the guest bedroom have 4 substations or 6? How many substations do I have on the balcony? By putting the same number in each room I didn’t have to use my mind to remember how many for that room. Thanks to the flexibility of the spreadsheet I adjusted and made each room consistent. Yes, I found consistency is important. You talk about setting certain rules or guidelines for yourself to minimize extra memorization. I found that helpful too. For example there are some symbols that have a 2nd version with a dot underneath. I made a rule that anytime the dot was part of a symbol there was a certain ‘thing’ it represented to the overall symbol. Or a rule that if I used a door as a substation it would only be the side when exiting the room, then I wouldn’t have to remember did I use the door in that room for a substation? Both the inside and outside? Or deciding not to use doors at all. Another example is in the bathroom- there are 4 different faucets. At first I designated them as substations before assigning images and stories. When I came to that location on my journey I realized I was getting too confused keeping the images and stories memorized correctly. I experienced the extra effort required to memorize using all 4 faucets. So I chose to use only one. It worked so much better. Yes, Minimize the extra stuff. Now I see why you devote one of your course talks on the “Perils of Perfectionism”. I witnessed the tendency in me to want it ‘right’. But like you say there isn’t a ‘right’ way, it’s what works for the individual. As I’ve shared I made many changes along the way…a change to an image, a change in a story, a change to a station. I found as I went along certain things made more sense to my mind than what I may have originally come up with. And each step along the way more and more understanding and flow comes (just like you say!!) And so much fun!! Oh, and now I don’t live alone. My house is full of strange animals, funny people, and weird objects doing bizarre things. By the way, Now I see why you say we must actually set aside the time to do memorization and recall because before you know it you’ll find your head on your pillow realizing the day somehow slipped by yet again without doing any vocabulary memorization. So setting a specific time, whatever that may be, is really vital. This brings me to your recent survey asking people whether they would see benefit in having you provide images for students to use to help them memorize instead of coming up with their own associative-imagery. I SAY A RESOUNDING NO! Had I not taken the course and jumped in to do it I may have said yes, that sounds like a good idea. But the ‘yes’ most likely comes from the uncertainty people feel about starting. Because it’s such an ‘out of the box’ approach to learning/memorizing we ask ourselves if we’re really creative, if we have a good enough imagination, or an imagination at all, or doubt that we know enough places to designate as potential memory places. What if I don’t get it right? On and on… Now that I’ve actually ‘done it’ (by making lots of blunders) I fully agree with you that the images coming from one’s own imagination will be the strongest and easiest to remember. The imagery you presented in the survey was surely interesting. But what if I don’t know who Ezra Pound is? Or I am not familiar with the Christian symbol for fish? Or the eels don’t look like eels to me? Then I’ll have to memorize even more than the alphabet letter these images are meant to represent. I agree with you, it’s more work. It’s adding another layer that isn’t necessary. Our cultural and educational backgrounds, our life experiences, our emotional nature….all of these will contribute to our understanding or lack thereof of someone else’s images. I would say because of your unique background, extensive education and expansive life experiences you can draw on a vast number of images that I wouldn’t have a clue about or any connection with. You give examples of your images and stories in the course which I feel are enough to spark one’s own imagination. Maybe giving a few (just a few J) more graphic examples would be helpful just to let people see how far out there one can take it. I say just start. Trust yourself. Trust the process. It may go slow in the beginning, but very quickly a door opens up into a whole new world and perhaps a whole new relationship with your mind. It’s like giving yourself permission to be inventive, creative, a little crazy. And who knows where that will lead! I wouldn’t give up the fun I’ve been having making up images and wild stories! I’m also glad I didn’t listen to all the podcasts or read too much before building my first memory palace. There’s more than enough in your course already. All the other tips and suggestions from you and other experts in the field would only put too many ideas in my head and then I would be overwhelmed as to where to begin. I can always pursue those at a later time. For me, the course stands on its own. It is so finely crafted, inclusive, easily paced with short enough segments. I never felt I had to stop in the middle of a section because it was too long. Taking notes was helpful along with the titles you used for each segment. I was able to go to that particular section or review my notes as it was really useful for me to revisit certain ideas as I was creating my first memory palace. I found your presentation style engaging yet simply straightforward and accessible. Your course(s) and newsletters reveal your enormous generosity with your time, knowledge and experience, a genuine commitment to helping each person with their questions, and an uncommon generosity to network people and support other experts in the field. I appreciate your passion for learning and experimenting with life and the brain’s infinite capacity. Quite a package you are Anthony! A rare bird indeed. You’re an inspiration and I send oceans of gratitude, and blessings to you for your gifts to reach out to an ever-widening circle of people. Next for me is choosing the vocabulary to memorize. I have decided to devote approximately 10 memory palaces to themes such as food, time, colors , numbers, grammar, etc. as I get the feeling this will be helpful to have for quick reference, as well as for words I can use right away in everyday activities. Then I’ll have memory palaces for each letter as well. Okay Monsieur Metivier. All for now. I hope this hasn’t been to long, but if any of this can be of benefit to another you are welcome to share. I’m just so glad I found you, and I know if I get stuck or overwhelmed that I can email you my questions and you will respond. That’s a gift in itself. One more thing… P.S. Before I finish here I thought you may want to know how I found you.. I stay connected with my mom by playing an online scrabble type game. I ‘accidentally’ saw a video of yours that popped up on a site I came across when doing a search for two-letter words. I got drawn into the site… I found myself clicking on memorization techniques (primarily because I never remember the two-letter words, or much else for that matter!) a video of a 6 year old who had memorized the U.S. presidents using different rooms in her house, and another video about Ron White, who apparently is a champion memorizer (I’m new to this). But somehow, without my conscious intention or choice, a podcast of yours came up ( I can’t even find it again on this website!?!) and I listened to it…I really was drawn to the sound of your voice, what you were saying, even though I had never seriously thought about improving my memory, and next thing I knew I went to your website, Then I signed up for your newsletter (I am typically loathe to do that! I’m a chronic unsubscriber!), read several and enjoyed every one, found myself getting excited about improving my memory and learning Hindi (I’ve been living in India for way too long not to know it!), then I signed up for your online course. Here’s the part you can laugh at if you’d like. It’s embarrassingly funny (to me). You offer your online course on Udemy. For some reason I thought Udemy was only offered on IOS devices. This was because I use an Ipad for most all my internet stuff. When I clicked through to your course from the website I had to download an app for Udemy. Well I’m not so up-to-date on all things technical – the app required IOS 6 or later. I still had 5.1 and for reasons I won’t go into I can’t currently upgrade. I thought, well, my phone, an old iPhone 3 has IOS 6 and I’ll download it on there. So I proceeded to take your full course looking at this tiny little screen, using a magnifying glass whenever you showed documents. Do you think I was serious about learning? Okay, here’s the funny part. When I finished the course and I got to the part where I wanted to use an Excel spreadsheet I took out my 7 year old Macbook and as I was setting it up and doing some internet surfing I had a flash (talk about belated). Wait a minute, I wonder if Udemy is available on laptops. So I found the site and signed in and saw that I could have taken the course with a normal view. OMG! I just didn’t connect the two in the beginning. The other great surprise was how much more info is available-all the answers you give to questions. Further Resources: 17 Student Fails That Destroy Memory (And What To Do Instead) Why Mnemonic Examples Rarely Work Checkerboard of the Gods on Learning Tamil Great resource for Hindi Vocabulary The post Hindi Alphabet Memory Palace Secrets appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Hindi_Alphabet_Memory_Palace_Secrets_From_Rose.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 8:09am EDT |
Sun, 21 September 2014
Yes, even if you’re a Spanish speaker:
* How to make great leaps towards fluency even without traveling to a new country. (Though you should definitely experience as many different countries as you possibly can!) * The facts about how people have always been holistically and organically learning languages (and how you can put these simple principles to work for yourself). * The importance of looking at art in order to improve your visual memory. (This simple discussion is worth the time you’ll spend listening to this podcast on its own). * How to visualize for success during a job interview – especially when the interview is not in your first language! Daniel’s thoughts on this will raise your game. * How Daniel memorized all 50 of the provinces of Spain using a simple Memory Palace. * How to “think” visually even if you can’t “see” in your imagination. * The specific time investment he needed to accomplish this feat of memory – which was surprisingly little! * Detailed notes on exactly how much work is involved in using the Magnetic Memory Method – and the painful alternative. * How Daniel memorized hundreds of years of monarchs using a new Memory Palace. * Why memorization is nothing more than a confidence game and how to get a quick victory in order to build your belief in yourself along with determination, tenacity and the daring courage we all need to develop new skills. * Why you need to start your journey as an advanced Memorizer with things that interest you before diving into complex and abstract information. * Why visualizing spelling is a great introduction to the technique. You’ve been looking at printed letters your entire life, after all! * Why the most powerful writing you can do takes less than 59 seconds – assuming you do the recommended exercise by hand (no typing). * Daniel’s immediate discouragement with using the Magnetic Memory Method, the joke surrounding it and how he overcame the frustration using a codfish and blood sausage. * Why using a Memory Palaces is really no different than playing a game. * The controversy with mnemonic examples and why even things that make no sense for you can still teach you how to use the Magnetic Memory Method (and any form of mnemonics) so long as you take action. * Why everyone has imaginative ability and why you’re doing it whether you realize it or not. * Why you should stop worrying about the sex and violence elements of memory skills and start loving the results of memorizing and recalling just about anything you want. * How working with a Memory Palace according to the Magnetic Memory Method will defeat the serial positioning effect, the primacy effect and the forgetting curve each and every time that you properly use Magnetic Recall Rehearsal. * How memory skills relate to the fear of losing your time, money and sanity and how to ease this unconscious fear using Memory Palaces. * Why focusing on vocabulary can give you amazing advantages in terms of guessing what’s going on while traveling – though there is no getting past the “Tarzan stage” without grammar. * The number one reason why “poor learners” fail to improve and what to do in order to overcome any negative thinking you may have about your abilities to pick up new knowledge and skills. * … and much, much more. Tune in now to this special episode of the Magnetic Memory Method and learn just how little it takes to experience massive success with your memory. Further Resources Daniel Welsch dressed in flannel as if it were 1992 Helpful videos by Daniel Welsch If you need more help learning Spanish, you can also check out Olly Richards’ Fluent Spanish Academy (highly recommended) If you’re a Spanish speaker learning English, check out: Curso de inglés básico – 25 artículos ¡Gratis! 6 Claves Para Aprender Inglés by Daniel Welsch 31 Phrasal Verbs For English Business by Daniel Welsch Wikipedia article on the forgetting curve – not that you need to worry about it ever again! Olly Richards’ Free Video Series For Learning Spanish The post How To Memorize 50 Spanish Provinces On Your First Go appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_To_Memorize_50_Spanish_Provinces_On_Your_First_Go.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:34am EDT |
Fri, 12 September 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast … The Truth … The Facts … And the Lies about … Memorizing Facts with Mnemonics Program Notes Dear Memorizer, This podcast episode is based on a note I received recently. It goes like this: Hello Anthony! First of all, congratulations for these great methods that you have developed, they really work and have been very helpful for me to memorize a lot of stuff. I have read some of your books, heard all of your podcasts and understand very well how to memorize by using memory palaces and “crazy” associations. However, I study advanced economics and I have found it very difficult to memorize certain concepts and theories due to the fact that there are several variables which correlate with each other in many different ways. Also I find it difficult to create vivid and colorful images of interest rates, change rates, investment and other things like that. Every time I try to imagine weird things, I end up making up complicated stories in my mind which add complexity to the memorization process. Could you give me some advice on this please? Thank you very much in advance for your reply!! Have a great day! Thanks for your message and for entrusting me to answer your question. First off, you might want to watch what is probably my most popular video on the topic addresses concept memorization. With respect to variables and correlations, I recommend not focusing on these. Instead, focus on core information and then experiment with building Memory Palaces just for correlations and just for variables. Without knowing your subject, it’s difficult to tell you exactly how, but even if I did, your experimentation will do more for you than my instruction now that you know the techniques. The thing to go for is what I call the “rhizomatic” effect. We often use the term “building knowledge,” which assumes that it’s a bottom up process. But what if we could build knowledge laterally? And in a way that goes up and down? In a way that little bubbles of new knowledge spring up spontaneously as we proceed? That’s what multiple Memory Palaces will do for you. And the more strategically designed they are, the better for creating these kinds of connections. So again: I personally don’t think fussing too much about the variables etc. will bring much unless you treat them as individual units (as such). So, let’s so that: Core information x has 25 variables. You could either: 1) Build a Memory Palace for storing all kinds of core information and then have secondary Memory Palaces for variables. 2) Build a Memory Palace just for one piece of core information and then include all of the variables and correlates you need along that journey. I would suggest experimenting with both. Why? Because … You never lose by experimenting. In fact, you create that rhizomatic effect I’m talking about even if things don’t work out. Because the Memory Palaces and procedures that didn’t work still exist. They’ve taught you something. They might even have a bit of information in them that can be salvaged.Finally, complicated images and stories are a trial by fire that we all need to go through at the beginning. With experience, you’ll learn to streamline the process. You’ll stop throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. But this “economy of means” can only be achieved by experience, experimentation and doing. And like I said, all experiments will be valuable.Just don’t overthink the process. Don’t fall prey to doubt. Think of it like exercise: How do you learn to execute a properly formed pushup?By feeling your way into it. By experiencing the consequences – even if only a little – of a poorly formed pushup. It’s really that simple. Keep me posted on how you fare and let me know if you have any further questions. Further Resources Earlier post on how to memorize concepts referred to in this episode of the podcast. How to Create a Large Memory Palace by Florian Delle. About the author: Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, dreams, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun. The post Memorizing Concepts Made Easy (And Magnetic) appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: The_Truth_the_Facts__the_Lies_About_Memorizing_Concepts_The_Truth_the_Facts__the_Lies_About_Memorizing_Concepts_The_Truth_the_Facts__the_Lies_About_Memorizing_Concepts_How_To_Memorize_Concepts.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:44pm EDT |
Sat, 30 August 2014
In this episode, we open the discussion further by talking more specifically about mnemonics and language learning. From there, we move into speculative areas about virtual Memory Palaces and the realities of teaching mnemonics to others. You’ll also learn about: * Timothy’s emphasis on stressing syllables in order to gain recall boosts when studying foreign languages … and even your own mother tongue. * Alphabetized Memory Palaces and journeys, including thoughts on how to mix these with Timothy’s Memory Palaces for memorizing parts of speech. * Why you need to sit down and plot your Memory Palaces in order for them to fully effective. * The importance of relaxation in using mnemonics. * The relationship between Mad Libs and language learning. This is an excellent metaphor and way to think about your approach to acquiring new vocabulary using memory skills. * Why mnemonics are almost always fun (and the main reason they sometimes aren’t). * The specific way Timothy uses location-based memory strategies from a “functional standpoint” * Timothy’s patterned Recall Rehearsal and how he reduces revision over time. He’s all about getting the most out of the minimum and he tells you exactly why so you can model the approach. * How to arrange words for the concept of time in Spanish using a single, theme-based Memory Palace. * How talking about mnemonics with other people will improve your understanding and use of the techniques. * The dangers and benefits involved in sharing associative-imagery with others. I’ve written about why mnemonic examples rarely work before, but Timothy has a fresh take on this. * Why professional mnemonists are opposed to giving examples – and why they are both right and wrong about their resistance in this area. * Ideas about music mnemonics and different approaches to using them. This is an area where people interested in mnemonics can definitely experiment more and stretch the limits. * The truth about “virtual” Memory Palaces and how to experiment with them in an informed way. There may not be a right or wrong way when it comes to success with imaginary places to store information in your mind, but certainly some ways are more realistic than others. * Why real locations are almost always better than invented Memory Palaces and why you should never discount the power of the places you know. * Why none of us will ever run out of Memory Palaces in our lifetimes and how to overcome Memory Palace “scarcity” (it’s easy). * The relationship between sex, death, memory skills and video games. * The right and the wrong way to use rote repetition and the truth about spaced-repetition. * Why you need to be open to new ideas if you want to succeed with mnemonics. * Why those who learn about learning leverage the greatest results. * Why you shouldn’t treat your education as entertainment and why you need to take action in order to get results (we tell you what you should do and it’s probably the only way). * Own struggles and current projects with memorizing large amounts of information. * … and much, much more. This episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast gives you a fascinating look behind the scenes as two thinkers and action-takers in the world of memory skills show you exactly what it takes to get started, keep going and get amazing results. You’ll hear from people actually in the trenches of memory who not only get great results for themselves, but for thousands of other people too. Further Resources Timothy has a number of memory courses you can study for free. These include lessons on memorizing a book of the Bible and using mnemonics to help you learn Spanish. I have several posts on memorizing music. This one was mentioned during the podcast. It’s called Memorize Bach On Bass. How to Enhance Your Memory With Virtual Memory Palaces. Super-scientific PDF article called Building a memory palace in minutes: Equivalent memory performance using virtual versus conventional environments with the Method of Loci. The post Mnemonics, Language Learning And Virtual Memory Palaces In Discussion With Timothy Moser appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Mnemonics_Language_Learning_And_Virtual_Memory_Palaces_In_Discussion_With_Timothy_Moser_Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:56pm EDT |
Sun, 10 August 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, learn how to make sure that your associative-imagery is doing the work it needs to do: recall the information that you need to succeed when using a Memory Palace strategy (I recommend the Magnetic Memory Method). Program Notes This episode is a response to emails that I often receive like this one: I am new to memorization as detailed as you propose and am trying to justify learning it. I have bought and read two of your books, the one about Memory Palaces and am currently reading Magnetic Memory Mondays. I am 76 years old and have set a goal to reteach myself Classical Latin and from their progress to other Roman languages. I want to use your Memory Palace idea but am not a very visual person and thinking of a preposterous image for each vocabulary word seems over-whelming. I like the idea of using current and past homes or places but want the right one to begin with. Any suggestions? Can you send me a list of your other books on this topic? Listen, it was hard for me in the beginning too. If you look through all of the newsletters starting with Volume 1, you’ll encounter dozens of ideas in addition to those in the book. It basically boils down to getting relaxed and getting started. Surrendering to the feeling of overwhelm is very dangerous, but taking action is always a benefit. Also, you can experiment with not actually seeing the images but just thinking about them. I’ve done this for years until I started to develop my imagination by drawing, looking at lots of art, paying attention to the visual aspects of movies I was watching and doing creative memory exercises like looking at an apple and then trying to “rebuild” it in my mind. One of my most difficult challenges right now as a primarily non-visual person is the Hiragana for Japanese. If you’re not familiar with the Hiragana , they are these crazy little images that indicate sounds. As I teach in the book, to ease the “cognitive load,” I use “bridging figures,” characters that go along the journey. Because they can be used for more than one word or letter or piece of information at a time, that’s one less aspect of the crazy image that I’ve got to come up with (or that you’ve got to come up with). Here’s just three images with Ezra Pound as my bridging figure that I’ve created to help me both “see” and “hear” what these symbols mean: あ (a) Ezra Pound standing in Jesus Christ pose with a Christian fish symbol attacking his legs. He shouts Ah! い (i) Pound with two eels in his mouth, squirming, one long like an upside down seven, one short. They are squealing eee eee eee. う (u) Pound leaning on a stick with a beret cooing ooh as the weight is relieved by the stick.
This process works great and by “leaning” on Ezra Pound throughout the journey, I was able to do fifteen in fifteen minutes. I’ll soon be making more time from Japanese and expect that I can do between 40-60 characters in 1.5 hours with reliable recall. As I talk about in the book, there will need to be corrections and there will be the need to rehearse the material. But hey: it beats fussing around with index cards when you can turn the stations of your Memory Palace into amazing and vibrant indexes for silly little images to remind you of the sound and meaning of words, or in the case of the example I just gave you, the sound of certain typographical images and how they look. I really wish you the best with the experience and want you to know that I’m here to help as best I can, affording that I get lots of questions so can take up to a week to answer. But that’s why the Magnetic Memory Newsletters are available from Kindle. I’m 100% confident that after writing 1000+ pages answering questions just like these that you’ll find all the answers you need. My Amazon page is easy to find. I’ve also got some video courses if you like to learn by that medium. But really I think in this email you have all that you need, which in sum is: 1) Mindset. Toss worry aside and get started. Fear is the mindkiller. 2) Create a bridging figure when ever possible to reduce the cognitive load. If it’s someone that you care about, all th 3) Make sure to rehearse the work that you do in order to ease the material into long term memory . 4) Enjoy! I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any further questions or if there is anything more I can do for you. About the author: Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, dreams, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun.
The post Mindshock! How To Make Amazing Visual Imagery And Memorize More Stuff appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Mindshock_How_To_Make_Amazing_Visual_Imagery_And_Memorize_More_Stuff_Using_the_Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 1:25pm EDT |
Sat, 26 July 2014
In this very candid interview with polyglot Olly Richards, we’re getting a look behind the scenes into the workings of one of the hardest working, most effective and interesting language learners on the scene. Tune in now and you’ll learn: * The difference between the desire to communicate and the desire to learn a language and how bringing these two distinct quests together can give your study efforts a boost. * Why consuming a lot of information will not enable you to suddenly speak the language. * Why even self-directed learners will need to use some of the same techniques used in traditional language-learning classrooms. * How to escape the prison of blaming grammar for your language learning troubles and what to focus on instead. * Why “context is king” in language learning. * Why perfectionism is your worst enemy and how to overcome it. * The relationships between learning languages and learning music. * Why studying jazz enabled him to be able to hear the auditory elements of the languages he has learned at a deeper level and react quickly in his mind even at the early stages in order to create * How to know if the particular language aspects you’re studying have a “high surrender value” so that you’re spending your time in the right areas that will serve you the most over the short and long term. * Exactly when (and why) Olly resorts to mnemonic devices instead of relying on spaced-repetition alone. * The importance of knowing when to stop forcing a learning step and how to come back to it later with a more receptive mind. * What Olly does to break the monotony of flash cards and get started using the new language he’s studying (this technique may surprise you!) * The amazing benefits of incorporating Excel files into your language learning. Check out Olly’s amazing video about this below. * An in-depth analysis of what the term “language hack” means and how best to use this concept to approach your language learning efforts. * How to focus on your methods in order to focus better on the content of the language. * The “language mediation” phenomenon in which people in your target language will make it easier for you to converse with them instead of launching into idioms and expressions that won’t make any sense (just one of many reasons why you should never fear just getting out there and speaking). * Olly’s fascinating definition of “fluency” (one of the most powerful we’ve ever heard on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast in addition to what we’ve heard from Luca Lampariello and David Mansaray). * Olly’s personal feelings about losing a particular level of fluency in a language, but why there is never any reason you can never go back and achieve even greater heights if you treat learning multiple languages as a revolving door. * … and much, much more. Further Resources Olly’s “Remote Learning” Guest Post on Benny Lewis’ Fluent in 3 Months. Olly’s I Will Teach You A Language YouTube Channel Olly’s “Learn Kanji the Smart Way” Olly on the Actual Fluency Podcast Olly on how you can learn to speak Thai YouTube documentary on Olly by Jan Van Deraa: Olly’s video on using Excel as part of your language learning:
The post Olly Richards Talks About Language Tech And Real Communication appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Olly_Richards_Talks_About_Language_Tech_And_Real_Communication.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:09am EDT |
Mon, 21 July 2014
In today’s episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Kerstin Hammes talks about the real meanings of fluency and memory. Kerstin provides us with a number of fresh perspectives on what is really involved in learning a language and is a very inspiring figure in the language learning world. Tune in now to learn: * Exactly what it feels like to know multiple languages. * How learning a language can be just like putting up a little shelf to place books on. * Kerstin’s thoughts on the one-upmanship in the polyglot community and why it is often more destructive than it is useful. * Why language learning is sometimes like entering an discouraging gym ad how to overcome some of the more prominent challenges. * Why “fluency” is a funny word and not something one should really aim for because it is a mostly “meaningless” goal – and what you should be shooting for instead. * Exactly where the title of Benny Lewis’ title “Fluent In 3 Months” come from and why it isn’t sales pitch flim flam. * The various personality aspects that can create barriers to your language learning experience and how to overcome them. * Why spaced repetition learning software most likely cannot teach you a language. * “Vocabulary curation” and how to maximize your efforts in gathering the most useful and important words quickly. * How to play “Sherlock Holmes” while learning a language and use other people to effectively speed up your learning process. * Why most of the problems people face with language learning really have nothing to do with the languages themselves. * The relationship between time signatures and culture and how the way we learn our culture effects our ability to understand others at a deep level. * Why language learners need a structure to follow and usually do not benefit from “random acts of learning” like watching foreign language films from time to time. * Why Kerstin finds mnemonics helpful and why they are one of the best ways to experience contextualized learning (as opposed to decontextualized learning and semi-contextualized learning). * Why leaving stickers around the house to the label your furniture with what these items are called in your target language is a kind of Memory Palace and how Kerstin uses the physical layout of the objects in her home to “see” words she wants to recall in her mind. * Why Kerstin finds spelling to be a “visual” aid to recalling vocabulary. * Why Bon Jovi might be the best way to learn English in context because they are a “piece of reality.” * The specific benefits of blogging about your language learning experiences. * The relationship between memorizing names and foreign language vocabulary and how the stems and origins of words can help you draw connections between your mother tongue and the target language. * Why grammar is more like a map, rather than a set of rules. * The four skills you need to achieve language competency and how they will build your confidence and move towards greater fluency. * … and much, much more! Further Resources: Interview with Kerstin Hammes on Language Boat Books by Kerstin Hammes Post by Kerstin Hammes on the question of “hard languages” and “easy languages” Kerstin Hammes on Twitter Creative Language Learning Podcast by Kerstin Hammes How To Stop Information Pollution From Poisoning Your Memory Kerstin’s amazing French Grammar course on Udemy About the author: Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, dreams, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun. The post Kerstin Hammes Talks About The Real Meanings Of Fluency And Memory appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Kerstin_Hammes_Talks_About_The_Real_Meanings_of_Fluency_And_Memory.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:00am EDT |
Wed, 25 June 2014
In this episode of the podcast, I tell you about the memorization process behind the writing of Lucas Parks and the Download of Doom, my first novel to feature a Memory Palace. Apparently it’s mesmerizing! Tune in now and you’ll learn: * How to turn a movie theater into a Memory Palace. * How to use your dreams to create stories for novels and screenplays (it’s easy: just wake up and start writing down everything you remember and then use the plot points discussed in this podcast to structure a story around those narrative fragments). * Why Stephen King’s 2000 word a day rule is not nearly as important as he makes it seem (and how to be relaxed about it while still getting massive amounts of writing done). * The plot points I consider to be the most important when writing a story (like the conflict between conscious desire and unconscious need, dilemma, the visit to the underworld and the battle). * How to get a copy of Lucas Parks and the Download of Doom for free (no catch whatsoever). * My story as a young scholar reading Plato’s Republic while also working as a janitor in a movie theater (crazy times indeed). * … and much, much more! Frankly, if you’ve ever wanted to write a short story, screenplay or novel, there’s no better way to do it than to memorize the major plot points that have been with us since stories first became popular. I’ve been studying screenwriting gurus like John Truby and Robert McKee along with general ideas from narratology for ages in order to get insight into how stories work and have even served as a story consultant myself on several unproduced films and even Assault on Wall Street. Here I am on the set of that film with director Uwe Boll and the actors Dominic Purcell and Edward Furlong (yes, he played young John Connor in Terminator 2):
I got my story consulting gigs partly because of two kind of strange and mysterious books I’ve written on screenwriting: Disaster Genre Secrets for Screenwriters and Horror Genre Secrets for Screenwriters. These are based on my lectures on American Film Genres that I gave at the Universität des Saarlandes in Germany and talk about things that really no other screenwriting books discuss using weird words like “abjection.”
There was no time! Between preparing for the lectures and writing my dissertation while also running the short film club at the Uni, not to mention keeping up with my bass guitar studies … I was swamped! But I know Film Studies so well that I didn’t really need to memorize anything. All I had to do was draw up a few notes based on my research and preparation for the lectures and press the go button on my mind once I reached the podium. The notes guided my lectures so that I kept on track and the rest came from a different kind of memory: long term memory. There are different ways that material gets into long term memory, and a lot of my knowledge about film that allowed me to lecture from notes got into my long term memory through Memory Palace work, particularly using the combined index card/Memory Palace method. I talked about this procedure in detailed a previous podcast episode called “How to Memorize a Textbook.” Anyhow, I’m really happy to be able to talk about not only the various plot points I used to structure Lucas Parks and the Download of Doom, but also about how I memorized them for visiting again and again in order to deeply contemplate how to apply them to the stories I write. If you’re a writer and found this episode useful, please share it with your friends. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. Update: Film Studies is back in my life with this YouTube playlist all about the genres: Enjoy and let me know if you have a chance to check it out and find anything memorable!
The post How To Memorize Plot Points (For Writers Only) appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_to_Memorize_Plot_points_Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 11:03am EDT |
Tue, 10 June 2014
* Why you need to train your working memory (and exactly what working memory is) so that you can make use of the best parts of your mind when working with languages. * How to link your ideas together so that they flow naturally together. * Why you should never drink the night before translating a speech by Obama. * The amazing reason why people fail at the study of new languages and how to avoid it. * How to develop competence in your own native tongue in order to achieve elegance in another language. * Why it’s not about what you “know” in your mother tongue, but what you can “do” with it that matters. * Why a deep knowledge of the culture and country of the language you’re studying helps you with learning the language. * The importance of understanding irony, puns and jokes and why this can be much more critical than having piles of vocabulary and grammar rules in your memory. * The absolutely best conditions for language learning. * The difference between internal and external motivation and how to use this understanding to excel with language learning. * Why rote learning is the number one mistake that language learners make (and what to do instead). * How to build a network that will let you see how the syntax of a language works so that you can build sentences with greater ease. * When to add quantity to your pool of foreign language vocabulary. * Why building a language core is like building a spider web to which new vocabulary sticks (even if you’re not yet a polyglot. * Some of the exact ways that Luca makes his mind learn languages much more quickly, the exact same techniques you can adopt for yourself. * Why you should never be prejudiced about a different culture or be seduced by generalizations such as “the French are snobbish.” * Why languages belong to no one and are only ever used, never owned. * Luca’s feelings about how English sounds to him from his perspective as a polyglot with Italian as his mother tongue. * Exactly what the “bucket effect” is and how to use its power in your language learning efforts. * The “combinatory logic” behind syntax and how to use this to understand the “gist” of what other people are saying as you build towards to fluency. * The relationship between vocabulary, circles and layers that move between objective, subject and literate levels of language learning. * Why building “language islands” is the best way to prepare yourself for exploring the depths of the “language oceans” that characterize all of the world’s many modes of speaking. * Why even a highly established English-speaker like Luca always watches English movies with the English subtitles on (and why you should too). * How to give your brain points-of-reference using a simple notebook. * The real reason why second-language speakers have accents. * How to understand the “jogger’s high” effect when it comes to language learning and how to avoid its opposite, “jogger’s depression.” * Why fear is one of the hugest problems that language learners face and how to overcome it. * … and much, much more. After listening to this interview, please be sure to go back and listen to the previous interview with Luca, titled “Luca Lampariello Talks About Language As A Net.” I’d also like to recommend that you check out Luca’s website, The Polyglot Dream. There you can find links to Luca’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube offerings, all of which offer you amazing language learning ideas, inspiration and dedicated training. As always, feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, and … Keep Yourself Magnetic! For More Language Learning Resources … Check Out: 15 Reasons Why Learning A Language Is Good For Your Brain How Motivation Affects Your Memory When Learning A Language The post Luca Lampariello On Working Memory And The Oceans Of Language appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Luca_Lampariello_On_Working_Memory_And_The_Oceans_Of_Language.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:55pm EDT |
Tue, 20 May 2014
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I talk about a strange book called How to Memorize the Bible Quick and Easy in 5 Simple Steps that claims mnemonics are a form of witchcraft! In addition to debunking this claim, in today’s episode you’ll learn: * The real reason I wrote How to Learn and Memorize the Psalms of the Bible. * Why I have been asked to help people stop memorizing the scripture. * Why actually reading scripture may be more important than memorizing them. * How the laws of physics, force and velocity relate to the universal principles of mnemonics and Memory Palace construction. * Why you need to take dedicated memory training so that you can learn to build effective Memory Palaces, understand journeys and asssociative-imagery and learn Recall Rehearsal. * Why memorizing textbooks verbatim is not necessarily the best goal and an invitation to learn how to do it the right way. * Why books that mix mnemonics and theology are can be dangerous for your health (and what to read instead). * Why asking God to help you memorize the Bible will probably involve a dedicated memory technique (possibly even the Magnetic Memory Method). * Why belief (not faith) can be a mnemonic strategy and how to properly place it. * Why memorizing only the material that leaps out at you might be good for “bibliomancy” when memorizing a textbook, but probably won’t help you when trying to memorize scripture verbatim. * Why mnemonics are most certainly not blasphemous. * Why mnemonics bears absolutely no relationship to witchcraft (because witchcraft doesn’t exist). * Why memorizing long strings of numbers is absolutely fantastic for building your memory skills. * The relationship between weight-lifting and memory skills. * Why rote-learning is the “blunt force hammer” of learning. * The benefits of reading books twice before you memorize them (either in whole or in part). * The mysteries of “chunking” and “rechunking.” * Why the future of the human species is going to be better than its past. * Why the words “atheist” and “agnostic” are ridiculous words (but not ones that should be forgotten). * Why Memory Palaces and location-based memory techniques are the best of all mnemonic methods. * Exactly how to ensure that you never forget where you left your keys again. * How to find more Memory Palaces than you can shake a Magnetic stick at. * Why your memory has no saturation point whatsoever. * How to leverage the natural ability of the mind to memorize all the information you could ever want. * … and much, much more! If you’re interested here’s the book talked about in the podcast:
Here’s my book about how to memorize the psalms:
And this is the video course I mentioned that goes even deeper into memorizing verse in general. Use coupon code “nonstrology” for a special introductory discount on your one time investment in this revolutionary memory training. It comes with a 30-day Magnetic Decision Guarantee.
+Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, dreams, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun. The post Of Witchcraft, Nonstrology And Mnemonics appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Of_Witchcraft_Nonstrology_and_Mnemonics_Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 2:23pm EDT |
Thu, 8 May 2014
* Why mnemonics is neither cheating nor a cheap trick. * How memory skills can help you deal with the massive amounts information on the Internet. * Why Timothy hates Qwerty keyboards and how mnemonics might have a competitor when it comes to learning a new keyboard system. * Timothy’s history with graduated intervals (and what graduated intervals are). * The difference between learning and association and why the latter may be a more powerful way to think about education. * The best way to learn and memorize song lyrics. * Why the mind “likes” to remember music and how to use music to memorize foreign language vocabulary. * How to get a “compound effect” when using music to memorize information and information to memorize music. * Why everyone can be a “grand” master of memory (even if you have to take the “grand” part away). * How to be proactive about the things you naturally remember so that you can link them to pieces of information that your brain doesn’t latch onto so easily. * Why you should engage in all your activities based on results, rather than on the time you spend. * Why mnemonics allow you to spend more time reading and thinking instead of losing time on rote learning. * Why you should pay attention to stressed syllables when memorizing foreign language vocabulary so that you mind can take care of the rest (kind of like letting it “fill in the blanks” so that you don’t have to work so hard). * Timothy’s simple, three-part solution to the problem of teaching mnemonics through examples and how to find the right “starting point” so you can smoothly sail through the seas of mnemonics and other memory skills. * How to get the “bigger picture” when memorizing textbook material so you don’t have to worry about memorizing every little detail verbatim. * The best foods to eat so that your mind is clear and your memory is ready for mnemonic activity at the highest possible level. * Why Memory Palaces can be used by everyone, no matter how rich or poor your are and no matter where in the world you live. * Why both the deep history and the recent past of memory techniques are an important part of your journey into enhanced memory abilities. * Why memory tactics fell out of favor in the 18th century, but are coming back to help us all as part of a Mnemonic Renaissance thanks to the Internet. * Why education and fun can be one and the same thing so that people of any age can enjoy the learning process and use the natural abilities of their minds to enjoy their lives and their minds at a very high level. * Why you are unlikely to drop your brain on the sidewalk, but should be prepared with memory skills for the day that your smart phone crashes. * How you can use memory skills not just to memorize a bunch of facts, but connect those facts to a larger picture of knowledge so that you develop critical thinking skills as part of your memory improvement project. * Why you need to be willing to test out new mnemonic approaches and test them to find out which ones work best for you. * Exactly what to do if you’re not a visual person and still want to use mnemonics by “segmenting” pictures. This is an exciting interview packed with ideas that you can use immediately to start using your mind with greater productivity starting today. If you’re interested in using advanced memory skills to learn Spanish, then I highly recommend checking out Timothy’s free Accelerated Spanish Webinar. And check out this additional interview with Timothy here on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast: Mnemonics, Language Learning And Virtual Memory Palaces In Discussion With Timothy Moser The post Timothy Moser Talks About Memory Skills and Productivity appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Timothy_Moser_Talks_About_Memory_Skills_And_Productivity.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:53pm EDT |
Sat, 19 April 2014
* Why David Mansaray’s Language is Culture Podcast is one of the finest language learning resources you’ll ever find online. * Why you need to join David’s Lovers of Language and Culture Facebook group immediately. * Why the idea that mnemonics are artificial is a dangerous meme (and how to stop worrying about the natural/artificial division and start loving all learning methods). * Exactly how and when to use rote learning to achieve your goals in ways that won’t bore you to death and fritter away your energy when you could be using lightning-fast memory techniques. * Why Memory Palaces are the ultimate solution for memorizing foreign language vocabulary if nothing else works. * The most powerful way to think about context and language learning and how to unleash its power. * Why the number 13 is so awesome for overcoming any fears you might have. * The REAL reason you need to go to the library and stop trying to learn everything online. * Exactly why “natural” language learning involves more artificial means than any other language learning technique. * Why NOT using index cards and paper for rote-learning and using memory techniques instead can reduce emissions and save the planet. * The precise relationship between memory techniques and martial arts and how to make sure you can find the balance between them (even when you’re not in a fighting mood). * Why using the associative-imagery involved in mnemonics will never confuse you or make you juggle your thoughts any more than you’re already juggling them anyway. * How to assess critical comments and book reviews you read online and think for yourself about language learning and mnemonics. * Why you need to fly in the face of authority in order to make strides in your language learning efforts. * Why authority is a thing of the past and how to make sure you’re listening to the right people who are teaching the right things. * … and much, much more. Further Resources Olly Richards On Crazy Language Learning Goals And Mastering Motivation The post The Most Controversial Language Learning Technique In The World appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: The_Most_Controversial_Language_Learning_Technique_In_The_World.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:21pm EDT |
Thu, 3 April 2014
In this compelling interview, you’ll learn:
Please enjoy this valuable interview and get in touch with either myself or Dr. Samuels if you have any questions. Further Resources Insights To Remember Before Starting Over The post Dr. Jim Samuels Talks About How to Reduce Stress With Mnemonics appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast_Jim_Samuels_Talks_About_How_To_Reduce_Stress_With_Mnemonics.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:44pm EDT |
Fri, 28 March 2014
You’ll also learn: * The reason why Memory Palaces may have originated in ancient China and not ancient Greece. * An introduction to the Person Action Object system … and why I don’t use it! More on that topic on this episode of Magnetic Memory Method Live on YouTube:
The video was inspired, in part, by the following email: I’d love to ask for your advice on a PAO system I am working on for my family to use: Background: I have thought about encoding 8 to 12 digits along a journey in each location by using an enhanced PAO system from 0-99, I call PACO (Person, Action, Object + a Container) The container is a different kind of object that only works because I ensure the types are mutually exclusive. I plan to later add a discrete food object and a discrete pet to each double digit as well. See the list below for example. The rationale for this is that I work in a data intensive industry (valuing and helping to buy/sell companies), where memorizing many figures, stats, and historical charts would be of great use. I’m not as interested in rapidly memorizing a deck of cards, though I wouldn’t mind spending some time on that later… To support this system, I follow certain restrictions:
My long term thought is that I can have a person doing an action on an object frozen in my mind inside of a container. Each of these PACOs could be eating a food and own a pet. Thus, in one loci, if it is graphic and memorable enough, I can encode up to 6 double digit items. I’m just wondering if this is overkill and what may be the best way to get my brain to internalize the PACOs. My question is, should I develop a separate journey of 110 location (perhaps 11 rooms of 10 loci), which I use to memorize the PACOs? Also, if I start with just the traditional PAO and add the additional C later, will that be counterproductive to just memorizing all the options up front? Do you have any other advice on how I can most effectively internalize the system, so that I just about think of pictures in place of double digits? Thank you for any thoughts on this topic! Thanks for the question. Everything is covered in this episode of the podcast and this YouTube Live. Now back to … * Why you really aren’t using memory techniques at all if you don’t have a location-based strategy involved in the mix. * How to use Magnetic Bridging Figures and Word Division to maximize your use of mnemonic locations in your Memory Palace network. * Why you must always use a Memory Palace whenever exploring the possibilities of memory techniques. * Why competing in memory competitions isn’t for everyone (memory champions still make mistakes, after all!). * Why you need a method – not necessarily a system – that will work for you with respect to the specific memory goals you are trying to pursue. * Why the Magnetic Memory Method is a way of thinking about information storage and retrieval as a kind of way of life. * Why location-based memory strategies are the best for easing information into long term memory. * Why you don’t need to memorize long string digits of numbers in order to “prove” that you are succeeding with memory skills. * Why you need to join the mnemotechnics.org community immediately – but only if you’re going to apply what you learn from the community. * Why YOU are the best person to teach memory techniques to the young people in your life. See also Tap the Mind of a 10-Year Old Memory Palace Master. * Two amazing resources for introducing young people to mnemonics. * The unbelievable connection between bumblebees, serial killers, graffiti and location-based memory techniques. * … and much, much more! Thanks as always for your interest in the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, videos and the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. I appreciate your interest in the PAO very much and look forward to further interesting questions about it. In the meantime, if you struggle with it or find that it’s simply not for you, check out the Major Method. It might work better for you. Until next time, have fun and keep yourself Magnetic! Sincerely, Anthony Metivier The post MMMP 013: The Amazing Relationship Between Memory, Serial Killers And Bees appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: MMMP_013_The_Amazing_Relationship_Between_Memory_Serial_Killers_and_Bees.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:17pm EDT |
Mon, 17 March 2014
Listen now and you’ll learn: * The precise connection between language learning and addiction so that you can use the highs to accomplish all of your fluency goals and the secret origins of why Sam named his site directly from the influece of Konglish. * How to get “addicted” to language learning even if you don’t like to study or think language learning is too hard. * How to get to know yourself before you start learning a new language. * The three most important questions you need to ask every time you come up against a language learning barrier. * Why being born bilingual is not always useful when it comes to further language study. * Why you should never try to go it alone with just grammar guides and traditional textbooks. * The important role of curiosity in all language learning and how to develop it so that you can zoom through some of the harder aspects of language learning. * How language learning can lead to finding new friends and even the love of your life. * Sam’s insightful approach to David Mansaray’s distinction between learning a language on your own and being a self-directed learner. * Exactly what to do to learn a language without having to rely on teachers, classrooms and dusty old textbooks (though you’ll still want at least some kind of textbook and Sam has great recommendations for how to choose them). * How to build your confidence by using the right incentives so that you can blast into success. * How to avoid burnout and still maintain consistency. * Sam’s amazing Mount Fluency metaphor and how to use it as a “point” of inspiration in your climb towards the top of your target language. * What to do when you reach an intermediate level and need extra motivation to keep going. * Sam’s favorite spice in the kitchen of language learning. * The power of using multiple news media channels to experience massive boosts in fluency. * Why you need to realize that you can easily become more fluent than a five year old in his or her mother tongue and why you should never get stuck in thinking less of yourself if you can’t immediately talk about world events such as what’s going on in Ukraine. * Why language and culture are really inseparable and how to exploit this fact in order to learn more about your target language and start using it quickly. * Sam’s response to Luca Lampariello’s “ephiphany moment” concept. * How to avoid getting bogged down in the words of the language by focusing on the message of each and every sentence you speak. * How to assess the strengths of different language learning programs and mix and match them to maximize the language learning benefits they offer (or should offer before you invest your precious time and money!) * When you should absolutely never use spaced-repetition software. * How to use the powers of inductive language learning as you are working towards what Sam calls a “rule-based” approach if you want to get to a very high level in your foreign language studies. * Precise ways to reward yourself every time you reach a language goal so that you feel refreshed, renewed and ready for the next level. * How to record yourself for maximum exposure to your own use of the foreign language so that you can analyze your progress and go even further and deeper into the language learning process and literally “mold” your ears as you fine tune your approach. * How to avoid learning the rules for things you haven’t been exposed to yet so that you don’t get frustrated and quit. * Why you should never approach language learning as homework. * How to avoid rigid thinking when it comes to language learning. * … and much, much more. +Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, dreams, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun. The post Sam Gendreau Talks About How To Get “Addicted” To Language Learning appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: Magnetic_Memory_Method_Podcast_011_Sam_Gendreau.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 3:40pm EDT |
Thu, 6 March 2014
Listen to this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast right now to learn: * The difference between self-education and self-directed learning and how to be proactive about your own education so that you can grow in the direction you want without hassle. * The best way to use writing to refine your language skills so that you can experience boosts in fluency faster and with greater ease. * Why you should avoid word frequency lists when learning a foreign language and what to do instead to build a massive (but targeted) vocabulary. * How to learn to communicate at a deeper, conceptual level in your target language (as well as in your own mother tongue!) * The real secrets to becoming a “hyper-polyglot.” * Why observation is just as important as taking instructions when learning from other people. * Exactly what a mentor is and why you need one to help you clarify your thinking and decisions so that you can live an informed and positive life. * How to deal with negativity and fear so that you can pursue your goals with an open mind and daring spirit. * The importance of emotions and excitement in learning and how to generate them immediately. * David’s thoughts on the uses of Memory Palaces, Moonwalking with Einstein and other memory techniques, including a unique way to use streets as Memory Palaces when learning a new language. * … and much, much more. Got questions about David Mansaray, the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast or memory in general? Get in contact, subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Newsletter. +Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary in a way that is easy, elegant, effective and fun. The post David Mansaray On Passion, Polyglots and Positivity appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: MMMP_010_David_Mansaray_On_Passion_Polyglots_and_Postivity.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 4:27pm EDT |
Mon, 17 February 2014
Would You Like To Know How To Improve Your Memory Like Arnold Schwarzenegger Pumps Iron?If so, tune in to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and you’ll learn: * How to manage your hurdles with respect to your memorization goals. * A great resource for picking up the 850 words you’ll need to memorize as part of achieving basic fluency. * The amazing benefits of relaxation for memorization. * … and much, much more. If you want to add your voice, here are the questions you can use to give your memory an advantage starting today: Question #1: What is your personal “Memory Myth” about your memory, including any programming you may have received as a young person or continue to receive in your daily life? How does this myth affect how you think about your memory? Question #2: What is the “distance” between where you are now with your memory skills – and where would you like to be in the future. Please be as specific as possible, including something like a deadline for when you would like to see a difference achieved (five minutes from now, tomorrow, next month, next year, etc). Question #3: What is your education “action plan” for getting the knowledge and training you need so that you have complete control over the improvement you would like to see in this area of your life? And now let me add … Question #4: Have you ever used a Memory Palace or mnemonics? Once you start using a Memory Palace for language learning, it’s important that you follow up with reading, writing, speaking and listening every day. Without these activities, you cannot expect to get very far. Memory techniques serve you in the following way: Vocabulary is like the gas you put into the engine of grammar. You cannot run the engine without it. In fact, you can’t even understand the engine. And fluency is like a highway that has many gas stations along the way. Think about it: Even in your mother tongue, there are thousands of words you don’t yet know and will never know. But you can always tank up whenever you please. When it comes to learning another language, you just need to get yourself on the highway. That might take some bench pressing that you struggle with, but you’ll find your way, especially if you take a few minutes of your time to answer the questions above. Please use the contact form to send your answers when you’re done. I’ll get back to you with some comments and a very Magnetic Memory gift a.s.a.p. And of course, spend some more time learning about how to improve your memory like Schwarzenegger pumps iron at least one more time. And if you’re interested in using the Magnetic Memory Method to memorize foreign language vocabulary, the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass includes a complete unit called How to Learn and Memorize Foreign Language Vocabulary. +Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary in a way that is easy, elegant, effective and fun. Further Resources: 7 Ways To Make Your Memory Swiss Army Knife Sharp Ogden’s Basic English Word Lists The post How To Improve Your Memory Like Schwarzenegger Pumps Iron appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Mon, 27 January 2014
In this interview you’ll learn Michael’s personalized Memory Palace methods and how to get started on creating your own. Plus:
Enjoy this interview and let both Michael and I know if you have any questions. And before you go, it’s not just car-crash induced brain trauma that mnemonics can help you recover from. Check out this TEDTalk for some very interesting research into the use of Memory Palaces to help Alzheimer’s patients remember the names of their loved ones:
I’ve also run across some interesting reports about people using Memory Palaces to stave off the effects of so-called “chemo brain.” Fantastic news if it really helps people cope with the terrible suffering of the cancer itself and the side effects of the medicines used to treat it. So as you can see, even if you’ve experienced memory loss from brain trauma, there’s hope. If you can see in your mind or even just think about where your kitchen is in relation to your bedroom, you’re halfway there. (And if you can’t, look up my video on aphantasia. Believe me, you can still use a Memory Palace and memory techniques.) And if you can get an image or thought about your favorite actor or cartoon character in your mind, then chances are, you can learn to memorize just about anything. You just need to work at it a little bit every day and have something you want to memorize. Make it something that will make a meaningful difference in your life, like Michael did. He skipped memorizing shopping lists and went straight for scripture with great personal meaning for him. And if you’re worried that you don’t have any locations you can use to base a Memory Palace on, just have a listen to this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. It will help you out a great deal.  Sincerely, Anthony Metivier P.S. In case you’re interested, the books Michael mentions are: You can also listen to this interview via YouTube: Further Resources Jim Samuels on how to use mnemonics to reduce stress. Memory Improvement Tips For The Depressed Student. Traumatic Brain Injury article in Wikipedia. My discussion with Jennie Gorman on memory loss on Magnetic Memory Method Live: If you’ve experienced memory loss from brain trauma or illness, let me know in the comments below. I’m always searching for ways to help! The post Car Crash Survivor Michael Gusman Talks About Mnemonics And Brain Trauma appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Tue, 31 December 2013
You will learn:
The mistakes talked about in this episode of the podcast simply aren’t necessary. Please take this information about using a Memory Palace in the most sophisticated manner possible and put it to use. Of the many mistakes, not picking a place for the information you want to memorize is amongst the deadliest you can make. You simply must use some kind of location-based memorization strategy if you want true success. The only problem is that so many people struggle with identifying Memory Palaces. That’s why I created the podcast episode How to Find Memory Palaces. It will help you find more Memory Palaces than you can shake a Magnetic stick at. And then there are people who want to make changes to existing Palaces they’ve built. That’s not entirely recommended, but you can give renovating a Memory Palace a try and see how it works for you. At the end of the day, a solid, unchanging Memory Palace will serve you best because it allows you to “magnetize” your properly created associative-imagery to the “roller coaster rails” of the MP journey. Without that certainty, you’ll wind up constantly second-guessing your Memory Palaces. That’s a recipe for disaster. Why? Because you want all of your focus to land squarely on quickly finding and decoding the target information – the information you need. The information you used all of this beautiful mental architecture and imagery for in the first place. Then you need to make sure that imagery is big, bright, bold and bursting with vibrant color. You really want the images to pop into your awareness as you journey through your mind. Never forget: they call it the art of memory for a reason (ars memorativa). You’re literally “crafting” memories when you use mnemonics. And you get to create the rules of play, meaning that you can memorize as much information as you want for as long as you want to hold it in accessible memory. You just need to know – not just what to do – but what mistakes to avoid. I hope this episode of the podcast helps! The post MMMPodcast Episode 001: 5 Ways To Ruin A Perfectly Good Memory Palace appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
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Syndication
This 
Let’s face it – you’re burned out.
Have you ever thought about getting into marketing?
Have you ever wondered if mnemonics and memory techniques are for everyone?
Absentmindedness sucks.
This is Andrew Barr and today I’m sitting in for Anthony in this guest post.
Do you get overwhelmed and frustrated every time you need to come up with new ideas when using memory techniques as part of your brain training? Especially when learning a 
Here’s a great question about how to memorize textbooks I received from a Magnetic Memory Method fan:
This Man Shows You How To Unlock The Extreme Power Of Your Memory
Have you ever purchased something and hated it? And yet, for some reason, you gradually …
Memory is not what you think it is.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could experience memory improvement …
Have you ever had a fact you know like the back of your hand stick on the tip of your tongue?
Have You Ever Had A Past Life Experience? Do You Believe In Reincarnation? How Much Karma Do You Spread On Your Mummified Animal Crackers?
To celebrate the release of a course I put together with Jonathan Levi called, Branding You
: How To Build A Multimedia Internet Empire, we’re re-releasing an interview I gave on his Becoming a Superhuman podcast. So when you’re ready, hit play and learn …
The thought of memory improvement excites you, doesn’t it?
How Much Would The Quality Of Your Life 
How Would You Like A Quote That Will Change Your Life – And Your Memory – For The Better?
You’d like to have psychic powers, wouldn’t you?
How To Use Your Emotions To Memorize More Instead Of Letting Them Take Over Your Life And Make A Big Fat Mess Of Everything
How 
Sometimes Learning Is As Simple As Asking The Right Questions
How To Become More Creative And Remember The Information That Matters In Your Life
How To Win Any Language Learning Contest
Who Else Wants To Get Rid Of Stress-Induced Memory Loss 
Can You 
These Memory Strategies Can 
A lot of people suffer from a “bad memory.”
People around the world wish they could remember their dreams. And not just remember them.
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn about how to get fat off of all the free donuts you can stuff in your Magnetic little belly (or big belly as the case soon shall be …)
I’ve give you this handwritten image because that’s exactly how I suggest you write out your mind map. It takes just a few seconds. But in case you can’t read my handwriting or interpret my short form, here’s the list of what “memory power” means to me. It’s the ability to:
Again, this isn’t rocket science. Just a simple sheet of paper will do. So you can make out what I’ve written, here’s the words in type (and in more normal English):
Personally, I never use “heaven” for 11 the rare times I use the Peg System. It’s too abstract and vague and there are too many possibilities. I use my friend “Evan.” I’ve known him for years and can see what he looks like in my mind (he’s almost always got a goofy smile). And if I were to meet a guy named Ralph and wanted to memorize him as part of a list of names, I would have him interacting with this new dude Ralph in a weird and interesting way.
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, 
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Timothy Moser of 
e better. I’m deeply fascinated by Ezra Pound and he also had a connection to Chinese and Japanese, so he works really well in this connection. In Latin, you could use Derek Jacobi or some actor you like who you’ve seen prancing around in a toga to keep things interesting. (Or an actor you’ve never seen in a toga, for that matter, to keep things extra memorable). The point is that it shouldn’t be too difficult to come up with zany images if you take familiar things and put them in unfamiliar situations.
greater conversational flow (improvisational jazz, as my virtual bass teacher 
Since we’re on the topic of memory skills, you might find it interesting to know that I rarely gave my lectures from memory. Why?
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Luca Lampariello treats us once again to a focused array of language learning secrets that you can put to use today in your foreign language study efforts. Tune in now and you’ll learn:
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll hear from Timothy Moser, the man behind 
In this week’s episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn:
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, 
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn about the amazing connection between location-based memory strategies, serial killers, graffiti and bumble-bees.
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, 
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, renowned polyglot and language learning expert David Mansaray (
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I respond to one of your answers from the Magnetic Three Question Survey.
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll hear from Michael Gusman, a memory enthusiast who was t-boned by an SUV at 55 miles per hour. He suffered multiple injuries and a brain hemorrhage that left him with short term memory loss.