How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus

Free Memory Course. Basic Mnemonic Devices

by Sarah Cage

Looking for memory-boosting advice to enhance your concentration? Then you’ve come to the right place! Memory is made up of several different brain activities. Ergo it’s a complicated process. Our memory, as well as retention capabilities, rely greatly on the importance (concentration/focus) we give while we store something in our mind. For instance, we may hear all the chatters going on around us when we are in a crowded place and the conversation we are having with our friend. Our listening sense is still open and getting all possible inputs from all around. However, it’s neglected by our mind assuming non-important. We only store the conversation with our friend at that moment that we assumed (and told our mind that it is) important, and thus filtering all these other garbage chatters. Therefore, we can only recall important things later.

Additionally, while there are many other factors that cause weak memory such as depression, intoxication, head injury, sleep deprivation, etc. there are just as many ways to enhance our memory as therein loss focus causes. Granted, having moments of forgetfulness from time to time is normal as it happens to everyone, especially when life gets really busy. However, it can easily be frustrating to have a poor memory. If you want to strengthen your memory and concentration skills, you should take a look at these evidence-based ways how to improve your memorybelow. Who says there is no scientific ways to improve your memory? Thankfully, science is always constantly finding new connections among simple things in life and advancement in our general memory capacity. All the methods in this list will help you improve your memory naturally!



Eat less Sugar

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Eat less Sugar
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Eat less Sugar

Yep, it’s been proven about the sugar-brain connection. It’s not just a theory anymore. A study conducted at Boston University School of Medicine proved that people who consume too much-sweetened drinks are prone to having poorer memory and reducing overall brain volume. This study involved more than 4000 participants and the results suggested that those with a high intake of sugary beverages like soda experienced the aforementioned effects rather than those who consumed less sugar. Understandably, those are also the risks of the sugar-laden diet. The latter especially happens in the hippocampus area, which is an area in the brain that is known to store short-term memory. Science has also proven that too much added sugar in your life can result in many health issues and chronic diseases, not the least of which cognitive decline. Therefore, this goes without saying but cutting back on sugar definitely will do your memory well. Not only will it improve your memory but also enhance your overall health.


Fish Oil Supplement Helps!

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Fish Oil Supplement Helps!
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Fish Oil Supplement Helps!

Many studies have shown that individuals who consume a lot of fatty fish score better on memory tests and are less prone to developing Alzheimer’s disease. Omega-3 fatty acid (also known as DHA or docosahexaenoic acid) supplements can help healthy aging adults to boost their memory. DHA is abundant in algae as well as fatty fish. This fat is important for our overall health and has been repeatedly proven to lower the risk of heart disease, relieve stress, and reduce inflammation as well as slow mental decline. Unfortunately, in reality, people don’t consume enough fish to reap the benefits of DHA. But you can definitely secure its benefits in the form of fish oil supplements to improve your memory.

One study that subjected 36 adults who complained about mild cognitive impairment found that working memory and short-term scores improved in a quite significant way after they consumed concentrated fish oil supplements for one year. A collective review of 28 studies also suggested that when adults who suffer from mild symptoms of memory loss consumed supplements rich in DHA as well as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) in the form of fish oil, they experienced better episodic memory. Bottom line, EPA and DHA are all critical in our health and functioning of the brain. They are also useful for reducing inflammation in the body which has been associated with cognitive decline. This particular scientific how to improve your memoryis definitely worth trying to see if your memory will improve. Even if you don’t see any difference after sometimes but there is still a lot more benefits that fish oil offers for your overall health.


Meditate

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Meditate
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Meditate

Yes, you read it right! Meditation can improve your working memory. This working memory thing can be considered like the notepad of your brain where new information is held temporarily. For example, you hang on to details of the address you are going to or the name of someone you just met until you are done with them. Then, you’ll let go of them entirely once you don’t find them useful anymore. But you’ll commit them to long-term memory if they are still useful so they can be strengthened and remembered later.



Obviously, we use our working memory every single day. Therefore, it’s pretty convenient and helpful when it’s stronger. Most adults can hold in their working memory or a maximum number of 7 items. If you are not using your working memory to its full capacity, you can strengthen it through meditation. The study has shown that subjects who had zero experience in “mindfulness meditation” can enhance their memory recall in about 8 weeks. Meditation will help us concentrate and research has proved that it can also help us to improve standardized test scores along with working memory ability in a matter of two weeks.

If you are feeling a bit skeptic because this may seem a bit counterintuitive, let us justify it for you. Our brain will stop processing information in an active way it usually does when we are meditating. The practice of meditation will increase grey matter which contains neuron cell bodies in our brain. As we get older, the grey matter will gradually decline. As a result, our memory and cognition will deteriorate. That being said, relaxation and meditation techniques are effective at improving our short-term memory. This applies to people of all ages from those who are in their 20s to the elderly. One study also showed that Taiwanese college students who did meditation (like mindfulness) regularly had considerably better spatial working memory than those who didn’t practice meditation. The spatial working memory of the brain is one that is responsible for holding as well as processing information about the positions of objects in space. Meditation is relaxing and soothing. Therefore, you’ll still find it worth trying either way. It’s also been found to reduce pain and stress, and lower blood pressure as well.


Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Maintain a Healthy Body Weight
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

Not only is maintaining a healthy weight important for our overall well-being but it’s also important to keep our mind in top condition. Ergo, it’s only natural to include this tip in this how to improve your memorythread. Several studies have proved obesity to be a risk factor for cognitive decline. Saturated as well as trans fats are known to be the villain that is responsible for memory loss. You can seek help from mono- as well as polyunsaturated fats and include them in your dietary battle to strengthen your memory. You can model your diet on the Mediterranean diet where its menu of foods contains a lot of healthy unsaturated fats, such as nuts, fish and olive oil. This particular dietary choice has been linked to lower rates of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease as well as mild cognitive impairment (also known as MCI). A simple Mediterranean breakfast would be a 6 oz. Greek yogurt topped with blueberries or whole grain muesli with almonds and fresh berries.

Body fat brings more than harm than you may realize. Not only is high body fat a clear risk factor for high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases, but it’ll also elevate the risk for memory loss. Unhealthy body weight will lead to learning problems as well as Alzheimer’s disease. This should go without saying but being overweight will definitely double or even triple your chance of developing cognitive problems. Maintaining a healthy body weight during your lifetime will definitely result in the better memory. Avoid overeating if you can! And yes, we are all very much aware of how hard it is to stay in shape. However, what’s meant by a “healthy body weight” here is not exercising yourself to death and achieving a perfect fitness model body. It means try not to be too thin or too fat. Watch out what goes into your stomach. Don’t wait for symptoms of dementia or other diseases to arise before being responsible. Cognitive problems can still occur without the presence of chronic diseases, you know!



Get More Sleep

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Get More Sleep
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Get More Sleep

You’ve probably heard about how sleep deprivation affects our brain productivity. While those self-deprecating memes about pulling an all-nighter may be amusing, but you also have to take it seriously for there is truth to it. Scientifically speaking, sleep has proven to be one of the most important elements in maintaining an overall good memory. That’s because most of our memory consolidation process happens when we sleep. Therefore, it’s only logical to say that we are going to struggle to recall the things we have learned without enough sleep. If you can’t have your 8 hours of sleep during the night, not to worry because a short nap can help you to improve your memory just fine.

One study indicates that the subjects performed better after they had a 40-minute nap than those who stayed awake. The participants were first asked to memorize illustrated cards to test their memory strength and then asked one group to take a nap while the others stayed awake. The former performed significantly better for they were able to retain on average 85% of the patters while the latter only had a 60% success. That being said, napping too can actually help our brain to solidify memories!

The research concludes that when things (memory) is first recorded in the hippocampus area of our brain, it’s still ‘fragile’ in that it can easily forget the memory, particularly if we tell our brain to memorize more things. By taking a nap, the memory would be pushed to the neocortex which is known as part of the brain that store things permanently. Getting some sleep after learning is definitely a critical part of the memory preservation process. However, always keep in mind to always avoid sleep deprivation for lack of sleep can obviously impact our ability to commit new things to memory and associate new memories we create. Many studies have repeatedly proven the link between sufficient sleep with improved memory performance.


Less Alcohol in Your Life

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Less Alcohol in Your Life
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Less Alcohol in Your Life

The study found that if you quit or at least reduce your alcohol consumption to a considerable degree, your memory will improve. Not only is consuming too much alcohol can be detrimental to our overall health, but it will also negatively impact our memory. It’s no secret that people with alcohol issues experience a noticeable disruption in their higher-level mental functions. One of those significant disruptions caused by chronic alcoholism is a reduction in the ability to make, organize and store memories. It’s due to the fact that alcoholism centers on constant changes in everyday brain function which cause the brain to depend on the continued intake of a high amount of forms of alcohol. If you have fallen into the routine of binge drinking which has been scientifically proven to increase blood alcohol levels to 0.08 grams per ml or higher, know that you should be wary. This activity alters the brain as well as results in memory deficits.



If a single instance of alcohol exposure can cause significant short-term deficits in memory function, just imagine what happens if it’s an extremely high level of exposure. You’ve probably experienced moments of “blackouts” when you are totally drunk out of your skull. Some people even experience total amnesia but only when alcohol begins to interfere with the hippocampus of the brain. Alcohol causes neurotoxic effects on our brain. This means alcohol can disrupt the hippocampus’ ability. If one consumes alcohol on a regular basis in excessive amounts, the hippocampus will gradually lose its ability to function perfectly, even without blackout episodes. That being said, when new events occur, the brain of an alcoholic person essentially lacks the flexibility to record accurately and retain the incoming information.

That is not to say you should stop drinking alcohol altogether. Just watch your alcohol intake. Having a drink or two now and then is allowed and still healthy, but it’s only going to become a problem if the intake is getting too excessive.


Exercise Your Brain

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Exercise Your Brain
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Exercise Your Brain

Those brain teasers are actually helpful for improving your memory recall. Your cognitive skills can benefit a lot from those brain games. Besides, playing them is fun and the fact that it’s a very effective way to boost our memory is just a bonus. You can revisit your childhood games like crosswords or word-recall games to train your memory. Those games are easily found as mobile apps nowadays so it’s pretty convenient. The crossword puzzles have always been the go-to cognitive exercise for everyone. A study also showed that 42 adults with mild cognitive impairment that were subjected to playing games on a brain-training application for 8 hours over a 4-week period performed significantly better on their memory tests. A video game that forces you to multitask is good to boost your cognitive function as well. Those games that require you to react to a stimulus, such as a new environment or a road sign, while playing can enhance your working memory and the ability to remember information while you’re in the middle of solving a problem. Who knows something as fun as video games can be an effective way how to improve your memory, right? On top of that, recent research also suggested that such activity modulated known neural markers which let you to better cope with “interference” or distraction while you are retrieving information.

Another to improve your memory through brain exercise is to learn a new language. Studies in both human and rat brains have proven that regular brain exercise can definitely improve your memory. In particular, our spatial memory working will benefit a lot from the regular exercise. The brain is an organic storage device and it compares rather favorably to digital drives. It’s believed that our brain is able to retain as many as 2.5 petabytes of information. That’s close to three million hours of TV! Being able to retain all of that knowledge is a totally different matter. One way for you to sharpen both your short- and long-term memory is to occasionally subject your brain to regular exercise. There really is no harm in engaging ourselves with brain-training games. Not only will it improve our memory, but it’ll also reduce the risk of dementia in the elderly.


Consume Less Refined Carbs

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Consume Less Refined Carbs
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Consume Less Refined Carbs

If refined carbohydrate such as cereal, cakes, cookies, white bread or white rice are going in your stomach excessively, they are going to damage your memory. It’s because these foods contain a high dynamic index, which means the body digests these carbs quickly and it will lead to a spike in blood sugar levels. Refined carbs will harm your brain. All those sugar and highly-processed grains will affect your memory negatively if consumed in a high amount. Take white flour for instance. It has a high glycemic index (GI) which is harmful to the brain. Foods that are high in GI can damage memory in both adults and children, cause degenerative diseases and increase inflammation. If you are looking for a healthy alternative then consider whole-grain foods, fruits, and vegetables.

One study proved that the Western diet, which contains a high amount of refined carbs, is linked to dementia, reduced cognitive function, and cognitive decline. Another study with 317 healthy participants, all of whom were children, found that those who ate more processed carbs like noodles, white rice and fast food experienced reduced cognitive capacity, including working memory and poorer short-term. If you are an adult and a regular consumer of ready-to-eat breakfast cereal (regular here means on a daily basis), well you might have to cut down your cereal intake. It can lead to poorer cognitive function in the long run. Bottom line, just like added sugar, refined carbs can also lead to a spike in blood sugar levels, and it will damage your brain over time.


Exercise More

How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Exercise More
How to Improve Your Memory and Mental Focus: Exercise More

Exercise is important for our overall physical as well as mental health. Physical exercise can affect our brain health as a whole and will eventually improve our memory. It’s because our brain is essentially no different than the rest of the muscles in our body. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Not only can physical exercise stimulate the growth of muscle cells, but it will also give us an additional brain boost. Aerobic exercise, in particular, has positive effects on brain function on multiple fronts, starting from the molecular to the behavioral level. It will increase the heart rate, which pumps H20 to the brain. It will also help the bodily release of a plethora of hormones, all of which take part in helping and providing a nourishing environment for the growth of the brain cells.

A study conducted by the Department of Exercise Science at the University of Georgia showed that even a 20-minute exercise can facilitate information processing as well as memory functions. It’s been scientifically proven that exercise can increase the secretion of neuroprotective proteins as well as enhance the development and growth of neurons, resulting in improved brain health. Add to that exercise on a regular basis in midlife is also linked to a decreased risk of developing dementia later in life. You don’t have to devote yourself to commit daily gym time. A 15 or 20 minute stretching or taking a walk every morning can facilitate improved cognitive performance along with memory, but only if you do it regularly. There are numerous benefits when it comes to exercise. However, the brain can definitely benefit a lot from physical exercise since it has been proven to enhance cognitive abilities way beyond memory.


Conclusion

Have you tried any of these ways how to improve your memory? Some might work best for you and some might not be in your preference. Nevertheless, you can use this list as your guide in case you need options to improve your memory. Once you find motivation, you will realize that any of these tips are easy to commit.


Memory Courses (MP3, Youtube) on how to improve your memory

The below media explain mnemonics techniques for remembering names, definitions, numbers and more. They also Improve your memory to improve grades and shorten study hours.

Audio Courses:Professionally-read, 50-minute, MP3 audio, basic mnemonics by Professor Steve Baba, Ph.D. ➟ All MP3 Audios:Part 1,Part 2,Part 3,Part 4,Part 5,Part 6,Part 7

Video Courses: Just a conversion of the above MP3 files. It is for students who like to play them on a video player ➟ All MP4 Videos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Youtube Courses:Online rehearsal









Video Transcriptions:


Part 1:

00:00

welcome to this memory seminar in this

00:03

short course you will learn mnemonic

00:05

techniques for memorizing names

00:07

definitions and numbers ideas and words

00:10

may be associated and recalled by means

00:13

of mnemonics mnemonics is nothing more

00:15

than a system of reminders a common way

00:18

of starting a memory seminar is to start

00:21

with a pretest of memorizing 20 words

00:23

participants are asked to try to

00:25

remember 20 words without writing the

00:27

words a list of 20 words is slowly read

00:31

after hearing the words participants are

00:34

then asked to write the words in order

00:36

if you want to try the pretest and grade

00:38

yourself here are 20 words but for this

00:41

recorded version of the course taking

00:43

the pretest is optional here are the 20

00:46

words to memorize het hen ham hare

00:59

spelled har e Hill shoe cow

01:13

hive ape woods tied tin team tire hotel

01:40

dish dog dove tub nose in a live seminar

01:58

participants would have a minute or two

02:00

to write down the words that they can

02:01

remember participants are usually lucky

02:04

to remember half of the words and rarely

02:06

in order occasionally a participant who

02:09

knows some mnemonic techniques does

02:11

better but by the end of the seminar all

02:14

participants will be able to remember

02:16

nearly all 20 items in order by using

02:19

mnemonic techniques most mnemonic

02:22

techniques depend on developing a visual

02:24

picture as a reminder for example do not

02:29

picture the Eiffel Tower what are you

02:32

doing now picturing the Eiffel Tower you

02:35

probably will not be able to forget the

02:37

Eiffel Tower Nature has endowed one of

02:40

your senses with a greater capacity for

02:42

impressing the brain than any of the

02:45

other senses an impression made on the

02:47

brain by the sense of sight is many

02:49

times stronger than one made by any of

02:52

the other senses

02:53

most people consider themselves visual

02:56

learners eye pictures are the most

02:59

accurate of mental impressions and

03:01

because the mind has the ability to see

03:04

pictures long after the disappearance of

03:06

the original pictures that the real eye

03:08

has made on the mind we speak of the

03:10

mind's eye and of seeing in our minds

03:14

eye another name for the mind's eye is

03:17

visualization in this course you will

03:21

learn how to visualize to make mind's

03:23

eye pictures at will by using these

03:27

mind pictures in a definite systematic

03:29

way you will remember in order to revive

03:32

your impressions you must make them

03:34

strong enough for ready Rico there are

03:37

three aids to make visual impressions

03:39

strong enough to recall easily the first

03:42

aid is exaggeration exaggeration is

03:46

mentally to enlarge or magnify the

03:49

objects or incidents to more than their

03:51

actual proportions for instance if you

03:54

see a cow in a field you'll be more

03:57

likely to hold the impression if your

03:59

imagination makes you see the cow as

04:01

large as an elephant this idea is often

04:05

used by cartoonists you see it used in

04:08

advertising this is what you must do

04:10

with your imagination at times be a

04:13

cartoonist with the things you wish to

04:15

remember enlarge them to unusual and

04:18

unnatural proportions if necessary the

04:22

second aid is motion the mind has always

04:25

been strongly attracted to motion of

04:27

every kind children like to see wheels

04:30

go around if you have a friend in a

04:33

crowd you can get his attention by

04:35

waving your hand something moving in a

04:37

store window will attract interest

04:39

noticing motion is probably a survival

04:43

instinct our ancestors had to notice

04:45

motion as a threat the third aid is

04:49

unusual associations occurrences that

04:53

are out of the ordinary unusual and

04:55

different from what we are in the habit

04:58

of seeing impress us strongly take

05:01

advantage of the fact that things out of

05:03

the ordinary impress us more than those

05:05

that are commonplace in order to retain

05:08

your visual associations you must make

05:11

them unusual some people find it helpful

05:14

to make these associations grotesque

05:16

ludicrous or even sexual but we do not

05:20

recommend the extreme use of this

05:22

negative impressions or negative

05:25

memories are more likely to be repressed

05:27

or forgotten than positive ones and why

05:30

dwell on the negative there is no limit

05:33

to the use of exaggeration motion or the

05:36

unusual in forming your mental pictures

05:39

you can picture a hat

05:41

to the size of a mountain a nail could

05:43

be the height of a telephone pole you

05:46

can picture it moving

05:47

swinging falling or flying the first

05:50

visual picture from our pretest is hat

05:53

pay no attention to the letters H a and

05:56

T but see the visual image of the Hat

05:59

actually see this hat let it be a large

06:03

shiny black hat see it clearly

06:06

you can strengthen impressions by

06:09

exaggerating the size of the Hat see it

06:12

not a normal size but three or four

06:15

times as large you can enlarge it to

06:17

still greater proportions if you need to

06:19

you can see the Hat the size of a house

06:22

you can also use motion as you watch the

06:26

head see it move up and down as if

06:28

controlled by some hidden thread you may

06:31

see it blown about by the wind see the

06:34

Hat in motion


Part 2:

00:00

to fix in the mind a list of objects it

00:03

is merely necessary to use the same

00:05

principle except that you will apply it

00:08

now to two objects instead of one you

00:11

will make a mind's eye picture of the

00:13

two objects together do not merely

00:16

listen to these descriptions your mind's

00:19

eyes should see every picture clearly if

00:21

you passively listen and don't visualize

00:24

the pictures this will not work to the

00:28

Hat which we have pictured we will now

00:31

add a hen you must see the Hat and the

00:35

hen together see both objects clearly

00:39

enlarge them see a large hints trutta ng

00:43

about wearing the Hat see the hen moving

00:47

about very proud of her hat or see the

00:50

hen making her nest in the head but be

00:52

sure and see a picture of some kind in

00:54

your mind's eye combining the Hat and

00:57

the hen the second combination picture

01:01

is of a hen and a ham see a big ham out

01:06

in the yard the large hen runs and jumps

01:09

on the ham and dances a jig there see

01:12

the objects larger than usual have them

01:15

exaggerated out of proportion actually

01:17

see the motion see if possible a hen of

01:22

some distinct color a red or white hen

01:25

and a definite picture of a whole ham or

01:28

a slice of ham maybe it's green ham see

01:32

only two objects hen and hand in this

01:36

picture do not see the hat in this

01:38

picture see two objects and only two in

01:41

each picture as you add a new one ham

01:45

you drop the first object hat and see

01:48

only the hen and ham the next

01:51

combination picture is of a ham and a

01:54

hare spelled H ar e the rabbit like

01:57

animal see the ham on the ground being

02:00

pushed and rolled along by the hare

02:02

it is hard work for the hare see him

02:05

exerting all his strength to move the

02:08

ham see clearly the ham and the hare see

02:12

the hare sweating

02:13

do hair sweat it doesn't really matter

02:16

as long as you remember the next

02:19

combination picture is of a hair and a

02:22

hill see the hairs scampering down the

02:25

hill as fast as he can run every now and

02:29

then he turns his head and fright to see

02:31

if he's being followed see him clearly

02:34

running down the hill make clear

02:36

pictures the ability to retain visual

02:40

images depends upon the clearness with

02:42

which you actually see the objects try

02:45

now to increase the vividness of every

02:48

visual impression it is important that

02:51

you see only two of these objects in

02:54

every picture while you may be able to

02:56

picture three four or even five in one

02:59

picture you will not be able to picture

03:01

twenty items in each picture we are

03:05

chaining two pictures together at a time

03:08

linking two pictures to form a chain of

03:11

20 the next combination picture is of a

03:15

hill and a shoe see a steep hill or a

03:19

mountain side which you will consider a

03:21

hill as you watch the top of the hill an

03:23

object appears to drop from the sky

03:26

landing on the hill it is a large

03:29

dilapidated shoe a giant's shoe you

03:33

readily recall the big shoe and the

03:34

pictures of the old lady who lived in a

03:36

shoe use a shoe of this size in your

03:39

picture see it sliding down the hill

03:42

the next combination picture is of a

03:45

shoe and a cow see the shoe which is

03:49

rapidly moving strike a cow grazing in a

03:52

pasture the poor cow is badly frightened

03:55

she throws up her heels and runs away

03:58

the next combination picture is of a cow

04:01

and a hive as in beehive see the cow

04:06

either a new cow or the same cow as in

04:08

the previous picture she is still

04:10

running and notices a large hive with

04:14

lowered head she charges the hive

04:16

striking it with her horns the next

04:19

combination picture is of a hive and an

04:22

ape see the upturned hive rolling about

04:25

until finally a large

04:27

ape comes out and looks about in a dazed

04:30

sort of way the next combination picture

04:34

is of an ape and a woods the ape sees

04:37

woods nearby see him climb the trees and

04:41

swing from one branch to another now go

04:46

back and see your first mind's eye

04:48

picture the black hat what was in the

04:51

picture with the Hat the hen what was in

04:54

the next picture with the hen a hand on

04:57

the ham what was in the next picture

04:59

with the ham a hair pushing the ham what

05:04

was in the next picture with the hair

05:06

the hair was running down the hill what

05:10

was in the next picture with the hill a

05:12

giant shoe falling on the hill what was

05:17

in the next picture with the shoe the

05:20

shoes hit the cow what was in the next

05:23

picture with the cow the cow hit the

05:27

hive what was in the next picture with

05:29

the hive and ape saw it what was in the

05:34

last picture with the ape the ape was

05:37

swinging on trees in the woods if you

05:40

were paying attention and forming the

05:42

pictures you probably knew eight or nine

05:44

or ten out of ten this is a huge

05:47

improvement from the pretest if you were

05:49

not paying attention and merely

05:51

listening to the words without

05:53

visualizing the pictures you may not

05:55

have done as well which proves the point

05:57

that the pictures help if you are not

05:59

forming the pictures try it again the

06:03

pictures that we have suggested have

06:05

been merely suggestions to give your

06:06

imagination a start should other

06:08

pictures occur to you by all means use

06:11

them but do not make them too

06:13

commonplace as an example here are five

06:16

other ways to link the ham and the hare

06:19

see the hair with a ham tied to its back

06:22

like a packhorse the hair may be seen

06:24

dragging or pulling the ham the hair may

06:27

have the hem tied to its tail the hair

06:30

may be pictured as much larger than the

06:32

ham or vice versa the ham may be Hollow

06:35

and the hair may be seen hiding in it

06:38

and timidly peeking out the

06:41

hair may be seen eating a slice of ham

06:43

as an example here are two other ways to

06:47

link to the ape the ape could be playing

06:49

basketball with the hive instead of a

06:51

ball the ape could be working in the

06:54

woods as a lumberjack cutting down trees

06:57

now let's complete the list the next

07:00

combination picture is of a woods and a

07:02

tide see the woods on the edge of a body

07:05

of water that we picture as the tide see

07:09

the waves breaking along the shore and

07:11

the spray dashing on the trees of the

07:13

woods or even flooding the woods the

07:16

next combination picture is of a tide

07:18

and a tin see a large tin can

07:23

floating on the tide it's a six foot

07:25

high ten can visualize the picture

07:28

clearly and accurately the next

07:32

combination picture is of a ten and a

07:35

team bring exaggeration into play this

07:39

10 is so heavy it takes a team to move

07:42

it the next combination picture is of a

07:45

team and a tire see the team frightened

07:49

by a large tire rolling towards them now

07:53

try to form the next combination

07:54

pictures yourself the next combination

07:57

picture is of a tire and a hotel

08:08

the next combination picture is of a

08:10

hotel and a dish

08:19

the next combination picture is of a

08:22

dish and a dog

08:31

next is a dog and a dove

08:41

next is dove and tub

08:51

next is tub and nose

09:00

you


Part 3

coming soon


Part 4

coming soon


Part 5

coming soon


Part 6

coming soon


Part 7:

00:00

in this short course you have learned

00:02

mnemonic techniques for memorizing names

00:04

words and numbers in closing I have a

00:08

warning about the potential misuse of

00:09

mnemonics or any memorization technique

00:12

the overuse of mnemonics or memorization

00:15

in general can be more harmful than the

00:18

under use of mnemonics mnemonics can be

00:21

overused in two ways if you base your

00:24

education on rote memorizing without

00:27

understanding the subject mnemonics will

00:30

not help you this potential abuse of

00:33

mnemonics mistaking memorization for an

00:35

education is a reason mnemonics is not

00:38

popular in schools if you understand a

00:42

subject in the process of understanding

00:44

the subject you have memorized the major

00:45

points understanding implies

00:48

memorization of the main points but

00:51

memorization does not imply

00:52

understanding for example there are a

00:55

few students of every major religion

00:57

that memorize their holy books without

01:00

understanding the message these students

01:02

then quote passages often out of context

01:05

and annoy even fellow believers

01:08

memorization without understanding a

01:10

subject is not recommended but many

01:12

students will try memorization as a

01:14

last-ditch effort cramming the night

01:16

before a test what is the proper use of

01:20

mnemonics or memorization you memorize

01:23

things that don't need to be understood

01:25

these are often names definitions or

01:28

numbers for example Albert Einstein

01:30

developed the theory of relativity the

01:33

theory of relativity of course should be

01:34

understood but the theory of relativity

01:37

could have been discovered by James Wood

01:39

Jane Dickson Sam slip or any other

01:42

person if Einstein did not discover it

01:43

or Albert Einstein's parents could have

01:46

named him Joe Einstein Einstein's

01:49

great-grandfather could have changed his

01:50

last name to Frankenstein or any other

01:53

name in effect the name Albert Einstein

01:55

is entirely arbitrary there is no

01:58

logical relationship between the name

02:00

Albert Einstein and the theory of

02:02

relativity definitions or words often

02:05

have no logical relationship to their

02:07

subject for example Darwinism is called

02:10

Darwinism because of the person who

02:13

discovered

02:13

some definitions are based on the

02:15

location of the discovery such as the

02:18

Spanish flu many definitions are based

02:21

on some old or dead language most

02:25

numbers such as telephone numbers

02:27

addresses and times are arbitrary and

02:30

there is nothing to understand about

02:31

them you should first study a subject to

02:35

understand the subject in this process

02:38

you may naturally memorize most of the

02:40

material that you need to memorize if

02:42

you start to use memorization first you

02:45

are increasing your work the second

02:48

mistake people sometimes make is using

02:50

mnemonics alone as a memory technique

02:53

mnemonics is just one option for

02:55

memorization there is always rote

02:57

memorization there is also auditory

03:00

memory actors have to memorize exact

03:03

lines and usually rely on speaking the

03:05

lines which combines rote memorization

03:07

with auditory memory the process of

03:10

writing notes also contributes to

03:12

memorization students who just photocopy

03:15

lecture notes from friends have not

03:17

benefited from hearing the lecture

03:18

auditory memory or writing down the

03:21

notes which forced them to mentally

03:23

process the lecture often there are easy

03:26

mnemonic reminders that jump off the

03:28

page at you often with names like John

03:31

Wood it's almost impossible not to

03:33

notice the memory aid a wooden John or

03:36

wooden toilet other times the chain of

03:39

reminders can be more cumbersome than

03:41

just using rote memorization use

03:44

mnemonics when they are easy to use

03:46

if mnemonics is more trouble than rote

03:49

memorization in a situation why use it

03:52

finally even when you can't build a

03:55

mnemonic reminder because the words are

03:57

too abstract the 15 seconds are so spent

04:01

trying it is just as effective as rote

04:03

memorization for example suppose I try

04:07

to build a mnemonic reminder for

04:09

Abramowitz Abramowitz I think maybe

04:13

Abram I look at Abramowitz again and

04:17

then I think maybe a rum Ram Abramowitz

04:23

maybe which would be

04:26

wizard maybe a brainy Ram wizard then I

04:31

give up trying to find an easy mnemonic

04:33

I just spent 15 seconds thinking about

04:36

and concentrating on the name the same

04:38

as I would have done with rote

04:39

memorization we did not find an easy

04:41

mnemonic reminder but what was the name

04:45

we were just trying to memorize most

04:48

participants answer Abramowitz we did

04:51

succeed in memorization this is one of

04:54

the advantages of mnemonics even when

04:57

you can't come up with a good mnemonic

04:58

reminder it has the same benefit as rote

05:01

memorization by having you concentrate

05:03

on the material for a few seconds we

05:07

hope you've enjoyed this course


About Sarah Cage

Sarah Cage is an accomplished education writer known for her insightful and engaging work in the field. With a passion for empowering students and teachers alike, she has made a significant impact through her thought-provoking articles and research papers.

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