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!
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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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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welcome to this memory seminar in this
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short course you will learn mnemonic
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techniques for memorizing names
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definitions and numbers ideas and words
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may be associated and recalled by means
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of mnemonics mnemonics is nothing more
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than a system of reminders a common way
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of starting a memory seminar is to start
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with a pretest of memorizing 20 words
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participants are asked to try to
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remember 20 words without writing the
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words a list of 20 words is slowly read
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after hearing the words participants are
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then asked to write the words in order
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if you want to try the pretest and grade
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yourself here are 20 words but for this
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recorded version of the course taking
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the pretest is optional here are the 20
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words to memorize het hen ham hare
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spelled har e Hill shoe cow
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hive ape woods tied tin team tire hotel
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dish dog dove tub nose in a live seminar
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participants would have a minute or two
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to write down the words that they can
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remember participants are usually lucky
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to remember half of the words and rarely
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in order occasionally a participant who
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knows some mnemonic techniques does
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better but by the end of the seminar all
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participants will be able to remember
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nearly all 20 items in order by using
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mnemonic techniques most mnemonic
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techniques depend on developing a visual
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picture as a reminder for example do not
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picture the Eiffel Tower what are you
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doing now picturing the Eiffel Tower you
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probably will not be able to forget the
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Eiffel Tower Nature has endowed one of
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your senses with a greater capacity for
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impressing the brain than any of the
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other senses an impression made on the
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brain by the sense of sight is many
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times stronger than one made by any of
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the other senses
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most people consider themselves visual
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learners eye pictures are the most
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accurate of mental impressions and
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because the mind has the ability to see
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pictures long after the disappearance of
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the original pictures that the real eye
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has made on the mind we speak of the
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mind's eye and of seeing in our minds
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eye another name for the mind's eye is
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visualization in this course you will
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learn how to visualize to make mind's
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eye pictures at will by using these
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mind pictures in a definite systematic
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way you will remember in order to revive
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your impressions you must make them
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strong enough for ready Rico there are
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three aids to make visual impressions
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strong enough to recall easily the first
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aid is exaggeration exaggeration is
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mentally to enlarge or magnify the
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objects or incidents to more than their
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actual proportions for instance if you
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see a cow in a field you'll be more
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likely to hold the impression if your
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imagination makes you see the cow as
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large as an elephant this idea is often
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used by cartoonists you see it used in
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advertising this is what you must do
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with your imagination at times be a
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cartoonist with the things you wish to
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remember enlarge them to unusual and
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unnatural proportions if necessary the
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second aid is motion the mind has always
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been strongly attracted to motion of
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every kind children like to see wheels
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go around if you have a friend in a
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crowd you can get his attention by
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waving your hand something moving in a
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store window will attract interest
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noticing motion is probably a survival
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instinct our ancestors had to notice
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motion as a threat the third aid is
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unusual associations occurrences that
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are out of the ordinary unusual and
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different from what we are in the habit
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of seeing impress us strongly take
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advantage of the fact that things out of
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the ordinary impress us more than those
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that are commonplace in order to retain
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your visual associations you must make
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them unusual some people find it helpful
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to make these associations grotesque
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ludicrous or even sexual but we do not
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recommend the extreme use of this
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negative impressions or negative
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memories are more likely to be repressed
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or forgotten than positive ones and why
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dwell on the negative there is no limit
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to the use of exaggeration motion or the
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unusual in forming your mental pictures
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you can picture a hat
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to the size of a mountain a nail could
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be the height of a telephone pole you
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can picture it moving
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swinging falling or flying the first
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visual picture from our pretest is hat
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pay no attention to the letters H a and
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T but see the visual image of the Hat
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actually see this hat let it be a large
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shiny black hat see it clearly
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you can strengthen impressions by
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exaggerating the size of the Hat see it
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not a normal size but three or four
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times as large you can enlarge it to
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still greater proportions if you need to
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you can see the Hat the size of a house
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you can also use motion as you watch the
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head see it move up and down as if
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controlled by some hidden thread you may
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see it blown about by the wind see the
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Hat in motion
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to fix in the mind a list of objects it
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is merely necessary to use the same
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principle except that you will apply it
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now to two objects instead of one you
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will make a mind's eye picture of the
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two objects together do not merely
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listen to these descriptions your mind's
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eyes should see every picture clearly if
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you passively listen and don't visualize
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the pictures this will not work to the
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Hat which we have pictured we will now
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add a hen you must see the Hat and the
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hen together see both objects clearly
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enlarge them see a large hints trutta ng
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about wearing the Hat see the hen moving
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about very proud of her hat or see the
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hen making her nest in the head but be
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sure and see a picture of some kind in
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your mind's eye combining the Hat and
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the hen the second combination picture
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is of a hen and a ham see a big ham out
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in the yard the large hen runs and jumps
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on the ham and dances a jig there see
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the objects larger than usual have them
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exaggerated out of proportion actually
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see the motion see if possible a hen of
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some distinct color a red or white hen
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and a definite picture of a whole ham or
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a slice of ham maybe it's green ham see
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only two objects hen and hand in this
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picture do not see the hat in this
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picture see two objects and only two in
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each picture as you add a new one ham
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you drop the first object hat and see
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only the hen and ham the next
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combination picture is of a ham and a
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hare spelled H ar e the rabbit like
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animal see the ham on the ground being
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pushed and rolled along by the hare
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it is hard work for the hare see him
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exerting all his strength to move the
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ham see clearly the ham and the hare see
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the hare sweating
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do hair sweat it doesn't really matter
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as long as you remember the next
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combination picture is of a hair and a
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hill see the hairs scampering down the
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hill as fast as he can run every now and
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then he turns his head and fright to see
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if he's being followed see him clearly
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running down the hill make clear
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pictures the ability to retain visual
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images depends upon the clearness with
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which you actually see the objects try
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now to increase the vividness of every
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visual impression it is important that
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you see only two of these objects in
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every picture while you may be able to
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picture three four or even five in one
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picture you will not be able to picture
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twenty items in each picture we are
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chaining two pictures together at a time
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linking two pictures to form a chain of
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20 the next combination picture is of a
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hill and a shoe see a steep hill or a
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mountain side which you will consider a
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hill as you watch the top of the hill an
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object appears to drop from the sky
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landing on the hill it is a large
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dilapidated shoe a giant's shoe you
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readily recall the big shoe and the
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pictures of the old lady who lived in a
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shoe use a shoe of this size in your
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picture see it sliding down the hill
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the next combination picture is of a
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shoe and a cow see the shoe which is
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rapidly moving strike a cow grazing in a
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pasture the poor cow is badly frightened
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she throws up her heels and runs away
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the next combination picture is of a cow
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and a hive as in beehive see the cow
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either a new cow or the same cow as in
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the previous picture she is still
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running and notices a large hive with
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lowered head she charges the hive
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striking it with her horns the next
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combination picture is of a hive and an
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ape see the upturned hive rolling about
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until finally a large
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ape comes out and looks about in a dazed
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sort of way the next combination picture
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is of an ape and a woods the ape sees
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woods nearby see him climb the trees and
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swing from one branch to another now go
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back and see your first mind's eye
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picture the black hat what was in the
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picture with the Hat the hen what was in
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the next picture with the hen a hand on
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the ham what was in the next picture
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with the ham a hair pushing the ham what
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was in the next picture with the hair
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the hair was running down the hill what
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was in the next picture with the hill a
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giant shoe falling on the hill what was
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in the next picture with the shoe the
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shoes hit the cow what was in the next
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picture with the cow the cow hit the
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hive what was in the next picture with
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the hive and ape saw it what was in the
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last picture with the ape the ape was
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swinging on trees in the woods if you
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were paying attention and forming the
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pictures you probably knew eight or nine
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or ten out of ten this is a huge
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improvement from the pretest if you were
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not paying attention and merely
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listening to the words without
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visualizing the pictures you may not
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have done as well which proves the point
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that the pictures help if you are not
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forming the pictures try it again the
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pictures that we have suggested have
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been merely suggestions to give your
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imagination a start should other
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pictures occur to you by all means use
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them but do not make them too
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commonplace as an example here are five
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other ways to link the ham and the hare
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see the hair with a ham tied to its back
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like a packhorse the hair may be seen
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dragging or pulling the ham the hair may
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have the hem tied to its tail the hair
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may be pictured as much larger than the
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ham or vice versa the ham may be Hollow
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and the hair may be seen hiding in it
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and timidly peeking out the
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hair may be seen eating a slice of ham
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as an example here are two other ways to
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link to the ape the ape could be playing
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basketball with the hive instead of a
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ball the ape could be working in the
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woods as a lumberjack cutting down trees
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now let's complete the list the next
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combination picture is of a woods and a
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tide see the woods on the edge of a body
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of water that we picture as the tide see
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the waves breaking along the shore and
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the spray dashing on the trees of the
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woods or even flooding the woods the
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next combination picture is of a tide
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and a tin see a large tin can
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floating on the tide it's a six foot
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high ten can visualize the picture
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clearly and accurately the next
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combination picture is of a ten and a
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team bring exaggeration into play this
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10 is so heavy it takes a team to move
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it the next combination picture is of a
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team and a tire see the team frightened
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by a large tire rolling towards them now
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try to form the next combination
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pictures yourself the next combination
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picture is of a tire and a hotel
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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
coming soon
coming soon
coming soon
coming soon
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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