Memory Science: how to never forget the names, numbers and everything else?

How often do we forget the names of people as soon as they call them? Along the way, we forget phone numbers, passwords, shopping lists and more. We are not confident in your memory, and only hope that "it will not fail." However, there are ways to help you get the confidence and ceased to fall into awkward situations.

Memory is necessary for us every day: public speaking, learning, research and simple daily activities.

Do you believe that a good memory - this is not an innate ability, and skills that can be developed? The way it is.

With a little effort, you can become a real expert on memorization. You have the ability to remember everything.

What causes memory problems?

One of the leading experts on memorization, journalist Joshua Foer, only after a year of training has become a national champion of memorization. Joshua said that in today's world, the problem of memory is becoming increasingly important.

High technology (gadgets and software) make the world easier, but they also change us. They change people, not only culturally, but also cognitive. When we need anything to remember, it seems that we have forgotten how to do it.

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Applications and tools are very convenient - they help to keep to yourself, and quickly find all the information, however, the ability to remember the turns from the usual mental effort into something alien and unnecessary.

There are a few proven ways to help improve memory and stop forgetting simple things.

To build a "Palace of my memory."

"Memory Palace" - a special technique, which is also known as "mental mapping" or "association".

Visualize the most familiar or familiar places in your life: your home or workplace. Find the five major elements in these areas and they will be for you a kind of "file" to store memories. For example, you have chosen his cabinet and mark for five seats:

1. Office door
2. Chair
3. Table
4. Bookcase
5. Bin

Let's say you need to remember five countries, and you create an association with their "files":

1. USA - your door is painted in stars and stripes.
2. Australia - sitting on a chair, shaking his legs, kangaroo.
3. China - on the table is a plate of rice and chopsticks.
4. Armenia - in the closet there was a good cognac.
5. Belarus - instead of the trash can is worth a bucket of potatoes.

The main thing - clearly present these images and come up with something that is simple and easy to remember. When you need to recall the five countries you mentally take a trip in their "memory palace" and with the help of images remember everything you need.

It is proved that the strange and obscene images are remembered better, so do not hesitate to come up with something special - no one except you is not heard.

How to memorize lists?

Lists can also be remember by association. To do this, you can think of a rhyme for each digit and bind the list positions with it. You are creating a kind of "pegs" to which you can bind your memories.

1. - wedge
2. - firewood
3. - betting
4. - wider
5. - mother
6. - revenge

Let's say you need to remember a shopping list:

1. Bananas. Can you imagine flying wedge of bananas.
2. Toothpaste - toothpaste tubes stacked in a woodpile.
3. Washing powder - in advertising bettors whether dirty thing to wash.

Associations method works fine, most importantly - securely connect their "pegs" to items list and pick a good rhyme for numbers.

How to deal with the text, which is necessary to remember word for word?

It is proved that the best way to store the text is not on paper, occasionally looking into it, but only the first letters of the text.

For example, consider the text of Martin Luther King.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

We write a quote from the first letters of the words: Umem, chchmdbozhvs, gibsnptsik, apih. After that you can start learning, looking at the crib of the first letters. Rather than re-read text for the umpteenth time, you'll remember it. The more you practice, the better your memory is.

other methods

Psychology has long been engaged in the study of memory mood. It is a way in which to recall something you have to experience the same feelings and regain the same spirit that was in the time of the event.

Another way - reference system based on associations. For example, you need to remember a few objects that are not related to each other, in sequence: a dog, cake, house, rain. Can you imagine the successive connection of each object: the dog eats the cake, the cake fills the house, the rain from their homes.

Use these or other techniques for memorizing, and you can become a true Master of Memory.

In the world there is competition in the memory, and to become the Grand Master of Memory to remember about 10 decks of cards per hour, 100 random numbers and the sequence of cards in a single deck two minutes.

People who are masters, have some innate abilities. They just train your memory and apply all the same techniques that are described above: association, visualization, and reminders.

In any case, if you want to develop your memory, you need to train it more often and try to eliminate programs and gadgets for reminders.