Mastering Memory

by Brad Zupp

  8Continue with another section: Spend 5 minutes learning or reviewing more information than you think you can remember, then do 5 minutes of testing, followed by quickly marking the areas you didn’t remember when you tested yourself.

  9Toward the end of your study session, set your timer for 5 minutes and review all the areas highlighted or marked from the beginning of the study session to the end. Go as fast as you can. Reset the timer and test yourself for 5 minutes, then mark anything you still aren’t getting with a different colored pen or highlighter.

  10Slow down and focus on the parts you didn’t learn. Review this book for a technique that may help. If you’ve used a technique and it isn’t working, are your images exaggerated and have enough wild details? Boring is forgettable; wild is memorable. Make sure your creative pictures and stories are as strange or silly as possible.

  11Take a short break. Close your eyes and relax. Don’t read, watch TV, worry, or think about the material. Rest. Let your mind process behind the scenes.

  12Repeat as needed depending on the amount of material and time available.

  [ 43 ] Prepare for Important Exams

  WHEN IT’S TIME to hit the books to prepare for the GRE, ACT, SAT, or another important exam, it’s time to get serious about remembering large amounts of data as quickly, easily, and efficiently as possible. There are only a certain number of hours available to study, so you need to use them wisely. The 42 brain hacks you’ve learned so far will allow you to maximize your time. You’ll learn and review in ways that make information “sticky” so you can easily recall it during your big test.

  THE TECHNIQUE Combine Methods to Excel

  Entrance exams don’t test pure memorization, but it helps to know as much as possible. Many exams require an excellent vocabulary. Some require knowledge of math concepts and formulas (see here for this). All require effective study methods to pass. Thankfully, you’ve already learned four tools to master a large amount of test preparation material:

  1The CAR Method

  2The Chain Method

  3The Link Method

  4Memory Palace

  Combining these methods and using the study techniques presented earlier makes studying for a big exam manageable.

  HOW TO DO IT

  1With your test prep book in hand, use the concepts in the hack Memorize Faster for Deadlines to quickly scan entire sections, learning and testing yourself as you go. This will give you an indication of where you need to spend the most time.

  2Improve your vocabulary. Skip to Vocabulary Improvement for Business Success and read that hack. Apply the CAR Method to learning as many words per day as you can. Set a goal, work the method, and achieve it daily.

  3For learning or reviewing massive amounts of detailed information, create multiple Memory Palaces. Use your current home, first home, favorite shopping mall, a store, a park, a sports stadium, school classrooms, or the library. Pick any place you can easily picture and see in your mind.

  For example, if you’re preparing for the MCAT, designate certain rooms in your childhood home as the areas for storing the physical topics of living systems. Every piece of information could be imagined, creatively connected to its associated concepts, and pictured in detail. If you’re stumped for an answer about this subject at test time, you would know to “look” in your living room, for example, and “see” the general topic and specific details.

  a]Select 10 locations per room or main area by standing in the doorway (if it’s a room) and looking left (clockwise is generally easier than counterclockwise, but use whatever works for the particular place). The first location will be the wall or corner nearest the door. What’s there? A lamp, table, plant? That’s #1. The next location is the following wall or corner. Whatever major item in that space is #2. Continue until you have 10 spots, using wall-corner-wall-corner. Finish with the ceiling (#9) and the middle of the floor (#10).

  b] Write down the name of the Memory Palace and itemize the locations. Review forward and backward several times until you know the locations easily. It sounds like a lot of prep work, but it’s easy once you’ve done it a few times. And when you start to store information in the locations, it becomes apparent how powerful this technique is. Suddenly you can organize, save, and recall massive amounts of data.

  [ 44 ] Remember Formulas for Exams

  REMEMBERING FORMULAS SOUNDS incredibly hard and boring, but it doesn’t have to be. Your imagination is the key to making anything easy and fun to remember. Let’s look at some common formulas for the GRE and other exams here. Save yourself time and study better by taking the time to commit them to memory.

  Remember, the mind loves images and finds them easy to recall. Anything can be converted into an image by asking what it reminds you of. Then it’s merely a matter of connecting the images together into a story or movie that is unique enough to be memorable.

  THE TECHNIQUE Items Interact

  This method is simply converting everything in a formula to a picture, then using your imagination to see them interacting. An easy formula you may already know is the area of a circle: A = π r2.

  How do you remember that? A for area is easy. Pi can be easily pictured with your favorite type of pie. R stands for radius but could be rat or robot. Multiplication is implied and can either be remembered in context or converted to an image: “times” can be a clock or, as I think of it, hitting the other item. The image for the formula for area becomes pie hitting two rats—one is on the other one’s shoulders to represent squared. You could also place them inside a box to represent square or even leave that part out, because your natural memory will fill it in for you.

  HOW TO DO IT

  1Make sure you understand the formula. There is a big difference between memorizing something and knowing how it works. Use this hack to help you learn faster and understand more.

  2Write out the formula in words that make sense.

  3Convert the words into images. Creatively make the images interact.

  4Review and add details.

  Here are a few examples.

  CIRCUMFERENCE: C = o(2r) or od

  The distance around something (like a circle) equals pi times (two times the radius), or pi times the diameter.

  Imagine the circumference (I see a circle) being the same as a pie hitting two rats or a pie hitting one diamond.

  DISTANCE, RATE, AND TIME

  d = rt

  Distance is how far away I am from a rat.

  You might be given the distance and time and be asked for the rate. Here’s the formula:

  r = d/t

  rate = distance divided by time

  How fast is the rat compared to the dog trying to get over the fence (/) to the turkey?

  THE AREA OF A TRIANGLE

  ½ bh

  One-half base times height

  How much can you fit into a triangle? Imagine a triangle and cramming in one half of a banana by hitting it with the hamburger that also gets shoved in.

  Using this method almost seems like cheating, but it’s just being smart. Make the math part of the exams easy by memorizing the formulas while you learn to use them. It will give you confidence to face the exams head-on.

  [ 45 ] Remember Your Class Schedule

  A NEW SEMESTER, a new class schedule. It’s not a big problem if you have only a few classes, but what if you have several classes, labs, a work schedule, and other recurring items to remember? Memory hacks to the rescue! For the best results, I recommend creating your own system, but if mine makes sense, use it or modify it as needed.

  THE TECHNIQUE The Days of the Week System

  The basic technique has several parts. There is a small learning curve, and it may seem complicated at first. But if you have a full schedule to commit to memory quickly, this will save you time, effort, and the embarrassment of losing track of where you’re supposed to be.

  Each day is assigned an image that makes it easy to remember. I recommend using people or characters that re
mind you of the day of the week. For time, you can use one of the number systems: Rhyme Time, the Simple System, the Major System, or the MOST Method. Or you can use blocks: morning, midmorning, lunch, early afternoon, late afternoon, and evening. Each of those gets an image to go with it. Then you translate your schedule into images, connecting them to form a memorable story for each event.

  HOW TO DO IT

  1List the days of the week and create a system so that you can easily imagine each weekday as a character. Here’s an example:

  Monday Moon-day Astronaut

  Tuesday Two’s day Toddler (terrible twos) crying and throwing a tantrum

  Wednesday Wedding day Bride in a beautiful white dress

  Thursday Thor’s day Thor with his hammer

  Friday Fry day Fried food = a fry cook with dirty apron

  Saturday Saturn day Alien

  Sunday Sun day Animated sun character

  2To remember the time of each event, you can decide on a number system. For example, if your first class is at 9 a.m., you might be able to remember the time by picturing a pile of pancakes for “breakfast” as a reminder while your natural memory fills in the 9 a.m. detail. If that doesn’t work or you need the exact number, picture a cat (for its “nine lives”) and associate it with the day of the week.

  3Go through your calendar and create your schedule by translating everything into creative images and combine, adding exaggerated details as you go.

  Here’s an example:

  Monday

  10:00 Biochem Astronaut with “perfect 10” model pouring liquid from a test tube into beaker together

  1:30 Anatomy Astronaut examining body parts while on a TV behind him your team loses 1 to 30

  4:00 Work at restaurant Astronaut golfing (4 = “fore!”) at the restaurant where you work

  8:00 Study group Astronaut studying with an octopus

  Tuesday

  11:15 Lab Grumpy toddler pays $11.15 to get into a lab to play with test tubes

  3:00 Calculus Toddler rides a tricycle (3) over a calculator

  5:30 Work at restaurant Toddler runs a 5:30 mile around the inside of your restaurant

  The challenge with this system is creating it the first time. After you use it once, it becomes second nature and can keep you from losing track of where you’re supposed to be.

  [ 46 ] Ace Anatomy and Physiology

  YOU’RE TAKING ANATOMY and Physiology? Don’t panic! Memory techniques work very well with this material. I first detailed the CAR Method for remembering foreign languages. Here I have modified it for definitions, body functions, and more—which, when you think about it, are like learning words in a foreign language. Use it to drive your way to success in this challenging class.

  THE TECHNIQUE Convert and Associate

  As you’ve learned, CAR stands for Convert, Associate, and Review. You will be converting each word, suffix, prefix, or body part into an image. Then you’ll convert each definition, meaning, or other detail into its own image. Next, you’ll associate them by making up a memorable image or mini movie. Exaggeration pays off here—the mind remembers the strange, silly, unique, upside-down, oversized, and colorful details very well. Review the wild image or movie, adding more details by using CAST (Color, Action, Size, and Texture).

  Keep in mind that most information can be saved in your memory by reading the textbook, participating in the lectures, and doing the homework. This method is best used for information you don’t naturally remember using the study strategies, FIT Method, and your natural memory ability.

  HOW TO DO IT

  1Convert each part into an image. For example, you need to remember “medial,” and the definition is “toward the midline of the body.” Break it down to me and dial (you dialing a phone) and picture a line on the center of your body to remember “toward the midline of the body.”

  2Associate the two images together in a strange, silly way. The line through the center of your body has the phone keypad near it and you (“me”) dial your phone using the keypad on your stomach.

  3Repeat, adding details. What color is the line running down your body? Is it thick? Thin? Imagine having to poke the middle of your body every time you need to dial your phone. Are you ticklish? Close your eyes and imagine everything in great detail.

  Here’s an example:

  METABOLISM = ANABOLISM AND CATABOLISM PROCESSES

  Anabolism is the process of smaller molecules combining into larger, more complex substances. Catabolism is the process of more complex substances that are broken into simpler, smaller molecules.

  1Convert all the words into images:

  •Metabolism = Mets baseball team playing with a ball.

  •Anabolism = “An a” (an apple) or “Anna,” which always reminds me of “banana” = a banana playing with a ball that rolls around collecting bits and pieces of the ground, growing bigger and more complex.

  •Catabolism = a cat playing with a ball that gets pieces torn off as it gets broken into simpler, smaller parts.

  2Associate the words together, this time using the Chain Method: Create a movie of the cat and banana both playing with the balls. See the Mets being so interested in the game that they draft the cat and banana to bring the game to New York.

  3Add details. The cat is orange and large like a tiger, and the banana is blue and as big as a baseball bat. They fit right in with the Mets.

  [ 47 ] Remember Any Recipe

  DO YOU LOVE to cook or bake but find yourself tied to your cookbooks? Memorizing recipes makes life easier even if you’re not a professional chef. First, define what you want: Do you find yourself knowing most of the recipe but forgetting certain parts or measurements? Do you need to remember the ingredients so you know what to buy at the store? Do you want to memorize the entire recipe from ingredients to measurements? Your answer may differ for different types of recipes—baking a cake versus making dinner, for example. No matter what, though, you can easily remember recipes with this memory hack.

  THE TECHNIQUE The Recipe System

  The Recipe System is used for remembering the measurements and steps of any recipe. You can adopt my system or modify it to make it your own. This system requires that each measurement have an associated image, like this:

  •Cup—Fist or hand (approximate measurement of a cup)

  •⅛ cup—Octopus with teacups

  •¼ cup—A quarter coin or a horse (“quarter horse”)

  •½ cup—A mug cut vertically in half

  •⅓ cup—Mp3 player (phone), headphones, or 3-D movie glasses

  •¾ cup—Tricycle (three wheels), three little pigs

  •Teaspoon—Index finger (approximate measurement of a teaspoon)

  •⅛ teaspoon—Octopus with spoons

  •¼ teaspoon—House (four walls)

  •½ teaspoon—Peace sign (2 fingers)

  •¾ teaspoon—Pyramid or triangle (three sides)

  •Tablespoon—Thumb (approximate measurement of a tablespoon)

  •½ tablespoon—Spoon with a hole in it

  Try these or create your own that make sense. If you commonly use one that isn’t listed, create an image or pick a random cooking image (like a spatula) and assign it. Processes need to be imagined also but should be easy, as simmer, boil, roast, bake, or broil can be pictured—or is usually obvious in context.

  HOW TO DO IT

  1Select a recipe you’d like to memorize.

  2Read through it twice, and then close your eyes and test yourself. What parts are hard to remember?

  3Convert what you couldn’t remember into mental images using my system or your own.

  4Use one of the number systems to remember amounts such as “2 cups” = fists (cup) combined with shoes (2).

  5Link everything together using the Chain Method to remember the order of the steps.

  6Review the recipe while adding details to your mental story or movie.

  7Make the dish from memory, looking at the recipe only if absolutel
y necessary. Forcing your mind to recall it will help you remember it better next time.

  8Enjoy your food!

  This is much easier to do in practice than it is to read. There are only a few images to master, and if mine don’t speak to you, just think of ones that do. Give this a try with a recipe that often trips you up and enjoy the feeling of finally knowing it by heart.

  TIP | WHAT ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS?

  Use the Chain Method to first think of an image of the dish, and then create exaggerated images of each ingredient, connecting everything like links in a chain. Don’t simply picture a stick of butter or a bag of sugar. Imagine a six-foot-tall stick of butter that makes the floor of the grocery store aisle slippery, and see yourself sprinkling sugar from a 40-pound bag onto the floor so people don’t fall. You might need to dust it with flower petals (instead of just picturing flour) to make it more fun to walk on. Everything must be strange and wild to be memorable or the technique will not work!

  [ 48 ] Remember Your Lines for a Play

  THE ROAR OF the crowd after a well-done performance is wonderful. But the fear of forgetting your next line has kept many would-be stars from experiencing the joys of performing. A live performance is a true test of memory ability under pressure. Given enough time and effort, it’s possible to use rote memorization to learn your character’s lines, but learning them quickly gives you more time to work on your acting. These memory hacks make it possible.

  THE TECHNIQUE Identify Problem Areas

  Thankfully the lines in plays (usually) make sense. Story, emotion, and characters come together to play off one another. By reading your part, you naturally start to imagine the scenes, which helps you remember what to say. Step one to remembering your lines is to read them, do the work of imagining the scene, understand why your character is saying the lines, and get a sense of which parts are easy for you to remember.