What's the easiest way to remember something and retain the material for a long time without having to repeat it over and over a million times?
The answer is mnemonics. Mnemonics are memory devices used to strengthen memory without the tedious repetion of memory.
One technique I like best is the "Filing Cabinet" Technique. This is how it works. You have a set of key words, that you use to associate the first thing you want to remember. The first keyword is Clock. Imagine a clock it has both hands on the number one. You bought it for one dollar. The clerk bangged the clock once on the table to make it tick. The number one is the biggest number on the clock. It is bright red. Clock is the first Keyword. The second key word is Trousers. It has two Buttons. It has two pant leg, one is longer than the other. You have two identical pairs, one yellow and one blue. They are both sewed together. The Second key word is Trousers. You will keep doing this, picturing the keyword in your mind and associate with things that will make you remember it's number order and the keyword itself. The third keyword is Chair. There are three parts to a chair. the legs, the back, and the seat. The chair spins around three times. The third keyword is chair. The fouth keyword is Table. There are four legs on a table. The fourth keyword is table. The fifth keyword is newspaper. It is a five star newspaper, that you bought with a rusty 5 cents. There are only 5 pages. The fifth keyword is Newspaper.
Now here is what you do with those keywords. Suppose you want to remember the five biggest cities in the world. Which are: 1. London 2. New York 3. Tokyo 4. Berlin and 5. Moscow.
Since your first key word is clock you want to imagine a clock and associate it with London. Picture Big Ben, the biggest clock in the world, in your mind. Make it sharp in your mind. Visualize it. Touch it. Smell it. London is number one. New York is the Second Biggest . The Second keyword is trousers. Picture a pair of trousers that you bought from New York with the New York mets logo on the back pocket. Third Biggest City in the world is Tokyo. Visualize a chair with Japanese characters on it, and in the middle of the chair there is a token. The fourth largest city in the world is Berlin. Picture a giant piece of the Berlin wall on top of a table. See the table collapse and the peices of the Berlin Wall break into a million pieces. The fifth largest city in the world is Moscow. Imagine a cow covered in moss, reading a newspaper that was printed in Moscow.
Now take a minute to test yourself.
1. What is the fifth biggest city in the world?
2. What is the third biggest city in the world?
3. What is the first biggest city in the world?
4. What is the fourth biggest city in the world?
5. What is the second biggest city in the world?
How did you do?
Now you can start using this memory technique to remember anything. From Shopping lists to things to do. These are only the first 5 keywords. I have 15 keywords that I use. Here is how you remember the keywords in order. The first thing you do when you wake up you look at your clock. You put on your trousers, and sit on a chair that you pull up to a table to read the newspaper.
Have Fun and show this off to your friends and family. They will love you for it!
The answer is mnemonics. Mnemonics are memory devices used to strengthen memory without the tedious repetion of memory.
One technique I like best is the "Filing Cabinet" Technique. This is how it works. You have a set of key words, that you use to associate the first thing you want to remember. The first keyword is Clock. Imagine a clock it has both hands on the number one. You bought it for one dollar. The clerk bangged the clock once on the table to make it tick. The number one is the biggest number on the clock. It is bright red. Clock is the first Keyword. The second key word is Trousers. It has two Buttons. It has two pant leg, one is longer than the other. You have two identical pairs, one yellow and one blue. They are both sewed together. The Second key word is Trousers. You will keep doing this, picturing the keyword in your mind and associate with things that will make you remember it's number order and the keyword itself. The third keyword is Chair. There are three parts to a chair. the legs, the back, and the seat. The chair spins around three times. The third keyword is chair. The fouth keyword is Table. There are four legs on a table. The fourth keyword is table. The fifth keyword is newspaper. It is a five star newspaper, that you bought with a rusty 5 cents. There are only 5 pages. The fifth keyword is Newspaper.
Now here is what you do with those keywords. Suppose you want to remember the five biggest cities in the world. Which are: 1. London 2. New York 3. Tokyo 4. Berlin and 5. Moscow.
Since your first key word is clock you want to imagine a clock and associate it with London. Picture Big Ben, the biggest clock in the world, in your mind. Make it sharp in your mind. Visualize it. Touch it. Smell it. London is number one. New York is the Second Biggest . The Second keyword is trousers. Picture a pair of trousers that you bought from New York with the New York mets logo on the back pocket. Third Biggest City in the world is Tokyo. Visualize a chair with Japanese characters on it, and in the middle of the chair there is a token. The fourth largest city in the world is Berlin. Picture a giant piece of the Berlin wall on top of a table. See the table collapse and the peices of the Berlin Wall break into a million pieces. The fifth largest city in the world is Moscow. Imagine a cow covered in moss, reading a newspaper that was printed in Moscow.
Now take a minute to test yourself.
1. What is the fifth biggest city in the world?
2. What is the third biggest city in the world?
3. What is the first biggest city in the world?
4. What is the fourth biggest city in the world?
5. What is the second biggest city in the world?
How did you do?
Now you can start using this memory technique to remember anything. From Shopping lists to things to do. These are only the first 5 keywords. I have 15 keywords that I use. Here is how you remember the keywords in order. The first thing you do when you wake up you look at your clock. You put on your trousers, and sit on a chair that you pull up to a table to read the newspaper.
Have Fun and show this off to your friends and family. They will love you for it!