Autodidactic vs. Polymathic: A Key Difference and How to Be Both
May 17, 2024
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Can you be both an autodidact and a polymath? Is there really a difference between the two? The short answer is that you have to be autodidactic in order to be polymathic. At least to a certain degree. If there’s an exception to this rule, I’m unaware of it – and I’ve been studying the fields of learning and memory for decades. As you learn more about how to become both autodidactic and polymathic, I’ll share some examples that will help you better understand why these categories are tied at the hip. And you’ll discover how to be both at the same time. Ready? Let’s dive in! Autodidactic vs. Polymath:A Detailed Guide On The Only Difference That Matters What I’m about to say might sound arrogant. However, please hear me out: The only real difference between an autodidact and a polymath happens when an autodidact truly believes he or she has learned on their own. Seriously. How can anyone learn on their own? We need books written by others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo_u92Trp0A Those authors needed to learn how to read and write themselves. This does not mean that you cannot “teach yourself” in a way that resembles the general meaning of autodidacticism. But the standard definition of “learning without a teacher” simply doesn’t make sense. Someone had to create the learning material. Even if you’re Darwin and discovering the laws of nature behind the theory of evolution, someone else taught him language and the principles of science during his time. It Comes Down To Personal Volition If there is something special that autodidacts have that others do not, it’s their drive to take the reins of learning into their own hands. In my previous posts on potentially improving your IQ and life lessons from people who enjoy higher IQ, we saw that at some level, you have to define your own goals. To a certain extent, you also have to personally define what meaning intelligence has for you. That’s not to say you get to create your own definitions and categories. But we know from research presented by Nir Eyal and Duke University that making your own definitions and applying them to a crafted self-identity do lead to better memory and learning outcomes. You just have to choose that you will do so. If you feel like you’re lacking in will, that’s okay. Give these mental strength exercises a try. I’ve personally found them incredibly empowering, and there’s another one for you in my TEDx Talk. So Then… What Is An Autodidactic Polymath? An autodidact is essentially someone who takes responsibility for learning in a holistic way from others – without necessarily needing their presence or hands-on guidance. As it happens, there are some personality traits polymaths exhibit – and they can be adopted. An older way to find examples you can model involves looking up the concept of the Renaissance Man. Obviously, we no longer limit becoming a polymath to men only, but we also have to accept that people used these terms in this way in the past. (Some languages, like German, still use “Mann” to mean all humans, though this may change in the future.) Some quick examples of autodidact polymaths you can look up now include: Ramon Llull Giordano Bruno Robert Fludd St. Augustine St. Aquinas Lynne Kelly Frances Yates Ben Cardall Phil Chambers Nelson Dellis Tony Buzan In each of these cases, I’ve selected people who have also mastered memory techniques. In some cases, these people knew how to use visual memory techniques exceptionally. In others, they have aphantasia (lack of a mind’s eye) and approach learning a little bit differently. Tony Buzan with Anthony Metivier and Phil Chambers In some of these cases, the autodidactic polymaths focused purely on mastering multiple topics in terms of “book knowledge.” In other cases, they learned to use action-based and analytical skills related to developing and running businesses. You should also consider people bridging the arts and sciences, such as Christian Bök. His Xenotext project required him to teach himself multiple skills in programming, biology, project management and more. How To Be An Autodidactic Polymath In Today’s World:7 Tips You Can Implement Now I believe everyone can become an autodidactic polymath. Here are some of the simplest and most direct activities you can start pursuing whenever you’re ready to get started. One: Commit To A Lifelong Journey As John Michael Greer (another autodidactic polymath) points out in his excellent Druidry Handbook, “initiation” may mean beginning a learning project within a tradition. But anything worth starting at this scale is really a lifelong project. In the case of Druidry, he suggests the commitment focus on “reshaping your relationship to the Earth.” When it comes to becoming a autodidactic polymath, I suggest you commit to reshaping your commitment to the journey of lifelong learning. Be all in. I know, I know. Saying something like “be all in” might ring like a cliche in some ears. But in my own lifelong study, I often remember Gilles Deleuze’s warning that “the war against cliche is a terrible thing.” Sometimes we really need these cute little phrases to keep committed, one reason I’ve memorized so many simple cliches. And why I’ve memorized a bunch of Sanskrit phrases. Common or complex, personal mantras are very useful for keeping the mind committed to a life of study. Two: Ditch The Myth Of Learning Styles I’ve been teaching memory techniques through the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass for over a decade. People often email to tell me that they are visual learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, etc. But according to the American Psychological Association, believing in learning styles may be detrimental. I’m convinced that it is worse than detrimental. I’ve seen it hold many people back. Tesia Marshik’s TEDx Talk goes into further detail if you want to know more about this issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=855Now8h5Rs Although Professor Marshik believes they don’t exist at all, others have argued that the best thing is to downplay their importance. I’m not sure there’s a right answer when it comes to institutionalized education. But when it comes to you and I as individual learners, the truth is that we cannot afford to focus on just one learning style. We need to be aware of the many types of mental imagery we have to draw upon. And when we feel weak in a certain area, we need to find ways to strengthen them. Neuroplasticity studies demonstrate that you really can rewire your brain and anyone seeking polymathic and self-study abilities to the point of autodidacticism needs to embrace the evidence and take action accordingly. Three: Become An Expert Reader & Researcher A huge part of my Read with Momentum program helps learners quickly find the best possible information, read it and comprehend it. I’m so glad I learned these skills in university and put them into action. With so much trash online about “speed reading,” it’s important that everyone know what really works when it comes to reading faster. The lion’s share of reading at a steady clip boils down to two things: Choosing the best possible books to read in the first place (research) Having a vocabulary that supports dealing with the books you want to read All of this also assumes that you have well-formed goals, which we’ll discuss next. Four: Define Worthy Goals A huge reason why many people flounder is that they don’t dream big enough. And when they do, they don’t dream about goals that are actually worth pursuing over the long term. This is okay and mistakes happen. But the sooner you learn to rule out learning goals that aren’t worth pursuing in advance, the sooner you’ll get more out of the ones you do pursue. Goal creation is its own skill and one of my favorite ways to formulate them involves mind mapping – especially mind mapping for business. Five: Be Part Of A Larger Group Remember how I said that there’s a mythical aspect to autodidacticism? It’s the idea that anyone learns on their own. In reality, we all need each other and participating in groups is essential. It helps in terms of getting rapid feedback and stimulates reflective thinking. Even if you’re an introvert, being involved with other people is important. I used to be introverted too, but I worked on changing this characteristic. Although I’m not at all extroverted now, making sure I met and collaborated with others has been essential to my learning journey. I’ve wound up meeting a lot of modern day polymaths as a result of breaking out of my cage. Please don’t skip this step. Six: Keep Going – Even When The Going Gets Tough It’s always been tempting to give up. And it probably always will be. But people who learn continuously cannot afford the consequences of quitting. They need resilience, the ability to pivot where necessary and what boils down to habits based on systems. These help you keep going even when motivation fails – because it will fail. If you’re wondering how it’s possible to keep learning without motivation, the answer really comes down to the word “systems.” I can give many examples, but perhaps one of the strongest involves when I used The Freedom Journal to help me learn enough Chinese to make a surprise invitation to teach the Memory Palace technique in China as successful as possible. Although I later went on to complete a certificate in Chinese, in this particular case, my motivation has never been very strong. So I set up systems to make sure I completed specific goals. True, my performance with this goal has only been “good enough” to my own personal standards, but sometimes that’s all that matters. I’m sure glad I found out about systems so that I could put motivation aside and keep moving. Because in this case, there were many days I really didn’t feel like studying – but relying on systems helped me keep going anyway. Six: Journal As If Your Life Depended On It Although I have no particular special method of journaling to teach, since I started consistently doing it, my learning outcomes have improved. Journaling helps partially with keeping consistent – it is part of having a system that is “motivation proof.” And journaling helps make sure you engage in metacognition, which is thinking about how you’re thinking. When it comes to memory improvement, Johannes Mallow is a great example of a self-taught mental athlete. His journaling tips are priceless. For a broader discussion of how I’ve journaled during my PhD studies and while developing my career as an author, you can also check out my best suggestions for keeping a journal. Seven: Invest Experimentally In Your Education Many people share with me their fears that investing in their memory might not be worth it. I believe this is inherently false – or at least questionable. Every educational experience is valuable. Even if you wind up not understanding something, or decide not to implement an idea or technique, you deserve kudos for being willing to expose yourself to the information. So if you feel held back as a would-be autodidact with the intent to become polymathic, I suggest you think like an investor. Risk isn’t going away, but in this particular case, it’s not possible to waste your time. In the rare event that you really don’t find anything useful in a book or course, you’ll at least know that. Even then, I suggest you keep an open mind. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve taken a second look at a book or course I originally dismissed. Sometimes I feel foolish for my shortsightedness. But I quickly get over it because realizing the value that was there all along lets me get back to implementing the information and then learning some more from the next source. Want To Become An Autodidactic Polymath? This Is The Ultimate Key I’ve shared my best tips for learning multiple topics as you become an autodidact, while also avoiding the myth that there really is any such thing as going it alone. For best results, you’ll want to revisit all of these tips often. But if there’s one thing you should focus on above all, it’s improving your memory. That’s because every skill draws upon your memory. And once it’s improved, continuing to exercise it as you learn will maintain your mental fitness. Using the ancient memory techniques I teach is one fantastic way to get started boosting your memory so you can take on larger learning projects. If you’d like help expanding your memory skills, get my free course right here: It walks you through the core accelerated learning techniques in just four videos and includes three powerful worksheets. Although it’s not required, you might also like to add learning about memory science and the history of memory techniques as part of your journey. Ultimately, it’s more important that your memory is as good as it can be. And I’m talking about all the types of memory you’re blessed with having. Sadly, some people prefer to cherry pick and only want to improve one aspect of their memory, such as short term memory. But not you. You won’t make that mistake because you’re committed to a lifelong adventure of learning based on principles that have been working for people for thousands of years. Power to you!
Visual Memory Techniques: Use These 4 “Hacks” To Learn Faster
May 09, 2024
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Visual memory techniques make learning faster and easier. Yet, some people find them confusing. I don’t blame them. That’s because the word “visual” is not quite right. Or better said, there’s a missing ingredient that often needs to come first before you mentally picture the mnemonics you’re using as part of learning. On this page, I’m going to clarify what visual mnemonics are and how to make better use of them. Quickly. Easily. And in ways that are incredibly fun. Ready for mental adventure while learning? Let’s dive in! https://youtu.be/gCanl6I8sjU What Are Visual Mnemonics? For thousands of years, most ancient memory techniques have involved linking images through association to information. If I meet a new person named Rick, if I can imagine another person named Rick that I know, I’ve increased the likelihood that I’ll remember the name. That’s because linking is a form of chunking that makes it easier to learn faster. I have “chunked” or associated one person named Rick with another. Remembering names is relatively simple. But it’s the same basic process when using visual mnemonics to learn more complicated information. It’s a basic formula: See something you want to memorize in a book or hear it in a conversation Think about what you already know that connects with the target information you want to remember Link them together Typically, people make these links based on the idea that you can visualize the mnemonic image you choose to assign the link. The Lukasa memory board functions as both a tactile and visual memory technique. Stonehenge may have helped people recall details in a similar way, but at a much larger scale. Historically, Lynne Kelly has questioned in books like The Memory Code to what extent Stonehenge might have served as a kind of visual memory technique. One idea is that people found visual patterns in the stones and used them to help remember information about herbal remedies and other information important to survival. I think there’s good reason to believe that Stonehenge and other physical structures have been used this way. Objects like the lukasa and using the hand as a mnemonic tool operate in a similar way. These days, people don’t visit Stonehenge or carry around memory boards. They use methods of association almost entirely in their minds, including techniques like: The Memory Palace Number rhymes The Pegword Method Major System PAO System Zettelkasten And many more. The Problem With “Seeing” Mnemonics In Your Mind As fun and easy as making associations can be, there’s a cost to every benefit. For one thing, not everyone has a strong visual imagination. Mine comes and goes, and for a long time I was pretty sure I had aphantasia – the inability to see mental imagery. However, as soon as I learned about mnemonics, I knew I had to use them. And so I figured out a way to use them in a multi-sensory way, without getting caught up on the visual part. Over the years, I came up with a bunch of very useful visualization exercises too. They’ve helped a lot. But at the end of the day, I finally stumbled across memory masters like Giordano Bruno and Robert Fludd. No one knows just how visual they may have been, but it’s clear that they proposed ways to use visualization differently. In The Art of Memory, Yeats described some of their mnemonic strategies. Even where she was correct, current memory science, memory competitors and many conversations enabled by the Internet have led to a renaissance in working out how to use visual memory techniques better. Let’s turn now to these ways. Because the other problem people face, beside not being able to visualize, is time. Get what we’re about to talk about right and you’ll be able to memorize using these techniques much faster. One: Base Your Visual Mnemonics On Real Sources When many people get into mnemonics, they read books by people like Harry Lorayne, Tony Buzan and Dominic O’Brien. That’s fantastic and their teaching is brilliant. However, they often use vague and generic examples. If you need to memorize a word like “ramification,” they’ll suggest that you think about a ram, as in the animal. That might be fine for some people. But for myself and many others, it just doesn’t “pop” in the imagination. I use more concrete images, like the fact that my dad used to drive a particular Dodge Ram. Or the semantic fact that there’s a German band called Rammstein. These mnemonic images are instantly visual because I’ve already seen them with my own eyes. The catch is that you do need to think a little sometimes. But with practice, you can train your procedural memory to come up with associations that are concrete and specific in a flash. It’ll soon feel like it’s happening to you automatically, faster than the speed of thinking. Keep in mind that Bruno and Fludd talked about this tactic hundreds of years ago. But sometimes people miss it because they use examples from their era. I use Dodge Ram trucks and bands from Germany because they are known to me in our time. The strategy is exactly the same, and all you have to do is lean into the principle of specificity more. You will improve as a result. Two: Use Logic First (Sort Of…) Success with mnemonics boils down to mental programming. To do this, we need to quickly come up with the best possible association. The Memory Wheel was one of Bruno’s solutions for rapidly generating the most logical visual associations. Logical in the sense that when you choose the best possible associations, the result of recalling what you want to remember follows as naturally and as easily as possible. Ultimately, I don’t think using memory wheels is necessarily the best way to operate these days. But it’s worth understanding both what Memory Wheels are and the ars combinatoria they come from. I’d suggest following those links for more details and spending some time experimenting with memory wheels so you can decide for yourself. If memory wheels aren’t for you, I would suggest creating simple lists of associations and either placing them in a wheel or just having gone through the exercise so you’re ready to apply the technique. For example, a few times a year I list out names of celebrities based around the alphabet. Then, when I have to memorize something, my mental dexterity is ready to apply a specific association. For example, I’ve recently been memorizing Tao Te Ching. It never takes me long to come up with images for memorizing the Chinese words because I have these lists prepared and ready to go. I’ve shared well over 500 mnemonic examples, including in The Victorious Mind for my personal Sanskrit phrases project. But I suggest you not dwell on examples too much. You risk weakening the skill you want to strengthen. If you don’t understand the theory, just take action on the steps. I’ll offer you a free guide at the bottom of this post that will help you take that action, step-by-step. Rest assured, I didn’t understand all of this theory in the beginning either. But I followed the recommendations and it works because I followed the steps even without understanding the big picture. Three: Apply KAVE COGS Even those with the strongest visualization abilities tell me that what I’m about to teach you next has helped them tremendously. It’s one of the core parts of the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Rather than just picture associations in the mind, use a variety of associations. Unlike Tony Buzan’s SEM3, I recommend keeping it simple. For me, I follow a simple pattern called KAVE COGS: Kinesthetic Auditory Visual Emotional Conceptual Olfactory Gustatory Spatial Following this specific order, if I had to memorize the word “ramification,” I would first feel the Dodge Ram steering wheel in my hand. Then I would hear the truck’s engine before worrying about picturing it in my mind – a step I sometimes skip altogether. Why? Because I already know what it looks like. By basing the visual mnemonic on something visual I’ve already seen, there’s no particular need to recreate it in the mind. Often, that’s just a waste of time. For emotions, I might feel angry with road rage in my imagination, or like I’m in a hurry. Or I might compound the image by enjoying the sound of Rammstein on the radio. The conceptual mode is more difficult to explain and I use it only when necessary. It’s just thinking about the category to which the visual mnemonic belongs – such as the fact that Rammstein is a German music group. Or that the Dodge Ram truck was popular amongst mechanics, like my dad. Olfactory and gustatory just mean taste and smell. I might imagine the cigarette smoke that was always in my dad’s truck or the taste of liquorice I used to buy at the gas station. Finally, size involves making the truck bigger in my imagination. Often I like this with the kinesthetic mode and feel the size physically, perhaps even imagining what it would feel like if I were the truck. Four: Practice Other Forms Of Visualization Often when we learn new skills, we focus heavily on the main technique or strategy. That can work, but often it winds up hurting us. In learning, there’s a principle called interleaving. Rather than cram, or spend hours looking for some other singular memory hack, we rotate between practicing different kinds of them. When it comes to mnemonics, there are at least twenty distinct memory techniques. When it comes to visualization, there are guided visualizations, positive visualizations and different ways of journaling for self-help to explore that involve picturing yourself achieving success. My point is not to suggest exactly which forms of visualization you should add to your practice. It’s just the suggestion that by adding multiple forms of visualization practice, you’ll get more out of the visual memory techniques you’re using. One of my personal favorites is to use the Memory Wheel technique in combination with meditation. Because it involves bringing various people to mind, it has made me faster at assigning mnemonic images when learning. If you’d like more help with these techniques now that you’ve read this post, here’s an invitation to my free memory improvement course: It will help you learn the most important memory techniques, step-by-step. And if you feel like you’re not very visual in your imagination, no problem. I’ve got a major solution for you in the program and all you need to bring is a willingness to experiment. Can you picture yourself doing that? If so, that’s all you need in addition to a burning passion for accomplishing your learning goals.
Giordano Bruno: 6 Of His Best Mnemonic Strategies For Learning
May 02, 2024
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Giordano Bruno wrote many books about memory techniques. The mnemonic strategies they contain are really good. But many are notoriously difficult to read. For one thing, Bruno rarely just gets down to teaching the techniques. They’re often mixed in with all kinds of elaborate astronomy and philosophy. Was there any method to this madness? Or was he just a hack? You’re about to discover the answer to these questions on this page. And the truth about Giordano Bruno’s approach to using memory techniques for learning will surprise you. Ready? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZYpuST0Hao Who Was Giordano Bruno? The biography of Giordano Bruno can be difficult to wade through. His fans adore him for a variety of reasons. They might admire his early understanding of memory science. Or they admire his contributions to early astronomy. Some people even see him as a symbol for freedom of expression and thought. Others criticize him, especially for refusing to recant when the church accused him of heresy. Either way, we believe Giordano Bruno was born in 1548 in Nola, a town in southern Italy. He became a Dominican priest in 1572 and earned a doctorate in theology in 1575. That same year, the authorities investigated him for holding controversial views on the Trinity. Later, in 1600, the Inquisition burned Bruno at the stake for refusing to recant on his views. According to Ingrid Rowland in her study of his life, Bruno denied that Christ was a person. In fact, he denied that anyone was a person, an argument so nuanced, his trial was put on hold for two weeks as the authorities discussed its ins and outs. Although you could argue that Bruno was merely being stubborn and provocative, current neuroscience, psychology and experts belonging to related fields have confirmed what is now called the Nonself hypothesis. Bruno’s Philosophy At A Glance Bruno’s ideas can be hard to follow because he was a polymathic learner. He referred to the words of Plato and Aristotle along with references to Ramon Llull and many other thinkers. His ability to remember the granular details of such a wide variety probably frustrated him, especially when others couldn’t keep up. One reason Bruno’s mind operated so quickly might have to do with his use of Llull’s memory wheels. To reproduce how Bruno used them, I’ve created this detailed walkthrough video with a few demonstrations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmbvbbwX1cU But what were Bruno’s ideas and why did he hold them to be philosophically important? To pick a starting point, it concerned Bruno that many people focused on Aristotle’s materialism at the expense of the metaphysical ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas. He worried that concentrating on just one form of logic would reduce critical thinking, rather than increase it. As a result, people remained fixated on an incorrect model of the universe. Bruno’s alternative theory focused on the universe as infinite and indivisible. He believed in one Universal Soul that collaborates with Universal matter to create reality based on an ongoing process of regeneration and decay. Bruno extended these ideas to his definition of God. And like St. Augustine, extended them to reflect on the nature of memory. Unlike Augustine, however, Bruno found time to teach mnemonic strategies that people still use today. The Basic Memory Techniques Of Giordano Bruno Bruno’s memory techniques are not particularly original to him. However, his manner of teaching mnemonics is unique. There is no one quite like him, not even Robert Fludd, who shared similar philosophical ideas. Bruno’s uniqueness comes through in a few ways. He often taught techniques like the Memory Palace through his commentaries on other teachers. In his Opere lulliane, for example, Bruno gives a far clearer description of how to create a well-formed Memory Palace than in any of his own books that I’ve read: In the basic system of the classical Art of Memory, also known as the method of loci or Memory Palaces, you must follow a basic set of rules. To remember anything, convert them into images and then distribute those images in a set of places around a building or other structure in a sequenced order. To retrieve those images, retrace your steps through the sequences of places, viewing and decoding each of the images as you go. The places should be well lit, not too far apart and not crowded together and distinctive from one another. The whole structure should be clearly visualized. The path you take should be obvious, so you will not get lost, and to facilitate retrieval. There is also advice on how to make the images themselves as memorable as possible. They should be visually striking and emotionally resonant. (They may be terrifying, inspiring, or humorous.) They should be visualized as clearly as possible. The images should not blend into the background of the places. If a thing that is to be remembered, is not easily visualized, then you may choose to encode letters or syllables of the name of the thing into a set of predetermined images. Bruno copied most of this very clear teaching from Rhetorica ad Herennium. People repeated this basic description of the journey method so often, Frances Yates calls this exact description the “Herennium Pattern” in her book, The Art of Memory. Bruno’s Advanced Mnemonics Fortunately, Bruno went much deeper. In fact, some of his ideas about how Memory Palaces can potentially be infinite are so complex, they’re best explained via the magic of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcM3VBdlIvc For the rest of this article, let’s learn some of his more practical approaches for crafting mnemonics that will help you learn faster. In his wonderful book, On the Composition of Images, Bruno covers multiple aspects of visualization. I have yet to encounter such a wide variety of mnemonic images in any other Memory Palace book. To give you a taste of his wonderful encoding tools, here are some of my favorite: Sound Association Technically, any direct association is a sound association (horse sounds like horse). However, you can also use sounds to “trigger” the target information you want to encode and later recall. For example, equus, the Latin word for “horse,” could be used to memorize the word “equality.” Word Division When you need to memorize words, break them up or “divide” them in the most useful ways possible. For example, if you need to memorize the word contemplation, consider using the image of a bank robber for “con” and have him robbing a temple in your Memory Palace for the second part of the word. Meaning Association When you know what certain words mean based on roots like Latin or Greek, this knowledge can be leveraged for making powerful associations. For example, Philip is a relatively popular name that means “lover of horses.” Anthony supposedly meant “leader.” If you meet someone named Anthony, you can imagine yourself or someone else as a leader pointing to the person. Relational Associations White can make you think of snow, or vice versa. Honey = sweetLions = ferocityTurtles = patient and persistent Now, you might be thinking: That’s all find and dandy. But can you apply this kind of mnemonic strategy to memorizing medical terminology? Absolutely. If you have to memorize the names of insulin medications, for example, insulin glargine is long acting. You can relate the act of glaring for a long time to drinking gin for even longer. Using sound association, you can include actors like Justin Long and Gina Davis. Often, using relational associations cannot be done in isolation. But adding them to supplement your other mnemonic associations often adds the extra layer of memorability you need. Conceptual Associations There are a few ways to understand this form of association. For example, you can use genres. Science Fiction is a Conceptual Mode of storytelling. Or you can leverage concepts like Mars being the god of war. This is a concept that differs from Mars as a planet or a chocolate bar. It is a conceptual metaphor that has been used throughout history to make all kinds of information memorable. Now, you might be asking… “How is this different from the sword of justice as a visual metaphor?” This is a good question. Although you might see a sword in the hand of Mars, the god of war, you don’t have to visualize anything to get the concept. The key to mastering this kind of association is to give yourself the benefit of experience. You’ll soon develop a sense for which kinds of conceptualizatoins are most useful for you. Congruent Actions Let’s end this list in a similar spot to where we began. If a direct association would be using a horse to help you remember a horse, in this case we’re using an action to remember an action. Examples: A thief does some thieving A doctor does some doctoring A preacher does some preaching The opposite of congruent actions is naturally incongruent actions. Dr. Anthony Metivier visiting the Giordano Bruno memorial in Rome. Beyond Bruno Bruno offers many more types of association, so I encourage you to read his writing yourself. Scott Gosnell has provided several serviceable translations, and shared many wonderful insights about the Renaissance memory master. In addition to Gosnell’s Bruno series, John Michael Greer recently produced perhaps the best translation of On the Shadows of the Ideas I’ve yet seen in English. The point Bruno returns to repeatedly is that you need to take action with the techniques. You need to experiment as you explore them. And his stubbornness often comes through in a way that can definitely confuse a lot of readers. For example, he equates not taking action with death in On the Shadows of the Ideas. Obviously, people do not drop dead if they don’t use memory techniques. I believe that Bruno is being more than a little Zen. He’s trying to wake his readers up so that they pay attention to the details. As Martin Faulks has shown in his demonstrations of Bruno’s techniques, the details do really matter. So if you’d like to know more about how to use Memory Palaces properly with a special focus on having the most effective associations possible, feel free to register for my free course: I’ve been a student of Bruno’s for decades and a lot of what you’ll learn is based on a modernization of his most powerful descriptions of the best ancient memory techniques he knew. Bruno isn’t for everyone, that’s for sure. But I’ve done my best to explain some of his best ideas so that you can put them to use in your personal practice. If you find him too challenging at the present moment, perhaps select a book like Unlimited Memory first and then come back to him later. Either way, I follow Bruno’s message by suggesting that you focus on mastering the fundamentals no matter from whom you learn these techniques. That way, you’ll be able to learn faster and remember more. The trick will be to live in such a way that you stay out of hot water. Bruno was convinced of a particular interpretation of truth and he valued it more highly than his own life. And no doubt. He didn’t believe in our concept of personhood, after all. Perhaps that was what allowed him to explore memory at a deeper level. His critics insist that his ego led him to a premature end. But from a memory perspective looked at through the lens of contemporary psychology, perhaps Bruno was able to memorize so much because he knew that his ego was not real. He didn’t let his worries and concerns get in the way of taking action. Perhaps he was also enlightened in the same sense many Sanskrit phrases discuss: he experienced himself as part of a larger process that in no way relied on his individual identity. As he told those who condemned him to death: Perhaps your fear in passing judgment on me is greater than mine in receiving it. These words have always struck me as proof that Bruno had managed to see through the illusion of being a separate person. One way or another, Bruno made a huge impact. People still consider not just one set of his ideas, but several. That’s more than enough evidence to show that whatever he was doing in his mind and memory has so far stood the test of time.
Do Brain Games Work? Here’s A Better Way To Fix Your Memory
Apr 18, 2024
Show notes
Do brain games work? Yes and no, depending on what you mean when you ask the question. If you’re looking for a quick fix, brain games are highly unlikely to improve much when it comes to focus, attention and memory. And scientists are right to discourage people from getting their hopes up. Scientists playing for team human, that is. I make the distinction because a lot of the science around brain games is suspect at best. On this page, I’ll share the main points behind why some scientists dismiss many brain games outright. In many cases, it’s because the extravagant claims made by companies and “researchers” who claim their brain games bring benefits are often downright criminal. But this does not mean that there aren’t any brain games you can play and be repaid for your time and effort. As you’ll see, enjoying memory boosts come down to your goals and how precisely you integrate playing games in your life. Full disclosure before we continue: I’ve created several brain games and memory games over the years, so I might be a bit biased. None of them are for sales on this page, however. My point today is to address you as someone who knows a fair amount of the research. I belong to major psychological organizations and have access to databases many do not. And as a person with a PhD and over a decade of experience writing about a variety of issues related to memory, I’m capable of not only being objective. I’ve been trained to read, analyze and interpret what such studies mean. And what they don’t mean. So if you’re ready for a full analysis of when and how brain games stand a chance at improving your memory, let’s dive in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIgNZu4UOjM Do Brain Games Work? The Science Explained The briefest answer here is that real science doesn’t offer final “yes” and “no” answers. That’s because science is about running experiments and analyzing data. Since a wide variety of brain games exist and we have many ways to test their outcomes against many conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s to stroke and amnesia, we have take each study on its own terms. This is where producers of brain games often bend the truth. They’ll show studies that “prove” their games work. Often, these companies are just cherry-picking from studies that are marginally related to their apps. And that’s assuming they’re related at all. This behavior was noted by Dr. Christine Till who studied Cogmed’s effects on a particular group of patients. It’s very easy to interpret the data in different ways. Her conclusion was that any benefits from the brain games were coming more from the test group that worked with personal coaches as part of playing the games. This is a very different outcome than experiencing memory improvement from a game itself. Again, in order to arrive at a balanced view, we need to look at specific studies and think about them in the context of our goals. In some cases, scientific studies won’t really matter because they can’t give final answers anyhow. They can only talk about what the data validates according to specific trials run against specific groups of people. This puts you in the position of what I call “radical honesty.” You need to play the best possible brain games yourself over a specific period of time and come up with your own benchmarks for improvement. In other words, you need to be the scientist in the laboratory of your own mind. To that end, we’ll talk more about different kinds of brain games and how to approach them next. Types of Brain Games And Their Cognitive Targets Brain games are often designed to target specific memory skills or improve aspects of your conscious experience. These can include exercising faculties like: Memory Attention Focus Logic Problem solving Increase tolerance for cognitive load Rehabilitation In one study, researched used a game called “Lost in Migration.” The researchers claim that participants experienced a combination of benefits from problem solving improvements to better cognitive processing and memory. However, if you read the study carefully, it was conducted at and supported by Lumos labs, which produces a “brain training” app called Lumosity. “Lost in Migration” was part of this software at the time the study was conducted. Why might they be funding research that positively supports their product? Read the study even more closely and you’ll find that it only involved three participants. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about just how valid this study actually is, and welcome you to consult the head researcher’s online CV to assess the state of her credentials at the time the study was conducted. The larger point I want to get across is that this one example cites multiple benefits based on just three people and is funded by the company who created the brain game. If anyone is the target here, it’s not cognition. It’s the consumer. Brain Games That Actually Offer Cognitive Enhancement Don’t let this one example discourage you. Although there are many others like it, researchers exist who are working on a fuller understanding of how brain games can help individuals improve their mental abilities. The key issue to understand is that it might not be possible to benefit from games that you play on your own. For example, some researchers look at brain games from what they call a neureocological perspective. I had this principle in mind, along with intrapersonal memory issues when I created my first Memory Detective and Magnetic Variety games. (Don’t worry: I’m not promoting them on this page because they are still in the testing phase. But again, I recognize and have written about my own memory and other biases at some length.) In brief, neuroecological studies suggest that parts of the brain are only switched on and fully exercised when we play games together. Certain brain training apps use points and leaderboards to create the illusion that you’re in a community. They may even include forums. But if you’re not playing with actual human beings, certain brain rewiring effects (neuroplasticity) are unlikely to take place. In all things, I encourage you to take care when reading any scientific study. When you do, try and stick to studies that come from behavioural psychology and respect the role of the individual as a member of other social groups. As Ginny Smith points out in Overloaded: How Every Aspect of Your Life is Influenced by Your Brain Chemicals, brain scans don’t tell us nearly as much as behavioral psychology does. You need to look at how things change over the long term in your life from playing games much more than what corporate-produced studies say. With that in mind, here are some games you can play with your others and on your own. Brain Games You Can Play With Others The best games that exercise your memory, focus and attention are some of the classics: Scrabble Chess Matching pairs with cards or tiles The Movie Alphabet Game Story Stacking (see memory games for how this is played) Kim’s Game Lego (shown to help kids develop math skills and surely also good for adults) Memory Detective (forthcoming) Magnetic Variety (forthcoming) Brain Games You Can Play Alone When engaging in games by yourself, it’s important to think more closely about your goals. Rather than going after general boosts in memory, focused attention and concentration, I suggest you seek brain exercises designed to produce specific outcomes. Completing challenging puzzles like this Houdini puzzle exercises spatial memory and is a lot of fun. Also, take care around the promises made about crossword puzzles. Not everyone agrees that this solitary game is helpful. Many people cheat, for example, which ultimately developed learned helplessness more than it exercises your brain. With this point in mind, here are some suggestions: Solitaire games Puzzles Join drawing challenges Become a memory competitor and train on your own (3x USA Memory Champ John Graham has some great solo training tips for you) Read interactive adventure books like Meanwhile by Jason Shiga Juggle Recite the alphabet backwards Develop a video game you remember as a Memory Palace Memorize playing cards Study game based magic tricks, like learning poker demonstrations with a memdeck Play games with your childhood memories Engage in neurobics in a playful way Make your own games This final suggestion might seem silly. But in my anecdotal experience, I found creating my own games incredibly playful. And given all the moving parts involved, it definitely exercised my brain. Even better, researchers have shown that even examining games can prove therapeutic, boost your creativity and and inspire you. And that’s coming from scientists who were able to declare proudly that there were no conflicts of interest in how their research was funded. Beyond Games: Holistic Approaches to Cognitive Enhancement As we’ve seen, games are a tricky topic. Apps might be effective, but usually not. Any skills they might produce are often only evident when you’re playing the game, a problem called near transfer that many people making claims about improving working memory ignore. In addition to having specific goals that guide the kinds of games and brain exercises you choose, there are a number of holistic activities you can engage in. These include: Brain warmup routines Cognitive training exercises Activities that promote mental stimulation Learning a language (bilingualism has been shown to improve your brain) Study music If you find any of these activities boring, you can easily think about ways to gamify them. This tip is important because setting the right frame has been shown to help in a variety of ways. For example, a recent Duke University study found that people who pretended to be art thieves remembered more about items in an art gallery than those who didn’t. Nir Eyal has shared similar findings in his research related to adopting mental models for positive effects. For example, if you think of yourself as more focused before engaging in some of the cognitive activities we’ve discussed today, you’re much more likely to emerge focused. Anthony Metivier with Tony Buzan Tony Buzan seemed to have understood this in the memory training world when he created symbols like the Grandmaster of Memory and Warrior of the Mind. When he awarded me the latter symbol, it certainly shaped my behavior in a more intense way. The effect of having a mental image that guides performance is huge. The olympics use it, the Nobel Prize uses it, the Guinness World Records use it, etc. You can employ images too and enjoy greater mental strength and better memory too. The Future Of Cognitive Training As I write, many trends are emerging. Everything from augmented reality and virtual reality to my recent experiment in using chatGPT for language learning has been appearing all over social media. When it comes to the future of cognitive enhancement, it’s difficult to make accurate predictions. But if we think about evolution and how slowly our brains adapt, chances are those of us who manage to keep up with the rate of change will be the ones who invest in the classic activities used by our ancestors. These include: Finding developing your polymathic personality traits Using ancient memory techniques Using modern memory techniques Being an effective reader Learning to communicate and engage in the debates of our time with passion Do all these things and your brain will be fit, with or without brain games. And if you want the ultimate workout, I suggest you learn to use a Memory Palace. I take you through this skill in its entirety in this free course: This course gives you four video lessons and worksheets. Although going through this material might not feel like a game, you now know that you can use mental models to change how you engage in anything. With these techniques, even the most boring topics will feel exciting and alive. So what do you say? Do you feel more empowered to make use of the brain games that exist and will come onto the market in the future? As I often like to say, carpe diem (seize the day) but caveat emptor (buyer beware). Frankly, the best memory and brain games in life were always free and always will be. You just have to make the decision to see them that way.
From Life Crushing Anxiety To PERFECT Calm: USA Memory Champ John Graham’s BEST Stress-Busting Tips
Apr 11, 2024
Show notes
Wouldn’t it be great if you could instantly access perfect calm?
Or even better, live in such a deep state of relaxation that you don’t need some special strategy to deal with anxiety?
That’s what 3x USA Memory Champion John Graham learned to do.
And it turns out that the core techniques are easy to practice.
In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, John shares his experiences with shocking levels of anxiety and how he learned to remove the underlying causes.
From there, things have just been getting better and better.
All thanks to the stress-busting tips you’re about to discover.
https://youtu.be/rdC28SEJaYo
Who Is John Graham?
If you’ve been following the memory improvement world for any amount of time, you’ll probably already know his name. If not, make sure to check out his YouTube channel.
In addition to many competition wins, he has demonstrated incredible feats of memory on a variety of television shows around the world.
That’s why when the topic of developing perfect calm out of life’s many stresses comes up, I pay special attention to what John has to say. Frankly, I don’t know any other competitor who has gone to such lengths. True, memory athletes like Alex Mullen and Johannes Mallow have also done high-stakes television spots…
But I think if you check them all out, there’s something especially nerve-wracking about the challenges John has taken on.
What Is Perfect Calm?
At the end of the day, performance anxiety isn’t what John ultimately wants to help people with. He’s all about helping people establish perfect calm, which basically means feeling at ease and being able to maintain that sensation no matter what’s going on.
Realistically. Practically. Efficiently.
This mission is so important because there’s a deep anxiety that far too many people suffer. They unfortunately don’t know how simple the solutions can be. Nor do they have an idea of what calm can feel like in their lives.
This is a tragic outcome because the techniques for achieving a state that feels comfortable, relaxed and easy to return to if you come across some turbulence in life are so simple.
I know that I found it hard to imagine how my mind was going to turn from chaos to calm back when I needed to address anxiety issues. As a result, it made it nearly impossible for me to focus on what needed to be done to solve the problem.
That’s just one more reason I’m grateful to John for opening up and sharing his experiences. That can’t be easy, but transparency around these issues is the key to helping others.
But John’s the real deal and I hope you take more than inspiration from him. I hope you will take his advice.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it around, visit John’s Release Panic website and thank you for your kind attention.
3 Polymath Personality Traits Masterful People Nurture & Amplify
Mar 28, 2024
Show notes
Many people who want to master multiple topics wonder about the exact polymath personality traits they’ll need to nurture. I went through the hard work of figuring them out myself, especially while completing my PhD at York University in Toronto. During those years, I studied a variety of polymaths to “reverse engineer” how exactly they developed so many skills without simply winding up with dust in their hands due to splitting their focus. My research took me into many areas, ranging from self-improvement topics to philosophy and the role of friendship. Luckily, it didn’t take me long to discover many of the traits found in most polymathic people. But there’s something else I discovered that you also need to know about. All of these things will be covered in-depth on this page. So if you’re interested in the traits you need to nurture so that you can become truly polymathic, this may be the most important post you ever read. Ready? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We0idHm3QlA What Is A Polymath? The word polymath comes to us from polymathēs in Greek. It stems from “poly” for many and “manthanein” for “to learn.” That means you can be a polymath without actually having math in your skillset. Where did the idea that someone can master many topics come from? Many people say that the idea of mastering several fields arose during the Renaissance and Enlightenment era. There’s certainly truth to this assumption and it’s one reason why the term “Renaissance Man” still circulates. Frankly, polymathic people have been around for a lot longer than that. Aristotle was a polymath, as was arguably his student, Alexander the Great. In Ancient China, Shen Kuo mastered multiple topics during his life. Between the years 1031 and 1095 he worked successfully in everything form meteorology and metallurgy to politics and pharmacology. According to research Michael Araki, it’s not the topics themselves that define polymathy. What matters is: Breadth Depth Integration In other words, a polymath has a comprehensive understanding of multiple topics, but not in a shallow way. There must be depth, and typically this depth is demonstrated through integration. Since Araki’s terms are open to a lot of interpretation, let’s look first at the traits that must be in place and nurtured in order to fulfil these categories. Then we’ll look at how to avoid self-delusion. There are a lot of people who claim to have breadth, depth and integration. But we need to know how to test these claims in order to avoid charlatanism. The 3 Core Traits Of A Modern Polymath As we go through these traits, keep in mind that none of them need to be inborn or part of your DNA. As intelligence and memory studies have shown, it’s possible to rewire the brain and teach old dogs new tricks. Yes, even those who have never had any experience in mastering a single topic area or skill, let along several. So if you feel like you’re missing any of these traits, don’t worry. They can all be developed. One: Curiosity You Can’t Control Polymathic people are driven by their curiosity. You might be thinking, how on earth am I going to get curious about boring topics when I only have a mild desire to learn more as it is? There are several paths you can take. Some of them involve exercises that will grant you greater mental strength. Others might require you to use mind mapping or other forms of positive visualization to start rewiring your current state. One way or the other, developing your current curiosity and nurturing it is the key. For example, I was once told by Harry Lorayne to not tell people about memory science. He said that if you’re going to run a successful memory business, you need to avoid heavy topics that scare the “mass market” away from your Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass offers. This advice made me curious and although I don’t think he was wrong, I made myself lean into it. Soon, I was insatiably curious about memory science. Sure, some of my least successful YouTube videos cover the science of memory. But I’m glad that something in my character let me avoid that piece of advice. I’ve been personally rewarded many times over by what I’ve learned, even if he was probably right from a business perspective. This issue is something all true polymaths will probably have to face at some point in their learning journey. As the old saying goes, “you can be rich or you can be right.” So far, I’ve followed the mind map I created with Tony Buzan years ago and my curiosity about memory science and the desire to have an accurate understanding about it has won. Two: Interdisciplinary Skills With Scientific Intent When I started my PhD in Humanities, the exact nature of the program was unclear. I entered the very first year of its existence and was in fact the first person to graduate. To this day, the exact definition is mostly left up to the individual graduate student, which has pros and cons. Early on, I decided I would absorb all I could by taking courses in the history of science, classical languages and the history of religion. Science was my favorite of these topics, so when I started studying for my field exams, I decided I would use it as my lens for everything. As I’ve traveled the world as part of my ongoing research, I’ve continued to use a scientific foundation and this focus has rewarded me many times over. Although I ultimately wrote my dissertation on friendship and talked a lot about how friendships appear in movies and TV shows to craft a philosophy of friendship, it was scientifically guided. I combined reader-response theory with market analysis to guide my conclusions, tempering some of my wilder philosophical questions with what the data actually said. The best polymaths have tended to use the scientific tools available during their times. Whether it’s St. Augustine’s theory of memory or Giordano Bruno’s approach to mnemonic imagery, a huge reason that the learning of these individuals has stood the test of time is the empirical thinking they put into their writing. And that means they tested their concepts empirically during the research and reflection stages as well. Even if I’m wrong about that, it’s important to place a premium on science in your studies in today’s world. Scientific literacy is a basic requirement if you want to be taken seriously. It’s healthy to recognize its limits too, but far too many people claim to be knowledgeable on topics when they clearly aren’t even thinking critically, let alone scientifically. Three: Adaptability Because humans have many memory biases and our scientific approaches don’t always pan out, we need to be able to shift. Sometimes quickly. This is one area where having breadth, depth and integration come in. For example, artificial intelligence is a big field now. All kinds of writers are in trouble. But if they had true breadth and depth in multiple topics, they would find it much easier to integrate the skill of writing and turn it towards AI itself. That’s just one example, something I explored myself by integrating what I know about language learning with the idea of using chatGPT or other language learning software to help acquire a language through a process called “laddering.” It’s clear that humans will have to become more and more adaptable over the years to come. To develop this trait, I would suggest getting a solid mix of brain exercises along with physical exercise, eating the best possible foods for memory and completing substantial learning goals. Make no mistake: completing goals is a key to developing adaptability. If you have established a pattern of dabbling and never completing what you start, it won’t matter how broad your interests are. You’ll be lacking in depth and have nothing to integrate into the flows and intensities of whatever the future might bring. Overcoming the “Jack of All Trades” Stigma A while ago, someone commented on one of my videos: “You’re not a polymath.” Truly, how does some dude on the internet who uses an anonymous screen name know this about me? I share this criticism because anyone who starts on the road to polymathy is bound to be criticized. You might even be called a Jack of All Trades, Master of None. Or you might literally be a multipotentialite, and be perfectly happy with that status. But you know what you always have to keep in mind? The people who criticize you might be right. There are many modern day polymaths and growing clarity about the personality traits involved in auto-didacticism, or self-teaching behaviors. To ensure that you rise above the criticism and truly become polymathic, you need to identify the traits important to your specific interests and nurture them. Constantly, because we know from Peter Burke’s book, The Polymath, that some people are polymathic for just certain periods of their life. Without maintenance, the skills that made a person polymathic for a time can fade, removing them from this category of performance. For most of us, this will be a battle of nature vs. nurture. Personally, I’ve needed to master journaling for self-improvement and for memory in the ways discussed by memory expert, Johannes Mallow. In both cases, everything involved here boils down to: Crafting a vision of success worth pursuing that includes the variety of topics you want to master Breaking goals down into achievable milestones Analyzing your performance Optimizing how you develop your skills and knowledge over time After you’ve got this basic protocol in place, it’s just a matter of using accelerated learning techniques properly. Let’s discuss what they are and why you need them next. How to Be A Polymath: A Practical Guide Once you’ve identified a worthy vision and are using a journal to track and optimize your progress, you’ll essentially need to hedge against the dangers of multitasking. Let’s face it: You’re probably not going to master anything if you have dozens of tabs open and spend more time switching between them than actually studying. To avoid that problem, you’ll want to: Keep a study and deliberate practice schedule Have multiple places to study worked out in advance Include at least one mentor in your lifelong learning journey Use interleaving to promote better memory and avoid topic exhaustion Master a variety of tools that will help you remember as much as possible The tools I recommend and used myself during university and have used throughout my professional career include: The Memory Palace technique Optimized flashcards (a.k.a. Zettelkasten) The Leitner Method Mnemonic systems for remembering numbers like the Major System and a PAO System A Spaced Repetition system to avoid wasting time on rote learning at all costs Finally, you just need to keep in mind breadth, depth and integration. To ensure that you have all of these covered, you’ll want to decide upon some benchmarks. One tool I’ve found useful for setting up and tracking benchmarks is The Freedom Journal. I dragged one with me all over Europe on my honeymoon to make sure I got one of my projects done. In this case it was an initiative I felt some resistance around, and having every tool and protocol we’ve discussed on hand helped me finally satisfy the constant urge to work on it despite my resistances and as a result, make space in my mind for other things. No one can tell you exactly how to measure your accomplishments. But depending on the topic areas you choose, there may be official testing bodies you want to consult. Some of my friends, like Nelson Dellis and Dave Farrow have established Guinness World Records, for example. For myself, I’m currently drafting a book chapter I’ve had accepted for a scholarly book on memory and the senses. I also test my learning daily on the Internet, everything from my expertise in memory improvement to my copywriting abilities and skills as a presenter. Giving a TEDx Talk that has been seen millions of times was another confirmation of my ability to master both the topic I was addressing and speaking successfully from memory. Your Role As A Polymath In Future Innovation At the end of the day, becoming a polymath is about being more successful as a contributor to the human species. In the here and now. If you’re doing it for your ego, you might succeed. But most people who successfully address complex challenges through interdisciplinary thinking do it because they love being part of reality. It’s almost as life is a game and the more fit you are both physically and mentally, the more you get to enjoy it. That’s ultimately what the best employers are looking for: highly qualified people who have a breadth and depth and knowledge they can integrate into helping their enterprises grow. Such people are in demand in every area from artificial intelligence and medicine to education and the arts. To prepare yourself for success in whatever field you choose to focus on, memory is the foundation you will want to focus on above all things. That’s because memory is like a set of engines that help store and deliver your knowledge and skills. If you’d like your memory to be better, feel free to sign up for my free memory improvement course: It will take you through video lessons and worksheets that teach you everything you need to succeed with the mnemonics that have been so essential my success. So what do you say? Are you ready to find these polymathic personality traits in your life, nurture and amplify them? I hope you’re nodding your head “yes,” because I know you’re capable of leading a truly amazing life. All it takes is a bit of strategy and equipping yourself with the tools that lead to depth, breadth and integration.
Lifelong Learning: The Benefits in Life and in Today’s Job Market
Mar 22, 2024
Show notes
A lot of people throw around the term lifelong learning. But what does it really mean? And how can you adopt its principles to benefit your life in every respect? I’m talking about more than just being smarter. I’m talking about using lifelong learning to build the health of your body and brain. Adopting study skills that build your wealth. Developing know-how that helps you solve problems fast and stop many problems from arising in the first place. Ready to discover the benefits of lifelong learning and multiple examples from real lifelong learners you’ve probably never considered before? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b8cvqmTTok What Does Lifelong Learning Really Mean? (Hint: It’s Not What You Think) In a word, lifelong learning is an investment. It’s an investment of time and resources into five key areas: Books Courses Coaching and consulting Deliberate practice Taking on new challenges outside your comfort zone To take my own example as a PhD graduate, I was tasked with reading 500 books and articles for my two field exams. Later, I needed to read even more as part of researching my dissertation. Although I don’t read quite so much anymore, as a true lifelong learner with polymathic interests, I continue going through books and courses related to my field. Why? Because as researchers in the field of psychology have shown, self-correction is the key to maintaining expertise. It’s also why I personally keep and recommend a re-reading strategy as you go about your own lifelong learning journey. It’s so important to keep learning because new details and new perspectives are always emerging. We all need to keep ourselves on track. In terms of getting coaching and consulting, I’ve written many bestselling books and many marketing pieces over the past twelve years. But to this day, I have a writing mentor I meet with every week. I learn new things from him and he helps me keep focused on the fundamentals. When it comes to deliberate practice, this means you keep a scheduled and modular routine for implementing what you learn. If it’s language learning, you have weekly meetings to practice reading, writing, speaking and listening. For music, you follow a structured program for going through scales and various rhythmical exercises. If it’s writing, you read the best in your field and you write, ideally every day. In all these fields of practice, you need to balance maintaining fundamental skills while gradually pushing yourself into unknown areas you haven’t mastered yet. So if you’ve been wondering what it means to be a lifelong learner, now you know what it looks like. The Benefits of Lifelong Learning It’s impossible to value the benefits of following the model I’ve just shared with you. Although it’s simple, it’s not always easy. But because it’s not always easy, it provides many benefits. The model stretches you and this promotes growth. Growth, of course, can be quite an abstract thing. That’s why you want to keep a journal of your learning activities and use it to identify specific learning goals. You can structure these goals in terms of learning cycles, which will make it easier for you to see the benefits we’re about to discuss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VRTDkZlJEA One: Preventing Cognitive Decline Researchers at Harvard’s Economic Research Lab recently released a study showing that retiring early can lead to cognitive decline. According to the head researcher, Plamen Nikolov, they’ve seen damage that amounts to losing three IQ points. That might not seem like much, but Nikolov cites a Cambridge University study showing that losing just three points can make it harder for a person to remember when they need take their medication. This ability is related to prospective memory and procedural memory – two types of memory none of us can afford to lose. But lifelong learning, especially in areas like bilingualism, has been shown to help fortify the brain against issues like Alzheimer’s. So if you want a healthy brain and mind when you’re older, the time to follow the lifelong learning model I shared above is now. It works because it’s mentally stimulating on multiple fronts. Two: Problem-Solving I often say, the more you know, the more you can know. And it’s true because information is connective in nature. Even when you use a memory strategy like chunking to break complex topics down, you’re actually making the information even more connectable. But even better is that you’re expanding your ability to recognize patterns. This helps you see problems and solve them in advance. Sure, you can study critical thinking and problem solving as topics unto themselves. But without embedding them in the lifelong learning model I’ve shared, it’s unlikely that you’ll get quite the same pattern recognition that leads to substantial problem-solving skills. Three: Creativity I’ve seen many of my students in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass open up creatively thanks to what they’re learning. Christian Fitzharris, for example, used his learning about rare texts like Rhetorica Ad Herennium to create a fun rap song about memory techniques called “Brain Games.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-KoZraMEkg A huge part of its uniqueness comes from his adoption of the lifelong learning model you’ve discovered today. It’s also what makes all my favorite books unique and interesting. To take another example, novelist David Morrell has trained in everything from defensive driving to crisis negotiation to bring a deeper level of sophistication to his writing. His lifelong learning has not only been profitable, but led to his character Rambo being one of the most famous movie franchises in history. I took inspiration from Morrell’s learning habits when preparing to write my “Memory Detective” novel Flyboy. I completed online courses in forensics, the utility belts used by police officers and the basics of detecting crimes. An actual detective read the novel, came to visit in Australia and told me how surprised he was by the accuracy in the book. That’s high praise indeed, but simply following my lifelong learning model is what earned it. Four: Tenacity One of my favorite learning activities involves memorizing Sanskrit phrases. This activity involves a lot of mnemonic images. Although the Magnetic Memory Method does not involve creating any of those associations, it does require a certain level of discipline. Because I got started on my lifelong journey early, I have deeper pools of tenacity than others might enjoy. But I’ve seen many people develop stronger reserves even if they spent much of their lives doing little or nothing. Mental training is a fantastic way to start developing the necessary grit. Given that discipline starts to strengthen itself over time, you won’t regret getting started today. Five: Career Boosts Whether you want to work for a company, freelance or become an entrepreneur, the more you learn, the more you stand to make. I’m not just talking about money, though that is an important part of this world. I’m also talking about the mental peace that comes with knowing that you’re employable in more than one area. By following the lifelong principles you’ll also be adaptable to industry changes and be ready to move upward when positions open up. As entrepreneurs often say, where preparation meets opportunity, there is no ceiling. How to Become a Lifelong Learning: 5 Practical Steps Fortunately, there are simple and actionable strategies that will help you becoming a lifelong learner. Let’s have a look. One: Envision Your Future Years ago, mind map expert and co-founder of the World Memory Championship, Tony Buzan, told me that he wished he had more time to study the greats like Michelangelo. But because being realistic is so important, we can’t wish and hope for more time. We need to strategize and make use of our time. As he told me during dinner, “The rules will set you free.” When it comes to lifelong learning, brainstorm about your ideal future as a learner. I did this with Tony, using his approach to mind map my entire business. By creating the vision first, I was able to identify the most important things I needed to learn. Focus your lens. Then build the learning journey. Two: Research the Best Resources In my program for people who want to read faster, we focus on how to find the highest quality resources first. This step can be tricky, but it’s worth every second you spend on it. That’s because quality books and courses do exist. Ultimately, you do have to take a risk by diving in, but there are so many free materials online, you can invest the time to really quality what you read or what courses you attend. As you research, one thing to look out for are the stages of learning involved in the topic you want to focus on. Looking for how universities structure their courses and looking at the reading lists included with syllabi is a great tip that I use all the time. Get your research right and you’ll be ready to make the most of the next step. Three: Be Thorough Some so-called “learning experts” say that you should abandon books quickly. Scott Young is one of them and I respect him highly, except on this point. Sure, I’ve abandoned a book or two in my day, but normally not. It sets a bad pattern and leads to sloppy learning habits. Instead, I use tools like The Freedom Journal to practice what I’ve come to call Metivier’s Razor: Less than 90 days of study does not deserve the phrase, “I tried.” You can take it or leave it, but I impose this rule upon myself. Not just because Tony Buzan said that “the rules will set you free.” But I’ve found so many incredible lessons and substantial wisdom in the harder books. It’s true that some of the mass market books that are easy to read also contain gems. But they’re the product of someone else having been thorough in their learning journey. If you want to reap the benefits of lifelong journey, you need to be that person who is thorough. Here’s the best part: One of the hardest books I was terrified of reading? When I finally committed to spending at least 90 days on Douglas Hofstadter’s legendary Gödel Escher Bach, I was pleasantly surprised that it only took two weeks. But it took an attitude of thoroughness to get me started and keep me going. Four: Develop a Daily Routine I’m writing this blog on schedule. That’s because I have established a daily writing routine. I also do my daily reading on a schedule. At some points in my life, these scheduled reading and writing times have shifted. But they’ve always been scheduled. And that’s how I’ve managed to learn so much, so consistently. It can seem like an inconsequential thing, but designing your life around your learning is pivotal. Too much time gets wasted when there isn’t a reduction of interruptions and the avoidance of randomness. Set and follow patterns. Rest assured: Since the focus is on using this scheduled time for learning, the routine will never get boring. Five: Consider Groups, Platforms, Programs or Coaching Although not everyone needs them, it can be useful to help you establish your goals by joining a group or focusing on a particular learning platform. For example, I spent a few years of my life going through dozens of the Great Courses. Back then, it was called The Teaching Company. When I couldn’t afford the courses on cassette that I wanted, I did my best to find them at the libraries in Toronto. I rode my bike for long distances to get some of them so I didn’t have to wait on the interlibrary loan process. You might apply this thinking to joining a cohort course. These days, many are offered online, such as David Perrel‘s Write of Passage or my Read with Momentum. Coaching is one of my personal favorite learning strategies. I find both group coaching and one-on-one coaching invaluable. I also sometimes hire consultants or network with specialists to learn more about fields I’m studying. Make no mistake: It’s not an extravagance. Other people’s knowledge is an asset. You can boost your progress by tapping into it. Overcoming Common Barriers to Lifelong Learning These days, it’s all the rage to say that there’s no such thing as free will. I know, because I wrote a whole chapter about in my book, The Victorious Mind and based it on the research fruits of my own learning on this topic. Robert Sapolsky’s Determined is a recent entry in this field and he’s really put his foot down on the notion that free will isn’t real. If that’s right, how on earth can you get yourself to change and become a lifelong learner? Easy. You’re reading this because something in you has compelled you to search for information about how to do it. Or you followed a link in one of my emails. Lean into that original impulse. Explore it. Use some of the self-inquiry techniques I teach to learn more about the mental strength you clearly have in order to get started learning about it in the first place. When you have resistances, instead of pushing them way, get curious about them. Is your resistance to boring topics really your own? Or did you just hear from some accelerated learning guru that it’s okay to abandon books? Find the truth lurking behind the question. Then search out a better truth and follow the recommendations attached to it. Today I’ve argued that abandoning books is a terrible lifelong learning strategy and given you some ways to deal with them, such as Metivier’s Razor and scheduling your time. If you still can’t get yourself to do what is obviously important for lifelong learning, just keep asking why. Keep a journal, keep working on your vision statement and developing learning cycles. You’ll eventually experience a breakthrough. In fact, it will be difficult not to if you apply Metivier’s Razor. That said, sometimes you’ve just got to have skin the game. I signed up with my current coach and the one before him precisely because I know how to engineer my absence of free will. Left to myself, I would not work on some fundamentals I know need to be in place in order to succeed. But by investing in some help, I’ve encouraged my mind to want a return on that investment. And this has propelled my attention in ways that just wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Lifelong Learning In Action: Success Stories I mentioned Christian Fitzharris above and his rap song “Brain Games.” He’s also been an actor, magician, musician and is working towards becoming a sommelier. My testimonials page is filled with similar success stories. Here are some of my favorites. Jeannie memorized scripture with much greater ease thanks to the learning strategies I teach. Her story is also reflected in Matt Barclay’s experience, someone who used memory techniques to help him recover from cognitive issues he experienced following a cardiac arrest. David S. Matthew is one of several lawyers I’ve helped pass the bar. What makes his success stick out is that he also learned Spanish while preparing for it. As I’m sure you can imagine, being a bilingual lawyer is definitely going to increase his value in the market for the rest of his career. For quite a few years, James Gerwing would email me with updates after he completed the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Here’s James in his own words: “About 5 years ago, I began taking your online course and then went into some memory competitions. I am the 4 time, current, undefeated (and record holder) of the Alberta memory championships. Even better; I just won the 2019 Canadian Memory Championships (AND the first ever pan-provincial championship). I had been banging things into the void of my memory for decades. You have revived, and revived in me, the concept that where there is a will, there is a way. Since signing up for your Masterclass I have taken a Latin course at the University of Alberta and scored above 90% (that is not common territory for me). Thanks for your input.” Latin is not an easy language. But as a lifelong learner who follows the core princi…
How To Stop Losing Things: 6 Proven Tips
Mar 15, 2024
Show notes
If you want to stop losing things, you’re probably tired of the standard advice.
Sure, tips like getting more organized, reducing clutter and always placing things in a designated spot make sense.
But everyday life does not make sense. Sometimes we put things down and can’t remember where we put them. That’s just the way it goes.
So when it comes to handling this problem in a mature manner, what really works?
Well, if you’re sick of constantly losing things, you’re in luck.
On this page, we’ll go through some proven memory techniques you can use. They’ll help you remember where you placed things even when you cannot follow the standard advice.
How to Stop Misplacing Things
First, we need to start getting more specific.
Instead of “things,” we need to start using the actual names for what we want to stop losing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc23Qm7V4B4
As a simple exercise that will help give your memory a workout, jot down the kinds of things you lose. I suggest you use a journal and be as specific as possible. List:
The types of objects you misplace
What times of days you tend to lost things
Where you wind up finding them
Any other behavioral observations
This exercise may feel hard, but please give it a try. It will almost certainly give you a solid foundation for solving this problem.
Now let’s move on to our first major tip. Here are the steps I recommend any time you’ve lost something and need to find it as quickly as possible.
Then, once these steps have helped you locate the missing object, make sure to journal each of the points above. Doing so will help with some neurological rewiring that will then reduce the amount of times you lose your precious belongings.
One: Say Names And Locations Aloud
If you have to set your keys down, say aloud, “keys on the counter.”
This will reinforce the action and help your brain label both the object and the location.
If you tend to forget whether or not you locked the door, saying aloud “locked” will help. It’s so much easier to remember what you’ve said aloud compared to what you’ve done physically.
Rest assured, there’s no shame in this. I’m a memory expert and I say “locked, locked, locked” in my mind almost every time I go out. It eliminates the worry that I might have forgotten to do so.
After I say “locked, locked, locked,” I usually make a point to replay the mental image of using my keys to secure the door. I also mentally repeat the phrase.
I know that forgetting if you locked the door seems like a different issue than misplacing your reading glasses. But leaving your home is a procedural memory and those too can get lost as easily as objects.
Two: Make A Fist
Let’s say you set your glasses down on a table.
Rather than simply walk away, close your fist as if you still have your glasses in your hand.
You can combine this technique with saying the object and the location as you walk away. For example, you can quietly or silently in your mind state, “I have left my glasses down on the table.”
This physical sensation of closing your fist while naming the action will help you carry the location-based memory with you. Later, you can think back to your fist and where you made this gesture. This action will help lead you back to the location where you left your glasses.
I suggest you squeeze vigorously. Don’t make this a passive action. Put some drive into it.
Also, if you’re leaving one room to go find scissors and don’t want to forget before you reach the kitchen, make a fist. By pretending you’ve got the scissors in your hand before leaving the room, you’ll remember what you were seeking.
When we leave one room and forget what we were heading out for, we are essentially losing what is called a prospective memory. But by simply saying the location and the object out loud while making a fist, it’s much easier to hold on to that memory.
Three: Make Multi Sensory Associations
Next time you put your wallet down, imagine hearing a massive explosion – just as if you’d dropped a bomb.
Let your imagination soar by making it as loud as possible.
Include a visual flash of light. Feel the ground rumble. Think to yourself, my wallet just blew up the kitchen counter.
Add some emotions, like shock at the explosion.
Follow these simple steps and misplacing things will be difficult for you from now on.
Four: Use Rhymes
We’ve already talked about using names. But there are more ways we can use language to help us remember objects and their locations.
Let’s say you have difficulties finding important books on your shelves.
Instead of arranging everything alphabetically (which is not a bad idea), you can remember where books are like this:
My important bookie-wookie is next to Stephen King-a-ling.
Silly, right?
That’s exactly the point. It makes it easier to remember where you stuck that book you always keep misplacing.
Five: Learn The Major System And Pegword Method
People ask me all the time, Why do I keep losing things? I even lose my car at the shopping mall!
I would too if I didn’t use memory techniques.
Two of the most powerful for finding your vehicle in parking lots are:
Basically, they help you assign an image to each digit from 0-9 and to every letter of the alphabet.
Then, if you park in B4, you’ll be able to imagine a bee attacking a sailboat. Since “bee” starts with the letter ‘b’ and 4 looks a bit like a sailboat, remembering this location will be a breeze.
Just as imagining your wallet dropping like a bomb needs some multi sensory visualization, you want to enhance this kind of association.
When I use this technique, it’s not the bland idea of a bee attacking a sailboat. It’s a full-scale Hollywood movie with emotions, sounds, intensity and energy.
The trick is to spend a bit of time creating these systems and practicing them. Luckily, they’re easy, fun and provide incredible brain exercise. And when you add the multi sensory aspects, the location of your car leaps instantly to mind.
If you feel a little unusual doing this in the beginning, don’t stress about it. With a small amount of practice, creating associations like this will become second nature.
Six: Turn Your Home Into A Memory Palace
If you can assign a memorable image to a parking spot, you can do the same thing in your home.
Let’s say you’ve developed your skills with the pegword method. You can then assign a letter and object to each room.
Let’s say you call your bedroom “A” and imagine a grouchy apple lives in it. If you take your watch off in your bedroom, you can think about the grouchy apple complaining about it.
By combining the alphabet with the Memory Palace technique, you will never forget where you placed your items again.
Because the apple is your image for the bedroom, you’ll remember the location. After all, it’s memorably absurd for an apple to be grouchy about you leaving your watch on the bedside table.
If you assign ‘b’ to your living room with Batman, there are all kinds of possible ways to have him interact with your glasses, keys, wallet or anything else you want to remember as you set it down.
If you want to learn more about the Memory Palace technique, check out this free course:
These Tips Will Prevent You From Saying, “I Always Lose Things”
You now know how to use associations to remember where you placed important objects. Simply by exploring these techniques consistently, you’ll develop the ability to remember where you put things.
The more you practice these techniques, the stronger your memory will become.
Of course, the standard advice about reducing clutter and creating reminders for yourself still has its place. I personally developed the habit of putting my keys in the same place years ago and have never regretted it.
But because life can get incredibly hectic, your best bet is to become what Tony Buzan called a “Warrior of the Mind,” and make using association a habit. That way, if anything upsets your regular pattern, you’ll have a stronger memory that helps you track your way back to the location of your belongings.
And if I can help you further in any way, just post below and I’ll get back to you a.s.a.p.
Don’t worry – I haven’t missed (or lost) a comment yet! 🙂
Real Life Sherlock Holmes Ben Cardall On What to Memorize
Mar 14, 2024
Show notes
Ben Cardall’s demonstrations of what Sherlock Holmes would do under real world conditions are legendary.
So too is his book on the key observation and memory techniques you need to pull it all off.
It’s called The Monographs.
To celebrate the upcoming new version of this essential text on deduction, Ben joins me for an expansive conversation. We cover his practice with the Memory Palace technique, critical thinking and other topics.
Then we focus on the most important topic of all: weighing the value of data and deciding what’s worth committing to memory.
Beyond that, we even get into the knotty territory of free will.
For the first time, someone finally gave me a new way to think about this essential philosophical puzzle!
Of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Ben.
Click play on the video below or the audio player above to enjoy this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method and check out some of the links below for more on Ben and his work.
In terms of his teaching, so many people are excited about his current Kickstarter for The Monographs V2 that it was fulfilled in less than one day. I’ve still only read the first version, but sight unseen am perfectly comfortable recommending it.
Frankly, I fully expect I’ll be adding this new book from Ben to my frequently updated post on the best Memory Palace books.
The Monographs: A Quick Review
When preparing this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I though I would call The Monographs an “underground classic.”
My research uncovered too many positive reviews to call it “underground,” however. So we’ll have to settle for it being a classic of memory, critical thinking and deduction.
I love how Ben weaves these skills together. Sure, you can focus purely on the Memory Palace technique. He gives you one of the most important tips you’ll ever read.
But it’s really the fusion of memory techniques with observation tactics and thinking strategies that you need in order to order see, hear, feel and think at the highest possible level.
When you can do that, you’ll be able to select the main points from the environment much better. Whether they’re in a book or lingering at the scene of a crime, there’s no point memorizing information if you haven’t prequalified it first.
So if you truly want to think like Sherlock Holmes, you absolutely need Ben’s training material. This book contains practical exercises, background info and the steps that will help you apply the techniques to real world environments.
Enjoy our conversation today and check out either version of The Monographs. You’ll be well rewarded!
15 Brain Exercises & Memory Exercises For Rapid Remembering
Mar 04, 2024
Show notes
Lots of people do brain exercises and memory exercises, often in the form of brain games. You’ve probably even tried a few, right? That’s all fine and dandy, but there’s a catch: Playing mental exercise games on your “smartphone” is not necessarily brain exercise! It might not even be mentally stimulating. Not by a long shot. Even if it feels that way on the surface. Worse, it can be harming your focus and concentration, instead of healing it. You might think that practicing remembering objects are hidden in a game, but often it’s actually harming your memory. And I can prove it. But don’t worry. I’m about to reveal some memory exercises and brain exercises that actually work. That’s because the mental fitness routines you’ll discover on this page really do exercise your brain. I’ll show you how to put them into action and also help you understand why they boost brain health. Why should you listen to me? As the author of the bestselling book, The Victorious Mind, I’ve been researching memory and brain exercise for over a decade. This work is an extension of my PhD research, which involved looking at the role of language learning in developing the mind. To help you navigate this post, here’s a preview of what you’re about to discover: Brain Exercise and Memory Exercise? – What Makes Them Good? The 15 Best Brain Exercises For Memory Improvement What Is The Best Brain Activity For You? How To Stimulate Your Brain To Be Smarter and Faster How To Improve Concentration And Focus Brain Exercise And Memory Exercise? – What Makes A Mental Fitness Routine Good? Let’s face it: Smartphone-based brain games don’t exercise your brain at all. If anything, they yank your brain’s dopamine around. Any exercise you get is quickly wasted on the ads you’ll be shown and tracking graphs that no robot can accurately help you understand. Instead of helping you, brain game apps train you to get good at completing tasks within the world of those apps. This is called context dependent memory. Daniel Simons and his research team have found that there is no meaningful evidence supporting that any skills you gain from within an app environment transfer to other skills in life. In other words, although you might remember where objects are located in a brain training app, there is no evidence showing it will help you better remember where you left your keys. To give you a quick example of context dependence from the world of language learning, I used to go to a lot of polyglot conventions. I met many people who could win all the shiny coins and medals in language learning apps. But actually speak the language? They could not. Their skills were “context dependent” on using the app. So any mental fitness you enjoy from using any software rarely applies to the aspects of your life where you need to be sharp, such as during conversations or on the job. The Real Definition of Brain Exercise & Memory Exercise Context dependence means that if you want better focus and clarity, you need to be doing real brain exercises. You need to completing memory exercises that give your memory a real world workout. To do that, any routine you select needs to follow these four rules: It always involves new learning It is always reasonably complex (and sometimes unreasonably complex) It is always varied and interesting It is always engaged in frequently Without following these rules, it is unlikely any exercise in an app will improve your memory. But I promise you the brain exercises and memory exercises below will stimulate and grow both your short-term memory and long-term memory. In case you’re wondering where I’ve drawn my own research from, here’s just a sampling of the research papers I’ve studied to discover what really works to improve your mind and memory. I’ll link other resources as we go through each of the recommended exercises below. Ready? Let’s get started! How to Exercise Your Brain: The 15 Best Brain Exercises For Memory Improvement As we go through this list of brain exercises, there’s no special order of important. I recommend that you try them all. In fact, by interleaving them, you’ll get even more benefits. 1. The 4-Details Observation Exercise Memory expert Dr. Gary Small talks about memorizing four details of people you encounter out in public. For example, let’s say someone is wearing a black hat, has blonde hair, a triangular ring, and a green sweater. Illustration of the 4 Details Exercise The goal is to observe the details first and then recall them later. No need for ancient memory techniques or anything like that. You just naturally encourage your brain to recall the details you selected earlier in the day. Some scientists call memory exercises like the 4-details exercise “passive memory training.” It’s passive because you’re not using any special memory techniques. You’re just asking your mind to do what it was designed to do: to remember. Why does this matter? It matters because we don’t ask our minds to practice observation enough. Because we don’t practice observation, we fail to observe and receive the memory exercise benefits we get from simply asking our brains to recall information. We also fail to observe things that we aren’t seeing – making it impossible to make mental pictures of them. I teach you all about how to do that with these 3 simple visualization exercises. If you’d like to be a better observer of the world around you, noting and visualizing details will help far better than brain training software like Cogmed. It’s also scalable. You can start by observing just one person per day. Once you’ve gotten good at recalling four details of just one person, you can add more information or more people (or both). You can scale this memory exercise even further by memorizing the details using a Memory Palace. If you like, you can also notice details about buildings, cars, movies or series and foods that improve memory to boost your cognitive abilities. But focusing on real people is the more potent memory exercise. Being observant of others around you is a great social skill. 2. A Number Exercise That Will Skyrocket Your Concentration I can’t emphasize the following point enough: Numeracy is more than just a powerful skill to boost your cognitive abilities. It’s something I work on to boost logical thinking – both with and without memory techniques in play. And scientists have shown that lacking math skills limits the development of your brain. “Add 3 Minus 7” is a simply way to get started developing your calculation skills while you develop your mental muscles. It’s a fun numerical memory exercise you can try today. To get started, all you do is pick any 3-digit number. Then, add 3 to that digit 3 times. Then minus 7 from the new number 7 times. Repeat the process at least 5 times and pick a new 3-digit number the next time. You can also take a different route and start with a 4-digit number and use other numbers to challenge your working memory further. For example, you could start with 1278 and add 12, 12 times and minus 11, 11 times. It’s up to you and the amount of numbers to dictate the level of challenge. Remember, this brain exercise strengthens your working memory because of the amount of detail you need to hold in mind to complete it. 3. Number Skipping In a book called Happiness Beyond Thought, Dr. Gary Weber shares a powerful means of experiencing your conscious mind directly. It sounds deceptively simple, but it’s actually quite a challenge. To complete the exercise, you count from one to ten.But instead of visualizing each number, you skip the even numbers on the way up. By “skip,” you don’t count 1, 3, 5, etc. You actually pause on where the even digits should be. But you actively try to not represent them. There are a few variations on this technique, so if you want more nuance, give this tutorial a view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7NPia_lkaE Important Tip: Don’t make the memory exercise so easy that you get bored with it. We all need challenge from our brain exercises in order to grow. You can also skip using the alphabet by exploring a Renaissance brain exercise called The Field. We’ll discuss it next. 4. The Field: A Renaissance Era Brain Exercise We think of brain exercise as a 20th century need due to issues like digital amnesia. But this is not the case. Aristotle knew his students needed his certain exercises, which is why he talked about mentally manipulating the alphabet. I shared his suggestions for doing this in “Aristotle’s Nuclear Alphabet.” Over one thousand years later, Giordano Bruno expanded on Aristotle’s exercise and created an exercise called The Field: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRFNXZxjGEU It can be a bit difficult to understand, which is why I created the video above. Basically, you create one row of letters in your mind, from A-Z. Then you navigate them forward and backwards. Later, just as you did with number-skipping, you manipulate the alphabet by traveling the row by the odd-letters first, and then back along the even numbers. Finally, you expand the field in multiple directions. If you want an additional level of challenge, you can apply the ideas to Hugh of St. Victor’s “Noah’s Ark” Memory Palace concept. 5. Repeat What People Say In Your Mind We all know in our hearts that no one is really listening when we speak. And that’s sad. But here’s the good news: You don’t have to be another person who is just nodding your head like a puppet while actually thinking about something else. You can train your brain to focus on what people are telling you and remember everything they say. It all begins by creating presence in the moment in an easy way: Follow the words being spoken to you by repeating them in your mind. For example, imagine that someone is saying the following to you: “Tomorrow I want to go to a movie called Memory Maverick. It’s about a guy who cannot forget. He’s hired by a group known only as ‘The Agency’ to infiltrate a competitor. But once the hero learns the secrets, he doesn’t want to hand them over. But since he can’t forget, The Agency starts making his life miserable.” All you would need to do to complete this brain exercise is repeat everything the person is saying silently in your mind. You’ll automatically boost your cognitive function and remember more by doing this. It works because simply asking your memory to recall information exercises it. The more challenging the information, the more exercise your brain will get. 6. Visualization Exercise Secrets Of A Memory Maverick To remember even more, you can practise creating pictures in your head. But go beyond the visual. Also add in multisensory elements. For example, using the sample conversation above, you might see an image of Mel Gibson as he looked in the movie Maverick trying to remember something. Imagine that you are trying to feel what this is like as if you were Mel Gibson yourself. Or you might get a picture in your mind of an agency building and scenes of evil men in suits torturing the hero. Feel their clothes on your skin. Smell the air through their nostrils. Hear the world through their ears. For more cognitive exercises on remembering what people are saying with visualization practice, check out this interview with Jim Samuels on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. He has some great ideas, and the benefits include: Being more present. Remembering more of what was said. Showing people that you’re interested in them and their lives. Easing conflicts when they arise because you remember the issues in greater detail. As people speak, they “translate” their ideas into pictures, feelings, related concepts and even tastes and smells. Take this training seriously: You’ll feel better about your connection to people because you’re really with them. 7. The Metronome-Clapping Exercise Back in grad school, I had a great professor named Matthew Clark. For some reason, he told our class in Classical Literature about a great concentration exercise that I’ve practiced ever since. It’s simple: You put on a metronome at a slow speed and then practice “covering the click.” Such neurobic exercises can help us focus on things that our brains have been automated to perform. The increased focus that neurobic exercises develop helps you zero-in on your surroundings to boost your memory skills. If you’d like a practical example of the metronome exercise on video, please check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaiF3DL-ens To be clear: I don’t think this memory exercise helps memory in any direct way. But it is excellent for improving concentration and presence. Here’s why these mental states matter: Both concentration and presence are cognitive skills we all need. The more concentration and presence we have, the more we can remember by default. The better you get at this mind exercise, the longer the amount of time between clicks you should place. Accurately covering the metronome with a minute between clicks would be impressive! 8. Build & Use Your First Memory Palace The ultimate brain exercise to boost overall cognitive function is also the easiest. It involves nothing more than a simple drawing that follows some simple principles. What’s a Memory Palace? It’s a mental recreation of a familiar location. You use it to chart out a simple journey that you can follow with your mind. Then, using associations, you “place” mental images along this journey that help you remember things. Why is creating a Memory Palace such a powerful memory exercise? First, complete my FREE memory improvement course and find out for yourself: Second, creating a Memory Palace draws upon your spatial and visual memory. It’s also a great recovered memory and autobiographical memory exercise. As far as mind exercises go, the Memory Palace training exercise works kind of in reverse. Why? Because you’re accessing visual memory cues that are usually blueprinted in your mind outside of your awareness. Think about it: You’ve rarely gone into a new home or store with the conscious intent of memorizing its features. Yet, if you think back to the last home of a friend you visited, here’s a fact: Most people can recall an insane amount of detail with visual memory. Creating a Memory Palace lets you exercise that inborn ability. You can even use it for memory and learning stunts like memorizing all the Prime Ministers of Canada. Second, creating a Memory Palace is creating a tool that you can use for life. Once you have one and you’ve mastered using it, you can create dozens more. And if you can do that, you can do great things with your memory, like how Matteo Ricci learned Chinese in record time. You can also easily remember names at events and accomplish any memory-associated goal. And what goal doesn’t involve memory? 9. Learn a Foreign Language You’ve probably heard that bilingualism is good for the brain, right? It is, and one of the reasons why is that you are continually asking your brain to recall information. Take advantage of your brain’s neuroplasticity and learn a new skill at any age to keep it active and ticking! This is a great brain exercise for people of any age because it keeps you talking with people. Regular conversation also helps stimulate the production of healthy chemicals for better mental health. Ideally, you would have conversations about books you’ve read. That way you dig into memory at multiple levels, especially verbal memory. But if you don’t like to talk, you can also sing. Or do both. For a double-whammy of health and brain benefits, singing has been shown by researchers like Gunter Kreutz to increase cortisol and other chemicals involved in healing. For this reason, singing in a foreign language you’re learning can increase the impact and effectiveness of this brain exercise. However, that isn’t all – you get more health benefits. Researchers conducted a study that found that learning a second language can delay the onset of cognitive impairment like dementia in Alzheimer’s…
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If you want to stop losing things, you’re probably tired of the standard advice. 
