Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn the 7 best ways to make your memory sharper than a .

, in case you’ve never seen the show, is a secret agent with a background in science. He’s always building bombs and troubleshooting problems.

His favorite tools?

Duct-tape and a Swiss Army Knife.

He also had a cool boss who was also his best friend.

How many secret agents can say that?

But what has MacGuyver got to do with the Magnetic Memory Method?

A lot, actually. Ìý

When you use the Magnetic Memory Method, you’re transforming your mind into a Swiss Army knife and duct-tape at the same time.

Your mental Swiss Army knife extends just the right associative imagery at the right time. And your mental duct-tape (your Memory Palaces) makes those images stick.

They stick for as long as you want to keep the information memorized.

And there are a lot of tools that go along with it.

Here are just 8 of those tools in your Swiss Army knife-brain that you might not have spent enough time on yet.

Listen to this episode of The Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and read the following to learn how.

1. Sensory

Whether you’re building your Memory Palaces or filling them, it’s important to be aware of your five senses.

The more of the main senses you activate when working on your language learning goals, the easier it will be to recall your vocabulary.

2. Intensity

Your mind has the amazing ability to make its contents more vibrant, hilarious, and strange. This will help you memorize and recall information.

And it’s easy to do. You need only focus on the associative-imagery you’ve created and then amplify it. Make it even more colorful, large, vibrant and strange.

Ìý3. Distinction

This point relates to intensity. But the difference here is that you focus on differentiating the images in your mind.

One way to do this is to focus on the borders of the images you create.

For example, let’s say my image has Fred Flintstone kissing a frog in a tutu. I can make the image more outstanding by taking a few seconds to really see the edges of the image and strengthen them.

You can pretend that you are tracing over them with a black marker like you might do in a coloring book if it helps.

It’s kind of a weird thing to do, but once you try it, you’ll find that your images are at least 10x more memorable. All because you’ve focused on making them distinct.

It doesn’t have to be black lines either.

Try silver, gold, red, the color of duct-tape � any color will do.

4.Ìý Emotion

Believe it or not, there’s a little pea in your brain called the amygdala. It deals with emotional content, both positive and negative, and �

You can hack it.

Just by presenting it with crazy imagery.

This works because the amygdala is designed to sense emotions and literally scream, “pay attention to this! It’s important!�

And so you can supercharge your associative images, and the Memory Palaces themselves, by giving them strong emotional elements.

5. Survivalist impulses

Our brains come with some heavy duty wiring to ensure that we have the necessary drive to survive.

And it’s not just a physical thing. We need to survive � and thrive � emotionally, mentally, financially, nutritionally, etc.

In other words, if you want your memory to work better, make sure you’re well-fed, well-watered and well-rested.

6. Personal connections

I’ve had some people tell me that their life histories interfere with their Memory Palace language learning work.

I find this surprising, because I think it would be just the opposite.

Part of the mnemonic principle that underlies the Magnetic Memory system is association. Normally associations to things that you’re already familiar. Things that need zero memorization (because they’re already in memory).

To each a zone, of course, but do experiment with increasing the personal importance of the images you use. It will make everything more memorable.

And it only stands to reason that your favorite TV shows, actors, musicians and movies are personal connections that you can draw upon with ease. It doesn’t just have to be family and friends.

7. Repetition

A lot of people have told me that because I’m against rote learning, I’m against repetition.

This is absolutely not the case.

There’s smart, useful and results producing repetition that takes less time and effort. Like using Memory Palaces and the Method of Loci in your work with mnemonics.

And then there’s the other kind.

I call this the ..

Blunt Force Hammer Of Rote Learning

The fact of the matter is that the Magnetic Memory Method lets you recall on demand based on associative imagery.

But you perform the repetitions based on what you’ve memorized, not as an attempt to memorize in the first place.

Sounds like a winning formula to me.

That’s all for this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method, dear Memorizers.

Until next time, get out the duct-tape and then teach someone else what you’ve learned about Memory Palaces.

Teaching a skill is one of the best ways to learn it and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we can make the world a better place.

The more we remember, the more we can remember. And the more we learn, the more we can learn.

And if you want to learn more, then feel free to check out the .

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we discuss visuality, science and a new book on memorizing numbers and math.

Note:

If you are visiting by no later than Sunday, October 27th, then is free on Kindle.

If you don’t own a Kindle, you can get a free app for most devices on the or here in the .

I want to thank you kindly for visiting and look back to this page soon for a full discussion of the episode, the Method of Loci, mnemonics, creating a network and all of that good stuff that we tend to talk about.

Here is the correspondence I received as referred to in this episode of the podcast:

Hi Anthony,

I have a question I would like to ask. Using mnemonics what have you committed to memory?

I’m interested in using mnemonics to educate myself, to learn and be able to remember a vast sum of knowledge, that I find enjoyable, and I find it inspirational to hear, what others have achieved using such techniques.

Kind regards.

This is a great question, and answering it helps me describe just how versatile the Magnetic Memory system � and mnemonics in general � happen to be.

Over the years I have memorized:

* Foreign language vocabulary

* Musical notation

* Dates and facts

* Seat numbers on airplanes and trains

* Poetry

* Famous quotes

* Randomized decks of cards

* To-do lists (which as Derren Brown points out, Memory Palace to-do items are for more likely to get done)

* Philosophical concepts

* Names of people I meet

* Street and city names

* Addresses

* Phone numbers

* Film and book titles

* Recipes

* Call numbers at the library

* Appointment times

* � and I’m sure there’s much more.

For me, the ultimate trick has always been to use locations. Some people toss their visual associations “into the void� of their minds without locating them some place.

And for some people, that’s just fine.

But I’m an advocate for localized organization.

Why? I’ve talked about this a lot before in other editions of the Magnetic Memory newsletter, the key idea being that we have an unconscious fear of losing things (especially our minds).

Thus, when we create a visual image to help us remember something and then stick it in a clearly visualized mental location based on an actual location with which we are intimately familiar, we eliminate the fear and anxiety we naturally have a losing things and can focus on embedding that information instead.

Just a theory?

Perhaps.

But the theory is irrelevant.

This stuff works.

And there’s science behind it too.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have very limited patience for anything that can’t be empirically demonstrated in front of a council of disinterested men and women in lab coats.

That’s just the way my Magnets roll.

Further Resources:

Ìý

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

I’ll bet you feel horrible when you procrastinate.

You do?

Good. That means that this podcast may be the most important episode you ever hear.

Look, procrastination is a reality. And falling prey to it is understandable.

Especially if you’re a doer.

Here’s what happens:

Many times when we start a new activity, we experience an initial rush. And everything seems not only possible, but nothing can go wrong. A feeling erupts that says you can conquer the world in a single day.

But before you know it, that energy drops off. And then the resolve drops off. And before you know it, you start sabotaging yourselves by finding excuses that take you away from moving forward.

Again, it’s understandable.

But it doesn’t have to be this way!

Especially not when you’re using the .

But even then some people fall off the path.Ìý For example, you might come across a challenging word. But instead of popping it into a well-designed Memory Palace â€� it’s time to do the dishes.

Or attend to the laundry.

Or play games.

Or check email.

Anything but the work of memorization.

Yet we all know one important fact.

That fact is this:

If you want to memorize a lot of vocabulary, terminology, math equations, or whatever it is that floats your Magnetic boat �

You’ve got to actually engage in the key activity of using the Method of Loci in your Memory Palaces.

Luckily, this isn’t work as such (more like play), but it still trips a lot of people up.

The question is why.

The answer is often simple.

It’s fear.

People fear a lot of things when it comes to success. There are two in particular:

1) The fear of failing

2) The fear of succeeding

People usually address the first fear by never getting started.

Crazy, but true.

And in some ways, it’s a pretty rational approach to avoiding failure. After all, if you never take action, you cannot fail.

Only problem is that not taking action is the biggest failure of all.

Fear of success is its own kettle of fish.

It’s connected to the fear of change.

After all, if you achieve one of your goals, you’ll have power.

Great power.

And with power, as the comic books and Superhero movies tell us, comes great responsibility.

Think about it.

If you were to use the Magnetic Memory Method to gain massive boosts in French fluency, for example, you would have to use the language.

You’re not going to be fluent in a language you’re not using, after all. No matter how much you use a Memory Palace or general mnemonics.

And just imagine what would happen if you aced all your exams?

You’d be morally and ethically obliged to study even more and even teach so that others could enjoy your knowledge.

You’d have to become a superhero.

Success has consequences. And that’s why so many fear it.

Here’s another weird reason that people fear success:

They don’t believe they deserve it.

And without self-worth, even bigger negative believes sail in.

They are the seeds of weeds that start growing and distributing even more seeds.

Before you know it, no machete will get your through the jungle.

What are some of these beliefs?

That other people are:

* Faster

* Smarter

* Better

Could be true.

In fact, it will almost always be true.

But it doesn’t matter!

There’s always room for another drop in the ocean.

And the next time you’re by the shore, take a drop away and see what happens. (I’ll leave that as a riddle for you to think about.)

Finally, some people fear that success is impossible.

A lot of this comes from the fact that they haven’t defined what success means to them.

If you don’t know were to find Eden on the map �

Good luck finding it on the ground.

Look, there’s a Golden Rule when it comes to what is achievable and what isn’t. That rule is this:

If someone else can do it, you can do it too.

And if that’s the case, then there’s no reason to fear that it’s impossible.

So long as the evidence behind it having been done is solid, then it can be done.

And as I talk about in the podcast, you can even achieve impossible things without being the doer. Like if you’re a sports coach, for example. You can be the conduit, the strategist, the inspiration.

And perhaps in this case, it might be true that some things are impossible. Because without you at the helm, they would never get done.

So, now that we’ve got all these issues cleared up, make sure that you listen to the podcast episode. This will help ensure that you understand how to overcome these fears and turn procrastination into a tool.

There’s simply no reason to let procrastination get in the way of using mnemonics, your dedicated Memory Palace strategy and all the ways you approach the Method of Loci in combination with the memory techniques you know.

So be sure to check out the resources mentioned in the podcast before you memorize another single unit of the valuable information that will bring meaning, value and positive change to your life. Because if you’re going to procrastinate, these resources will be a powerful diversion indeed.

Ìý

Talk soon!

Sincerely,

Anthony Metivier

Further Resources

(From Psychology Today)

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast via or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I mention the Peg System as an alternative to the Method of Loci and the Memory Palace method so central to what we do here on the site and the podcast.

Here’s a brief rundown of what it is and when you might want to use it.

The Peg System is just what it sounds like: the exercise of “pegging� (or linking) one thing to another. It assumes that you know the first thing, so it’s just a matter of Magnetically connecting the next in your mind.

I’m going to be giving some examples of how this works, and I want you to follow along. But here’s an important caveat:

Following my examples or the examples of any mnemonist is not the best way to learn memory techniques. As you read, treat these examples and demonstrations only. Immediately create your own images in your mind.

Only in this way will you be accomplishing two things:

1. Learning the link system

2. Exercising your imagination

Let’s get started.

How To Hang Information On A Number

Have a read through the following list of rhymes:

1 is a gun

2 is a shoe

3 is a bee

4 is a door

5 is a hive

6 is a stick

7 is heaven

8 is a gate

9 is a line

10 is Ben

11 is heaven

12 is a shelf

Etc. �

What On Earth Is This All About?

It’s about hanging one piece of information in the other. In this case, you are hanging a rhymed word onto something you already know and will probably never forgetÌý (the numbers 1-12). You’re associating them.

There are some problems with the rhymes I just gave you, however.

Here’s the major issue:

Although all of the items that rhyme with the numbers (something that is in and of itself part of creating memorability), not all of the words I’ve given you are directly visible.

For example, what does heaven look like? Clouds? Angel wings? Fields of grass as shown in Gladiator as Maximus makes his way to Elysium?

Who can say?

And that lack of specificity can be a problem.

But not usually if you know your system and always use it � religiously.

Here is why:

What we’re going to do with these rhymes is use them to memorize more information.

For example, let’s say that you’re going to an important business meeting and you’ll be meeting twelve new people.

The 11th person you meet is named Ralph.

How are you going to associate Ralph with 11? Well, you could see him floating on a cloud (heaven).

Or you could see him with angel wings bursting from his back (heaven).

Or you could see him on the roof of the Sistine Chapel flirting with God’s finger (heaven).

The important thing is to be consistent.

And include wild, exaggerated action in a visual way. It’s great if you can make it absurd too. So instead of seeing wings bursting from Ralph’s back, you could have them bursting from his chest, perhaps even poking through the “Ralph� nametag on this chest.

A Concrete Alternative

Personally, I never use “heavenâ€� for 11 the rare times I use the Peg System. It’s too abstract and vague and there are too many possibilities. I use my friend “Evan.â€� I’ve known him for years and can see what he looks like in my mind (he’s almost always got a goofy smile).Ìý And if I were to meet a guy named Ralph and wanted to memorize him as part of a list of names, I would have him interacting with this new dude Ralph in a weird and interesting way.

Or better yet, I might include some other Ralph I already know to “peg� Ralph even deeper into the connective tissue of my mind.

For example, Ralph Macchio from The Karate Kid might show up and do some fancy footwork in a fight between Evan and my new business associate Ralph. It would be large, bright, vivid and filled with zany action.

Go One Step Further

To make this process truly Magnetic, you can add a Memory Palace component to your pegs.

In fact, as I suggested in this episode of the podcast, pegs are perfect for use within Memory Palaces as much as possible.

Why?

Because having a location increases your chances of recall and reduces that anxiety we were talking about.

Not only that, but you also use and strengthen your spatial memory.

And the more you do this, the more you’ll become a Memory Palace fanatic and get the massive results that only Memory Palaces make possible.

In Conclusion �

Let me leave you with three fuller examples from the list above, but this time with examples of names and how they could be memorized.

Again, make sure to come up with your own examples so that you can learn this method by doing instead of just running the examples through your mind.

Don’t make the mistake of hoping that they’ll work for you next time if you’ve only just read this over.

That’s activity.

Go for accomplishment.

1 is a gun.

Memory Palace station: My bed.

Target name: Kirsten.

Associative-imagery: My gun shoots a gun made from pillows and the curtains where Kirsten is standing.

Notice the similarity between “Kirsten� and “curtains� in terms of sound. This is the principle of compounding. Use it as much as you can.

2 is a shoe.

Memory Palace station: My desk.

Target name: Amir.

Amir plays a drum kit made of mirrors using shoes instead of drum sticks.

Notice the “mirror� contains the “mir� sound of Amir. It is the most striking part of the name, so the image is centered on capturing that for decoding later.

3 is a bee.

Memory Palace station: The wall where my guitar rests.

Target name: Phil.

I see my other friend Phil swatting at a bee with my old philosophy textbook while my new associate Phil puts a filter on his camera lens before shooting the action.

Notice that I am using a friend I already have named Phil, plus a book of philosophy.

I also have Phil putting a differently spelled but similar sounding filter on his camera.

To some people, this compounding procedure might sound like overkill.

However, I recommend that you practice getting good at it. It will make the difference between memorizing material effectively just some of the time and all of the time.

And since I assume that you’re into mnemonics for , then you’re going to want to get started with the principle of compounding right away.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of the podcast. Thanks for listening. I appreciate it!

Sincerely, Anthony Metivier

Further Resources:

The Original Letter That Forms The Basis Of This Podcast EpisodeJust in case you aren’t able to listen to the podcast, here is a copy of the original letter I received. If you’d like to write in and have a question addressed on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, please feel free to .

Associating in the void does work although I have to admit that your loci system for storing vocabulary may have two advantages:

Having a location might improve fluency
There is something very slightly superior seemingly to the loci system versus the peg system for example.

I would like to expand a little on number two. I had used the peg system for 30 years before I started using the loci system. Once I started using the loci system I began to notice that there are actually two separate associations one makes with the loci system as contrasted with peg system. One is the interaction with the item stored there at the locus. The other is the visual image of seeing the word one is trying to remember at the locus with no real interaction except visually being there. With the peg system in contrast there is only the interaction between the word one is trying to store in memory and the peg word for the numeral.

So in conclusion I think that loci system involves an extra association with essentially two chances to recall the word or image whereas the peg system only involves the actual interaction between the peg and the word to be recalled.

Even so I would like to see the two systems compared experimentally. Keep in mind that the peg system could be used for language learning as well as simple list learning just as the loci system can.

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Jonathan Levi talks about how to become a SuperLearner using .

Tune in now and learn:

* Why speed reading is not snake oil and Jonathan’s amazing bucket, hose and water metaphor for understanding your memory.

* Why long term memory functionally has no limit and how to maximize what you can place inside your mind.

* The precise meaning of what a “superlearner� is and how to achieve this ability not just in your mind, but in your body too.

* Why you must change how you digest and interact with information in order to improve how you learn and memorize information.

* How to get more done in less time when it comes to learning just about anything.

* Why improving your mind is like putting advanced cabling into a house.

* The bottleneck effect that comes from using , and other rote repetition programs and how to use your mind to gain an advantage over those who limit themselves to these tools.

* Why the memory tool “chunking� may not be good for learning every single topic and why you need to have multiple tools.

* The relationship between driving manual transmission in your car and using your memory.

* Why adults learn differently and how to make sure that you can fulfill this requirement throughout your life.

* Why Jonathan prefers the term “Memory Temple� rather than “Memory Palace,� “Roman Room,� “House of Memory� or “Method of Loci.�

* Why Jonathan doesn’t use the word “mnemonics� and why it caused all kinds of suffering and even made him resent learning.

* The “kinesiology tapeâ€� phenomenon and how it relates to memory competitions and the culture ofÌý memory games discussed in Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking With Einstein.

* The issue and how it relates to psychics, mentalists and magicians (and why you should never fraudulently represent your advanced memory abilities once you’ve developed them).

* Jonathan’s amazing story of demonstrating exactly how someone who thought she had a bad memory easily memorized a phone number using memory techniques � without even realizing it!

* The two dominant ways to memorize huge strings of numbers and the kind Jonathan relies upon predominantly � including the reason why the Major Method is not his go-to method.

* How to use association to memorize pronunciation (using a fatty example from Russian).

* How Jonathan used Superlearning to solve his knee pain and restoring himself to health.

*Ìý SMART goals and why using them will help you become a Superlearner and maximize your time.

Resources Mentioned On The Podcast:

About Jonathan Levi:

Jonathan Levi is an experienced entrepreneur and angel investor from Silicon Valley. After successfully selling his Inc 5,000 rated startup in April of 2011, Levi packed up for Israel, to gain experience at Rhodium, a Venture Capital Firm specializing in New Media and Mobile. While in Israel, Levi enlisted the help of speed-reading expert and university professor Anna Goldentouch, who tutored him in speed-reading, advanced memorization, and more. Levi saw incredible results while earning his MBA from INSEAD, and was overwhelmed with the amount of interest his classmates expressed in acquiring the same skill set. Since acquiring this superlearning skill, he has become a proficient lifehacker, optimizing and “hacking� such processes as travel, sleep, language learning, and fitness.

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we’re going to talk about how to memorize numbers. More specifically, we’re going to talk about memorizing numbers using the . And even more specifically than that, we’re going to talk about doing this in a way that will get the numbers you memorize into long term memory.

All of this was inspired by a very nice letter I received from a young high school student who takes Advanced Placement courses.

As you can read in his letter, he is a very advanced young man indeed.

Dear Anthony,

I’m proud to report the success of my first memory palace! I’ve been reading your newsletters daily since summer back in June and I haven’t been able to take your lessons on or fully read any of your yet, since being a high school student in a magnet program, taking college level classes, I don’t have any time to get a job to make a little money, so my only money comes from my birthday and Chanukah in December. I have though read previews of many of them, and in December, I plan on trying to take the Udemy course or buy the medical terminology book you wrote. I’ve been reading your newsletters daily and each day I find myself wanting to use the Magnetic Memory Method more and more, but frankly, I’ve never gotten around to experimenting with it yet because of school work and studying for tests.

Also, I’ve been a little apprehensive of using the Magnetic Memory Method before taking any of your courses because I don’t want to make a flawed Memory Palace. I was able to check in on a small portion of the live streaming you did awhile back for free, and took some notes. Couple months go by, I’ve been continuing to read your newsletters, emailing you ideas about using the music in Memory Palaces and using the same memory palace but with different conditions, but still haven’t created my own Memory Palace.

Last Friday, on the hour bus ride to school, I listen to your podcast, , and on the way back home I listen to a majority of your podcast, , and they get me excited thinking of the possibilities of the Magnetic Memory Method. The weekend goes by working on school work and essays I had due today, and this afternoon on the bus, I searched around for a way just to test out the Memory Palace. I just wanted to try it and use it successfully, I wanted the short term success, he was talking about that he had on his first memory palace, even if it was minuscule compared to the 50 provinces he remembered. I took a list of ten items and wanted to memorize them: fish, margarine, a chess set, milk, light bulbs, a football, a ladder, a clock, measuring tape, and a dog bowl. My “journey� was short and simple and went like this:

I get on the bus and my bus driver has a chef hat on sitting in the drivers seat with a black steel cooking pan containing a grilled fish, he then smiles at me and throws a thin square of margarine butter on the finish and it sizzles, I then say good morning and turn to walk to my seat when I notice the back half of the bus has been turned into a limo like setup with a huge chess table like lounge, with sophomores sitting around it playing chest, one invites me over after taking a sip of milk from a glass and accidentally spilling it on herself, she laughs and invites me over, all the sudden the bus turns dark, and rainbow light bulbs light up my way to the lounge around the chess table, just as I sit down comfortably, a shout of victory comes out from another student as he wins, and out of the roof of the bus a disco football comes out of the ceiling, and it then flies out onto a ladder laying built into the back of the bus window, and jumps each set of the ladder leading up towards a clock, when hits the clock it buzzes like a hockey buzzer, and two measuring tapes shoot out across the bus from the roof, and out from the ceiling of the bus bowls of dog food plop randomly landing on the strong measuring tapes holding them up.

I created this journey little over two hours ago on the bus, and I was thrilled to have recalled the list perfectly, in increasing time intervals, started the timer on my iPad 5 minutes, recalled the journey, 15 minutes later, recalled the journey, 30 minutes recalled the journey, now a hour later and I was able to recall the journey and the list. It did take me awhile to create the short journey and for only memorizing ten random items does make the success feel a little minuscule but I know once I’m able to take or read one of your products in about three months time, I’ll learn how to apply this method to bigger feats like learning Spanish. I also want to learn how to apply it to memorizing more than just what one word is this, or memorizing a list of items, but how to memorize content like this for my AP US History class:

Back during the period of the second president of the United States, John Adams, signed the Jay’s Treaty with Britain giving them exclusive trading rights with the States in return for their promise not to impress our seamen into their navy. This resulted in France getting angry and attacking American merchant ships. John Adams sent three ambassadors to France to negotiate a peace treaty ending up becoming the XYZ affair resulting in France wanting bribes to be able to start negotiations. Instead of declaring war against the French, John Adams takes Washington’s advice given in his farewell address, and takes a passive indirect approach causing many American colonists to criticize him. To quell the criticism Adams passes the Alien and Sedition Acts, which resulted in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, resulting in the idea that the States created the federal government through a compact and they could nullify any federal laws if it broke that compact.

I was wondering if it was possible in some way to use a Memory Palace and take a journey to memorize content like this� How would you use the senses and imagination of imagery to associate to such content?

Also, I don’t know if you already have something like this, but maybe you could do a YouTube video or a podcast, or make a short PDF, just giving interested people a small concise summary of the magnetic memory method and a short example of something to memorize, like a ten item list, without giving your premium content away, to show people the effectiveness of the magnetic memory method. Give them a small sample of the power behind it and then entice them to buy your premium content to be able to apply the method to incredible feats. Just witnessing the power of the small journey I created was incredible.

In conclusion, I’m excited this December to be able to take the method to the next step, until then I’m going to try to experiment a little and make tiny journeys for practice stakes, just to get in the hang of it. I’m starting to introduce one of my friends to the method too and so far, being the brainiac he is for philosophers, like Newton and so forth, he liked the historical context of the Magnetic Memory Method.

Here’s My Written Response

Hi there,

It’s great to hear that you’re using these techniques!

You can definitely use a Memory Palace to memorize this historical story. All you need to do is apply the same techniques you’ve used to memorize the list you’re talking about to this material.

The first thing you need to do is create a Memory Palace.

Next, start with the first piece of information you want to memorize.

But here’s a tip:

Don’t say “back during the period.� This is not proper form. Figure out the dates used by historians and memorize them.

Be specific. Teachers tear their hair out when students write things like “back during the period� or “several hundred years ago.�

Demonstrate that you know something through specificity. Use the same tools you used to memorize that list to memorize the date. It’s really easy and fun and important.

Plus, I’ve dedicated this episode of the podcast just to you, so �

Have a listen, share the post with everyone who needs it and .

And keep experimenting. It’s the best way to gain traction and keep moving forward.

If you’d like more information on using the Major Method to memorize numbers in combination with a Memory Palace or method of loci and other mnemonic techniques, please .

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, MMM practitioner Rose goes into detail about how she memorized the Hindi alphabet using the most potent memorization tool known to humanity: The Memory Palace.

Even if you don’t want to learn Hindi, you’ll learn a lot from this podcast, so be sure to tune-in.

And in case you prefer to read, here’s the �

Prose Version Of Rose’s Guest-Podcast!

I did it! I did it! I am so excited to learn Hindi! And I’m having a blast doing it! You’re right Anthony! You can learn an unknown and many-charactered alphabet in an hour and a half using the Magnetic Memory Method! For me it was actually an hour and 40 minutes for 48 distinct characters of the Hindi alphabet (There’s actually 60+ but I’ll get into that in a moment).

My name is Rose and I am on the edge of my seat, so to speak, with so much enthusiasm and ‘can’t wait to do more� kind of energy. I am recording my initial experiences for you in case it is of some benefit to another person who’s thinking about learning this outrageous method. I hope any background noises from a roaring monsoon filled river and many singing birds outside my window here in the foothills of the Himalayas won’t interfere with hearing this.

To be clear I am able to start anywhere in the alphabet, go forward or backward, jump around, etc. I recognize and remember the symbols and stories and locations of where I ‘planted� them; I can retrieve them quickly and it’s all vivid and hilarious. That is astounding!

Yet even more amazing, which to me is nothing short of a miracle, I thought I’d see how well I’d do at writing the symbols. I figured that would require more sessions of practicing, practicing, practicing. To my astonishment I was able to easily draw them all correctly just by remembering the image/ picture/story I had given it, and I did that in less than 5 minutes! I am truly blown away by this! Recognizing something visually and then taking pen to paper to draw it are two very different mindset applications.

I can understand why you would love to see more and more people using this astounding method!!! And I see what you mean when you say building Memory Palaces does a lot more than help memorize vocabulary, poetry, names, concepts or whatever. Once I started coming up with images it became easier, just as you say. It was as if the rusty cogs in the brain machine were getting oiled. But even better, I was having a blast coming up with more and more outrageous images and stories. Feeling more creative? Trusting my imagination and what it brings forth? Laughing out loud while memorizing a foreign language? Are you kidding? Wow! I’m 62 and I now know I can learn Hindi and have fun doing it. This should be taught in all schools!! Can you imagine kids being excited about learning?

So let me back up to how I arrived at this � The preparation required to even begin the actual memorizing part was enormous, but what a fantastic learning experience.

You recommend to just get started. Just do it and see how it unfolds. I figured if I waited to read everything you’ve written or listen to all the podcasts before actually doing anything, I’d never get around to doing anything. So I took your advice and your course and just dove in�. and nearly drowned�.but your Excel spreadsheet idea was my life preserver. Here’s why.

The first thing was determining how many letters there are in the Hindi (Devanagari script) language. That was an adventure unto itself and my first challenge. Depending on which source I looked at there are 11-13 vowels and 33-40 consonants (I won’t get into all the whys and wherefores of this). So anywhere from 44- 53 distinct symbols. Add to this the fact that 10 of the 11 vowels have two forms, two distinctly different symbols depending on what positions it holds in a word. So you have to learn 10 more distinct symbols. Then there are many conjuncts but 6 have unique symbols that don’t look anything like their individual parts along with making a new sound. So those must be learned. Now we’re up to what number? I’ve lost count.

I’m saying all this just to point out how important it is to know where to begin, what you’re dealing with. I began with pencil and paper. I thought I knew how many stations I’d need, etc. Then I’d check one of my resources and there’d be another variation. Okay. Cross that out, start over. New piece of paper�..this happened several times. This is when I thought I was going to drown, going a little crazy, saying well, what the heck is the alphabet then? I just want to build a darn memory palace!!

Using your (another learning curve for me) I was able to make changes and adjustments more easily. I also went out and purchased a 1,000 page Hindi to English dictionary (no English to Hindi in it!). This was a great investment. I figured the Oxford version should be reliable. It was actually a great exercise and very enjoyable (I can’t believe I’m saying that) to just flip through the pages and learn about the history of the script, how Oxford went about setting up the dictionary, how the letters are ordered and organized, and very importantly which letters had a lot of pages or just a few which would help me know what size memory palaces to build for each letter when it comes time for me to start memorizing actual words.

All of this preparation took several hours just to get to a complete ‘alphabet� and how I was going to set up the memory palace. I may have belabored it more than I needed to, but it just wasn’t a straightforward alphabet. It was the best thing to do though. It helped me understand how the script is put together, what some of the nuances and exceptions are and I have a much better foundation to build upon. Now I see why your video on ‘Preparation and Predetermination� is so valuable.

About memory palaces in general. I didn’t see how I would ever be able to come up with so many memory palaces as I’m a rather reclusive kind of person. But your suggestions of homes you’ve lived in, neighbors� and relatives� homes, neighborhoods, parks, schools, doctor’s offices, stores, streets, and on and on, got my mind rolling. So I just put the course on pause and took a long walk down memory lane starting from my childhood, thinking of all the places I had been. It was actually an interesting journey to see who and what popped up along the way, but I easily came up with over 100 potential memory palaces just from that one 15 minute effort. So I now know I can easily build on these. And you’re right, you do start paying attention to your surroundings and ventures out into the world more! Just last night I went to a local restaurant and looked at it from the perspective of using it as a memory palace. I just have to laugh.

I now understand why you are so specific in your guidelines such as beginning your first memory palace with one word or letter per room,. Well I didn’t do that because with an alphabet of 60+ distinct symbols I couldn’t grasp (at the time) how to do that with multiple memory palaces. I surely didn’t have a place I could recall well enough that had close to that many rooms. I also wanted to keep the alphabet in my current home, which is on the small side.

By the time I really understood why you said that I had gotten too far into the process to make such a drastic overhaul. But I got to learn from experience that my first memory palace had too many substations in each room (8 in each) and it required more thinking and remembering on my part, just as you say. In fact, each room had a different number in the beginning. I realized soon on that would be too much remembering. Does the guest bedroom have 4 substations or 6? How many substations do I have on the balcony? By putting the same number in each room I didn’t have to use my mind to remember how many for that room. Thanks to the flexibility of the spreadsheet I adjusted and made each room consistent. Yes, I found consistency is important.

You talk about setting certain rules or guidelines for yourself to minimize extra memorization. I found that helpful too. For example there are some symbols that have a 2nd version with a dot underneath. I made a rule that anytime the dot was part of a symbol there was a certain ‘thing� it represented to the overall symbol. Or a rule that if I used a door as a substation it would only be the side when exiting the room, then I wouldn’t have to remember did I use the door in that room for a substation? Both the inside and outside? Or deciding not to use doors at all. Another example is in the bathroom- there are 4 different faucets. At first I designated them as substations before assigning images and stories. When I came to that location on my journey I realized I was getting too confused keeping the images and stories memorized correctly. I experienced the extra effort required to memorize using all 4 faucets. So I chose to use only one. It worked so much better. Yes, Minimize the extra stuff.

Now I see why you devote one of your course talks on the “Perils of Perfectionism�. I witnessed the tendency in me to want it ‘right�. But like you say there isn’t a ‘right� way, it’s what works for the individual. As I’ve shared I made many changes along the way…a change to an image, a change in a story, a change to a station. I found as I went along certain things made more sense to my mind than what I may have originally come up with. And each step along the way more and more understanding and flow comes (just like you say!!) And so much fun!! Oh, and now I don’t live alone. My house is full of strange animals, funny people, and weird objects doing bizarre things.

By the way, Now I see why you say we must actually set aside the time to do memorization and recall because before you know it you’ll find your head on your pillow realizing the day somehow slipped by yet again without doing any vocabulary memorization. So setting a specific time, whatever that may be, is really vital.

This brings me to your recent survey asking people whether they would see benefit in having you provide images for students to use to help them memorize . I SAY A RESOUNDING NO! Had I not taken the course and jumped in to do it I may have said yes, that sounds like a good idea. But the ‘yes� most likely comes from the uncertainty people feel about starting. Because it’s such an ‘out of the box� approach to learning/memorizing we ask ourselves if we’re really creative, if we have a good enough imagination, or an imagination at all, or doubt that we know enough places to designate as potential memory places. What if I don’t get it right? On and on�

Now that I’ve actually ‘done it� (by making lots of blunders) I fully agree with you that the images coming from one’s own imagination will be the strongest and easiest to remember. The imagery you presented in the survey was surely interesting. But what if I don’t know who Ezra Pound is? Or I am not familiar with the Christian symbol for fish? Or the eels don’t look like eels to me? Then I’ll have to memorize even more than the alphabet letter these images are meant to represent. I agree with you, it’s more work.

It’s adding another layer that isn’t necessary. Our cultural and educational backgrounds, our life experiences, our emotional nature�.all of these will contribute to our understanding or lack thereof of someone else’s images. I would say because of your unique background, extensive education and expansive life experiences you can draw on a vast number of images that I wouldn’t have a clue about or any connection with. You give examples of your images and stories in the course which I feel are enough to spark one’s own imagination. Maybe giving a few (just a few J) more graphic examples would be helpful just to let people see how far out there one can take it.

I say just start. Trust yourself. Trust the process. It may go slow in the beginning, but very quickly a door opens up into a whole new world and perhaps a whole new relationship with your mind. It’s like giving yourself permission to be inventive, creative, a little crazy. And who knows where that will lead! I wouldn’t give up the fun I’ve been having making up images and wild stories!

I’m also glad I didn’t listen to all the podcasts or read too much before building my first memory palace. There’s more than enough in your course already. All the other tips and suggestions from you and other experts in the field would only put too many ideas in my head and then I would be overwhelmed as to where to begin. I can always pursue those at a later time.

For me, the course stands on its own. It is so finely crafted, inclusive, easily paced with short enough segments. I never felt I had to stop in the middle of a section because it was too long. Taking notes was helpful along with the titles you used for each segment. I was able to go to that particular section or review my notes as it was really useful for me to revisit certain ideas as I was creating my first memory palace.

I found your presentation style engaging yet simply straightforward and accessible. Your course(s) and newsletters reveal your enormous generosity with your time, knowledge and experience, a genuine commitment to helping each person with their questions, and an uncommon generosity to network people and support other experts in the field. I appreciate your passion for learning and experimenting with life and the brain’s infinite capacity. Quite a package you are Anthony! A rare bird indeed. You’re an inspiration and I send oceans of gratitude, and blessings to you for your gifts to reach out to an ever-widening circle of people.

Next for me is choosing the vocabulary to memorize. I have decided to devote approximately 10 memory palaces to themes such as food, time, colors , numbers, grammar, etc. as I get the feeling this will be helpful to have for quick reference, as well as for words I can use right away in everyday activities. Then I’ll have memory palaces for each letter as well.

Okay Monsieur Metivier. All for now. I hope this hasn’t been to long, but if any of this can be of benefit to another you are welcome to share. I’m just so glad I found you, and I know if I get stuck or overwhelmed that I can email you my questions and you will respond. That’s a gift in itself.

One more thing�

P.S.

Before I finish here I thought you may want to know how I found you.. I stay connected with my mom by playing an online scrabble type game. I ‘accidentally� saw a video of yours that popped up on a site I came across when doing a search for two-letter words. I got drawn into the site� I found myself clicking on memorization techniques (primarily because I never remember the two-letter words, or much else for that matter!) a video of a 6 year old who had memorized the U.S. presidents using different rooms in her house, and another video about Ron White, who apparently is a champion memorizer (I’m new to this). But somehow, without my conscious intention or choice, a podcast of yours came up ( I can’t even find it again on this website!?!) and I listened to it…I really was drawn to the sound of your voice, what you were saying, even though I had never seriously thought about improving my memory, and next thing I knew I went to your website,

Then I signed up for your newsletter (I am typically loathe to do that! I’m a chronic unsubscriber!), read several and enjoyed every one, found myself getting excited about improving my memory and learning Hindi (I’ve been living in India for way too long not to know it!), then I signed up for your online course.

Here’s the part you can laugh at if you’d like. It’s embarrassingly funny (to me). You offer your online course on Udemy. For some reason I thought Udemy was only offered on IOS devices. This was because I use an Ipad for most all my internet stuff. When I clicked through to your course from the website I had to download an app for Udemy. Well I’m not so up-to-date on all things technical � the app required IOS 6 or later. I still had 5.1 and for reasons I won’t go into I can’t currently upgrade. I thought, well, my phone, an old iPhone 3 has IOS 6 and I’ll download it on there. So I proceeded to take your full course looking at this tiny little screen, using a magnifying glass whenever you showed documents. Do you think I was serious about learning?

Okay, here’s the funny part. When I finished the course and I got to the part where I wanted to use an Excel spreadsheet I took out my 7 year old Macbook and as I was setting it up and doing some internet surfing I had a flash (talk about belated). Wait a minute, I wonder if Udemy is available on laptops. So I found the site and signed in and saw that I could have taken the course with a normal view. OMG! I just didn’t connect the two in the beginning.

The other great surprise was how much more info is available-all the answers you give to questions.

Further Resources:

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, discusses in detail how he memorized all 50 Spanish provinces using his first Memory Palace in one go. Amazing results anyone can achieve any place, at any age and at any time.

You’ll also learn:

* How to make great leaps towards fluency even without traveling to a new country. (Though you should definitely experience as many different countries as you possibly can!)

* The facts about how people have always been holistically and organically learning languages (and how you can put these simple principles to work for yourself).

* The importance of looking at art in order to improve your visual memory. (This simple discussion is worth the time you’ll spend listening to this podcast on its own).

* How to visualize for success during a job interview � especially when the interview is not in your first language! Daniel’s thoughts on this will raise your game.

* How Daniel memorized all 50 of the provinces of Spain using a simple Memory Palace.

* How to “think� visually even if you can’t “see� in your imagination.

* The specific time investment he needed to accomplish this feat of memory � which was surprisingly little!

* Detailed notes on exactly how much work is involved in using the Magnetic Memory Method � and the painful alternative.

* How Daniel memorized hundreds of years of monarchs using a new Memory Palace.

* Why memorization is nothing more than a confidence game and how to get a quick victory in order to build your belief in yourself along with determination, tenacity and the daring courage we all need to develop new skills.

* Why you need to start your journey as an advanced Memorizer with things that interest you before diving into complex and abstract information.

* Why visualizing spelling is a great introduction to the technique. You’ve been looking at printed letters your entire life, after all!

* Why the most powerful writing you can do takes less than 59 seconds � assuming you do the recommended exercise by hand (no typing).

* Daniel’s immediate discouragement with using the Magnetic Memory Method, the joke surrounding it and how he overcame the frustration using a codfish and blood sausage.

* Why using a Memory Palaces is really no different than playing a game.

* The controversy with mnemonic examples and why even things that make no sense for you can still teach you how to use the Magnetic Memory Method (and any form of mnemonics) so long as you take action.

* and why you’re doing it whether you realize it or not.

* Why you should stop worrying about the sex and violence elements of memory skills and start loving the results of memorizing and recalling just about anything you want.

* How working with a Memory Palace according to the Magnetic Memory Method will defeat the serial positioning effect, the primacy effect and the forgetting curve each and every time that you properly use Magnetic Recall Rehearsal.

* How memory skills relate to the fear of losing your time, money and sanity and how to ease this unconscious fear using Memory Palaces.

* Why focusing on vocabulary can give you amazing advantages in terms of guessing what’s going on while traveling � though there is no getting past the “Tarzan stage� without grammar.

*Ìý The number one reason why “poor learnersâ€� fail to improve and what to do in order to overcome any negative thinking you may have about your abilities to pick up new knowledge and skills.

* � and much, much more.

Tune in now to this special episode of the Magnetic Memory Method and learn just how little it takes to experience massive success with your memory.

Further Resources

on Udemy (use coupon code “podcast�)

Wikipedia article on the � not that you need to worry about it ever again!

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on or .

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast �

The Truth �

The Facts �

And the Lies about �

Memorizing Facts with Mnemonics

Program Notes

Dear Memorizer,

This podcast episode is based on a note I received recently. It goes like this:

Hello Anthony!

First of all, congratulations for these great methods that you have developed, they really work and have been very helpful for me to memorize a lot of stuff.

I have read some of your books, heard all of your podcasts and understand very well how to memorize by using memory palaces and “crazy� associations.

However, I study advanced economics and I have found it very difficult to memorize certain concepts and theories due to the fact that there are several variables which correlate with each other in many different ways. Also I find it difficult to create vivid and colorful images of interest rates, change rates, investment and other things like that. Every time I try to imagine weird things, I end up making up complicated stories in my mind which add complexity to the memorization process.

Could you give me some advice on this please?

Thank you very much in advance for your reply!!

Have a great day!

Thanks for your message and for entrusting me to answer your question.

First off, you might want to watch what is probably my most popular video on the topic addresses concept memorization.

With respect to variables and correlations, I recommend not focusing on these. Instead, focus on core information and then experiment with building Memory Palaces just for correlations and just for variables. Without knowing your subject, it’s difficult to tell you exactly how, but even if I did, your experimentation will do more for you than my instruction now that you know the techniques.

The thing to go for is what I call the “rhizomatic� effect. We often use the term “building knowledge,� which assumes that it’s a bottom up process.

But what if we could build knowledge laterally? And in a way that goes up and down? In a way that little bubbles of new knowledge spring up spontaneously as we proceed?

That’s what multiple Memory Palaces will do for you. And the more strategically designed they are, the better for creating these kinds of connections.

So again: I personally don’t think fussing too much about the variables etc. will bring much unless you treat them as individual units (as such). So, let’s so that:

Core information x has 25 variables.

You could either:

1) Build a Memory Palace for storing all kinds of core information and then have secondary Memory Palaces for variables.

2) Build a Memory Palace just for one piece of core information and then include all of the variables and correlates you need along that journey.

I would suggest experimenting with both.

Why? Because �

You never lose by experimenting.
In fact, you create that rhizomatic effect I’m talking about even if things don’t work out. Because the Memory Palaces and procedures that didn’t work still exist. They’ve taught you something. They might even have a bit of information in them that can be salvaged.Finally, complicated images and stories are a trial by fire that we all need to go through at the beginning. With experience, you’ll learn to streamline the process. You’ll stop throwing in everything but the kitchen sink.

But this “economy of means� can only be achieved by experience, and doing.
And like I said, all experiments will be valuable.Just don’t overthink the process.

Don’t fall prey to doubt.
Think of it like exercise:
How do you learn to execute a properly formed pushup?By feeling your way into it.

By experiencing the consequences � even if only a little � of a poorly formed pushup.
It’s really that simple.

Keep me posted on how you fare and let me know if you have any further questions.

Further Resources

.

.

About the author: Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, a systematic, 21st Century approach to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, dreams, names, music, poetry and much more in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun.