How to Develop a Super Power Memory

Rating:
Summary: Extremely helpful and very entertaining
Review: A great number of years ago I bought this book at the airport in Eugene, Oregon. On the flight to Los Angeles I read the book while a salesman sitting beside me wanted to talk. When I finished the book he said, " Do you really think that book will help you?". I said that I didn't know, but that we should put me through a test. I took out the in-flight magaizine in front on me and scanned the first 20 pages. I then gave him the magazine and asked that he give me a page number and I would tell him what advertisers were on that page. He went through all 20 pages and I could recall at least one advertiser on each page. Then I had him give me an advertiser and I would tell him what page it was on. The last time I saw that salesman was in the Los Angeles airport as he was rushing off to a bookstore looking for the book. Over the years I have give demostrations that leave people's mouths open. I can walk into a social setting, meet 20-30 people and be able to recall everyone's name immediately afterwards. People think I have a great memory. Over the years I think the memory muscle has truly developed itself. I got my start from this book and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. I haven't read the book for at least 15-20 years and just recently ordered another copy from Amazon.com. It will work for you with a little practice and a strong positive attitude. Best of luck.

Rating:
Summary: the bible
Review: I'll try to be brief. Ok,Mr.Lorayne uses the Link and Peg system throughout the book. For instance if you had a list of things you would use the link system. You make up a picture of each item on the list than use an ilogical visual story to connect each item. Your visual story must be ilogical as he stresses throughout the book. The problem is you have to be good at making illogical stories and be able to memorize those stories. Of course he doesn't teach you how to do that. The peg system works on the fact that you only remember something unless it's associated to something else. He uses a phonetic alphabet system by which each sound stands for a number. This way you can memorize words by numbers and vice versa. If you memorize the alphabet you will recall the numbers or words. Now you have a group of words that have no relationship to each other. Therefore he uses the link system to memorize the words. Again your back to the problem with the link system where you have to be good at creating and memorizing stories. Honestly this is just Mnemonics. If you like to create stories of fish sitting on couches to memorize, than buy the book. For the rest of you, use the tried and true repitition way. I know it's slow and frustrating but what else is there. If anyone has a better way than Mnemonics, email me at [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: The real thing. You'll find learning other things easier.
Review: I'm currently using Lorayne's methods, and find them good for mental exercises. I won't deny that they do require quite a good deal of right-brain power. His system seems to work using creative principles rather than the dry discipline of rote-memorization.

Unfortunately, I've found that being a product of public schooling, my creativity is rather stunted. Creating mental "pictures" for "silly" stories can be taxing, but it does work. Recently, I found I was able to maintain a list of a hundred items in a mental array, although it took some effort to put them there. But, now I can traverse this array of valuable items sequentially, backwards, or randomly with little effort.

Some people aren't comfortable in exerting too much mental energy all at once, and would rather take it slower. I don't mind admitting that I'm one of those people. But, after memorizing a list of 100 items (and other feats I won't expand on here), I soon realized that I would have a hard time forgetting them. This intrigued me. I think that, after the initial effort, things were actually getting easier. I suppose that there's truth in the idea that the brain can be considered a muscle (not literally, I know), and that exercising it regularly strengthens it resulting in easier mental exertion. I would say that Lorayne has proven to me that the brain is more like a set of muscles. Some parts work fine, but others are atrophied soon after pre-school by underemphasizing creativity (right-brain?).

To continue in the this train of thought, it seems to me that there is a mental cost to either rote-memorization or Lorayne's unique synergy of known memorization methods. Rote requires the expenditure of medium amounts of mental energy/effort across several sessions. This must be done with a certain frequency, depending on the difficulty-level of the material to be memorized. Lorayne requires the immediate expenditure of a larger amount of mental energy at the beginning of learning a subject, no matter how difficult the material, then tiny amounts in follow-up reinforcement sessions. The major cost of rote is time; the major cost of Lorayne's method is mental energy (initial effort). Mental energy renews itself and is easier to expend with use; time is non-renewable and can only be spent.

There's something else I learned, and which may help those who have difficulty "imagining" stories as one reviewer complained of. If you can understand a moving image seen on TV, you can duplicate it in your mind (just recall what you've just immediately seen happen). If you can duplicate it in your mind, you can duplicate it with some minor alteration (change a color for instance, or size of the objects/persons in the image). If you can duplicate it with a minor alteration, you can duplicate it with major alterations (now, it's just a matter of extremes - smaller, bigger, brighter, nude). Finally, if you can duplicate it with major alterations, you can make a new moving mental image not related with the original in anyway (this is derivation or at the extreme end, creation).

Luckily, several generations have grown up watching television, which is a rich source of moving images/stories one can practice with. The problem with it is that we watch it too often in a passive frame of mind. This isn't normally conducive to memorization. If we watch passively, we may not remember the whole show. However, if a scene was funny or scary, they are often clear enough in our minds the next day to repeat to friends by the water cooler. To the point, this is Lorayne's contribution to memorization. He added this little bit of essential glue to tie together all the other known memorization techniques into something finally useful. Make it silly, make it memorable. Memorable - in this context, I now understand what that word actually means.

Now, if you make the story violent, or comical, or erotic (sexy is too tame), or frightening, or disgusting, you'll be using a portion of your brain most people don't normally associate with learning. However, the image will be irrepressible, and you're not likely to forget it; particularly, if you imagine mixing other sensations with the images such as the smell of a rose, the prick of a thorn, the clashing of cymbals, or the bitterness of day-old coffee. Read Lorayne's book on how to do it properly and you'll be able to apply it to practical situations like I did.

For exercise, read many books in an active manner by questioning and imagining different situations or possibilities from what you've just immediately read (fantasize!). Watch television (particularly the news) actively as well (imagine the newscasters as nude for starters, then give them Mohawks -ha!) and do it whenever you can. I've started using Lorayne's techniques as a hobby, or a mental game, and I'm discovering it's quite fun. Get his other books to learn of more examples on how to use the techniques.

A final piece of advice for those unwilling to try this very creative method of learning, and would prefer something closer to rote. There's a very efficient method called SuperMemo. Do a search on the web, and find the "pencil and paper" method. As I've said, it's very efficient, but it will take a couple hours of practice to get it right.

Incidentally, I gave Lorayne's book 5 stars although I initially found stories hard to create (that's not his fault, that's our society). I gave it that rating because it works and is delightful to master.

Rating:
Summary: The real thing. You'll find learning other things easier.
Review: I'm currently using Lorayne's methods, and find them good for mental exercises. I won't deny that they do require quite a good deal of right-brain power. His system seems to work using creative principles rather than the dry discipline of rote-memorization.

Unfortunately, I've found that being a product of public schooling, my creativity is rather stunted. Creating mental "pictures" for "silly" stories can be taxing, but it does work. Recently, I found I was able to maintain a list of a hundred items in a mental array, although it took some effort to put them there. But, now I can traverse this array of valuable items sequentially, backwards, or randomly with little effort.

Some people aren't comfortable in exerting too much mental energy all at once, and would rather take it slower. I don't mind admitting that I'm one of those people. But, after memorizing a list of 100 items (and other feats I won't expand on here), I soon realized that I would have a hard time forgetting them. This intrigued me. I think that, after the initial effort, things were actually getting easier. I suppose that there's truth in the idea that the brain can be considered a muscle (not literally, I know), and that exercising it regularly strengthens it resulting in easier mental exertion. I would say that Lorayne has proven to me that the brain is more like a set of muscles. Some parts work fine, but others are atrophied soon after pre-school by underemphasizing creativity (right-brain?).

To continue in the this train of thought, it seems to me that there is a mental cost to either rote-memorization or Lorayne's unique synergy of known memorization methods. Rote requires the expenditure of medium amounts of mental energy/effort across several sessions. This must be done with a certain frequency, depending on the difficulty-level of the material to be memorized. Lorayne requires the immediate expenditure of a larger amount of mental energy at the beginning of learning a subject, no matter how difficult the material, then tiny amounts in follow-up reinforcement sessions. The major cost of rote is time; the major cost of Lorayne's method is mental energy (initial effort). Mental energy renews itself and is easier to expend with use; time is non-renewable and can only be spent.

There's something else I learned, and which may help those who have difficulty "imagining" stories as one reviewer complained of. If you can understand a moving image seen on TV, you can duplicate it in your mind (just recall what you've just immediately seen happen). If you can duplicate it in your mind, you can duplicate it with some minor alteration (change a color for instance, or size of the objects/persons in the image). If you can duplicate it with a minor alteration, you can duplicate it with major alterations (now, it's just a matter of extremes - smaller, bigger, brighter, nude). Finally, if you can duplicate it with major alterations, you can make a new moving mental image not related with the original in anyway (this is derivation or at the extreme end, creation).

Luckily, several generations have grown up watching television, which is a rich source of moving images/stories one can practice with. The problem with it is that we watch it too often in a passive frame of mind. This isn't normally conducive to memorization. If we watch passively, we may not remember the whole show. However, if a scene was funny or scary, they are often clear enough in our minds the next day to repeat to friends by the water cooler. To the point, this is Lorayne's contribution to memorization. He added this little bit of essential glue to tie together all the other known memorization techniques into something finally useful. Make it silly, make it memorable. Memorable - in this context, I now understand what that word actually means.

Now, if you make the story violent, or comical, or erotic (sexy is too tame), or frightening, or disgusting, you'll be using a portion of your brain most people don't normally associate with learning. However, the image will be irrepressible, and you're not likely to forget it; particularly, if you imagine mixing other sensations with the images such as the smell of a rose, the prick of a thorn, the clashing of cymbals, or the bitterness of day-old coffee. Read Lorayne's book on how to do it properly and you'll be able to apply it to practical situations like I did.

For exercise, read many books in an active manner by questioning and imagining different situations or possibilities from what you've just immediately read (fantasize!). Watch television (particularly the news) actively as well (imagine the newscasters as nude for starters, then give them Mohawks -ha!) and do it whenever you can. I've started using Lorayne's techniques as a hobby, or a mental game, and I'm discovering it's quite fun. Get his other books to learn of more examples on how to use the techniques.

A final piece of advice for those unwilling to try this very creative method of learning, and would prefer something closer to rote. There's a very efficient method called SuperMemo. Do a search on the web, and find the "pencil and paper" method. As I've said, it's very efficient, but it will take a couple hours of practice to get it right.

Incidentally, I gave Lorayne's book 5 stars although I initially found stories hard to create (that's not his fault, that's our society). I gave it that rating because it works and is delightful to master.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent memory book
Review: If you have any imagination at all, Harry Lorayne's memory techniques will work for you. His techniques can help you memorize long lists of unrelated items, memorize numbered lists, and come up with systems that will help you memorize nearly anything (speeches, lines for a play, daily schedules, etc.). They work wonders.
A reviewer below said that his systems involve coming up with and memorizing a story. That's not really true. Creating a simple image or short scene in your mind (takes seconds) is more than enough to help you memorize each item in a list. You simply have to link each item to the items before and after it, you don't have to have a long, continuous story. If you have much imagination at all, it's really simple and fast. If you're not a visual person, it may be more difficult.
However, there are two downsides to Lorayne's systems. The first is that most of his books, including this one, are very gimmicky. They have huge promises on the cover (many of which are true) that make them seem too good to be true, and he spends most of his time showing you parlor tricks to impress your friends, so for a serious study of memory techniques or for use in school or an academic setting, you may be better off picking up one of his other books.
The other downside is that his techniques mainly help with short- and mid-term memory. You will have to go over a list or a set of associations in your head many times, often over a period of a few days, before it will become long term memory. However, using his techniques still makes this faster and easier than repetition - repeating something to yourself a couple times a day for a few days until you're sure you have it memorized is much easier than going over it 100+ times.

Rating:
Summary: How to Develop a Super Power Memory by Harry Lorayne
Review: The book is an excellent rendition on the mechanics of memory
development and retention. According to the author, association and interest are key aspects of memory development. Mental pictures are important for recall. The author recommends
name recognition by continuous use in introductions, general conversation etc. Correlations are cited as a popular mechanism
for associating words with pictures. This work is an important
contribution to personal planning and improvement strategies.
The techniques explained herein are applicable to a plethora
of social relationships in business, academe and in informal
encounters.