Customer Reviews

How to Develop a Super-Power Memory: Names, Faces, Numbers, Events, Facts, Ideas!

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

The book is written in very simple language.It is pretty thin so it does not discourage you from reading it in case you don't have too much patience. I found it extremely useful in my final semesters of engineering when I was required to appear in exams which at times were just a few hours apart.The chain links and peg methods were very useful and allowed me to remember important points and numbers,many of which I had studied more than a month before by exams .Just a last minute glance at the pegs was enough to allow me to recollect all the data on the subject.

In the first few chapters, Harry Lorayne gets you to memorise 100 peg words - attaching words to numbers 1 to 100 and memorising them.

"What?!" was my reaction when I found out I was supposed to do it. My short-term and long-term memory began declining years ago due to depression and heavy medication. My test and exam results haven't been so good because of these memory problems. I didn't think I could do this 100 peg word stunt.

But don't worry, and try it. Lorayne first teaches you to associate consonant sounds for each digit from 1 to 9, and 0. For example, the sound for #1 is T or D (the letter T has one downstroke). The sound for #2 is N (typewritten n has two downstrokes).

This way, when you later have to memorise the peg word for #12, you know the word starts with a 't' sound and ends with a 'n' or 'd' sound. For example, 'tin'. For #21, the word would start with a 'n' sound and end with a 't' or 'd' sound. For example, 'net'.

So 100 words may be difficult to remember, but the ones Lorayne suggest will not so difficult with this "sound guide". And these 100 words are very important because they play a big part in the later chapters in helping you remember dates, appointments, telephone numbers, addresses etc.

Besides these, Super Power Memory also teaches you how to remember your grocery/to-do list, train your observation, remember speeches, foreign language vocabulary, names and faces, facts about people, how to not be absent-minded, how to amaze your friends with a 400 digit memory feat and how to memorise the Morse Code in 30 minutes.

I've put some of Lorayne's methods to the test and have been successful in keeping names, appointments and grocery lists in my head. I'm very pleased I read this book and forced myself to memorise those 100 peg words.

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.

This book is my Bible. I was introduced to this book by a referral from another book, interestingly enough, a magic book. The "pitch" was: "memorize a whole deck of cards." Just the mere thought of that intrigued me. The potential of this book is formidable. I've put fear into people by using the techniques in this book, not because I wanted to. Our society seems to deem memory as a...well, sin, something of a taboo. People, as mentioned in this book, are used to the idea of "sporting" a bad memory. People seem to be encouraged to forget things. When one can remember, one is labeled "supernatural." I often "teach" the simple techniques to associates only to realize that they come to look at it as just simply a novelty. Yeah...right, whatever. This "novelty" has yielded a plethora of rewards for me. I'm also bewildered at the myriad of "sceptics" who seem to deem the techniques as "unworthy" of their time. If it works, use it. Never mind the simplicity that's involved. I think the simplicity is the most redoubtable aspect of it all. By the way, I credit this book, soley, for the aid in building my vocabulary.

I was forgetful and stickum notes were all over. I ordered a memory course and forgot where I put it. Then Harry's book came along, and before too long... I now know so well, I can never forget it! A powerful memory is a wonderful tool. Those without one can be played for a fool. So, if your memory you want to improve, order this book, it's the one for you!

*This is a review of the Kindle version*

Someone did a horrible job at converting it into a Kindle version. The text is full of typos and "left overs" from the scan/OCR process (such as headers and page numbers appearing in the middle of the text). And charts and tables are just a mess, really confusing. Really a pity, because the book is an easy and enjoyable read.

This book has easy to apply techniques aimed at remembering
names, faces, facts and a plethora of details the average
person encounters each day. The work covers:
o memory methods and links
o pegging systems of memory
o how to train observation
o remembering speeches, scripts etc.
o card playing memory devices
o digital number sequence memorization
o remembering dates

An important memory device in the book is to develop associative
mechanisms to relate the words to be memorized to cognizable
"catch phrases, sayings and common everyday vocabulary".
Samuel Johnson once stated that " The true art of memory is the
art of attention. Put another way, one must be interested in the
subject matter in order to have the requisite incentive to recall
it. At some point, you must make up your mind to have the
requisite interest in order to remember numbers, people , dates
and a host of other trivia too numerous to list here.
A popular PEG system of memory is employed in the work . The
system was first introduced by Stanislaus Mink von Wennsshein
circa 1648. In the year 1730, the entire system was modified
by Dr.Richard Grey, of England, who called the idea, letter or
number equivalents. In order to learn the method, participants
must first learn a simple phonetic alphabet representing keys
or memory aids. In essence, the mind becomes trained to translate
alphabetic representations into easy-to-recall numbers and
vice versa. The author even provides simple ways to remember
foreign language vocabulary and sentence structures. Similarly,
faces can be remembered by associating particular characteristics
with the person whose name you wish to recall. For instance,
assume that Mr. Style dresses well all the time. Remembering
this name would be easy. Every time you see the same person
dressed stylishly- associate the style of dress with the name
Style. This work would be valuable to students, teachers and
a whole host of professionals dealing with the nuts and bolts
of language recall on a daily basis.

Mr. Lorayne has a system that most people do not know about, or perhaps some have used subconciously in the past. As with learning a new system, IT WILL TAKE SOME EFFORT IN THE BEGINNING. But only a little, not a whole lot actually. It just requires practice. After a few days of practicing the system, it will become easier, and after a few weeks, it will become second nature like speaking. Some people may argue that "old fashioned mnemonics, or repetition is better." It is a matter of opinion, mnemonics are good, but if you can't remember the word, what then? Repetition may work, but for some people, as soon as they read something, no matter how many times they repeat it, it never kicks in their memory!

It's hard to describe it all in one short review, but the bottom line is - the book presents a system, before you give it a positive or negative review, give it a REAL try and see if the system works as it promises. And you are by no means constricted to using his system, you can combine it with your own, or select only a few principles that appeal to you. Each principle however, builds on top of one another, and is EASY to understand and presented in PLAIN language.

This book has helped me stop forgetting things ONCE and for all.

Read the introduction of this book, and you will see that the first few pages have wild, outlandish claims - BUT THEY ARE NOT!

ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE, WILL be able to use this system and PERFORM all those amazing feats of memory.