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Thinking about how to improve my memory I encountered another ‘new’ kick toward Mnemonics. In the attempt to do research Google suggested for more information I visit the School of Phenomenal Memory on the interweb - http://www.pmemory.com/ . So I took the plunge and started reading their promo material. Apparently they offer training (for a fee) over the internet that will even enable the paying student to be able to memorize entire books. Wow! Just what I need! I will never again have to struggle with Shogun since I have read it so many times already… well maybe only one more time to do the memorizing.
One of the most notable things I found and will never forget is this information directly from their homepage:
“Simple Memory Improvement facts you need to know!
1. You cannot improve your memory:
a. By reading a book on memory improvement.
b. By listening to memory improvement CDs or audio tapes.
c. By watching memory improvement videos.
d. By attending a seminar on memory improvement.
e. By taking memory improvement pills or medication.”
So much for the simple method and drug induced euphoria and all the other simple tricks I had been considering. I guess I will just start with the enrollment and get on with the memory workouts they suggest.
While on the site I decided to download the Free Giordano Memorization System Manual by Vladimir Kozarenko (a noted Russian researcher and author) in case there was a test later even though I do not intend to memorize the book… I will however review it and do a book report in a future blog posting if it is worth the trouble. The first thing that was definitely worth the trouble was immediately unsubscribing to the flood of email that followed the downloading of the wonderful free book which lists itself as a manual 161 pages long. Oh how I long to have an iPad or Android Tablet to store this on so I carry it around.
Since the entire second page of the book is the copyright and I don’t want to break Federal Law it might be better if I just commit the entire thing to memory since that is the one thing not listed as being illegal. I wonder if I should use their method outlined in the book or if I should rely on Encyclopedia Britannica instead:
“mnemonic
any device for aiding the memory. Named for Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory in Greek mythology, mnemonics are also called memoria technica. The principle is to create in the mind an artificial structure that incorporates unfamiliar ideas or, especially, a series of dissociated ideas that by themselves are difficult to remember. Ideally, the structure is designed so that its parts are mutually suggestive. Grouping items in rhymed verse has long been a popular mnemonic technique, from the "gender rhymes" of the Latin grammars to the verse for remembering the number of days in the months ("Thirty days hath September, April, June and November").
Learn more about mnemonic with a free trial on Britannica.com.”
From what I can gather from Google (my primary mnemonic colleague and crutch) Vladimir Kozarenko, instead of rhyming, seems to be a proponent of the “The Chain Method” which is a mnemonic technique, where visual representations of information are directly chained in series, one after another. Wiki says that “The Chain Method” ‘is useful for memorizing lists and connected pieces of information' and there are specific rules for using this mnemonic. Rule #1 is that the rules must be followed so that the memory technique works correctly. Rule #2 is that in developing the visual chain or representation of what is to be memorized (although Wiki lists it as #1) “only two items are visualized in the mind at a time.” And Rule #3 and #4 although not listed separately but as subsets of #2 are “Both images need to be visualized largely, colorfully, and in great detail. To ensure that the order of items is not confused, the second image is always placed, in the imagination, above, on the right side of, or piercing, the previous image.”
Wiki states: “This method is very good for quick memorization of simple information. One of the weaknesses of the method is its dependency on itself. If one of the connections is broken, it is very difficult to recall the rest of the list.”
I think that may take too much time to use to memorize an entire tome.
This method was derived from some information reviewed in yesterday’s research in the National Geographic article that harkened back to the Romans who borrowed heavily from the Greeks who in turn borrowed from the Egyptians. I am sure that the Egyptians probably borrowed the idea from somebody else.
I am not so sure how valuable this method of memorization is but obviously a lot of people over a long period of time thought highly of visualization if they did not religiously follow “The Chain Method”. For me it is not so much the inability to recall simple information… I always have my trusty pads to write them down. What I need to remember where the list is recorded – is it a notebook, an envelope or on the edge of a newspaper section near the Sudoku. And just as important where the pad or sheet of paper where that list is located.
DakotaDawg and I will continue our research of Mnemonics even though we both have no difficulty remembering where her food or water bowls are. On the issue of remembering the correct response to a command I seriously doubt that she will visualize any more than the treat in my hand or still in the cupboard.
I don’t have to remember in what subdirectory the Free Giordano Memorization System Manual by Vladimir Kozarenko is located. If WinDoze Explorer can not find it from the suggestions I type into the search box there is always Google or my trusty blog to find out where I can once again download my free copy and receive all of the other promotional literature from the School of Phenomenal Memory on the interweb.
I remember… oh yeah, must be Mnemonics.
© steven d philbrick sr+ DakotaDawg 09/14/2010
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