A Portal for On-line Memory Techniques

A reader of this blog, Bruce Hopkins, recently told me about his new web-site portal for web-sites on memorization techniques. This site (bruce.hopkins@memorymethods.com) is a wonderful resource. I just checked a few of the links and was pleased with what I found. Much of the information I already know, being the “Memory Medic,” but I learned some new things.

 For example, the site that explains the “phonetic system” for memorizing numbers (http://www.got2know.net/) convinced me that you don’t always have to create words that are nouns. I have always thought nouns were essential, because they can be represented in a visual image. For example, I represent the number one with “tie,” but this site also suggests “the, do, and it.” While the latter three words have no visual image, they can be used to construct acrostics. That brings me to the site’s supposed best feature: it claims you can type in any long number and get an acrostic. But I could not get the interactive part of the site to work either on IE or Chrome.

A few sites focus on specific topics, such as medicine or chemistry. The medical site (http://www.medicalmnemonics.com/) has a browsing index that allows you find all their memory tips for a given body function. The chemistry site (http://img.com.tripod.com/mnemonics/chemistry.htm) has some good acrostics for memorizing the periodic table.

Another site has an interesting approach to memorizing text verbatim, as in Bible verses, speeches, quotations, etc. (http://www.productivity501.com/how-to-memorize-verbatim-text/294/). The emphasis is on recalling not repeating. This fits nicely with my view that self-testing is the key to good memorization. In this site’s approach, you re-write the text’s first letter of each word, and then practice recalling the original words by looking at the letters. The site even has dialog boxes where you can type in the text to memorize and it will display the first letters of each word you typed.

Another interesting site generates the equivalent of flash cards (http://fullrecall.com/).  The software is similar to common flashcard programs: knowledge is stored in question-answer pairs. You add the question-answer pairs yourself. In review mode you are presented the questions, one by one. To every question you'll think about an answer, and after a while you'll be confronted with the correct answer. After seeing the correct answer, you'll be asked for a grade that estimates how well you remembered the correct answer.

Another flashcard site (http://www.flashqard-project.org/) is very robust. Each computer generated flash card can accept multiple images (remember images are easier to remember than words) and has a search tool for on-line images. It even has a score tracker.

Some of these sites have links to other sites. For example, I stumbled on Anki, a flash card system that synchronizes your cards across multiple computers, and has a smart-review algorithm that schedules the spacing of self-testing sessions based on how difficult you thought each given card was to answer. See http://ankisrs.net/

In addition, there are links to several mind map programs, dictionaries, repositories of synonyms and rhymes.

I look forward to seeing Bruce’s portal evolve as he finds and adds new memory sites.

New e-book on Better Grades, Less Effort

Better Grades News Release, Sept. 20, 2011
From: Benecton Press

Dr. Bill Klemm, "Memory Medic," has just released a new e-book, Better Grades, Less Effort. The book is available from Smashwords.com IN ALL E-FORMATS for only $2.49 (order from http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/24623). Read the 5-star reviews there. Amazon has it for Kindle.

The book explains the memory tips and tricks he used to become valedictorian, an Honors student in three universities -- including graduating with a D.V.M. degree, and to secure a PhD in two-and-a-half years. He shares what he has learned about student approaches to study over 47 years as a professor. Klemm claims that poor memory is what holds most students back from superior achievement.

Dr. Klemm has priced the book so that every student can afford it. He argues that this book can change a person's life, as his own experience with learning how to learn changed his life. He says, "If you won't invest the cost of a burger in your future, what does that say about your future?"

The ideas in the book are directed to students in high school or college. Parents are urged to explain these ideas to their elementary-school children.

This book is also for any working professional engaged in on-the-job training programs. Dr. Klemm claims It will also help workers master their field and become more competent -- and more likely to be successful.

A Handy List of Memory Tips

One of the followers of this blog called my attention to a useful web site that has a list of 100 things you can do to facilitate memory. Several items deal with remembering names, and others with remembering numbers and lists. Much of this information is also in my book.

I have some quibbles with some of the material, such as recommended foods. The hoopla over gingko balboa, for example, has not been replicated by research. Certain other foods are only beneficial if you are nutritionally deficient.

I particularly like the lists of things you can do to organize information, and even store it conveniently (as with sticky notes, Evernote, etc.) so you don't have to memorize everything.

Check it out: http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2010/100-amazing-memory-hacks-to-maximize-your-brain/

By the way, if you have been following my blog, you will have noticed that it is starting to attract a following. I even get fan mail.