HACKING
YOUR
MEMORY
Learn faster. Be smarter.
ABOUT ME
Microsoft Developer – C#, F#
 Former Development Manager
 Former Enterprise Architect, US Airways
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Currently writing the next Great Windows 8
Killer App in order to Get Rich Quick.
Blog: http://TheSkillfulBrain.com
AGENDA
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Story telling: The Experiment
The Case for Memorization
Three Key Concepts
Foundational Memory Hack: Engaging Your Memory
Foundational Memory Hack: Subverting Location
Foundational Memory Hack: Beating the Numbers
Wrap-up and Review
Resources
THE EXPERIMENT
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Initial result: Seven plus or minus two
THE EXPERIMENT REVISED
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5 minutes.
43 presidents.
100% retention at two weeks.
80% retention at four weeks.
1.
George Washington
16.
Abraham Lincoln
31.
Herbert Hoover
2.
John Adams
17.
Andrew Johnson
32.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
3.
Thomas Jefferson
18.
Ulysses S. Grant
33.
Harry S. Truman
4.
James Madison
19.
Rutherford B. Hayes
34.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
5.
James Monroe
20.
James A. Garfield
35.
John F. Kennedy
6.
John Quincy Adams
21.
Chester A. Arthur
36.
Lyndon B. Johnson
7.
Andrew Jackson
22.
Grover Cleveland
37.
Richard Nixon
8.
Martin Van Buren
23.
Benjamin Harrison
38.
Gerald Ford
9.
William Henry Harrison
24.
Grover Cleveland (again)
39.
Jimmy Carter
10.
John Tyler
25.
William McKinley
40.
Ronald Reagan
11.
James K. Polk
26.
Theodore Roosevelt
41.
George H. W. Bush
12.
Zachary Taylor
27.
William Howard Taft
42.
Bill Clinton
13.
Millard Fillmore
28.
Woodrow Wilson
43.
George W Bush
14.
Franklin Pierce
29.
Warren G. Harding
44.
Barack Obama
15.
James Buchanan
30.
Calvin Coolidge
THE EXPERIMENT REVISED
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
African Lion
African Wild Dog
(cape hunting dog)
Aldabra Tortoise
Andean Bear
Arabian Oryx
Asian Elephant
Bald Eagle
Bornean
Orangutan
Capybara
Cheetah
Chilean Flamingo
Coyote
Crowned Pigeon
Desert Tortoise
Fennec Fox
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
Galapagos Tortoise 30.
Golden Conure
31.
Golden Lion
Tamarin
32.
Grevy Zebra
33.
Hamadryas
Baboon
34.
Mandrill
35.
Meerkat or
Suricate
36.
Mexican Gray Wolf 37.
Mhorr Gazelle
38.
Mountain Lion
39.
Ocelot
40.
Palawan Peacock
Pheasant
Prairie Dog
Radiated Tortoise
Reticulated Giraffe
Rhinoceros
Hornbill
Ring-tailed Lemur
Rothschild's
Mynah
Spotted Necked
Otter
Squirrel Monkey
Sumatran Tiger
Thick-billed Parrot
Warthog
White Faced Saki
White Rhinoceros
THE EXPERIMENT
Initial result: Seven plus or minus two
 Final result: 100+
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MODERN ASSUMPTIONS
Premise: Memorization is very expensive.
 Premise: We are very busy.
 Premise: We have Google and Bing.
 Conclusion: Memorization isn’t cost effective.
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Do thinking here
Store information
here
THE LIMITED ACCESS PROBLEM
See Pragmatic Thinking And
Learning, Andy Hunt
THE MENTAL TOOLBOX
Thinking Tools
Memory Tools
Imagination Tools
Logic
Brainstorming
Arithmetic
Mind Maps
Algebra
Meditation
Calculus
Collaborative Writing
Statistics
Stream of
Consciousness
Critical Thinking
Free Association
Etc…
Etc…
THOMAS AQUINAS – 1225-1274
A HISTORY OF ACCESSING INFORMATION
A HISTORY OF ACCESSING INFORMATION
EDUCATION IN THE MIDDLE AGES
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Trivium
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Grammar – the mechanics of language
Logic – analysis and thinking
Rhetoric – communication
Invention
 Arrangement
 Style
 Memory
 Delivery
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Quadrivium
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Geometry
Arithmetic
Astronomy
Music
THE CASE FOR MEMORY: SUMMARY
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There is evidence that having more facts in your
brain leads to better thinking. There is evidence that
Google is not a substitute for knowing stuff.
Training in how to use memory was a foundational
part of a classical education for hundreds of years.
The techniques work, but require considerable effort.
Imagine doing math without any kind of training.
That’s what you’re currently doing with your memory.
Specific memory techniques exist to help you
remember faces, numbers, conversations, large
sections of text (word for word), large sections of text
(Cliff Notes version), lists, sequences, and relations.
KEY CONCEPT: MEMORY RULES
How the decides if something is worth
remembering:
1. Will it keep you from getting eaten by a tiger?
2. Is it new? Is it novel?
3. Is it relevant for understanding social norms?
a)
b)
4.
5.
6.
7.
Is it gossip?
Does it illustrate where social boundaries are?
Is it emotionally charged?
Will it get you food, safety, or prestige?
….
Lots and lots of repetition
KEY CONCEPT: THE NETWORK
The problem is not storing the memory; the
problem is accessing the memory.
KEY CONCEPT: MEMORY TYPES
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We suck at remembering
Abstract anything
 Numbers
 Anything we aren’t emotionally engaged with
 Anything we perceive as routine
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We excel at remembering
Location
 Emotions
 Sights
 Smells
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FOUNDATIONAL MEMORY HACK
ENGAGING YOUR MEMORY
1.
2.
3.
Care.
Get emotional.
Make memory explicit.
FOUNDATIONAL MEMORY HACK
SUBVERT LOCATION
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Many names for the same thing
Method of Loci
 Memory Palace
 Memory Journey
 Memory Theatre
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Demo
FOUNDATIONAL MEMORY HACK
BEATING THE NUMBERS
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01: Captain America
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18: Walt Disney
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35: Bill Gates
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02: Captain Marvel
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19: Natalie Portman
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36: Natalie Imbruglia
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03: Deadpool
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20: Billy Crystal
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37: Sam Harris
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04: Hawkeye
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21: Christopher Hitchens
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38: Ricky Gervais
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05: Hulk
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22: Ellen Degeneris
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39: Sandra Bullock
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06: Iron Man
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23: Regina Spektor
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40: Adolf Hitler
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07: Spider-Man
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24: Hugh Laurie
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41: Lenin
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08: Spider-Woman
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25: Omar Epps
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42: Stalin
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09: Thor
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26: Scott Guthrie
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43: George Washington
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10: Wasp
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27: Lucille Ball
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44: John Adams
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11: Wolverine
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28: Pink
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45: Thomas Jefferson
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12: Doctor Doom
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29: Mark Twain
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46: Abraham Lincoln
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13: Green Goblin
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30: Stephen Hawking
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47: Teddy Roosevelt
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14: Red Skull
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31: Albert Einstein
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48: FDR
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15: Batman
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32: Carl Sagan
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49: Harry Truman
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16: Superman
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33: Darren Brown
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50: Hymen Rickover
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17: Wonder Woman
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34: Jennifer Anniston
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Etc…
MEMORIZATION DEFINED
The explicit, emotional, creative act of storing
information in your brain using a disciplined,
structured approach.
Memory does NOT “just happen”.
Repetition, while often necessary, should be
minimized.
HOW TO REMEMBER
1.
2.
3.
Develop a Memory Toolbox
Explicitly decide to remember
Use the right memory technique for the data to
be memorized
THE MENTAL TOOLBOX
Thinking Tools
Memory Tools
Imagination Tools
Logic
Method of Loci
Brainstorming
Algebra
Peg System
Mind Maps
Calculus
Major System
Meditation
Statistics
Link System
Collaborative Writing
Critical Thinking
PAO System
Stream of
Consciousness
Critical Analysis
Dominic System
Etc…
Etc…
Chunking
Memory Theatre
Etc…
SUGGESTED READING
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
 Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt
 Mindhacker by Ron and Mary Hale-Evans
 The Book of Memory by Mary Carruthers
 Max Your Memory by Pascale Michelon
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Blog: http://theskillfulbrain.com
WHAT IF?
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What if you memorized a list of design patterns, their
uses, strengths, and weaknesses?
What if you could easily recall all the WCF hosting
options, including their tradeoffs and which
environments support which options?
What if you could quote the agile manifesto word for
word? Or the 12 core principles of agile development?
Learning another language? What if the time to learn
new vocabulary words was cut by a factor of 5? Or 10?
Learning another computer language? What if
memorizing a list of ALL of the keywords took only an
hour?
What if you could actually learn and visualize most of
the .NET (or WinRT) namespaces?