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The story method (sometimes called the sentence mnemonic) is the most easily learned list-mnemonic strategy, although it is not as widely known as the other simple methods we’ve talked about so far. As its name suggests, the story method involves linking words to be learned in a story.... |
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Humans are the animals that manipulate their cognitive environment. I reported recently on an intriguing study involving an African people, the Himba. The study found that the Himba, while displaying an admirable amount of focus (in a visual perception task) if they were living a... |
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In my article on using cognates to help you learn vocabulary in another language, I gave the example of trying to learn the German word for important, ‘wichtig’, and how there’s no hook there to help you remember it (which is why so many of us fall back on rote repetition to... |
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Most people find numbers — phone numbers, personal identification numbers, dates, and so on — more difficult to remember than words. That is, of course, why businesses try to get phone numbers that correspond to some relevant word. The system whereby this is possible — the linking of certain... |
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The evidence that diet, physical exercise, and mental stimulation all help prevent age-related cognitive decline and reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s, is now very convincing. Studies of mice and (rather intriguingly) beagles, have provided evidence that ‘... |
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Find out about the pegword mnemonic Here are pegwords I've thought up in the Spanish language. As with the original example, let's try it out with our cranial nerves. En español, los nervios craneales son:
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When considering what will be the most effective strategies for you, don't forget the basic principles of memory: (1) Repetition repetition repetition The trick is to find a way of repeating that is interesting to you. This is partly governed by level of difficulty (too easy is... |
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I have spoken before, here on the website and in my books, about the importance of setting specific goals and articulating your specific needs. Improving your memory is not a single task, because memory is not a single thing. And as I have discussed when talking about the benefits of ‘brain... |
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Find out about the pegword mnemonic To celebrate Māori Language Week here in Aotearoa (New Zealand), I've put together a pegword set in te reo:
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On my walk today, I listened to a downloaded interview from the On Being website. The interview was with ‘vocal magician and conductor’ Bobby McFerrin, and something he said early on in the interview really caught my attention. In response to a question about why he’d once (in his teens)... |
