Test Your Memory
Can I improve my memory?
It is possible to improve your memory and remember phone numbers and dates by applying very interesting, simple techniques that a young child could remember.
Why do I forget things?
The most common reasons for memory failure are mind wandering and stress. You'll find that these things can block the information from actually coming into your mind. Emotional stress, fatigue and diet, of course, can affect the memory.
How can I test my ability to remember images?
There is a good, simple memory exercise that can test your ability to remember images. Take a magazine and as you turn the page, observe all the images on the page and then look away and see how many images from that page that you can now recall. A good image-remembering exercise would be to extract two, three or four cues on that page which would stimulate a total page to mind. Then you can do another page. If there are ten or twelve images on the page, take the important elements out, make an association, look away, close your eyes, and then try to see if you can recall all of that information. So make up your own exercises and you'll be amazed! You can also test the ability of your friends and your children to remember images at the same time.
How can I test my ability to remember lists?
A quick home test for your memory: I'm going to ask you to participate and follow me, and I'm going to give you a test, but I'm going to apply some techniques with this test, and you're going to be amazed to see what happens. If I said, “You're going to remember eight, ten, or twelve items in a perfect sequence.” Follow me. The first item is a glass. Can you see an imaginary glass in my hand? Put it in your hand. See it? When I say “ceiling,” where did this glass just go? Up to the ceiling. Got the idea? Picture now, but don't wander. Ceiling and Eiffel Tower. Can you see the Eiffel Tower hanging from that ceiling, swinging back and forth, back and forth. See it? Eiffel Tower and drapes. Let's see long, flowing drapes flowing from the Eiffel Tower. Drapes and roses. Let's see a string of roses wrapped around those drapes. Roses and a tire. Let's see the string of roses wrapped around an automobile tire. Tire and a pencil. Let's see a huge pencil piercing into the tire. Stay with me. Pencil into the tire. Pencil and a door. The pencil comes out of the tire and it pierces into the door. Okay, let's pause for a second. We're going to test your memory. What was in the hand? Right, the glass. Where'd it go? On the ceiling. right. What's on that ceiling? Correct, the Eiffel Tower swinging. Notice how action helps. What's hanging from the Eiffel Tower? The drapes. Drapes and what? The roses wrapped around it. The roses went where? Around the tire. What's in the tire? A pencil. Where did it go? Into the door. Got the idea? Now test yourself. Twenty-four hours from now, they're going to come flashing back. You can even go backwards if you want. And then a week from now, a month from now—in fact, once in a while, one of my students will call and say, “You know, Mr. Bornstein, that list that you gave us—the glass, the ceiling, the Eiffel Tower?” And I say, “Of course I remember it.” They say, “It's been over a year now and I still remember them. How do I get rid of them?” You won't get rid of them. They're there forever.
How can I remember several ideas at once?
The technique that we just applied is visual memory, visual associations. We linked two ideas together in an active, interesting way. They're locked in together. And then it's like a chain of ideas. One queue stimulates another because they're touching, they're connected together. So what we're actually doing is making active, interesting associations.
Does my confidence level affect my ability to memorize?
The technique for remembering lists is to put the information into a visual, active association process of your mind. Bring two ideas together in your memory. They will come back together. You are actually making interesting, active associations in a positive way. Of course, your motivation has to be very high to say, "I want to remember that information." But once it is associated together, it's going to come back together.
What is the rate of forgetfulness?
The rate of forgetfulness: if memory is not encoded quickly, it could be lost within seconds. The idea of making these positive, active, interesting connections, is so that memory will last for long periods of time. Actually, with review, it will fall quickly into the more permanent, long-term memory of your mind. Use techniques, visualization, association, active connections, and be creative.
