Your Memory : How It Works and How to Improve It

There are certain books that have contributed so significantly to my life that I consider them "revolutionary" (at least to me). This is one of those books. If you're a lover of learning or personal growth I just can't imagine not devouring the goldmine of information in this book. Of course, opinions vary, as some reviews of this book indicate. Some say its "too technical" with "unpractical filler" while some others say that its "not overly informative." To each their own I suppose but I'm going to tell you why I think this book is one of the best ever written on the subject and why mnemonics are incredibly powerful tools for assimilating, retaining, and recalling knowledge in any subject area...Although virtually everybody has used some type of mnemonics in rudimentary form since kindergarten you'd think more people would stop and ask themselves why they're so prevalent in our early years, and also why we don't use them more, and why we stopped (mostly) as we grew older. To cut to the chase, here's the bottom line in a nutshell: Mnemonics can dramatically increase the ease, speed, and amount of knowledge you're able to acquire and retain. In short, you'll get more faster and retain more longer, and far easier too. In other words, with practice your ability to learn nearly anything will exponentially improve.So what exactly are mnemonics? I'll quote: "The word 'mnemonic'...is derived from Mnemosyne, the name of the ancient Greek goddess of memory...Mnemonics refers in general to methods for improving memory; a mnemonic technique is any technique that aids the memory."Although its very important to note that mnemonics aren't some magical wand or sideshow trickery, rather, they are applied psychology. "Mnemonic systems do not replace the basic principles of learning but use them. They are merely specialized elaborations of normal memory activities...they are based on well established principles of learning." Memory is not a thing; it's a process. No matter how it is done, remembering is work, and memory aids are not necessarily supposed to make it easy, just more effective. Learning to use mnemonics is a skill that requires practice just like acquiring any other skill." So if you're not willing extend the effort to actually become proficient mnemonics you'll be wasting your time for the most part.As a personal example, from the moment I first read this book I was fascinated but skeptical. Yeah sure ok so I could remember my grocery lists a lot easier but I wanted some real proof, so after considering some memory "goals" I settled on one that I considered a pretty impressive memory feat (at least for those of us not aspiring to win a memory sport competition): to memorize the entire periodic table of elements. And not just the elements, but also all the information associated with them in the table such as period/group, atomic wt, atomic number, symbol, electron configuration, state (solid, liquid, gas, unknown), reactivity characteristics (alkali metals, halogens, etc.). I chose the periodic table because it contains a lot of fairly abstract information that most of us happily dismiss after we're forced to endure referring to it in high school or college. Mind you, I hadn't taken a chemistry course since college (about fifteen years prior to my reading the book) and am not a professional chemist. To my own amazement I was able to do it, and to this day I can still recall 95% of it. It may take me 5-10 seconds to answer a given question but I can still do it. As a "B" chemistry student twenty years ago as well as a non-chemist, I feel this stands as a pretty convincing testament to mnemonic techniques. Granted, I understand that memorizing the periodic table of elements may not be your cup of tea (and frankly, I chose it precisely because it was dense and so far outside my day-to-day needs) but I did it only to prove to myself this stuff actually works, and I've since applied these techniques every single day in virtually all manner of things that are very much within my day-to-day needs, to great effect. As Higbee says, "...whether or not people want to do such feats, the important point is that they can do them; and that means they can also do other things with their memories that they DO want to do..."But beyond anecdotes, a lot of evidence for the effectiveness of mnemonics exists. I think this may be what some reviews have missed about why Higbee goes into such background detail on why mnemonics work and what evidence supports it. I'll spare you all the blow by blow of that evidence and refer you to the book, but the point is yes there are evidence-based reasons how and why mnemonics work, as well as evidence proving they do indeed work. Some of us really need/appreciate the logic underpinning the techniques as well as the proof that we're not wasting our time. Higbee very clearly and methodically builds that case before jumping into the "doing" of the techniques themselves.Briefly, mnemonics work so well because they leverage the inherent ways our brains actually function to our advantage. They're like aikido for the brain. They associate something to be learned with something already known. The reason(s) mnemonics work involve the hard wiring of how our minds work, but for a quick analogy, say you have a flat tire on a car. Would you rather try to lift a car with your back, or use a hydraulic jack instead? Or, would you rather hammer a nail with your shoe or a hammer? Well, mnemonics are the jack and hammer. Is it "cheating" to use the jack? Is it circus-style trickery to use the hammer? Nope...it's simply using a tool to more effectively perform a given task.Mnemonics aren't some "trick"; they are simply methods, or tools, for acquiring/remembering information that would prove either inefficient or impossible otherwise. They do this by first acting as a "conceptual glue" that holds disparate pieces of information (especially new information) together. They function on this level as a means of corralling the information and holding it in queue. Secondly, they help simplify the information, thereby off-loading the mental burden which then frees the mind up to focus on connecting those pieces of information together to actually understand and apply them. Finally, mnemonics then provide structure and organization to the information (especially on material that is otherwise not very meaningful or organized), and because higher order tasks such as problem solving, analysis, and critical thinking depend on the cohesiveness and order of the underlying knowledge base, mnemonics increase the effectiveness of those tasks. So, both in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, mnemonics improve learning and our ability to manipulate and apply knowledge.The primary criticism of mnemonics by some in academia goes something like this: "'Mere memorization' is a low-level mental skill (as opposed to higher order skills such as critical thinking, reasoning, analysis, etc.); therefore, methods of improving acquisition and recall of information (i.e. memory, memorization, or mnemonics) are low-level mental skills with a low level of importance." Not only is this attitude usually presented with a sort of arrogant and condescending demeanor, it flies in the face of history, experience, and evidence. "Critics rarely make it explicit that the alternatives to mnemonics are either dumb blind repetition or simply outright failure, and no one seems to want to champion these alternatives." Further, and most disturbingly, this flippant dismissal of mnemonic techniques by some belies a fundamental misunderstanding of how human beings learn. Learning occurs in steps or stages...in other words, it's a process...with acquisition necessarily coming first, then things like problem solving and reasoning later. An analogy between mnemonics and Maslow's hierarchy of needs serves as a good illustration. Without food, water, and sex (sex, as in, for the perpetuation of genes to successive generations) none of the other emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual needs can be met. In other words, survival first, then we worry about self-actualization. After all, its hard to strive for your fulfillment as a self-actualized individual if you never existed (or didn't survive) in the first place, right? Similarly, of course high order reasoning and analysis are our goals, but "more sophisticated mental operations...are impossible without rapid and accurate recall of bodies of specific information." In other words, acquisition and retention of knowledge not only facilitate higher order mental operations, they are prerequisite. Thus, loftier goals are in addition to, not instead or, the acquisition/recall.By the way, for those interested, the book has a fantastic reference section so I'll refer you there mostly, but I would like to give honorable mention to  The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play , also a great book on the subject. Although I personally prefer Higbee as it's much more complete (at least in terms of a reference, background, etc.) Lorayne's book has all the practical nuts and bolts of the techniques written in a more simple conversational style. Plus, there are a few techniques that appear in one that doesn't appear in the other, for example, Lorayne's "memory grid" which I've found really helpful and have used quite a bit.Okay, so that was a little long-winded but the book deserves all the praise I can give it. If I'm honest I would actually give the book 4.5 stars, only because if you're REALLY wanting to take mnemonics to absurd levels and/or compete in memory sports, some of the most advanced techniques such as the PAO system aren't covered. Still, it's a great place to start. After reading this book you will have a strong understanding of how and why of mnemonics work, as well as the tools necessary to apply them to a wide variety of contexts. These techniques have added a great deal of value to my everyday life. I can't really provide a higher compliment than that.

"A Memory Book for the Thinking Person"Kenneth Higbee's "Your Memory: How it Works and How to Improve It" is a very good book for any person who is interested in learning techniques for improving their memory along with learning the basics of understanding what "memory" actually is. In the first part of the book that Higbee explains he wanted to write a book with the intention of filling the void between the two main types of memory books that he has seen available in the market. Most other memory books are either college textbooks focused on the science behind a memory or they're popular books on mnemonics and memory training. Higbee said he wrote the book to bridge this gap between the two types of books and wanted it to be a "thinking person's memory book." He also explains that the book was written to be used as a textbook for his students, but the style of the book is not really that of a textbook and instead has a nice flow that makes the information easy to read and understand. This review is intended to give a brief synopsis of the book's organization, the main idea of the book, along a few interesting points from the book.Book Organization"Your Memory: How it Works and How to Improve It" is comprised of 14 Chapters, the first 6 of which focus more on what memory actually is while the remainder focus on mnemonic techniques. The book begins with an introduction where Higbee explains what the reader can expect from the book along with why you should read it. Although this section may be helpful to some it seemed to be somewhat repetitive in nature. After the introduction Chapter One starts by listing off 10 Myths about memory that he immediately would like to dispel from the readers understanding. This chapter lays the groundwork and does a good job of explaining a lot of basic questions that the reader might have about what memory most people are wrong about in regards to memories. The proceeding chapters build upon ideas from the first chapter starting by explaining what exactly "Your Memory" is, working its way into the next chapter that explains how "Your Memory" and remembering works. Higbee does a very good job of making the information flow into one another with very little ambiguity. There are numerous references and additional resources all throughout the book to help the reader with further understanding. The next two chapters are focused on laying out the basic principles on ways to work on your memory skills so you can remember specific basic information along with a chapter specifically discussing study techniques. The following chapters start to delve into the idea of Mnemonics (techniques intended to improve memory). He gives an introduction to Mnemonics and then immediately follows that chapter with one discussing the limitations so the readers fully understands what they can actually gain from these techniques. The rest of the chapters discuss various techniques (Loci, Peg, Phonetic etc..) and how the user can actually use them in their lives. While discussing the various techniques Higbee continually references various psychological and medical journals, his own personal experiences and results that he has seen from students in his classes to help with the readers understanding."Your Memory"The first half of the book is dedicated to giving an understanding to the reader what their Memory actually is and how it works. Higbee explains that the process of remembering can generally be referred to as the "Three Rs of Remembering" which are Recording (acquisition), Retaining (storage), and Retrieving (retrieval). Each of these parts of the process are vital and Higbee discusses each in depth. Higbee also explains that along with these three stages there appear to be at least two different processes involved in memory: short-term memory, and long-term memory. Higbee explains how both are so vital in allowing for a functioning memory and how the process involves short term memories "turn into" long term memories. He goes into great detail explaining that memory largely depends on storage and organization and that forgetting is really the issue at hand and explains several different reasons why we forget. After this explanation there were a couple chapters on basic remembering techniques. In particular Chapter 6 was a chapter dedicated to optimizing a person's Study Skills. I found this chapter to be extremely helpful and really changed the way I read the rest of the book. This chapter truly has had a lasting effect on my studying techniques and has helped me read textbooks differently and digest the information much better.Mnemonic TechniquesThe second half of the book was focused on giving the reader several techniques that they could learn and apply to their lives to help with their remembering. Each chapter covers a different technique and explains what it is, how well it works, and how you can use it. These different chapters on the Mnemonic techniques aren't necessarily giving any new information but Higbee does a good job of thoroughly explaining each one and giving several references and examples for each of them. In all honesty I thought his use of resources was very helpful but I was surprised to how many he actually used and how some of them were not very well cited. The techniques ranged from the simple techniques like the Loci system that is very quick and easy to learn, to the more difficult techniques like the phonic system where Higbee says you have to put in a lot of time and effort into studying and practicing the technique too actually make it work. Overall this section of the book is probably what would draw most readers to actually pursue reading the book. With that being said I think that Higbee did an excellent job of giving the reader what they desired out of this section of the book as it really lays out the information for the reader in a way that they know exactly what they have to do for each technique to make it work and fully understand the idea behind it.RecommendationThis book in my opinion is one that every student should read and is definitely a good memory book for anyone who is interested in understanding what memory is and truly wants to increase their remembering abilities. Higbee does a good job of giving a number of different mnemonic techniques that can be put to use every day, he does a good job of suggesting how and when to use the techniques along with naming numerous helpful resources and references to support his claims. Within the text there are several lessons that truly could change the reader's life if they have the time to actually learn the techniques. This being said as Higbee notes trying to use these techniques without putting the proper time in could actually hinder your memory. So all in all I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has interest in memory and the time to try to improve their remembering.

I read this book with no significant prior understanding of the human mind and memory. I bought it in the hope of improving my own ability to recall information at work. My conclusion: highly recommend in certain situations, but of very limited use in others.This is not really a fault of the book - hence it still gets four stars - but it's important that you understand what it is and what it is not (the author does go some way to admitting this but he also does not highlight how unnecessary the techniques are in certain situations). Let me explain.If you are a teacher, this book will be immeasurably useful to you. It provides excellent, qualified guidance on techniques to help students digest and recall information efficiently. The memory aids discussed, used properly, can be very effective in helping you store and recall lists of information: eg. Kings & Queens of England in date order, 7 characteristics of living organisms, prime numbers from 0-100, lists of bible verses, etc etcPart and parcel of this is to give excellent guidance on what helps students digest information in the first place - a necessity if it is to be recalled effectively - so teachers, this book is a must.However, in many other respects the techniques are simply unnecessary or cannot be used. This is not a failure of the book, I guess it shows that our memories are not miraculous, there has to be a limit to what you can and can't do with your mind, but just note this before you buy the book.The author goes some way to try and demonstrate the situations in which the memory aids can be used effectively. However, most of these situations can be resolved without the need to spend many hours mastering these techniques, unless of course you want to do so out of your own general interest as a hobby.For example: the author repeatedly uses the example of remembering shopping lists or a list of to-dos as a practical use for these techniques. I find it more practical to just write them down! Unless you want to make it a hobby, then remembering your shopping list is better achieved with a pen and paper. Equally, the author cites the example of remember something just before you go to sleep and being able to use a technique to recall it in the morning. Again, a fail-safe solution requiring no training is to put a pencil and paper on your bed-side table!Other examples used by the author are recalling the content of every page of a magazine, or every card in order from a shuffled pack - neither of which I need or desire to do.Asking the unrealistic of this book would be unfair, so although my hopes were not answered I cannot fault the book for that. I hoped I might be able to find a technique for remembering things at work, for example, our rather complex pricing strategy. This is not information that can be easily structured into a list of points, however, so the techniques in the book cannot be easily employed.So remember, if what you want to remember can't be easily structured into a logical list of information then this book is of limited use, but then so are all the others, because this book is excellent at showing you what you can do. But if you do need to learn a list of points, then this book will be extremely useful.

This is one of my favourite books. As someone who does not naturally have a good memory, I have found many of the techniques explained in the book, really helpful. The book is very clearly written and one you can read cover to cover or just dip into or return to, if you want to learn or improve techniques to learn particular types of things, for example, numbers, names, lists of items. I would thorougly recommend.

It's wonderfully presented, and easy to understand. I haven't had time to apply the principles in it (will try today though). But for the ideas it has given me (of which some may or may not work, of course) and the logic of it, it's worth every cent. Besides, I had always wondered why some things were the way they were. Or I had just noticed some patterns and I was wondering if it was just me who had those characteristics.... Very well written, backed up by easy-to-understand research. It's a good read, although clearly one needs to pay attention, it's an instructive, not a "pleasure" reading. It's a fairly small book (about 200 pages) but packed up with very good information

This is a well researched and comprehensive look at both the theories of memory improvement together with practical techniques. Different from other books in that it presents limitations to the techniques as well as academic theories surrounding them.Slightly dated now and therefore omits the Dominic system which I believe is the most effective number memorisation technique.

This author has indeed done his research and if you spend the time to implement the strategies you'll definitely see an improvement with your memory!