Visualization, memory, reading and research skills
Many of my students try to remember a “marker” of just one word. This is a hard and counterproductive exercise. A word without any context is abstract. Remembering a chunk of multiple words in the same context is actually an easier task. In some sense the “random words” exercise is much harder than remembering actual …
Continue reading “More is less: add details to FACILITATE memorization”
Suppose you want to remember something for a very long time. How do you ensure memorization? There are many methods, which can be roughly divided into three categories: reviewing the notes (revisiting), actively using (speedwriting), and lifestyle choices (sleep, food, …). Here I want to deal with the lifestyle element. It is really simple to …
Continue reading “Longterm memory: lifestyle choice (sleep hacking, nootropics, NLP)”
Search vs discovery vs ChatGPT? If we want to research something online we have at least three distinct strategies. In search strategy, we formulate keywords and read the documents that matter. When we rely on discovery we go to the sources with authority and interest in the subject area, hoping to stumble upon some relevant …
We want to learn better and we want others to learn better, but what does it actually mean? Will reading a few books make us smarter? Are grades the only measure of our progress? Is there a limit to how fast we can learn? Nowadays psychological and educational science tends to be self-contradictory, yet some …
Continue reading “Which skills are required for accelerated learning?”
Do you need a professor with a syllabus or a coach with a keen eye? Which will provide a higher return on investment? Will you actually enjoy the training and what will you accomplish? Modern students have many great choices to make, and each choice can be very expensive. What is formal training Formal training …
What does common sense say about accelerated learning that is actually wrong? Quite a lot actually. Scientific research answers specific questions and can be misunderstood. There are so many gurus of accelerate learning out there, yet I have never seen someone as good as Anna. Why? What are the main misconceptions, and how can they …
Some say that eidetic memory does not really exist, while others claim to have eidetic memory. Possibly they address different aspects of short-term visual memory. What I can do is explain how each of us can enjoy a small amount of eidetic memory which is available to each and every one of us. There are …
Continue reading “Training eidetic memory, aka short term visual memory”
Aphantasia is a relatively new and trendy medical condition. It means that you cannot generate mental images. Being new, this condition has not been sufficiently scientifically tested and verified. In other words, we do not know if it really exists. Our visualization skills are different for various activities. Many of my colleagues are skeptical regarding …
We try to decipher the codes of Giordano Bruno, and especially the arts of memory presented in his books. Somehow he managed to combine in one text quite a lot: PAO-like visual cues, healing visualization, geometric formulas, almost kabbalistic text manipulations and mystical practice now lost. I will not try to analyze the original texts, …
It is useful to leverage the available information in large chunks. The larger the chunks, the faster and more effective the process. The smallest chunks to remember are letters. The larger chunks may include the keywords that allow access to the entire resource. The most unfriendly language Klingon is a constructed language, specifically intended to …
Continue reading “Never break words into letters unless you study Klingon”
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