Memorizing

This blog is moving!

2008-01-23T00:28:00.000-08:00

I want to give you a lot more content, better content, and I want to give it to you faster, and I want it to be available to you in any format you would like, and so I have changed the technology I'm using to publish my blog, and moved it here:

The Brain Carer

See you on the other side.

Love,
Sten

Facing Fears

2007-11-21T23:22:00.000-08:00

It took me a while to realize my fears were holding me back...

I didn't even recognize them as fears.

But as I did, I shot ahead in the things I wanted to achieve.

I've taken the time to write down a lot of how I faced those fears, and you can read all about it for free by signing up for my five fruiths at Fruith.com

Sincerely,
Sten

The world's most dangerous animal

2007-11-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

Do you know what the world's most dangerous animal is?

I believe I have just been feeding one of the world'smost dangerous animals -- just 10 minutes ago -- here, in my ownhome.

But how do you measure 'dangerous'?

Is it 'venomous'?
In Australia, for example, the Box Jellyfish (Carybdea alata), killsmore people than snakes, sharks and saltwater crocodiles. If you comein contact with its tentacles, you could stop breathing in aslittle as three minutes.

Does it mean 'scary with big teeth'?

...then the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) sails rightup there. The world's largest reptile does take out a human everynow and then.

...Lions would be rather scary and dangerous, too, if you're takinga stroll down the savanna.

Or does 'dangerous' mean 'how many people it kills'?

In fact, I believe I have just been feeding one of the world'smost dangerous animals just 10 minutes ago, here, in my own home.

I even took a picture of it, and you can see it here.

So what is it? And *why* is it so dangerous? I'll tell you why...

Have a nice day!

Sincerely,
Sten

P.S. Hint: It's not any of the above!http://YouCantBeatMe.com/theworldsmostdangerousanimal

Just A Perfect Day

2007-08-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

August 4th 2007, my beautiful Tonje said YES in front of 70 people, and so now she can't take it back and I feel like the luckiest man alive :-D

I've posted some pictures at http://youcantbeatme.com/married/ for the curiosly minded of the lovely people who take the time out of their days to read my email Memory course.

All is love,
Sten

On Trust And Goals

2006-10-25T03:21:00.000-07:00

Three days ago, I recevied this email. I think
Hamid has some really good points here, and I
encourage you to read it.

Sincerely,
Sten

Dear Sten

First of all thanks for your enthusiasm and your
openes.

Hope Allah will bless you with the best of this world
and the best of eternity inshaaAllah (Godwilling).
Hope your newborn beauty also lightens up your day
through the grace of Allah.

My opinion on memory is simple: Avoid useless
information that confuses ones attention.

But how to do this?!

I think there should be 3 ingredienses:
One has to have a GOAL as a guideline
CREATIVITY and STRUCTURE

The only flaw in nature is Mankind...
otherwise the creativity is beautifully structered. If
you move the sun a bit there will be chaos in the
entire solar system...

If you move around with your DNA in your pinky-finger
there will be caos in all of your body.

So everything is coherent.

And what we are searching for is to perfect our
memory. Or to perfect ourselfs in our jobs, in our
relationships or even in sports.

Every aspect of human work is aimed to perfect itself.

This is our little individual Goal as a species or
individuals - but we lack the greater purpose.
To get a hold of this Ingrediens we have to TRUST
Allah(God) - like a child should trust his father,
when the father wants the best for his children.

So TRUST and the GOAL are in a symbioses
like when you say that one has to trust his or her
memory in order for it to work properly in harmony.

Creativity is excercised by searching for knowlegde
and exercising in creating something oneself - (WITH A
REASONABLE GOAL). This could be painting, lyrics,
architecture, birdhouses etc. Or it could be as you
say - read something and take notes - study and
create.

Structure should be practised through repetition so to
cleanse and perfect ones Act or Actions.

For instans turn of the Tv atleast 5 times a day and
pray and glorify the Greatness of Allah who is perfect
in every and all ways, just for 5 minuttes. And then
one can increase it step by step to improve ones love
and TRUST in oneself and in Allah...

Because it is often the lack of trust or rather
mistrust, and the lack of love that springs from
mistrust - that leads to cliches in oneself and in
between people.

What I am trying to say is that truth and beauty lies
in simplicity - but many people like to make things
complex just for the fun of it - and in the meantime
they get lost in the overload.

A REASONABLE Goal - Trust - Creativity - Structure -
Action - because take is cheap.

That's my tip

Have a nice evening inshaaAllah

Hamid
Peacelove
Peaceout...

What Do You Want With Your Life?

2006-09-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

You know, I ask all my clients this
question:

"If you got to choose, what would be
the perfect way to help you achieve
your goals?

Something that helped you improve
your memory, or reading speed, as
we've already been discussing?

Or something completely different?

Defining meaning in life? Setting goals?
Keeping on track? What?

What keeps you awake at night, thinking
"if only I could ________, ah, then life
would be great, and my troubles would
disappear..."?

What would the perfect way to help you
become more of what you want to be, to
live life fuller?"

I get a lot of great answers when I ask
this question.

And a lot of people wouldn't mind a little
more money. Or a lot more.

A lof of people want to be more focused.
They want to accomplish things. Follow
their dreams.

Or they want to find their dreams! Find
a little purpose. A lot of people are in
jobs they hate and have lives that are
not all they could be.

Now that is a very common thing, indeed.
And it is something we will have to do
something about.

We can't just sit here and let people
waste their lives.

I'll keep you posted on my thoughts on
this.

Sincerely,
Sten

How To Remember Better By Sleeping

2006-09-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

I recently touched upon the issue of sleep
and memory. An interesting twist has been
discovered by research on fruit flies.

It seems that, at least in fruit flies,
consolidation of memories is helped by
afternoon naps -- but not much by normal
night sleep.

From the Nature article:
"I'm a strong believer in flies as models to
study sleep, which I admit has been quite
difficult to convince the sleep community in
general," says Chiara Cirelli of the University
of Wisconsin, Madison, who was involved in a
paper showing that flies do sleep. This latest
paper, she agrees, shows an interesting link
between socializing, sleep and memory.

Sincerely,
Sten

Memorizing Scripture (Revisited)

2006-09-19T00:22:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of email from people who wonder
if it is actually possible to memorize the
whole Bible, or the whole Qur’an. I did
tell the story about the old lady who
memorized the whole Bible, didn't I?

Well, of course, such a feet is beyond
reach for many of us. Maybe not because
we can't, but at the very least, because
we are not willing to lay down the time
and energy it takes. There are so many
things to do in life, that even some
worthwhile tasks have to be turned down.

But smaller parts of the Bible... like
a book or two, would be more within reach
for most people.

I just read this story on WBIR.com has,
about a teen who's memorized four entire
boooks books of the Bible. It's quite an
interesting read, even though he
unfortunately doesn't say anything about
how he did it.

You'll find the whole article here.

Sincerely,
Sten

2006-09-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, I got an email from a
girl who was pregnant, and wondered
if that might have some impact on
her memory. She was also beating
herself up when she couldn't remember
the things she wanted to.

Here's my answer.

Dear V,

Congratulations on your pregnancy!
It might very well be that the hormones
running around in your blood right now
contribute to a poorer memory. My
girlfriend and I are expecting a
baby come October, and my girlfriend's
memory has been horrible for months.

That said, stress also impacts your
memory in a bad way, and it sounds to
me that if you allow yourself to feel
stupid and frustrated when there is
something you cannot remember, you're
giving fuel to the stress.

If you relax, and allow yourself to
forget some things, while at the other
hand you really focus on a few things
that are really important for you to
remember, I think you will find it
helps.

The important point here is to not
stress -- but in a calm and relaxed
manner examine that which you want
to remember. Has it colors? Sounds?
How does it make you feel. Really
concentrate, take your time and come
to know the object, sentence or fact
you want to store in your brain.

Then trust your brain to do its job.
Your brain is a wonderful thing, and
it is extremely good at what it does!
So just let it do it!

Sincerely,
Sten

Sleep Improves Memory

2006-09-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

It's widely recognized, but I think this is a point
that is worth repeating.

Sleep improves memory!

Not only because you are more alert and vigilant
when you've had a good night's sleep (those too, of
course), but there seems to be something extra
special about sleep, for your memory.

"[...]sleep substantially improves memory and makes
us better thinkers."
-Sharon Johnson, an associate professor in the College of
Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University,
relates findings from an article on the sleep-memory
connection in the recent issue of the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP) retired educator's
publication.

Now, even though the AARP say that "the part of the
mind where memory is stored becomes highly active during
sleep" -- which I think is overly simplistic (where
in the mind -- brain -- is memory stored; the answer
is probably: all over the place), the point is valid:
if you need to remember better, make sure to get
enough sleep -- yes, that goes for students studying
for exams, too ;-)

Sincerely,
Sten

Rap The Math

2006-09-13T00:16:00.000-07:00

Now here's an interesting story. Christine
L. Smith's 6th-grade maths students score
on the Ohio Achievement Test rose from 0
(yup, nil) to 48%.

How did she do it?

Well, she found a way to make maths interesting
to the kids, of course.

Now, I think the best part of this ploy isn't
that she turned maths into rap lyrics, but the
fact the kids learn that there is s much maths
involved in music.

From the article:

“I meet kids all the time who tell me they want to
be a music producer. The first thing I ask them is,
are you good in math? Because there's so much of it
involved with creating music, the tempo, the beat ...”
Nesmith said. “They are going to need to know what to
set their quantization on — should it be 1/4, 1/8,
1/16, 1/32? If they don't understand division, they
won't understand music. The top producers — Kanye
West, Rodney Jerkins, Teddy Riley, Dr. Dre — they
might not explain things in mathematical terms, but
they all have that mathematical grasp that makes their
music sound so good.”

Full article here:
Math plus hip-hop equals success for
local students

Why Sherpas Memorize Their Family Names

2006-09-12T01:14:00.000-07:00

A curiosity, read on a rainy day:
Man Travels Thousands of Miles Looking for 'Lost Kingdom'

How To Study Like Murder

2006-09-12T00:58:00.000-07:00

The Herald Democrat has a nice piece on how
to study -- that is, how to read textbooks
without becoming overwhelmed by thinking you
have to memorize it all.

It is written to help a kid in the 10th grade,
but the principles certainly apply to all of
us, when we're in a "schooling" situation.

The most important part would be separating the
wheat from the chaff -- what is important, and
what's false clues and red herrings put in the
textbook just to add weight to it.

Helping school children decide what to study for tests

The mnemonics book is almost here

2006-09-10T00:57:00.000-07:00

I've been working day and night lately to
bring you this book. It consists of two
parts. Here's what's in the first part:

The Mental Filing System
-------------------------------------------------------
- The secret of a mental filing system that really works
- How to get your first five mental hooks
- How to make your own mental images
- How to remember what you read
- Five more keys that unlock your memory
- What must I remember to do today?
- How WILL I remember to remember?
- How WILL I Remember TO REMEMBER?
- FIve little words that increase your memory by a third
- How salesmen sell their memories for chas
(How to make more money as a sales person using your memory)
- The art of forgetting the right things
- How to speak in public without noted
- Baiting your mental hooks for better writing
- The cost of forgetting the wrong things
(it's even larger than you think)
- How to remember number
- Interesting facts and how to recall them

This is gonna be good!

Sincerely,
Sten

Apple juice boosts memory?

2006-08-29T00:13:00.000-07:00

Apple Juice May Boost Memory

In a study published August 2006, researchers explain how apple juice boosts memory, and may prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Like most such studies, it was performed on mice. But human studies will follow.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/126/116208

Sincerely,
Sten

A Mnemonics Book From Sten? No....!?

2006-06-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited!

If you've read my free email course (available here at YouCantBeatMe.com, or the book "Memory - How To Develop, Train and Use It", you know that I'm not very favourably disposed towards artificial mnemonic systems.

I learned this sceptisism from William Walker Atkinson, and recent research seem to confirm some of this notion.

For example, Thomas and Wang (1996) found that using keyword mnemonics to learn a words in a new language, actually decreased performance after a delay.

Now, not all researchers agree to their conclusions. But it is interesting to see the discussion is still going strong.

I have several clients who like Atkinson's book, and who say they've learned a lot from it -- and yet, they're not willing to let go of their mnemonic system. Why? Because they work for them.

Hm....

And I must admit, before I stumbled upon Atkinson, I read Tony Buzan and Harry Lorayne, and used their techniques quite succesfully.

So how do you reconcile two such different views?

Well, I've been thinking, and what I've realised, is that I use these methods for two very different things.

I use William Walker Atkinson's method when I need to remember large bodies of text. Or when I need to remember something for a long time (like, hopefully, the rest of my life). Or when the information is meaningful, like when learning about physics or bioinformatics.

On the other hand, I use methods like Tony Buzan's and Robert H. Nutt's when I need to remember a shopping list -- or what to do today (like pay three bills and buy flowers and check out if I can move my mortgage), or anything else that is volatile -- anything I don't need for very long.

Robert H. Nutt? What kind of a name is that?

It's a name I hope you'll become closer acquainted with in the next couple of days. I've been rewieving his memory system -- and it is absolutely fantastical. It is easy to learn and use, and it just plain works. You know, it works for ephemerals, things you need to remember for a little while -- like 24 hours.

And the reason I'm so excited, is that, very soon, I'm going to be able to present his work to you.

Watch this blog for more info!

Sincerely,
Sten

Can Memory Training Help When Dementia Is Setting In?

2006-02-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

"Does memory training help if dementia is setting in? Or, are these totally unrelated?"

I got this question from a genleman who had just got some disturbing news after a CAT (Computer Assisted Tomography) scan. He wold start receiving medication for his onsetting dementia -- but also wondered if there was anything he could do himself.

Find out what you can do if you're a similar situation: Memory And Dementia

How To Memorize 17 Pages Of Text

2006-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Today, I received an email from a guy who needed to memorize 17 pages of script, to recite before the VP of his company, a bit more than two weeks from now.

I haven't received permission from him to reprint his letter yet, so I'll just give you my answer here... How should he go about memorizing it? ...

How to memorize 17 pages of text

Sincerely,
Sten

The sound of a beautiful memory

2005-12-19T02:34:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I just love hearing!

The sound of my girlfriend's voice.

A perfect piece of music.

If you'd like to be able to listen even more carefully than before, it's all here.
How To Remember Sound

Where Are The Cow's Ears?

2005-12-19T02:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a little question I find intriguing.

It goes like this:

Do you know whether a cow's ears are above, below, behind, or in front of her horns?

Most people actually don't know for sure, even though they've probably seen cows countless times.

So how come they don't remember where the ears are?

I'll tell you why, here: Notice The Animals

"The Shocking Truth About Your Memory...

2005-12-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Did you know that your life is probably disappearing right in front of
your very eyes?

I was totally flabbergasted when I found out this shocking truth about
my own memory.

See what I mean and find out how to stop it by going here:
The Shocking Truth About Your Memory

How To Memorize The Bible

2005-12-18T03:37:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, I get an email that reads something like this one:

"I want to learn how to memorize the whole Bible.

I read your description of your program and I am still unsure whether it is all that you say it is or some scheme.

I was wondering if there is any other details that you can give me to help me in my decision on whether or not this program is worth buying?"

Is It Really Possible To Memorize The Whole Bible?

Well, what do you think?

I give my answer to that question here:
How To Memorize The Bible