Language has been an important tool for humans for more than 50,000 years. It lets people pass on their experiences from one generation to the next. In old societies, history, myths, and folk tales were mostly passed along through word of mouth. For example, in the Yoruba society of West Africa, people who knew the oral history were respected as “official” historians. People were able to remember things better when they said them out loud. In the same way, the Luba people of Central Africa still say names of kings and use necklaces to help them remember. They also make lukasas, which are boards with pins and beads of different colors that stand for people or places. By using these methods, these ancient societies were able to keep information safe and pass it down correctly from one generation to the next. This shows how important memory is to our history and cultural practices.
Landscape and music serve as a reminder
In every part of the world, music, song, and dance have been important parts of oral traditions. Ballads, which are both written and sung, have been a way for people to remember important parts of their past. For example, the Aboriginal Australians, whose ancestors are thought to have created the world by singing, have a different song for every part of their environment, which helps them remember these details.
In the same way, people in places like the Amazon jungle remember how to get from one place to another by making mental notes of the small differences in the plants in each small area of the landscape. They make mental pictures of each route and use the sun and stars to keep track of where they are as they move. With this method, they can walk for a long time without getting lost. By using these memory techniques, people all over the world have been able to keep their past alive and get around in their environments.
Memory practice
Wang Feng was the World Memory Champion in 2010 and 2011. He could remember 300 out of 400 numbers that were said one per second and the order of a pack of cards that had been jumbled in just 24.21 seconds. His amazing skill comes from practicing 5–6 hours a day using different methods, such as visualizing. The “practice and performance” way goes back to ancient Greece and Rome, where people respected orators who could remember a lot of information even though they could also read it.
Wang Feng has shown the power of practice and visualization to improve cognitive skills by using this memory method. These methods can help people remember and process a lot of knowledge faster, which can help them do better in many areas of their lives. People still look for ways to improve their brain sharpness and memory retention today, just as they did in the past.
Memory tools for you to use
Many other cultures have developed memory “systems” that utilize techniques that are accessible to most of us. By employing some of these techniques, individuals can improve their memory and cognitive abilities.
Memorizing in chunks
It’s a good idea to break up information into small pieces, especially if you want to remember important things like phone numbers. By breaking this information up into smaller pieces, you’ll find it much easier to remember. This will help you feel less frustrated and anxious when you forget things. With this method, you’ll be able to remember important contact information better, making sure you always have the numbers you need when you need them. So why not just try it? Start breaking up those numbers into smaller pieces, and you’ll find it much easier to remember them.
Tell yourself a story
When it comes to remembering important facts, the art of telling stories is a powerful tool. By putting together a story that includes important people and events, you create a meaningful experience that helps you remember the information. This method, which is similar to the old way of telling myths and folk tales verbally, has been shown to help people remember and find information much better. So, the next time you need to remember something important, try putting it into a story to help you remember it better.
Say it out loud
One way to improve your ability to remember things is to read them out loud. This can be done by yourself or with a partner. Research has shown that sharing knowledge with someone else helps you remember it better. When you say something out loud, you use more of your senses and more parts of your brain. This makes it easier to remember what you said later. So, whether you like to read by yourself or with a study partner, try saying the information out loud to help you remember it.
Memorize to music
Research shows that music and rhyme help people remember and recall knowledge. Familiar melodies can help the brain form a mental picture or “movie” of the information being learned by serving as a mental cue or soundtrack. Consider putting the information you want to remember to a well-known tune or making your own songs to take advantage of this effect. This method can help make the information more interesting and easy to remember, which will help you remember it. So, the next time you want to remember something new, try giving it a musical or literary twist.
Create colorful visual
Creating mental images can be a strong way to remember names, places, and other important information. By associating strong, memorable images with the information you want to remember, you build a link in your mind that makes it easier to recall the information later. To take this method a step further, you can make “memory maps” by connecting different pieces of information with pictures. This method can be improved by using other senses, like smell and touch, to make the pictures more vivid and easy to remember. So, the next time you want to remember something important, try making a mental picture or memory map to help you remember it.
Daily practice
Many of us want to be able to use our memories to their fullest extent. The good news is that you can improve your ability to remember things and bring out your inner winner with a little work and practice. One of the best ways to do this is to practice remembering things, like a shopping list or a phone number, over and over again until you can do it perfectly. It may seem like a small step, but if you work hard and keep your mind on the goal, you’ll be surprised at how quickly these tasks become easy for you. By doing easy memory exercises, you can not only improve your ability to remember things, but also your mental agility as a whole. So why not start today and take the first step toward getting the most out of your mind?
File your memories
Have you ever heard of Jill Price, an American woman who remembers 99.9% of everything that happened to her? Isn’t that cool? Well, the good news is that you can also improve your memory with a simple way to keep track of things in your mind. By putting different kinds of information in different parts of your mind, you can make it easier to remember things. You can do this by putting together pieces of information that are similar or by making connections between certain pictures or sounds. With this method, it will be easier and more accurate to remember phone numbers, names, and even whole talks. So why not learn from Jill Price and set up your own mental filing system? You, too, can unlock your full cognitive potential and become a memory master with some practice and hard work.
Recalling by route
Did you know that making a spatial memory is one of the best ways to improve your memory? By linking information to specific places on a familiar trip or path, you can make it much easier to remember that information later. The method involves putting mental cues or markers at certain points along your route that each represent a piece of information you want to remember. By doing this, you’re making a mental map that helps you visualize the knowledge and find it more quickly. For example, if you want to remember a list of things you need to buy at the store, you could link each item to a specific place in the store. By “placing” each item in your mind in a certain area or shelf, you’ll be able to remember the whole list easily when you get to the store. This method not only works, but it’s also fun and easy to use. So why not give it a try and see if it helps you remember things today?
