A new personal best in Continuous Learning-Memory Training!
This month – as a simple personal challenge – I memorized and recited the value of Pi (22/7) to 1000+ digits!
I have been a voracious reader- and have evolved a commitment to continuous learning over the decades. Both the reading and my continuous learning goals have evolved over the years.
Apart from my physical training regimen, I started a regimen of mental training over the recent years. These cover activities like meditation, pranayama and – more recently- memory trainings.
In this blog series on Smriti Shaastra ( Memory Training) , I share some of the videos of the memory training and, of course, you can see me :
- reciting the value of Pi to 1000+ digits (this post – you can view the video here).
…and in future posts, you will see me
- recite the alphabets in reverse order (Z->A) in approx 20 seconds
- recite poems and couplets from memory…
- …and more memory feats…(birth dates, credit card #s, government ID #s etc)…
On several occasions in the past, I have addressed a complete audience by their names after a first introduction in the training session….I remember the feeling of achievement when I did it – purely, achieved thru focusing and concentration on remembering the persons I was being introduced to. Of course, discerning members in the audience realize that there is probably some underlying method to this amazing feat ( remember, @TabrezAhmed Dell commenting on this at a meeting in 2019!
So. How does one achieve these feats?
It is an acquired skill that leverages the fact that visualization and visual memory is a key cognitive capability of the human brain…and surprisingly under-utilized by humans. By combing a focused mind with visualization, imagination, action and location, one can increase human memory capacity and recall accuracy dramatically.
How do I memorize the value of 22/7 Pi to 1000 digits?
Well – I code the digits into a visual story line that I anchor in a memory palace – or a location log. The essential principle is that visual images are recalled more comfortably by our brains – and recalling the numbers is a simple process of picking up the visual images and decoding them to the specific numbers in a precise order dictated by the memory palace locations. Of course, this simplistic statement has several underlying practises shaping the principles into a reality, for example:
- Principle of creative exaggeration
- Principle of a focused mind with deep concentration on task at hand
- Principle of compounding ( we increase the content at each location of the memory palace by appropriate sequencing of the story content – typically, this is person-action-object flow in the story sequence but it can be more than that as depending on our creativity…)
- …and , of course, principle of commitment and work integrity ( nothing happens without practise…practise….practise).
Why do I put in the effort for this memory training?
- First, it is good for my mental health ( I am told that I strengthen my grey cells and brain power and push back on the possibility of Alzeimer’s disease….hope that is true)!
- Second, enhanced memory capacity means that I can enhance my learning capacity
- Last but not the least…, it is pure fun!
I will cover this memory training (Smriti Shaastra) in future posts. You will also find several tips to build your memory capacity as well!
For the time being, just enjoy videos shared here- do subscribe to my blog – and if you are interested in knowing more about memory strengthening & other life hacks – leave your comments below.