Voices
when information is made meaningful, when it’s colorful, when
we’re able to integrate it into the
web of all the other things we
know. Memory techniques, like
the memory palace, may sound
like miraculous shortcuts. But in
fact they work precisely because
they make you work. They take
effort. They force a kind of depth
of processing and a kind of mindfulness that many of us don’t normally walk around exercising. But
that’s what it takes to remember
— and to live a memorable life.
For example, if you want to remember someone’s name, the first
and most important thing you can
do is pay attention — real attention — when a person introduces
herself. Most of the time, we forget
a person’s name because we never
properly encode it in our memories.
Our minds are elsewhere, or we’re
too busy thinking of the first clever
thing we’re going to say back.
To make a name memorable,
try creating a visual association
in your imagination between the
person’s name and face. If it’s a
woman named Abby, imagine a bee
stinging her eye. If it’s a guy called
Bill, imagine him with a duckbill
for a mouth. If it’s someone named
Barbara, picture a crown of barbed
JOSHUA
FOER
HUFFINGTON
03.31.13
We remember when we
engage deeply, when information
is made meaningful, when it’s
colorful, when we’re able to
integrate it into the web of all
the other things we know.”
wire around her head. Create these
images in your mind’s eye with as
much color, action, and meaning
as possible. For example, don’t just
picture a bee stinging Abby’s eye.
Hear the bee buzzing, imagine her
Foer’s book,
which was
released last
year, details
his year-long
journey to
sharpen his
memory.