How to Develop a Perfect Memory (20 page)

Eamon

Susan

Gary

Howard

Askey

Adams

Adas

Attenborough Andrews

Anton

Armstrong

Aiken

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Once every square has been assigned a person, the task of memorizing chess moves already looks less daunting. As far as I am concerned, Seve Ballesteros or Claudia Schieffer are much easier to remember than f2 or c6. However, the pieces themselves must also be assigned characters.

IMAGES FOR PIECES

Given the nature of chess pieces (they are virtually people), I suggest that you arrive at each person by focussing on the piece itself, rather than the letter.

Here are my own people: King (K) = Prince Charles, Queen (Q) = The Queen, Rook (R) = Roy Castle, Knight (N) = Terry Waite, Bishop (B) = Archbishop of Canterbury, Pawn = no character required.

MEMORIZING AN OPENING EXCHANGE

It won't come as a surprise to learn that if you want to memorize a series of moves, you should use a simple journey. Each move, represented by a person, is assigned to a different stage. For example, if White opens by moving a Pawn to b4, you imagine the weatherman Bernard Davey (b = B; 4 = D; BD =

Bernard Davey) pointing at a weather map at the first stage of your journey. It follows that if you want to remember the opening six moves (i.e. six white moves, six black moves), you need a journey with twelve stages. Try memorizing these typical opening shots:

This is how I memorize some of them:

e4: Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM, e4 comes alive in the shape of Eliza

Doolittle (e = E; 4 = D; ED = Eliza Doolittle). I imagine the cockney

flowerseller at the first stage of the journey.

e5: I imagine Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards at the second stage (e = E; 5
=
E; EE

=
Eddie Edwards).

Nf3: Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM, this becomes Ns3 (f = s), which

translates into
two
people: Terry Waite (N = Terry Waite) and Sean Connery (s

= S; 3 = C; SC = Sean Connery).

The easiest and most efficient way to remember more than one person is to combine them in a single complex image (see Chapter 4). In this case, Ns3

translates into Terry Waite (person) wielding a gun, 007 style (Connery's action), at the third stage.

Once you have created your own images, replay the 'video', reviewing each scene as you go. It doesn't matter that someone like Terry Waite appears in a succession of images. The location is always different, and so is the action. It is very common for one player to shadow another in the opening exchanges, both moving their knights or bishops. You just have to make sure that each image is firmly rooted in its own particular location.

With practice, you might start to remember one move (black and white) at each stage, but I suggest you stick with half a move per stage until the process becomes second nature.

MEMORIZING SET PLAY

If a piece is taken, Knight takes Bishop say, it is recorded as N x B. Whenever this occurs, I imagine a fierce duel between the respective characters or some form of struggle (rather than forming a complex image). In this case, I would imagine Terry Waite locked in combat with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

If a player castles, it is recorded as 0-0. Using the DOMINIC SYSTEM,

this translates into Olive Oyl.

The DOMINIC SYSTEM comes into its own when you want to remember

whole games. I have listed two games below, one of them strictly for the beginners, and one for the pros.

FOOL'S MATE

This is the shortest possible way of ending a game in checkmate, hence its name. In algebraic notation, it is recorded as follows:

1. g4, e6

2. f4, Qh4 MATE

Imagine a journey with four stages. If you are going to make a fool of yourself, you might as well do it on stage in front of an audience, so my route is based on a local theatre:

1. Theatre stalls

2. Orchestra pit

3. Stage

White moves Pawn to g4. I imagine Gerard Depardieu (g = G; 4 = D; GD =

Gerard Depardieu) charging through the stalls, cutting and thrusting at the empty seats with his glistening rapier. Black responds by moving pawn to e6. I picture Ebenezer Scrooge (e = E; 6 = S) counting his money in the orchestra pit. White moves a second Pawn to f4. I imagine Sharron Davies (f = s = S; 4 =

D; SD = Sharron Davies) swimming in a paddling pool. Black moves Queen to h4. I picture Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II (Q) backstage, where the fuses have blown. She is sitting at a table, holding a Davey lamp (h = H; 4
=
D; HD = Humphrey Davey) and trying to write a cheque (checkmate). Is she

buying the theatre or paying her tax bill?

KARPOV versus KASPAROV Match 1985

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cd 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8.

Na3 d5 9. cd ed 10. ed Nb4 11. Be2 Bc5 12. 0-0 0-0 13. Bf3 Bf5 14. Bg5 Re8

15. Qd2 b5 16. Rad1 Nd3 17. Nab1 h6 18. Bh4 b4 19. Na4 Bd6 20. Bg3 Rc8

21. b3 g5 22. Bxd6 Qxd6 23. g3 Nd7 24. Bg2 Qf6 25. a3 a5 26. ab ab 27. Qa2

Bg6 28. d6 g4 29. Qd2 Kg7 30. f3 Qxd6 31. fg Qd4+ 32. Kh1 Nf6 33. Rf4

Ne4 34. Qxd3 Nf2+ 35. Rxf2 Bxd3 36. Rfd2 Qe3 37. Rxd3 Rc1 38. Nb2 Qf2

39. Nd2 Rxd1+ 40. Nxd1 Re1+ 41 Resigns.

21

HOW TO

MEMORIZE

THIRTY-FIVE DECKS

I was once given the task of memorizing the order of six separate packs of cards on a live TV show in Switzerland. Just before going on air, I made the fatal mistake of asking how many people would be watching. 'Oh, about 40

million,' said the producer nonchalantly, unaware of the terror he was instilling in me. The programme was broadcast right across Europe.

I was given my cue and duly stepped out onto the set... and into the homes of 40 million Europeans. It really was quite a lot of people. I started to memorize the decks. Everything went like clockwork until the host asked me to name the 42nd card in each pack. I couldn't stop thinking about the size of the audience. I was allowed one error throughout the whole ordeal, providing I corrected it immediately. There was prize money to be won (£3,500), but I was more concerned about not fluffing.

I correctly named the 42nd card in the first three decks, but when it came to the fourth deck, I called out the '2 of diamonds'. The audience audibly winced and the host said 'incorrect'. I just couldn't understand what had happened. The image in my head was crystal clear. I was seeing the 2 of hearts (a friend of mine who is always in the bath), but I didn't realize I was actually saying the '2

of diamonds'. A classic case of brain not connecting with mouth.

After an agonizing pause as I frantically re-grouped my thoughts, I spotted what was going wrong and called out the correct answer, much to the relief of the audience. I collected my prize and felt that I had earned it. Stress is a major cause of memory loss, which is why I always give myself more time for

memorizing when I am performing in front of the camera.

TRICKS YOU CAN NOW DO

I mention this particular occasion to give you an example of the sort of tricks you can do, once you have learnt how to memorize a pack of cards in order.

With a little concentration, you should be able to recite the cards backwards as well as forwards. You simply move along your journey in reverse order.

More impressive, I think, is the ability to sing out any card you are asked for: the 12th, the 39th, the 25th, and so on. This feat is easily achieved, providing you have reinforced certain stages along your journey.

If you look back to my route through the streets of Guildford (in Chapter 16), for example, you will notice that the 11th stage is a staircase. Whenever I am mapping out a new route, I always make sure that the 11th stage involves stairs. The 21st stage is always a door or gate. And I know when I am half way, because the 26th stage is invariably a 'stop' of some kind. I use other markers for the 31st, 36th, 41st, and 46th stages.

I avoid reinforcing the obvious stages (10th, 20th, 30th, etc.) because no one ever asks me these! I find that people always try to catch me out by calling out odd numbers. But when someone asks what the 46th card is, say, I can tell them in an instant. And if they choose the 44th card, I either work back from the 46th landmark, or count forward from the 41st.

HOW TO REMEMBER MORE THAN ONE PACK OF CARDS

This is not as daunting as it might sound. For each new pack, I plan a new journey. When I memorized 35 packs of cards, I had previously mapped out 35

different routes. I don't expect many people to attempt 35 packs. You have to be slightly unhinged to put yourself through that particular agony. (It took me thirteen hours.) But if you do want to move on to multiple packs, there are one or two tips and pitfalls to look out for.

When I was attempting the world record, it took the invigilators half an hour to shuffle 35 packs. (There were 1,820 cards, after all.) Mathematically, there was a high chance of some anomalies appearing in the card sequence. I predicted identical cards grouped together, and others that might not turn up for ages.

In the event, there were 44 doubles (a jack of spades followed by another jack of spades) and one treble (9 of clubs, 9 of clubs, 9 of clubs). Some memory experts have complained of confusion when memorizing more than one

pack, and I suspect this is because they are not using the journey method.

It allows you to place each character at a unique location. Michael Jackson dancing at a bus stop is a quite separate image from Michael Jackson dancing in front of the traffic at the lights. Besides, I find that any doubles (and particularly triples) that do arise are memorable in their own right because they are unusual.

If you are attempting more than one pack, you need to remember the order of your various journeys. I do this by incorporating a number shape at the first stage of each route. For instance, if my second journey is around Royston, a swan will feature in the first image (Swan = 2). Handcuffs (3) will start off the third journey, the fourth will commence with a sail (4); and so on.

The number of packs you can remember is restricted only by the number of journeys you can devise. You will be surprised at just how much information your memory can store and recall.

22

NUMBER

CRUNCHING

With training, many of us could walk from Land's End to John O'Groats, trek across the Antarctic, or even climb Everest. Very few of us, however, get around to achieving these goals; we are quite happy to watch others, content in the knowledge that of course we could do it too, we just don't want to.

The same could be said about memorizing large numbers. Not many people

have the inclination to commit to memory the first 40,000 decimal places of pi, the current world record. The very notion of absorbing so many digits is utterly incomprehensible. And yet, I believe we all have the potential to perform feats of this sort.

This chapter is for those who want to learn how to crunch large numbers.

It's also for those who cannot conceive how or why it's done and want to find out. I hope it removes some of the mystique, giving you an insight into what is, in fact, a very ordered and deceptively simple process. By the end of it, you will know how to memorize the first 100 digits of pi, and how to set about tackling bigger numbers.

EASY AS PI

It was on 9 and 10 March 1987, at the Tsukuba University Club House, when Hideaki Tomoyori recalled the first 40,000 places in 17 hours and 21 minutes (including breaks totalling 4 hours 15 minutes) to set a new world record. In Britain, Creighton Carvello recited the first 20,013 places on 27 June 1980. It took him 9 hours and 10 minutes at Saltscar Comprehensive School, Redcar, Cleveland, to set the British record.

In the near future, I plan to set a new world record by memorizing the first 50,000 decimal places of pi. Pi (symbol π) denotes the ratio of a circle's cir-cumference to its diameter. It is a very strange, almost transcendental number; it cannot be expressed as an exact fraction and there are no continuously recurring digits (unlike 10 divided by 3, which equals 3.3333333 etc.).

Consequently, it makes for the perfect test of someone's memory of numbers, providing them with an infinite run of fiendishly random digits. Here are the first 100 decimal places:

Written out like this, the number looks fairly horrific. By applying the DOMINIC SYSTEM, however, you can turn this mountain of a number into a

molehill.

Stage 1:

Choose a journey with 25 stages. Even though you are faced with a 100-digit number, you are only going to memorize 25 complex images, each one placed at a different stage.

Choose somewhere familiar for your journey and keep it solely for memorizing long numbers. I start my route at a patisserie, as good a place as any when you are remembering pi (e)!

Stage 2:

Break the number down into pairs of digits and translate each pair into a person, people or an action. (For the sake of example, I have used the list of characters and actions in Chapter 4.) Every four digits will be represented by one complex image. For example, take the first four decimal places: 1415. Break this down into pairs of digits: 14 - 15.

To form your complex image, translate the first pair of digits into a person, the second pair into an action.

In this case, 14 becomes Arthur Daley (14 = AD), and 15 is the action of writing on a blackboard (15 = AE = Albert Einstein, whose action is writing on a blackboard). Your complex image, therefore, is the sight of Arthur Daley scrawling complicated formulae on a blackboard. The prospect of memorizing 100 digits already seems less daunting.