How best to perceive and remember the abundance of information that bombards the brain of a modern person? Surely, everyone asks this question, especially when it becomes extremely relevant, for example, during study, an exam, speaking in front of an audience, reading scientific literature.
To make the process of obtaining and storing information more effective, there are various memorization techniques.
- Using mnemonic systems
- The effectiveness of quick memorization techniques
Method No. 1. Method of analogy or association.
Any innovation that is difficult to learn can be learned through association. To do this, it is enough to draw a parallel with some familiar phenomenon or event. Moreover, the established analogy may have nothing to do with the phenomenon being studied. It should be simple, close and understandable directly to the student: an event from his life, a favorite word, etc.
Application of the analogy method in practice
Experienced experts recommend drawing analogies with similar words that are consonant with the term or topic being studied. This technique can speed up the “learning process” by 40-50%, while memorizing information is guaranteed.
This technique is most often followed by people with good imagination, a bright and rich life, who have something to “compare” with a term, object, etc.
Method No. 2. Abbreviation.
An abbreviation is a shortening of words. Today, each of us is faced with various abbreviations every day: IMF, Central Bank of the Russian Federation, CIS, etc. Even schoolchildren, when writing down homework, essentially use abbreviations and the principle of “verbal minimalism” (for example, Russian language exercise 360).
An abbreviation can be presented in different forms: an abbreviation based on the first letters of a word, a saying, where each first or last letter indicates a specific feature (for example, the color of the rainbow), etc.
Using abbreviations to better remember information
Similarly, a student can study subjects. Most often, he uses abbreviations when taking notes on lectures (this is where new abbreviations are born), but why not start learning the subject with the help of them?
Read the topic and then create an “abbreviated version” of it. It is important to note that this technique will allow you not only to better remember the most important things, but also to prepare cheat sheets that will help you out in difficult times or will warm your soul, calming you down during the exam.
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Method No. 3. We remember visually.
If you have a well-developed visual memory, then try not just to memorize the material, but to remember its location in a textbook, lecture or other primary source. This will not only allow you, if necessary, to quickly find a fragment for a full answer, or copy it off during a test or exam. It is enough to remember on what page it was written, what this page looks like (a crushed corner, old, shabby paper), in which paragraph the information suitable for an answer is located, and how the text will completely appear before your eyes.
Method No. 4. The method of arranging objects or the “Cicero” method.
If after reading you were unable to remember anything, do not freak out or despair. Try connecting memory and associations at the same time. Remember the environment or room that is familiar to you, imagine that you are in it. And now “put each moment you read into its place” in this room, but this must be done in the order in which you usually walk through the room (out of habit).
The principle of the “Cicero” method
Let's say you're standing in front of your own bedroom door. The door itself is a theme, you entered and put things on a chair or in a closet (there should be another link to the theme, an introductory note, for example, how it all began, etc.), then you go to the bed and sit down/lie down (here is another link) and etc. And so you need to learn and “rehearse” until you remember everything you need.
Further, if you suddenly forget something during the exam, you just need to remember the usual room and procedure, and your memory will give you the entire text.
Technique for quickly memorizing text
There are several special techniques that are aimed at accelerating the memorization of information of any volume. These include:
- Complete analysis and understanding of the data being read , it is important to understand what is written and what is the main idea of the information being studied.
- Visualization of what you read , namely, try to mentally select a suitable picture for each sentence or word.
- After reading the information, it is advisable to rewrite everything that you remember on a piece of paper. This will help you understand what data has been learned and what needs to be reworked.
- Author's reading , that is, listening to data using an audio recording, is considered an excellent assistant for memorizing text
- to re-read what you are studying several times a day .
- In order to learn a text by heart, you need to read it before going to bed .
- To quickly memorize text, you need to take breaks during work.
- A comfortable environment and the absence of external stimuli will help you easily remember a large amount of data.
Method No. 5. Rhyming.
Memorizing poetry is much easier than boring and long text. Why not turn the study of the subject into one large poem with chapter themes? To do this, it is enough to rhyme each term or definition with familiar and everyday words or even rewrite them as poetry (of any composition).
If you are far from writing creative works or poetry, then you can simply link individual concepts to poems already familiar to you. To do this, you need to connect associations or analogies, a little imagination.
Method No. 6. We encrypt the recording.
If complex terms are difficult to memorize and decipher, then it is worth trying to transform the process of preparing for a test or certification into a children's game - encryption. Remember how you used to correspond with your friends in a language that was incomprehensible to others: you assigned each letter a number or a specific symbol, etc. Why not apply this method here too? Scientists have proven that the form of play activates brain cells, and the feeling of excitement allows you to quickly understand the essence of the matter.
Features of using the encryption method
Students most often “encrypt” information “in their own way.” They look for analogies between numbers and letters, symbols and individual elements. For example, in mathematics there are certain abbreviations (for example, infinity, sum, etc.). Why not use familiar symbols in other objects?
Specialized Technicians
The basic principles and rules for storing information in memory described above are an integral part of the following memorization methods. These principles are based on mnemonics (a system of techniques that facilitate memorization and increase the range of memory) used by the ancient Greeks. For the convenience of storing information, basic principles are used - movement, humor, color, etc.
Connection system
The basic technology of memory using imagination is a connection system in which one thing is connected to another. It is necessary to involve the imagination, use your senses: combine emotions, humor, movement, colors, eroticism. The main thing is to visualize everything - to imagine the whole picture as if you really see it.
This method is ideal for memorizing a list of terms, a set of images, as well as a short presentation, a few arguments, or a shopping list. For example, you plan to buy the following products: bread, apples, eggs, milk, flour. You can save this list in memory by associating each element with a colorful story - the more fantasies, absurdity, emotions, the better.
The use of the technique is memorizing short, simple information.
Roman LOCI system
The initial stage of this system is the creation of its own structure in the mind, which will subsequently be filled with information. If you have to give a speech or lecture, imagine your home, place ideas related to the main topics in it. The weirder and funnier they are, the better you will remember them. This technique was used by orators in ancient Rome.
The method is good for memorizing sequential (unrelated) elements, plot or time sequence. The first step is to identify a place that is familiar to you (bedroom, way to school, to work, your own body).
Thorough knowledge of the site is a prerequisite. Subsequently, you can remember as many points as there are clues in your mind. Each clue is associated with one concept that needs to be remembered. Then you gradually walk through the created structure and remember the things that were laid out.
The technique works on the basis of creating the most intriguing links to places and concepts intended to be remembered. The more absurd and unusual the connection is made, the more likely it is to remember. It is important to use different senses and visualize everything clearly in your mind. The brighter the picture, the better.
Application of the technique: path creation allows you to store an unlimited number of things in memory. Try to create several paths, train associations. With increasing experience, these paths can be used for more complex information (presentations, arguments, lists, exams).
Numerical reference system
This technique is based on arithmetic and is useful for memorizing numbers. We remember real things better than numbers. Therefore, each number is replaced by an object that resembles it. For example, 1 = flag with stick, 2 = swan, etc.
Application of the technique: for memorizing numbers and simple information.
Master system
Master system is a method used by specialists. It was invented about 300 years ago and is still being improved. This system allows you to memorize an unlimited number of concepts, numbers, dates, names, etc. It is used by players to memorize cards. The basis is the assignment of letters to numbers. These letters can later be used to form words that help you remember numbers through different stories.
Application of technology: Master system has universal application, it is used to memorize numbers, an unlimited amount of information in an exact sequence.
Method No. 7. Spaced repetition.
Everyone knows that learned material can be “erased from memory” over time if it is not used. This is how the body cleanses itself of unnecessary and useless information, freeing up space for new discoveries and information. Therefore, if you want the learned material to be stored for as long as possible, and preparation for certification to be easy and quick: delve into each topic from the very beginning, and then periodically repeat what you have covered: re-read lectures, seminars, etc.
In this case, preparing for the exam will be easy and relaxed: the author will know everything necessary, he will only have to repeat it, focusing on the most difficult moments for him.
Moreover, experts note that it is necessary to repeat, not just re-reading the data at hand. It is important to try to extract them from memory, and rereading is intended to fill in the identified gaps. Therefore, first try to remember and tell the question, then re-read it and retell it again.
If the topic is too long, it is best to adhere to the following rules of spaced repetition:
- Review the material directly on the day you learn the topic;
- On the second or third day, retell what you taught, re-read the question again and highlight the key points;
- After 5-6 days, repeat what you have learned again, if necessary, read it again.
To better understand the material, it is enough to devote 10-15 minutes to it every day: briefly retelling and quickly rereading lectures or other manuals.
Understanding
Psychologist G. Ebbinghaus experimentally established that if you mechanically memorize some information without understanding its essence, after an hour only 60% of what you have learned will remain in your memory. And after 6 days this balance will be only 20%.
Therefore, cramming without understanding is ineffective. You must first understand the information being remembered. In this case, it will be superimposed on the one that the student already knows (the so-called long-term memory), and will be assimilated for a long time.
Psychologists and experienced teachers also advise that in order to better understand complex information, try to explain it to your interlocutor, at least to an imaginary one.
Method No. 8. Edge principle.
What information does a person remember most quickly? As a rule, when studying a topic, the initial and final scenes are engraved in the memory, and the middle remains “unconscious”.
If you read the material, but could not completely remember it, do not be discouraged. We are more than sure that the first and last couple of paragraphs remained in our memory. To remember the rest, you need to start learning from those moments that could not be memorized. Just start studying precisely from those fragments that you failed to learn or did not understand.
How to quickly memorize a text and retell it
Often in schools or universities they are given a task - retelling the information they have read. This method is used so that the reader can not only improve and strengthen his memory, but also learn to express his thoughts correctly and correctly, especially for schoolchildren. In order to correctly retell the information you read, you should follow some rules:
- for better assimilation of the data, it is necessary to read what is presented at least once in advance;
- choosing the right time to read will help you absorb the material and accurately interpret it in your own words;
- identifying difficult moments to study and repeating them separately;
- identifying the key points of the text, the relationship and sequence of actions, this will help to fully and efficiently retell the learned material;
- A good rest after studying the material is the key to a high-quality retelling of information.
Method No. 9. Let's get to the point.
Believe me, if you tell a question or topic in your own words, without intricate and florid book phrases or clichés, then this knowledge will be much more valuable, both for you and for the teacher, who will make sure that the student has understood all the nuances and understands the material , learned it.
Identification of the most significant in the total amount of information
Therefore, when studying any subject or issue, highlight the essence (key aspects of terms, theories, formulas) and learn it. As popular wisdom says, the rest will follow.
Method No. 10. Feynman's method.
This principle was named after its creator, a theoretical physicist named Richard Feynman, who managed to develop a unique method for storing information. His “law” is based on simplifying complex issues by using simple and understandable words, phrases and phrases.
This rule is implemented in three stages:
- We write out abstracts or create a plan of material that will allow you to briefly and succinctly describe the essence, highlight basic concepts, etc.;
- As the plan is formed, we re-read the material and identify gaps that were not covered in detail in the previous paragraph. It is important to use only simple and understandable words for you;
- Next, we form a simple and understandable full-fledged text, which will describe all the main aspects of the topic being studied. All that remains is to read and retell it, repeating it periodically to reinforce it.
Methods of memorization
The same information can be learned well in several ways. There are three ways to remember the necessary material in a short time.
- Method of rational memorization;
It is based on the use of logical memory. In the process of rational memorization, the semantic and logical connection of the material with life experience is consolidated in the mind. With rational memorization, awareness of the text read occurs and information is more easily perceived. This method helps to remember the material by heart, trains intellectual abilities and increases knowledge.
- Method of mnemonic memorization;
This is the most interesting method of the three. It helps to remember non-semantic information by processing it into images and associative connections. Mnemonic memorization is based on life experience, translating the text into images familiar to consciousness. This method helps to remember a large amount of material that does not carry a semantic load. These could be dates, phone numbers, names, addresses. It helps combat everyday forgetfulness by increasing the ability to mechanically remember things that happen.
- Method of rote memorization.
This method involves memorizing the material. It is considered ineffective and difficult to train, since it can fail at any moment, “falling out” of memory. As we age, our rote memorization ability declines.
Recommendations from Dishelp experts on how to assimilate the material as efficiently as possible
When studying and memorizing a large amount of information, it is important to create decent conditions: silence, peace, a minimum of distractions over trifles, allocate separate time for studying the subject, etc. Therefore, turn off all gadgets, warn your family or “roommates” so as not to be disturbed, concentrate in preparation.
Tips for better assimilation and memory of new information
Include all methods of memorizing information that are acceptable to you. Actively use those techniques that correspond to the “type of your memory”: visual, auditory (audio), written. If it’s easier for you to remember by ear, listen to audio books; in writing, take notes on all the questions; visually, use the association method, remember the location of the text in the original source, etc.
Don't give up on repetition. It is this that can not only refresh, but also deepen a student’s knowledge. It is enough to devote 10-15 minutes to each subject for repetition. At the same time, do not forget to take a short break when studying new topics, give your body time to recuperate.
Optimal brain function.
Incorrect installation (overestimation of the complexity of the material, insufficient speed, incorrect distribution of forces) leads to the appearance of another negative factor - exaggeration of meaning. Slow, careful reading of simple material can lead the reader to exaggerate the significance of individual facts, without distinguishing the main ones from the secondary ones.
As a result of this, a small element of information turns into a separate unit of information. The RAM register quickly becomes full, and productivity drops sharply.
On the other hand, it is impossible to choose one reading speed that is suitable for the entire text - after all, it consists of logical pieces of different levels of complexity. What is the solution?
The solution is as follows. Firstly, when starting work, you cannot set yourself up for long hours of memorization. It has been experimentally established that the most optimal setting is to work for 30-40 minutes, after which rest (10-15 minutes) or a change of activity is necessary. That is, working time should be divided into several such time periods.
Secondly, these 30-40 minutes cannot be filled with continuous monotonous memorization, since in this case monotony arises, leading to rapid fatigue. A segment of 30-40 minutes should be divided into separate cycles, in which periods of tension and relaxation will alternate. (An example in this sense is the rhythm of the heart: in this rhythm, the heart muscle is relaxed half the time.) What cycles can the rhythm of the brain consist of?
Let's look closely at the second step of the algorithm, in which the main memorization activity occurs. It includes operations such as text entry, grouping, and level 2 grouping. We enter the text, group elements of information into UI, and then must hold it on the internal screen for 5-20 seconds. Then everything starts all over again. This is one cycle! Therefore, the installation within a period of 30-40 minutes should be for one unit. It could be a paragraph or a whole page - it doesn't matter.
Which operations of the second step of the algorithm are difficult and which are easy? Entering into the text and grouping is not a rest, but also not a great effort, rather it is a game of fantasy. Holding the EI for 5-20 seconds can indeed be considered a rest. But the subsequent grouping of the 2nd level requires concentration and effort: after all, you need to select a key image in the UI and include it in the overall picture.
Thus, one cycle of work is divided into the following operations: entry and grouping - holding on the internal screen - grouping of the 2nd level. That is: easy work - rest - difficult... easy - rest - difficult...
It has been noted that in this operating mode, labor productivity is the highest; there is no monotony in work, and therefore rapid fatigue. Working in this mode serves as an excellent means of self-control, thanks to which chains of involuntary associations are immediately cut off; the choice of reading speed is determined by the complexity level of a particular logical piece.
And one more factor in favor of the memorization algorithm and optimal operating mode. In the process of working with the text, the reader’s attitude may change. Even if he outlined the correct memorization tactics. But then he encounters a psychological barrier that he cannot overcome because he does not notice it. What kind of psychological barrier is this?
Imagine that a person is faced with the task of digging up a hectare of land. He has at his disposal a faulty tractor and a perfectly serviceable shovel. Of course, not a single person will take up a shovel: he will look for an opportunity to repair a tractor! A completely different picture arises if the labor is not physical, but intellectual. Many people will perceive tractor repair as additional work that only takes up time: while, they say, repairs, I’ll have to dig up so much. And they take up the shovel! This is precisely the psychological barrier: the implementation of memorization techniques (retention of UI, grouping of the 2nd level) is considered by many as additional work that is not directly related to memorization.
And then this is what happens: having reached the end of the first logical piece, such a reader does not feel the desire to consolidate the EI. “The material is easy, why would I waste precious time looking at pictures,” he thinks and moves on to the next logical piece. Since he mentally marks the boundaries of all units, he has the complete illusion that he is working according to a memorization algorithm. In fact, without consolidating the UI, he left in his RAM a scattering of small elements of information, which is immediately supplemented by elements of the next logical piece. As a result, the RAM register became full and memorization stopped. At the end of the work, the reader is perplexed: why didn’t the memorization techniques work? And there were no receptions!
But if work in the optimal mode is brought to the level of automation, then substitution of the setting will be excluded, and high labor productivity is guaranteed, because this mode is an excellent means of self-control.
Now work through the algorithm for memorizing the text “Swamp”, then compare the results of your work with a short commentary.
SWAMP
For a long time, people's imagination has populated swamps with goblins, kikimoras and other evil spirits. And this is understandable: what is good in a swamp? A dead place, useless; swamps, bogs, damp, unhealthy air, clouds of mosquitoes...
This opinion prevailed until man created powerful technology that helped drain vast territories in a short time and extract large quantities of peat. Since that time, the number and size of swamps began to decrease noticeably. In their place, agricultural lands and engineering structures began to emerge.
But calls for the protection of swamps began to be heard more and more often. It turned out that they play an important role in the lives of many birds, animals, and plants. Here you can get good harvests of herbs, berries and medicinal plants. But the main advantage of swamps is different: they serve as natural regulators of surface and groundwater flow. In some cases, draining swamps reduces the level of groundwater, reduces soil fertility in elevated areas, and contributes to severe floods. True, on drained swamp lands it is possible to harvest abundant crops. But only a few years, and then the lands become waste and are subject to erosion.
Most often, swamps arise where groundwater comes to the surface, as well as in forest clearings and burnt areas: due to the lack of plants that “suck out” groundwater, the groundwater level rises. There are many swamps in the tundra and forest-tundra, where a layer of permafrost prevents surface water from seeping into the ground; in the mouths and floodplains of rivers that are often flooded during floods.
Swamps are divided into lowland, transitional and raised. Lowland ones are not necessarily located in the lowlands, and highland ones are not necessarily located on the hills. The main difference here is that swamps are fed - lowland, mainly by groundwater, and upland - by precipitation.
Swamps usually appear in heavily moist depressions or on the site of overgrown lakes and are mostly lowland. As plants die and peat accumulates, the surface of the bog becomes flat and then slightly convex. The vegetation is first represented mainly by herbs, shrubs, and then increasingly abundant sphagnum mosses. The lower part of the turf, located in water depleted of oxygen, decomposes poorly. Peat begins to accumulate. The peat “cushion” grows, the surface of the swamp rises higher and higher, the vegetation cover becomes more diverse: shrubs, trees, and meadow plants appear. A thick layer of peat serves as a sponge that absorbs water. Accumulating moisture, the swamp feeds the plants with plenty of it. Now it can exist without using groundwater, only due to precipitation. This is how the transformation of a lowland swamp, the surface of which is concave, like a saucer, into a raised swamp with a convex surface.
The famous Soviet writer and naturalist M. M. Prishvin called the swamps “the pantry of the sun.” Swamp vegetation is rich. But every plant is a battery of solar energy. In swamp water, these batteries are stored for a long time and do not “discharge”, forming peat deposits.
Previously, peat was used mainly for heating. It is now considered a very important complex raw material. Resin and rock wax, medicines and substances that purify oil and water are extracted from it; organic fertilizers, feed mixtures and much more are prepared on its basis.
1st EI: a small swamp with all its “charms”, on the edge of it there is a tractor and mountains of peat, behind them are agricultural buildings. Now let’s hold the EI for 5-20 seconds, after which we simplify: what remains is a swamp (without details) and a tractor.
2nd EI: simplified first picture, a column of people approaching the tractor, carrying in their hands birds, animals, bunches of plants and a large poster with a scheme for regulating surface and groundwater - hold for 5-20 seconds. — let’s simplify: a swamp with a tractor and a column of people!
3rd EI: the last simplified picture, and next to it there is a forest with a charred clearing, a spring gushing out from under the ground, ice protruding from under the ground and a river. - These are all symbols of the reasons for the emergence of swamps. - 5-20 seconds. — we simplify: a swamp with a tractor, a column, a forest.
4th UI: simplified previous picture, on the other side of the swamp (relative to the tractor) there is a lake similar to a saucer (concave), dying plants - and the lake (already a swamp) becomes flat, accumulation of peat - and the swamp becomes convex, it rains over it . - 5-20 seconds. — we simplify: a swamp with a tractor, a column, a forest, a lake.
5th EI: a simplified previous picture, on the edge of the swamp stands M. M. Prishvin, next to a stove, next to a factory, from which conveyor belts crawl out, and on them: resin, medicines, fertilizers, feed mixtures. - 5-20 seconds. — we simplify: a swamp with a tractor, a column, a forest, a lake. M. M. Prishvin.
Please note: we did not try to insert every little detail into the UI - if the techniques of entering the text and grouping are performed well enough, then the little things will easily come to mind when recalling information. The main thing is something else - the ability to see the big picture as a whole. Therefore, we scan it more often, and at the end of the work we expand each unit one by one into a full picture. That is, we proceed to the third step of the algorithm.
