The Sharper Mind: Mental Games for a Keen Mind and a Fool Proof Memory PDF
Preview The Sharper Mind: Mental Games for a Keen Mind and a Fool Proof Memory
the Sharper Mind FRED B. CHERNOW Paramus, New Jersey 07652 Prentice Hall Direct Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chernow, Fred B. [Memory plus] The sharper mind / Fred B. Chernow. p. cm. 1. Mnemonics. 2. Memory. I. Title. BF385.C453 1997 97-23322 153.1’4 - dc21 CIP To my dear wife, Carol, who for more than 40 years has made our days together worth remembering. © 1997 by Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 0-7865-8732-6 On the World Wide Web at http://www.phdirect.com Prentice Hall International (UK) Limited, London Prentice Hall of Australia Pty. Limited, Sydney Prentice Hall Canada, Inc., Toronto Prentice Hall Hispanoamericana, S.A., Mexico Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi Prentice Hall of Japan, Inc., Tokyo Simon & Schuster Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore Editora Prentice Hall do Brasil, Ltda., Rio de Janeiro Contents x What This Book Will Do for You Chapter One 1 Unlocking Your Memory Power How You Can Improve Your Short-Term Memory Five Ways to Hold on to Permanent Memory How Your Memory Encodes Information How Your Memory Recollects Data How Your Brain Uses Your Mind’s Eye to Remember Forging Memory Links into a Chain Enhance Your Memory by Using Your Five Senses Using Color to Energize Your Memory Six Ways to Remove the Memory Blocks That Hold You Back Mementos Chapter Two 27 Building Memory Associations How to Use Conscious Associations How to Put the Association Circle to Work for You Learn This Better Way to Memorize Lists of Items How to Use Visual and Verbal Elaboration Get Good Results Using the Link System Using the Story System to Help You Remember Combining the Link System with Association Pairs Putting the Peg System to Work in Your Daily Life Visualizing a Number-Shape System How You Can Benefit from Hearing an Alphabet Peg System How to Use Pegs to Keep Track of Appointments Mementos Chapter Three 54 Boosting Your Learning Potential How Motivation Enhances Memory Testing Your Short-Term Memory How to Boost Your Brain Power How Rhythm Helps You Learn Six Strategies for Better Learning How Interference Affects Learning How to Better Retain What You Read Using Your Extrinsic Memory Mementos Answer Key Chapter Four 71 Remembering What You Hear and Read Remembering What You Hear Guidelines for Effective Listening A Remembering-What-You-Hear Workout Taking Notes to Help You Remember What You Hear Three Successful Techniques for Remembering What You Hear Five Ways to Sharpen Your Listening Skills in a One-to-One Situation How to Handle the Repetitive Speaker Seven Ways to Remember Conversations Better How to Remember What You Read Improving Your Level of Concentration Guidelines for Improving Reading Recall Twelve Ways to Increase Your Reading Efficiency Taking Notes to Help You Remember What You Read Mementos Chapter Five Making Others Remember What You Say and 97 Write Making Sure What You Say Is Remembered Making Your Writing Memorable Mementos Chapter Six 121 Conquering Absentmindedness Eight Ways to Reduce Forgetfulness Follow-Up Evaluation Mementos Chapter Seven 143 Recalling Numbers with Speed and Accuracy How You Can Remember Telephone Numbers More Easily Sharpen Your Memory by Seeing Shapes in Numbers How the Letter-Count System Helps You Remember How to Use Rhyme to Recall Numbers Making Obvious Number Associations Using Pattern Recognition to Increase Your Memory Improve Your Memory by Changing Numbers into Phrases Putting the Number-Consonant System to Work for You Mementos 170 Chapter Eight Using Five Surefire Techniques for Remembering Names Paying Attention to Introductions How to Use Association Sharpening Your Powers of Observation Focusing on Organization Using Visualization Five Thing Never to Do When Being Introduced What to Do When the Name Is on the Tip of Your Tongue Mementos Chapter Nine Age-Proofing Your Memory 190 How Aging Affects Memory Steps You Can Take Now to Ensure a Strong Memory in Later Life Mental Calisthenics to Help Your Brain Grow How Sleep Keeps Your Mind Sharp Using Techniques of Memory Self-Management Preserving Mental Vitality Understanding the Medical Factor in Memory Identifying Secrets of Lifelong Memory Agility Special Techniques for the Older Learner to Use Ten Basic Principles of Memory Retention for Seniors Mementos Chapter Ten 216 Mental Math Shortcuts A Diagnostic Test of Your Basic Math Skills Seven Shortcuts for Mental Multiplication Eight Shortcuts for Mental Division Four Shortcuts to Use in Both Multiplication and Division Three More Shortcuts to Gain Mastery in Mental Math Repeating the Diagnostic Test Mementos Answer Key Chapter Eleven 239 Mental Creativity Boosters Identifying the Six Kinds of Intelligence How Your Memory Benefits from Creativity Exercises for Creativity Training Mementos Answer Key Chapter Twelve 261 Mental Aerobics Workouts Seven Daily Warm-Up Exercises for Mental Agility Ten Weekly Basic Workout Exercises Build Mental Dexterity with This Cool-Down Exercise Mementos A Final Memento ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book was conceived on the Long Island Campus of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Ronald Kanner, chairman of the Department of Neurology, and Dr. Steven Mattis of the Department of Psychiatry, were my co-panelists at a public forum on “Improving Memory Skills” at the Teaching Center. They encouraged me to put my strategies for strengthening memory into a book for the lay reader. My thanks go to them and to Dr. Seymour Cohen of the De- partment of Public Affairs of Long Island Jewish Medical Center for helping me reach a huge audience of memory-enhancement seekers. Needed encouragement during the incubation process came from Sybil Grace at Prentice Hall who was my indefatigable coach and helped me make the manuscript user-friendly. Jon Keith, an early leader in memory training for the business community, as well as Dr. John Mitchell, a consultant in memory and management assessment, made valuable suggestions. Special thanks to Clara Blackman, coordinator of Lifelong Learning for University Seniors at New York University, and Dean John J. Brennan of Notre Dame College, St. John’s University, for their faith in my ability to improve the memories of their students.
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