Scientific Secrets for a Powerful Memory

Course Overview

Don’t forget … um … to … whatever. Watch this super helpful video that will help you increase your ability to remember the things that we clearly can’t. Memory is, without a doubt, the most powerful (and practical) tool of everyday life. By linking both your past and your future, memory gives you the power to plan, to reason, to perceive, and to understand. Yet while all of us have an amazing capacity for memory, there are plenty of times when it seems to fail us.

Why does this happen? And how can you fix it? In Scientific Secrets for a Powerful Memory, you’ll explore the real research on how memory functions—and then apply these findings to help you make better use of the memory abilities you have. By tapping into a series of scientifically proven strategies, tricks, and techniques, and by practicing them through dynamic exercises, you’ll emerge from the end of this short course with the ability to process information more effectively and to increase your chance of remembering almost anything you want.

Course Lectures

01: Your Amazing Prehistoric Memory

Discover how remarkable your memory ability can be and get an introduction to some of the fascinating ways you can transform your average memory into an excellent one. After a quick memory test to set the stage, Professor Vishton introduces you to one of the most basic ways your memory can encode information: the Major System.

Duration: 34 min

02: Encoding Information with Images

Focus on one of the simplest tricks for memorizing information: the Method of Loci. Like the Major System, this strategy encodes information into a format your brain is especially good at using; in this case, it ties information to a physical location. Gain familiarity with this method through several engaging exercises. Also, peek inside the mind of mental athletes to see how their seemingly superhuman abilities work.

Duration: 33 min

03: Maximizing Short- and Long-Term Memory

In this insightful lecture, Professor Vishton walks you through the three steps of successful memory: a perception to short-term memory, encoding short-term memory to your long-term memory, and retrieving information from your long-term memory. In addition, you’ll explore how amnesia and other hippocampus-related damages can disrupt this normal memory process; you’ll examine some intriguing ways to enhance your memory.

Duration: 30 min

04: Why and When We Forget

Forgetting happens to the best of us—but it can be mitigated through the use of several key techniques. Among the topics you’ll investigate are the “Ebbinghaus forgetting function,” which offers insights into the relationship between time, amount of studying, and the likelihood of memory recall; the most effective way to remember a new set of information (hint: it doesn’t involve cramming); and how to enhance retention.

Duration: 30 min

05: Keeping Your Whole Brain in Peak Condition

To have a good memory that functions at the peak of its powers, you need to keep your entire brain healthy. Professor Vishton shows you how to do just that. You’ll learn how not just a part of your brain, but the entire organ, is involved in remembering things. You’ll also investigate the science behind studies of exercise, sleep, and nutrition—and the curious ways that a balanced diet, daily activity, and mental challenges contribute to brain health.

Duration: 29 min

06: Human Memory Is Reconstruction, Not Replay

Why should you bother enhancing your memory when there are computers that can do it for you? In what ways is information stored on a computer different from information stored in the recesses of your brain? What are the limits of how memory functions? What are some important roles that technology can—and should—play in backing up our memories? Why are “source memories” and “flashbulb memories” so significant?

Duration: 31 min