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  • Memento Mori: 4 Simple Exercises for a More Memorable Life

    Memento Mori: 4 Simple Exercises for a More Memorable Life
    Sep 21 2016
    Memento mori sounds morbid. But the ancient Latin practice of “remembering that you will die” will not depress you when used as a memory exercise. No. It will wake you up and help make sure that today (and every day) matters to your life. That’s just one reason to practice the memento mori exercises you’re about to discover today. They are powerful and have been throughout history. Why? For one thing, when you hold the fact that you are going to pass away in your mind for even a minute, mental junk that obscures the miracle of existence can start to lose its grip. Petty worries shrink. Procrastination fades. And you start choosing the conversation, the walk, the work and take more risks. And that’s important because those are things you’ll actually be glad you did. As opposed to doom scrolling on your phone, which is usually an utter waste of time. The Truth of Memento Mori Exercises Hidden in Plain Sight Here’s the link between memento mori and memory training you might have missed: I’ve taught memory training techniques for years, and the engine behind developing great recall isn’t “talent.” It’s cultivating your attention in ways that you associate with meaning that is worth remembering. Well-constructed memento mori exercises force meaning to the surface, which makes attention sharper automatically. And as memory expert Harry Lorayne often pointed out, when attention sharpens, better memory follows. That’s one reason why I keep an Amor Fati medallion from The Daily Stoic on my desk. In fact, I keep it right beside a “Mr. Death” pin that says “Catch you later.” I wore that pin on tour when I played bass with The Outside as a private reminder: Do not sleepwalk through this rehearsal, and definitely not during this concert. You’re only going to get to do this one. Finally, these two memento mori are kept with the Warrior of the Mind Emblem Tony Buzan awarded me for Outstanding Contributions to Global Mental Literacy. As you can imagine, it took on even more significance for me after he unexpectedly passed away. It sounds ridiculously simple, but having visual reminders like this constantly in your environment makes a big difference to your quality of life. And in the next few minutes, I’ll show you three more simple memento mori exercises you can do today to live a more memorable life. As a side effect, these will train the exact mental skill that makes your memory stronger overall. One: Imagine Your Funeral The exercise I’m about to share sounds grim, I know. But it’s actually quite positive. I adapted it from psychologist Richard Wiseman’s 59 Seconds, where he discusses brief, evidence-informed writing prompts that can shift perspective and behavior. As Wiseman explains based on a study he cites, the imaginative act of seeing and hearing your friends, family and colleagues acknowledge your passing creates perspective and insight that can improve your happiness. I’ve upped the ante and turned it into a brain game by not just imagining the scenario mentally, but by involving pen and paper. Make a list of two friends, two family members and two colleagues (or fellow students if you’re still in school). Next, write down one positive memory each person will share about you at your funeral. It could be a story or just a description of a personal attribute. Pretend that you can hear their voices as you complete the exercise. This point is important: Focus on the positive. Don’t invite haters to your funeral. Really feel the upbeat sentiments people share about you and enjoy the warmth they create. Then follow-up by imagining what you could do starting today to increase the praise you’ll receive. This simple additional step will help ensure you live a much more interesting life. Two: The Monty Hall Memento Mori Exercise If you’ve heard about The Monty Hall Problem, you likely have only heard it talked about as a quirky mathematical riddle. But for our purposes today, it’s really about why we humans cling to our first decision when changing our minds is the smarter move. Here’s the Monty Hall Problem in simple terms, followed by an exercise: Imagine that you’re on a game show. There are three doors and behind one of them is a prize. Behind the other two, either absolutely nothing or undesirable objects. The host, who knows the location of the prize, opens one of the two doors you didn’t pick and reveals either nothing. Or a dud prize, like a goat. Then he gives you a choice: Do you want to stick with the door you originally selected? Or switch to the remaining unopened door? https://youtu.be/mhlc7peGlGg Here’s what makes The Monty Hall problem interesting: Although you’ve already decided on a door, many analysts of the problem believe that switching at this critical moment gives you better odds of winning the prize. This means that changing your mind is the better and more rational choice. But many people do not perceive the benefits and wind...
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    58 Min.
  • A Thriller That Teaches Memory: The Science Behind Vitamin X

    A Thriller That Teaches Memory: The Science Behind Vitamin X
    Dec 28 2025
    Imagine for a second that Eckhart Tolle wasn’t a spiritual teacher, but a deep cover operative with a gun to his head. And just for a second, pretend that Tolle’s Power of Now wasn’t a way to find peace, but a survival mechanism used to slow down time when your reality is collapsing. And your memory has been utterly destroyed by forces beyond your control. Until a good friend helps you rebuild it from the ground up. These are the exact feelings and sense of positive transformation I tried to capture in a project I believe is critical for future autodidacts, polymaths and traditional learners: Vitamin X, a novel in which the world’s only blind memory champion helps a detective use memory techniques and eventually achieve enlightenment. It’s also a story about accomplishing big goals, even in a fast-paced and incredibly challenging world. In the Magnetic Memory Method community at large, we talk a lot about the habits of geniuses like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. We obsess over their reading lists and their daily routines because we want that same level of clarity and intellectual power. But there’s a trap in studying genius that too many people fall into: Passivity. And helping people escape passive learning is one of several reasons I’ve studied the science behind a variety of fictional learning projects where stories have been tested as agents of change. Ready to learn more about Vitamin X and the various scientific findings I’ve uncovered in order to better help you learn? Let’s dive in! Defeating the Many Traps of Passive Learning We can read about how Lincoln sharpened his axe for hours before trying to cut down a single tree. And that’s great. But something’s still not quite right. To this day, tons of people nod their heads at that famous old story about Lincoln. Yet, they still never sharpen their own axes, let alone swing them. Likewise, people email me every day regarding something I’ve taught about focus, concentration or a particular mnemonic device. They know the techniques work, including under extreme pressure. But their minds still fracture the instant they’re faced with distraction. As a result, they never wind up getting the memory improvement results I know they can achieve. So, as happy as I am with all the help my books like The Victorious Mind and SMARTER have helped create in this world, I’m fairly confident that those titles will be my final memory improvement textbooks. Instead, I am now focused on creating what you might call learning simulations. Enter Vitamin X, the Memory Detective Series & Teaching Through Immersion Because here’s the thing: If I really want to teach you how to become a polymath, I can’t just carry on producing yet another list of tips. I have to drop you into scenarios where you actually feel what it’s like to use memory techniques. That’s why I started the Memory Detective initiative. It began with a novel called Flyboy. It’s been well-received and now part two is out. And it’s as close to Eckhart Tolle meeting a Spy Thriller on LSD as I could possibly make it. Why? To teach through immersion. Except, it’s not really about LSD. No, the second Memory Detective novel centers around a substance called Vitamin X. On the surface, it’s a thriller about a detective named David Williams going deep undercover. In actuality, it’s a cognitive training protocol disguised as a novel. But one built on a body of research that shows stories can change what people remember, believe, and do. And that’s both the opportunity and the danger. To give you the memory science and learning research in one sentence: Stories are a delivery system. We see this delivery system at work in the massive success of Olly Richards’ StoryLearning books for language learners. Richards built his empire on the same mechanism Pimsleur utilized to great effect long before their famous audio recordings became the industry standard: using narrative to make raw data stick. However, a quick distinction is necessary. In the memory world, we often talk about the Story Method. This approach involves linking disparate pieces of information together in a chain using a simple narrative vignette (e.g., a giant cat eating a toaster to remember a grocery list). That is a powerful mnemonic tool, and you will see Detective Williams use short vignettes in the Memory Detective series. But Vitamin X is what I call ‘Magnetic Fiction.’ It’s not a vignette. It’s a macro-narrative designed to carry the weight of many memory techniques itself. It simulates the pressure required to forge the skill, showing you how and why to use the story method within a larger, immersive context. So with that in mind, let’s unpack the topic of fiction and teaching a bit further. That way, you’ll know more of what I have in mind for my readers. And perhaps you’ll become interested in some memory science experiments I plan to run in the near future. Illustration of...
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    55 Min.
  • Why an AI Expert Uses “Analog” Memory (And You Should Too)

    Why an AI Expert Uses “Analog” Memory (And You Should Too)
    Dec 16 2025
    You might expect an expert from OpenAI to rely entirely on digital tools to learn faster. Andrew Mayne does the exact opposite. Andrew is a true modern polymath: And in this hope-inspiring set of conversations, this AI expert, innovator, magician, novelist and host of the OpenAI podcast shares his passion for memory techniques. In addition to unfolding why practicing with older memory techniques still matters, he’s navigating the best of all possible worlds. And he’s got me convinced that this combinatory approach is the best choice. But never at the expense of preserving our age-old memorization techniques and learning tools. Andrew’s exploration of AI and Memory Palace creation is nothing short of extraordinary, and just as thrilling as his novels given what he’s concluded so far. So join in as we discuss the science behind why “easy” learning often fails. And exactly how to build a bit of friction into your routine. So that you retain more and enjoy new technologies without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlzD_6Olaqw Why AI Expert Andrew Mayne Uses “Analog” Memory (New Conversation) Since our last discussion on the intersection of AI and Memory Palaces (see below), Andrew has continued to push the boundaries of how we learn in a digital age. But in this new episode, we take a surprising turn. We aren’t just talking about the future. We are talking about the tactics of the autodidact and polymath in the here and now. Andrew reveals why, despite working at the cutting edge of OpenAI, he often chooses “analog” tools to train his brain. I’m talking about tools like: Playing cardsPhysical journalsReading physical booksHaving lots of conversations We dig deep into role of friction in developing new memories and the science behind why “easy” learning often fails, and how you can use tools like ChatGPT and other AI tools to test your memory without becoming dependent on them. You’ll also discover why an app-based Cloze test did not work for Andrew. Missed our first conversation? In this original interview, we established the foundation as AI was unfolding in real time. Part One: The Intersection of AI & The Ancient Art of Memory Ready to explore how AI and Memory Palaces can work together to unlock sharper and longer-lasting memory? Listen in as we explore: The essence of why the Memory Palace technique has stood the test of time.AI’s role in human memory: How artificial intelligence can possible enhance, refine, and possibly revolutionize how we use Memory Palaces today.Future Insights: Andrew’s positive vision for where modern tech might take us and his enthusiasm for preserving the ancient art of memory. And many other “old” artefacts of the human experience. Whether you’re a student looking to ace your exams, a professional aiming to remember more in less time, or just someone fascinated by the intersection of technology, memory science and human potential, this discussion will be a point of inspiration as you continue to develop enhanced memory capabilities. Here’s the video version of the discussion: https://youtu.be/iS_BgFuUohA For More Andrew Mayne If you’d like to learn more about Andrew and his incredible output, here is a link library for you to explore: Andrew’s homepageAndrew on XAndrew on WikipediaAndrew’s incredible books on AmazonAndrew’s Penguin Live magic lectureWatch Andrew on the Youtube version of the OpenAI Podcast, where he interviews the world’s top minds shaping the future of artificial intelligence. For a related podcast on ancient technologies and memory, check out my discussion with Lynne Kelly about The Knowledge Gene. And to continue the theme of magic, see what you think when I try to use a magic trick by way of testing Nelson Dellis’ theory of remote viewing. You might appreciate my thoughts on How to Approach Learning in the Age of AI as well as tutorials on becoming polymathic and autodidact. Thanks for listening or watching and hope to hang out with you again soon on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast!
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    1 Std. und 25 Min.
  • The Polymathic Poet Who Taught Himself “Impossible” Skills

    The Polymathic Poet Who Taught Himself “Impossible” Skills
    Dec 11 2025
    If you want to understand the future of learning and equip yourself with the best possible tools for operating at the top of your game, I believe becoming polymathic is your best bet. And to succeed in mastering multiple skills and tying together multiple domains of knowledge, it’s helpful to have contemporary examples. Especially from people operating way out on the margins of the possible. That’s why today we’re looking at what happens when a poet decides to stop writing on easily destroyed paper. Ebooks and the computers that store information have a shelf life too. No, we’re talking about what happens when a poet starts “writing” into the potentially infinite cellular matter of a seemingly unkillable bacterium. This is the story of The Xenotext. How it came to be, how it relates to memory and the lessons you can learn from the years Christian Bök spent teaching himself the skills needed to potentially save humanity’s most important art from the death of our sun. Poetry. But more importantly, this post is a blueprint for you. The story of The Xenotext is a masterclass in why the era of the specialist is over, and why the future belongs to the polymaths who dare to learn the “impossible” by bringing together multiple fields. What on earth could be impossible, you ask? And what does any of this have to do with memory? Simple: Writing in a way that is highly likely to survive the death of the sun changes the definition of what memory is right now. And it should change what we predict memory will be like in both the near and distant future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwQiW1XDAvI Encoding Literature Into Life: The Xenotext Christian Bök, often described as a conceptual poet, has run experiments with words for decades. For example, Eunoia is a univocal lipogram. That means, in each chapter, Bök used only words containing one of the vowels. This is a constraint, and it leads to lines like, “Awkward grammar appals a craftsman.” And “Writing is inhibiting.” There are other “programs” or constraints Bök used to construct the poem. As a result, you hear and feel the textures of your own mother tongue in a completely new way as you read the poem. But for The Xenotext project, Bök wondered if it would be possible to discover the rules and constraints that would enable himself, and conceivably other poets and writers, to encode poetry into a living organism. That leads to a fascinating question about memory that many mnemonists have tackled, even if they’re not fully aware of it. Can a poem outlive the civilization that produced it? If so, and humans are no longer around, how would that work? The Science of How Biology Becomes Poetry As far as I can understand, one of the first steps involved imagining the project itself, followed by learning how it could be possible for a poem to live inside of a cell. And which kind of cell would do the job of protecting the poetry? It turns out that there’s an “extremophile” called Deinococcus radiodurans. It was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most radiation resistant bacterium on planet Earth. As a life form, its DNA was sequenced and published in 1999. According to the Wikipedia page on The Xenotext, Bök started conceiving of encoding poetry into DNA and then inserting it into the bacterium circa 2002. But the project is about more than having poetry persist within a cell so it can transmit the work without errors later. It’s a kind of combinatory puzzle in which the bacterium acts as a kind of co-author. In order to pull this project off, Bök needed to enlist the help of scientists while mastering multiple skills many people would not normally consider “writing.” But as we head into the future, we definitely should. Radical Autodidacticism: Reaching New Heights Through Deep Discipline To this day, many educators talk about the importance of being a specialist. But The Xenotext project and the work Bök put into it forces us to redefine what it means to be a self-directed learner in the 21st century. When Bök decided to encode a poem into the DNA of an extremophile bacterium, he didn’t just “dabble” in science or explore various interests as a multipotentialite. Nor did he read a few pop-sci books and expect an organism to write a poem in return. No, he spent many years studying genomic and proteomic engineering. He coded his own computer program to help him “unearth” the poetry, all while writing grants and collaborating with multiple experts. The Skill Stack If you’re a lifelong learner with big dreams, it’s useful to examine how people with autodidactic and polymathic personality traits operate. One of the first skills is to allow yourself to dream big. Giving oneself permission like this might not seem like a skill. But since we can model any polymath or other person who inspires us, you probably won’t be surprised that many of the most inspiring polymaths regularly daydream. ...
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    36 Min.
  • How to Turn Any Painting Into A Mental Hard Drive

    How to Turn Any Painting Into A Mental Hard Drive
    Dec 1 2025
    Although basing your Memory Palaces on buildings you’ve seen with your own eyes will always be a best practice, it’s not your only option. Sure, buildings are generally best. That’s because remembered locations let us easily “offload” what we want to learn onto walls, corners and furniture as if they were hard drives. But you can also develop thousands of Memory Palace options simply by utilizing art. And there are countless works waiting to be discovered using the phone in your pocket. Using art is in fact one of the most elegant and pleasing ways to expand your memory practice. From paintings and photographs to album covers and book jackets, I’ve long expanded my Memory Palace collection by using art. There is a trap, however. If you use art in the wrong way, you’ll double your cognitive load and confuse yourself faster than you can say “Giordano Bruno.” (In case you don’t catch the reference, Bruno was the Renaissance memory master who used many statues in his Memory Palaces to expand them.) In this tutorial, I’m sharing with you how to use any piece of art as a Memory Palace effectively, including the one “golden rule” you definitely don’t want to break. Believe me, I’ve tried and it’s not worth the hassle. Ready to massively expand your use of mnemonics by drawing upon art you’re already familiar with? Let’s dive in! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7bkrmYJOmE Paintings as Memory Palaces: Architecture Within Architecture Let’s start with the basic concept first. When you use a painting as a Memory Palace, you are opening up a number of options. The simplest involves either using a painting that is already in a building that you are using. Or you place a painting inside of a Memory Palace you’ve used before to expand it. As a third option, you can refer to a painting and use it as a Memory Palace unto itself without reference to where it exists in space. Finally, as I discuss in my post about visiting art galleries to help improve your memory, you can turn galleries and museums into Memory Palaces. By using the various artworks that stood out to you, it’s possible to wind up having an exceptionally strong Memory Palace. One of the Memory Palaces I used to memorize a Sanskrit mantra used Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art, for example. Many pieces from one particular exhibition formed part of the encoding process, assisted by an effect memory scientists call context dependent memory. Either way, as I discuss in my main tutorial on how to use the Memory Palace technique, the key is to avoid increasing cognitive load. There’s always the risk of putting pressure on your brain instead of reducing it unless you use the painting variation of the Memory Palace technique carefully. To that end, let’s go through some best practices, starting with the most important. Metivier’s Golden Rule: Do Not “Memorize” Any Memory Palace Some people will hear that I use paintings in my Memory Palaces and start looking at art and memorizing it. Although you can certainly do so, this is not what I mean. Rather, I mean to suggest that if you use any of the possible options I listed above, you make sure that the painting or artwork is already in your memory. This point seemed to be very important to Giordano Bruno, whom I mentioned above. In his book, Thirty Statues, Bruno places his mnemonic associations on mythological figures he already knows. He’s following a principle crucial to all ancient memory techniques that distinguish them from the processes of some memory competitors that have led to a lot of confusion. Whereas memory competitors may learn a lot of associations assisted by techniques like the Major System and the PAO System, that’s for accomplishing short-term retention. For this reason, I wince whenever someone tells me that they’re going to memorize a bunch of locations to use as Memory Palaces. Even after looking at my massive collection of Memory Palace ideas and Memory Palace examples, some people still charge forward and memorize despite learning that the most accomplished mnemonists did not do this. So the point is that if you’re going to use the Mona Lisa as a Memory Palace, make sure you already have a basic mental image of this artwork in your mind. The Mona Lisa Test I’m mentioning the Mona Lisa because it’s both relatively simple and very famous. It’s almost certainly in your long-term memory. But a great way to start using a variety of paintings is to create an inventory. The following activity is a powerful memory exercise unto itself. Step One: Write A-Z on a piece of paperFor each letter name an artwork or artist that comes to mindWhen you’re just starting, I recommend sticking with portrait paintings or photographs You might not be able to complete the whole alphabet. So if Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Cafe du Tambourin by Van Gogh doesn’t leap to mind, move on to B and the other letters until you have at least a few ...
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    40 Min.
  • How to Remember a Story Using a Memory Palace

    How to Remember a Story Using a Memory Palace
    Nov 19 2025
    If you want to remember a story, the process is actually pretty simple. You can be as detailed as you like, or just recite the general gist of a tale. And by the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to entertain people at parties or include stories in your speeches and presentations. Or maybe you want to better convince your friends to read stories and watch the movies you love. That will be much easier for you to do as well. If you want to become a better writer, nothing will help you more than knowing stories inside and out. Even better than that, on this page, I’m also going to show you how to memorize the ins-and-outs of plot. Who am I to teach you about remembering stories? Well, in addition to having told a story at a TEDx event that now has nearly 2.5 million views, I spent nearly a decade as a Film Studies professor. I also spent a few years working as a story consultant on movies that actually got made. And I’ve written two well-received books about screenwriting. Indeed, I got my story consulting gigs partly because of the books I’ve written on screenwriting. I even have a writing credit on my IMDB profile. Anthony Metivier on the set of Bailout with Eddie Furlong, Dominic Purcell and Uwe Boll Although I certainly don’t know everything under the sun, I’ve proven that I can write and help craft successful stories. I’ve memorized detailed stories and delivered them before the masses. And if you’re ready to remember any story, I’m confident my tips will help you out So let’s get started! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM4TxD6ez1Y Two Different Ways to Remember a Story When it comes to reciting a story from memory, there are two main ways to proceed. Both approaches are powerful. Which one you pick depends on your goal. You’ll also want to consider your existing skills with memory methods overall. You can check my guide to the main memory techniques to get a sense of where you currently stand. With that in mind, let’s look at the two main strategies for remembering stories. Story Strategy #1: Verbatim Memorizing a story verbatim is powerful when you care about the exact language. There are many circumstances where word-for-word recall matters. Take my TEDx Talk, for example. This platform requires you to deliver your message within a particular timeframe. You simply cannot afford to go off on tangents, and verbatim memorization helps make sure you follow the script and finish on time. People who memorize scripture tend to want to memorize a particular translation verbatim for theological or poetic reasons. Then there are actors like my fellow mnemonist, Ashley Strand. On this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, he shared how he memorized the entire Book of Matthew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0op9LSE3_yQ Ashley’s example involved acting, but fits more exactly under the banner of monologue memorization. In addition to his recitation of the Book of Mark, the most impressive recitation I’ve seen was Ralph Fiennes in Faith Healer. I caught the play while living in Manhattan, but had read it many years earlier as an undergrad in an English course. As a stage production, Faith Healer is remarkable because the Frank Hardy role involves two long narrative monologues. The first one is at least 30 minutes long and I was blown away by watching Fiennes deliver it. Even more remarkably, the play is itself about how memory shifts and changes. As Fiennes shared in this Irish Times article, he spent a very long time with the text. But during the last two weeks he focused specifically on “feelings, emotions, and nuances.” Like Ashley Strand, Fiennes needed to deliver the exact words. Unlike Strand’s experience, however, Fiennes did not have to work on interpreting the text. As Fiennes told his interviewer, Faith Healer is “extraordinary because when you’ve got it inside you, in the memory, it’s a support. With writing that is less masterful, you would have to compensate or find things in the interpretation to keep it buoyant.” If you choose to memorize a story verbatim, keep these points in mind. Some stories will have features built into them that help you remember them better. Others, like various stories in the Books of the Bible, may require more interpretation and even additional research or personal study. Story Strategy #2: Generative Memorization Based on “Story DNA” Many people know that ancient cultures passed their stories on verbally. But that doesn’t mean they recited them verbatim. As Alfred Lord reports in Singer of Tales, many story tellers actually memorized a variety of formulas. In this video, I talk about how this technique likely worked, one that I’ve used myself as a Film Studies professor many times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20En1Nm8VOY There are quite a few ways you can memorize formulas to generate new versions of stories on the spot. Or, you can learn formulas in ways that help you recite and explain particular ...
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    29 Min.
  • How to Approach Learning in the Age of AI (Without Harming Your Memory)

    How to Approach Learning in the Age of AI (Without Harming Your Memory)
    Nov 14 2025
    Everywhere you turn, someone’s either hyping up AI or panicking about it. But if you’re a lifelong learner, you can’t afford to miss one simple fact: The real danger isn’t the technology itself. No, the major problem we all face is how other people’s thoughts about AI quietly and constantly reshape our thinking. Pretty much on a daily basis, we undergo a whiplash of influence as one person plays prophet of doom and another froths with unhinged praise. If you don’t study memory and its relationship to thinking as much as I do, you might not notice this shift happening. But I do, and am concerned that many people can’t see why the disconnected dialog about artificial intelligence is so corrosive. Perhaps most alarmingly of all is how many people adopt new tools unthinkingly and try to move faster, consume more and mistake speed for substance. Little by little, they come to rely on the dopamine hits created by endless summaries instead of doing the critical thinking work that leads to synthesis and understanding. The solution for you so that you don’t burn out and wind up forgetting everything you try to learn? Slow down. Continue using notebooks, sketches, mind maps and time with physical books. As I’ll show you in a moment, the best AI innovators are doing just that. And it’s smart because these simple activities will help build your memory, preserve your thinking and ensure you get the most out the new tools. While continuing to enjoy the benefits of ancient memory techniques. To help you find the balance, in the video below and various resources I’ve shared on this page, I’ll help you explore AI technologies while creating a brain that no technology can imitate. Let’s get started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XOiutq-Af4 How to Use AI as a Lifelong Learner (Without Harming Your Memory) The first strategy is to keep using physical notebooks. You might think that sounds old fashioned, but it’s not. For example, David Perell recently had Sam Altman on his podcast to discuss his method for clear thinking. It’s very similar to the journaling method I’ve been teaching myself for years. It involves pen, paper and the mind. Nothing more. If the CEO of OpenAI operates this way, why wouldn’t you? I think this example, amongst the journaling habits of other top performers is great. It helps us completely sidestep yet another paranoid conspiracy that suggests the moment you stop writing by hand, you start letting machines dictate how you think. It’s the other way around: The humans shaping the way artificial intelligence platforms operate regularly journal. Why Analog Tools and Slow Reading Matter More Than Ever Their example is also useful because it highlights the relationship between the medium you use to assist your thinking, what you think about, and how you think. And I believe it’s beyond obvious that many people mistake how fast they consume information as an accomplishment, when far too often it’s really just busy work. Little more than activity. This confusion of activity as accomplishment isn’t a new problem. Speed reading gurus have duped people for years with the fantasy that speed is a kind of substance. And the few good ideas you might find in speed reading books and courses? They tend to be borrowed from somewhere else. Skimming and scanning books, for example? Many, much better tactics existed decades before mass market speed reading books started teaching such tactics. Many ultimately wound up watering the strategy down. These days, the entire speed reading industry is obsolete. And the reading approaches I’ve advocated since my university teaching days has never been more important. I’m talking about my realistic approaches to reading faster, finding the main points and memorizing what matters in textbooks. It’s more important than ever before because now, the real skill is knowing when to use shortcuts and when to apply reflective thinking so that books have time to settle in. Sometimes it makes sense to take a second pass through courses and books. This is one reason I developed a personal re-reading strategy. Even though I use zettelkasten and the Memory Palace technique, reviewing both your notes and the source material often gives you additional insight that you cannot get any other way. Yet, we live in an “efficiency” focused culture where the speed of AI summaries create an illusion of depth, when in fact they are actually prompts to get back to traditional reading tactics and techniques. The Real Meaning of Artificial Intelligence As you can tell by now, I’m not at all saying to avoid using AI. Rather, I believe that the best way to protect your lifelong learning goals must involve learning to use it through experimentation. But not without acknowledging the strange paradox we all face. Various AIs can now summarize any book you feed them. In all kinds of flavors depending on their training. In other words, if you want to know how...
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    47 Min.
  • Master the Link Method to Memorize Details Fast and Recall More

    Master the Link Method to Memorize Details Fast and Recall More
    Oct 27 2025
    The link method is a powerful memory technique that will help you learn faster and remember more. You can rest assured that learning how to use it is worth your time because it has been used for thousands of years and studied by scientists. We know how and why it works. And one reason the technique has continually improved over the years is simple: Many people have worked to ensure that proper mnemonic linking helps you build instant associations. In other words, well-linked associations can help you memorize certain kinds of information within seconds. You just have to learn it properly. Sometimes, this particular learning strategy lets you retain information you’ve heard just once for the long-term without needing any repetition. For example, as a memory educator, I give a lot of demonstrations in the community. I remember the names of people from live classes I’ve given decades ago. And once you master basic linking for simple information like names, you can use the technique in more elaborate ways. Everything from language learning to complex mathematical formulas. The problem is… Even simple versions of the technique can confuse people new to the link method. This is not your fault. The confusion creeps in because different memory teachers use the term in several different ways. In fact, the sheer number of definitions is enough to melt your mind. Well, never fear. On this page, I’m going to do my best to reduce the confusion. Because the reality is this: Linking really can help you learn faster and remember more. You just need to apply this mnemonic device in the right way and in the specific situations where it’s useful. So if you want to master linking for faster and more thorough learning, let’s look at exactly how linking works. And when to combine it with other memory techniques for even stronger recall. https://youtu.be/bn4BERnf788 What Is The Linking Method? In the world of memory training, we use the word “link” because this technique creates a kind of chain between what you want to remember and something you already know. You can think of it like a gold necklace. Each loop links to the next one until the circle is completed by a clasp. Except in memory, each mental image or association is the link that helps you find your way back to the target information. This is part of where confusion about the technique comes in. Is Linking Different Than the Chain Method? Memory educators often use the word link to create the mental image of a chain, as in a chain of associations. Everyone from Bruno Furst to Harry Lorayne present the technique in this way. This means that there’s no particular difference between linking and the chain method. The key is that you mentally “link” or attach one item in a list to the next item. That’s why most memory trainings will present a list of words with which to practice. For example: HeroDrillSpacecraftMusic Then most memory guides will suggest that you: Create an image that reminds you of the first word in the chain, and“Link” the next word to the first. In the case of the example list above, you would imagine that your hero uses a drill on a spacecraft that is blasting out music. This way of using linking sounds a bit like a story, doesn’t it? The story is a kind of chain that you follow, and each action or action and reaction is the link that helps you “trigger” the next word. Many people successfully use this form of linking to memorize lists, something I discuss with more depth in this tutorial on how to memorize a list. Pros and Cons of The Link Method Linking works well for when you need to memorize simple lists. The approach also has its weaknesses, though, problems we’re about to fix. What are those problems? For one thing, if you can’t remember how the first part of your narrative chain started, you’ll struggle to trigger the next part. It’s also possible that an individual link in your chain will go “missing.” One key solution is called deliberate practice. And although most memory improvement guides do give you words to practice, I’m a critic of them and here’s why: It’s very rare in real life that we have to memorize random words. A rare case is when you go shopping and need to get tomatoes, carrots, celery, and bread. In such a case, it does make sense to use linking to quickly imagine a tomato stabbing celery and bread with a carrot. Even so, as a person who loves using memory techniques for large learning goals, I have to ask? Why waste time on memorizing a shopping list when you could just write it down? That lets you save your energy for memorizing vocabulary or technical terms related to your profession. How to Practice Mnemonic Linking And that’s how I suggest that you practice. With important information that you can’t just write down. Here’s one fruitful practice: If you’re going to memorize your shopping list, at least get a bang for your buck by memorizing it in a foreign ...
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