Full Description
Our brain is a muscle. Like our bodies, it needs exercise. In the last few hundred years, we have stopped training our memories and we have lost the ability to memorise large amounts of information.
Memory Craft introduces the best memory techniques humans have ever devised, from ancient times and the Middle Ages, to methods used by today's memory athletes. Lynne Kelly has tested all these methods in experiments which demonstrate the extraordinary capacity of our brains at any age.
For anyone who needs to memorise a speech or a play script, learn anatomy or a foreign language, or prepare for an exam, Memory Craft is a fabulous toolkit. It offers proven techniques for teachers to help their students learn more effectively. There are also simple strategies for anyone who has trouble remembering names or dates, and for older people who want to keep their minds agile. Above all, memorising things can be playful, creative and great fun.
Contents
Introduction
1: A medieval starting place
2: Creating a memory palace
3: Stories, imagination and the way your brain works
4: Characters, characters everywhere Ma-ori ancestors
5: Weird and wonderful portable memory aids
6: When art becomes writing When and what was the first writing?
7: Lessons from the Middle Ages The art changes purpose
8: Learning in school and throughout life Permanent memory palaces for all students
9: Does memory have to decline when you age?
10: Memory athletes battle it out
Appendix A: Table of memory methods Appendix B: Bestiary
Appendix C: Prehistory Journey
Appendix D: My chosen ancestors Acknowledgements
About the author
Notes
Index
