Brain Taming

A collection of 159 random tidbits of trivia. No particular subject set or theme. So enjoy!




I, as well as the original list compiler state that the facts have been checked to some degree (if at all) so the validity of all of them is suspect as well as completely open to change and new discovery. That being said however it still makes a great conversation piece even if just to discuss and show the debunked myth or common misconception.

11 simple concepts and ideas to bolster your brain power and memory. This is a useful, quick reference and much of the suggestions are covered in more detail elsewhere here on Brain Taming.

Be sure to check out the rest of Captainmaxthecat.com as well! It's a growing resource for technical help, tutorials, how-tos, information, fun and games etc. You'll be sure to find something of interest.

A big compliation of over 220 riddles and brainteasers for you to tax your brain with. If you spot any duplicates or errors please let me know. And as always if you have some to contribute, let me know in the comments section!

Enjoy!

I don't think there are many people, parents or otherwise that haven't been told or suggested that playing classical music to an infant or baby will increase their intelligence.

And of course on the surface it makes sense, perhaps not on a scientific level, but on a cultural level. Most classical pieces having now not been referred to as what we would call pop nowadays for around 400 years. It's taken it's place among pricey theatre houses and as a past time and passion for the rich and privileged. And now, quite wrongly, we associate those who are privately taught and have a more "refined" taste to be of a higher intelligence. But all the private schooling, theatre trips, posh accents and flawless credentials won't change those IQ points.

Another small collection of beginner riddles.

Nothing too taxing, but hopefully will get your brain working a bit. A few are groaners, but i don't recall hearing most of them before, so should be something new for you :)

As always to reveal the answer, highlight the white text or area below the question.

Check out my Megapost of over 220 riddles here: http://braintaming.blogspot.com/2014/03/over-220-riddles-and-brainteasers-to.html



Q - I am lighter than a feather, yet no man can hold me for very long. What am I?
A - Breath

Q - Three guys run into a bar, the fourth man ducks. Why does he duck?
A - He didn't want to hit the bar

The journey method


The journey method involves associating information with landmarks on journeys that you are very familiar with. When you get familiar with this you are able to create complex journeys that fix in your mind.

Try to prepare the journey beforehand. For instance, write down all the landmarks that you can recall in order on a piece of paper.

To remember a list of items, whether these are people, experiments, events or objects, all you need do is associate these things with the landmarks or stops on your journey.

Remembering simple lists

The link method is one of the easiest mnemonic techniques. It's done by making links between items in a list by creating a vivid image involving both the items. For instance you could visualise putting them on top of each other or smashing them together.

The story method has you visualise combining items together in a flowing story.

If a word you need to remember doesn't have a strong image for you. Use a similar word.

SQ3R is a great way to effectively read and review documents.

The name comes from the 5 parts that make it up: Survey, Question, Read, Recall, Review.


Survey:
Survey the document, scan it's contents as well as introductions and summaries. At this point you can form an opinion on the usefulness of the text. If it's not worth your while to read it, don't!

Question:
Keep notes of any questions that come to mind regarding the document. The questions that you note down will form a study guide.

Read:
Now it's time to read the text. Taking in the main points and relevant information. While reading it may be useful to take notes.

Recall:Run over the information you've just read in your head. Note down the key points and see how the information fits around them.

Review:Review the information by reading the text and expanding your notes.

How to read effectively

Whether it's an article online, a technical document at work or a book you're studying the importance of commiting the information to memory is great.

Methods like skim reading can be good for getting the basic theme of documents and picking out facts but isn't the most effective way to learn the information.

When you are creating a mnemonic, e.g. an image or story to remember a telephone number, the following things can be used to make the mnemonic more memorable:

• Use positive, pleasant images. The brain often blocks out unpleasant ones.
• Exaggerate the size of important parts of the image
• Use humour (perhaps linked with point 2)! Funny or peculiar things are easier to remember than normal ones.
• Similarly rude or sexual rhymes are very difficult to forget!
• Symbols (e.g. red traffic lights, pointing fingers, etc.) can be used in mnemonics.
• Vivid, colourful images are easier to remember than drab ones.
• Use all the senses to code information or dress up an image. Remember that your mnemonic can contain sounds, smells, tastes, touch, movements and feelings as well as pictures.
• Bringing three dimensions and movement to an image makes it more vivid. Movement can be used either to maintain the flow of association, or can help to remember actions.
• Locate similar mnemonics in different places with backgrounds of those places. This will help to keep similar images distinct and unconfused.

The important thing is that the mnemonic should clearly relate to the thing being remembered, and that it should be vivid enough to be clearly remembered whenever you think about it.

As simple as that, it might not feel like much but this is the foundations for being able to pull off superhuman feats of memory and brain power. When you feel you're getting the hang of using a Mnemonic device check out the more advanced techniques.

How Hypnosis Can Help You to Improve Your Memory

By Christopher Montrose

Are you tired of constantly forgetting things that are important even though you constantly try to keep them in your mind? These days, the average person has so many things on their to do list that it seems inevitable that something or someone is going to get inadvertently neglected. Improving your ability to recollect things that you need to address might seem like the way to go but let's face it, that is hardly the easiest thing to do. A great way to reform certain thought habits that have been hard-wired into your system is to utilize self-hypnosis techniques for memory improvement. These can be easily obtained online in downloadable hypnosis audio mp3's.

How to Memorize Poetry

By Rod Bremer

The literary art of poetry has been featured in a large majority of human societies, dating as far back as the Mesopotamia 4000 BC- with the Epic of Gilgamesh. As with every form of art, poetry enjoyed a myriad of applications, from the retelling of epic battles all the way to rhyme and song. In some paperless societies, the use of poetry even appears to have been employed directly as a memory technique to facilitate the recording and transmission of information.

Poetry with alliteration and rhyme is considered to be easier to remember in general, and specifically when compared to prose. Scientific evidence suggests that the link between music and emotion- with the latter's connection to long term memory- acts as the conducting mechanism between rhyme and memory. Recent research reinforces the existence of this phenomenon further, by alluding that music and language are profoundly related due to the sharing of neural circuits- thus enhancing the retention of worded information learnt through rhyme or music.
Whether attempting to memorize a poem that rhymes, or one that does not, a simple memory technique exists that allows the practitioner to memorize the verses easily, and in a manner that is quite entertaining. This procedure for memorizing a poem is as follows:

1. On each line highlight (or note) the keywords (or sets of keywords) - this would typically be 2-4 words per line, though it ultimately depends on the poem's line length.
2. Ignore connecting or fill words such as: the, in, and, that, this, it etc... -focus on the keywords only.
3. Use absurd imagery and nonsensical action to connect the keywords together- the more absurd the image chosen the more effective is the memory created, which then assures superior recall.
4. After memorizing the keywords, slowly read the poem out loud whilst visualizing the images you have created in step 3.
5. Now attempt to recite the poem from memory using the keywords you have memorized- test yourself line by line to make sure you were able to recite the entire line; if you missed out or made a mistake on the connecting or fill words, read through that line slowly once again.
6. Repeat step 5 until the poem is captured in its entirety- after some practise with the technique it usually requires only a couple of iterations to complete this step.

Instead of choosing keywords, it is possible to memorize the entire poem word for word; however, doing so tends to take longer and is less enjoyable due to the repetitive nature of connective and expletive words.
Presenting an example will better illustrate the simplicity and fun nature of the technique. For this purpose, let us use Edgar Allan Poe's poem titled, A Dream, whose first verse is as follows:
In visions of the dark night

I have dreamed of joy departed-

But a waking dream of life and light

Hath left me broken-hearted.
Starting from the first line, taking the keywords visions and dark night; we begin by using absurd imagery to connect the first word with the name of the poem, that is, to connect A Dream with visions. One possible choice for an image may be a person lying in bed dreaming of a menacing set of gigantic night-vision goggles- exaggerate this image as much as your imagination allows, making sure to include fear and fright. Next we need to connect visions to the dark night; simply visualize Batman (aka the Dark Knight) with gigantic night-vision goggles popping out of his eyes (before questioning the sanity of the author, please note that imagery of absurd, exaggerated and nonsensical actions are considered to be of survival significance by the brain and are thus promptly stored for later retrieval).
Moving on to the second line, connect the next set of keywords, dreamed of joy departed, to the previous set (dark night)- perhaps visualize Batman experiencing a nightmare in which a big yellow smiley face (to represent joy) passes away- feel the pain and loss Batman must be going through and clearly see the tears and melancholy in his eyes. Continue by connecting the rest of the keywords- each time attaching the current to the previous- so for the rest of the verse it would mean connecting dreamed of joy departed to waking dream; waking dream to life and light;life and light to left; and finally, left to broken-hearted.
After completing this step, follow steps 4-6 until the poem is entrenched in your mind.
With little practise, the creation of such images would become second nature and consequently the time taken to memorize any poem would decrease substantially.
The example above only illustrates the most basic features of what is commonly called the link method. The technique has been refined substantially over the last 2 millennia, with modifications that allow more information to be captured within each image, as well as specific rules that allow one to organise the information most efficiently for future recall.
Rod Bremer is the author of The Manual- A guide to the Ultimate Study Method. The Ultimate Study Method (USM) is an accelerated learning system which uses Speed Reading, Deep Concentration Methods, Memory Systems and Optimal Note-Taking- all combined into a 5-step procedure allowing the practitioner to learn any topic fast and effectively with long-term recall.
The Manual- A guide to the Ultimate Study Method can be found on Amazon.com and is available on Amazon kindle as well as in print through international booksellers (ISBN 978-0-9569907-0-9)
More information about memory techniques, speed reading, concentration and the Ultimate Study Method (USM) is available on The Ultimate Study Method website at: http://www.ultimatestudymethod.com/How-To-Memorize.php

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