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How to Develop Superpower Memory

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Develop a photographic memory--and increase your memory _ capacity by tenfold with this practical and lucid guide. _

218 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1956

125 people are currently reading
2024 people want to read

About the author

Harry Lorayne

179 books125 followers
Harry Lorayne was an American mnemonist, magician, and author. He was well known for his incredible memory demonstrations and appeared on numerous television shows. His card magic, especially his innovations in card sleights, is widely emulated by amateur and professional magicians.

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5 stars
207 (41%)
4 stars
180 (36%)
3 stars
81 (16%)
2 stars
19 (3%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for إيمان .
293 reviews211 followers
October 19, 2020

كتاب ممتاز يستعرض فيه صاحبه عدة أنظمة تساعد على تذكر أشياء من قبيل القوائم، التواريخ، جدول المواعيد، الأسماء، الوجوه، مفردات اللغات الأجنبية و غيرها...الكاتب مقدم عروض تعتمد على خدع التذكر التي فصلها في الكتاب لذلك لن تجد حديثا عن النورونات أو كيفية تشكل الذكريات أو الحصين...بل فقط شرحا للأنظمة التي تقوم عليها العروض...برأيي المحتوى ممتاز و سيتأكد القاريء من فعالية هذه الأنظمة...شخصيا أحببت المحتوى و بدأت في تطبيقه.
18/10/2020
Profile Image for W.
1,185 reviews4 followers
April 16, 2020
The writer was a magician who also used to perform amazing memory stunts.Here he goes into the detail of his Link and Peg method for remembering all kinds of things.

I read it,it was good fun.Some of the gimmickry
even worked and one could do a few memory stunts of one's own.

But what it didn't take into account was the inevitable effects of ageing.Then,such tricks don't help.

2.5 stars
Profile Image for James Oliver.
4 reviews3 followers
January 25, 2010
Possible the best - and certainly most practical - self-help book you will ever read. The method he outlines just simply WORKS and works instantly and amazingly. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not easy to impress yet this book does what it says on the lid.

The memory method Harry teaches uses crazy outlandish associations together with a peg system of memory. take the effort to get past the first few boring chapters and onto the method itself.

Harry is a magician and many magicians use methods like these to perform memory feats.

This book got me through my O levels and A levels since I did hardly any work (OK hardly any = none).

PS Anybody who gives it a score less than 4 stars probably is even lazier than I am and didn't even bother to learn the peg words.
Profile Image for Hamidur.
62 reviews50 followers
August 11, 2014
Amazing. Brilliant. Absolutely powerful.

I came to know about this book from a British illusionist, hypnotist named Derren Brown. He, himself is a house-hold name in England and famous for his tricks. However, this book was quite special in it's own light, seeing how it can be helpful in daily lives.

This book helps memorize abstract objects (in sequence and in-and-out of order), names of people you just met only once, long digits, telephone numbers, appointments, errands, foreign words, important dates etc.—just as the author assures you throughout the book. It's not filled with technical details about how your brain works or how it stores memory, fortunately. He just gives you methods to use to train your memory. The author also makes sure it's not a boring path to learning, as he frequently tells various jokes relating to memory and his personal anecdotes. You might have been surprised to see a performer reveal his techniques in the risk of gathering new competitions, but his purpose was honorable: the book could help people in practical life.

It was awe-inspiring to see myself improve my memory and perform my stunts; I sometimes started jumping up and down in joy. Not only is this a great book for some astounding memory stunts, it can help anyone in their daily life!

A business man traveling in the mid-west was told about an Indian, living in the vicinity, who had a most fantastic memory. Having just completed a memory course, and priding himself on his own newly acquired achievements, he decided to visit this Indian to see whose memory was better.

He introduced himself to the Indian and proceeded to test him. The memory expert answered every question quickly and accurately. His mind was a storehouse of knowledge, containing such information as the populations of nearly all American cities, important dates, scientific theories, etc. The business man couldn't stump him. Finally, he decided to try one last question.

"What did you have for breakfast on the morning of April 5th, 1931?"
The Indian didn't hesitate for even a second, as he answered, "eggs!"

The business man took his leave, completely stunned by this prodigious memory. When he arrived home, he told all his friends about it, only to have them scoff and say that eggs were usually eaten at breakfast, and that anyone could have answered that.

As the years passed, the man began to believe this, until one day he found himself back in the mid-west on a sales trip. One afternoon he happened to come upon the same Indian he had met here years ago. Wanting to show that his memory for faces was pretty good, he raised his hands in the traditional Indian greeting, and said, "How."

The Indian thought for just a moment, and then answered, "SCRAMBLED!"


Profile Image for Andreas Asimakopoulos.
5 reviews5 followers
March 26, 2017
With the Link Method you can forget a list whenever you want.
Train your observation skills:

Write the objects of a room in a list. Repeat it. See what you missed.

Look at one person for a moment, close your eyes and try to mentally describe every detail of this person's face.

Look at a shop window display. at a proficient level remember prices

There are 2 types of readers. Those who read to remember and those who read to forget




Author 7 books12 followers
February 3, 2019
I have read one other book on this topic ( which is on bestsellers list on kindle store), but this one is better.
.
It is simple, divided into parts and goes about concepts in a graded way.
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It also features person experience if the author who is memory champion.
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Starts with quotes and stories and gives you concepts like linking, peg method, associations and phonetic glossary.
It depicts these by many examples.
.
.It emphasises that if you want to remember something, there are systems which you can use and after practice it will run automatically in your mind.
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.It promises help and framework which can only work with adequate practice.
.
.Nice book, written in simple prose and uncomplicated way and there is no useless stretching of the topics.
.
Sections like remembering cards and telephone numbers of USA are not necessary for everyone. You may pick something which you think will help you.
.
.

Remembering names and small lists is probably enough for a casual reader.
Profile Image for Sean.
240 reviews2 followers
January 27, 2021
There are a number of books which have changed my life. This is one of them. Its impact is so great that its difficult summarising how much the book means to me. He does what most authors on memory talk about, such as how to memorise words, numbers, names, faces, dates and appointments and so. These techniques are great and really work. But I want to highlight some significant points he makes at the beginning of the book. For example, the importance of observation, habit and taking an interest in the subject. Probably, the most important contribution is the value of association and using images which are out if proportion, involve action, exaggeration and use substitution. However, like so many thimgs, memory is like a muscle and grows as it is exercised.
2 reviews
July 1, 2022
Absolutely brilliant !!

My Mum gave me this to read back in 1965, yes that's right 1965.

The methods have stayed inside my head, and have often been very useful.

All of the extravagant claims are true, worked for me very well.

I used to train myself by memorising the order of a pack of freshly shuffled cards every night.
12 reviews
December 15, 2017
Though a couple of age old techniques that seems outdated, this non fiction title stood out for its engaging writing. Despite the old school techniques, the book stood out in the minds of young students. Not a book to miss in any era of reading class.
Profile Image for Davidson Ajaegbu.
314 reviews14 followers
January 9, 2022
I really liked how helpful the steps in the book can be immediately applied. Although some techniques can be described as old and technology might help more than those techniques but it's an all around good read and gives one a sense of belief in their memory.
Profile Image for Syed.
8 reviews
August 10, 2017
If you just want to improve your memory or want to become a memory athlete, this book is ideal as first step towards your goal.
7 reviews
Read
April 15, 2020
Good tips on training the memory.
If this is true that there is no good or bad memory, only trained or untrained memory, it would help me a lot to train my memory.
Profile Image for Kira.
38 reviews18 followers
October 25, 2020
Interesting tips on how to remember stuff better. I learned I need to connect and visualize things together in order to remember. Oh and pay attention. Worthwhile to try if you’re bored.
127 reviews1 follower
January 1, 2021
Like the peg system. Takes time to learn but worth it.
Profile Image for Izzat Halim.
26 reviews1 follower
July 31, 2022
Excellent points!
This definitely help me remember more stuffs!
Profile Image for Mohammad Ali Abedi.
433 reviews41 followers
August 1, 2013
The book was published in the 50s, so it has this really gay feel-good, old-school annoying writing style, but surprisingly, it’s not too bad. It is supposed to teach you how to improve your memory, and it is basically done by association.

You have to use your imagination to think of silly things, relate them to each other, and then you won’t forget them. In brief, if you want to go shopping and want to buy eggs, then want to fix your car, then have a haircut, you make Links. You think of an egg fixing a car, and then the car having a haircut, so when you think of the egg, you get the silly image, you remember the car, and then you remember the haircut.

The other major one is the Peg system, where the author turns numbers into sounds, and makes words out of them. When you want to remember a long number, you can use the Pegs to turn them into words, and then turn them into images, and there you go, you remember them.

Most of them are for impressing your friends, but fuck my friends, they can suck balls. A lot of them don’t have real life application, but I do find the Peg system kind of fun. I’ve tried it with some phone numbers, and can finally remember them. Again, not earth shattering good, but I do find it fun and it is slightly useful. Remembering something is always better than not remembering it.

The book is written for your average reader, which does get on my nerves, because the average reader is a moron. It proudly says, Although naturally, quite a bit of research was necessary, I've discarded most of the technical ideas and thoughts be cause I found them difficult to understand and to apply myself. I am an entertainer and a memory expert, not a psychiatrist or a doctor, and I didn't think it necessary to go into an explanation of the workings of the human brain, and just how the memory actually works in terms of cells, curves, impressions, etc.” I don’t want to be bogged down by technicality, but a little bit to help me understand how something works wouldn’t kill you.

With today’s technology, we really do not need to remember everything, because we can jot them down on our phones, put reminders, schedule appointments, address books, dictionaries, and so forth, and I certainly will not say this is a bad thing. Technology should be used. But personally, I have always been slightly irritated by my shitty memory, and this is a small step to working on it. Attempting to remember is half the battle anyway.
Profile Image for Raghu2chill.
19 reviews
February 6, 2013
I would frankly give this book 3.5 rating.This book majorly consists of two systems.

Pros:

1.Link System

2.Peg System

The Description about the book cannot be commented here. It should be understood when you read the book. The author knows how to teach his readers in the most simple ways.

He recognizes the attitude of readers and very inspirational just lyk backbone to the readers from the first to last page of the book

Cons:
1.This book is a Bit Outdated.

2.Some of the chapters would be felt as useless.

3.Its like author had written some chapters like remembering names for the western people, other people would feel the names as unfamiliar to them.
Profile Image for Camilla.
101 reviews2 followers
May 6, 2016
I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It was originally published in 1957 so some things are a bit outdated (such as having telephone operators and calling people by their last names), but the principles are excellent and absolutely still apply. Memory is so useful, and I have found that by learning the systems in the book, not only do I now have the tools to remember faces, names, long numbers, lists, etc, my true memory has also improved. Going over the peg words in my mind at night not only helps me fall asleep, it is good exercise for my brain. I am very impressed!
Profile Image for Nola Tillman.
652 reviews50 followers
November 12, 2013
One of the first memory books, this looking for memory tricks will realize there is nothing new in content. however, Lorayne's telling, while old fashioned, is enjoyable, and I liked the jokes that headed each chapter.

While the text and tone are old fashioned, the majority of the material is just as relevant today - except the phone numbers, lol. Seriously, though, the method behind memorization remains useful, even if there are no letters.
124 reviews
September 5, 2021
This was a fun book through which I could learn tricks and tips for remembering things. I enjoyed reading the book and my memory did seem to improve with the aid of this book, but the book was more about memory tricks that you can flaunt and captivate an audience with and showcase your memory skills. You can read this for some fun, but don't expect any miracles from it.
Profile Image for Justin.
5 reviews1 follower
Currently reading
April 4, 2007
Fascinating memory systems. I started this with a particular scheme in mind, but the progress so far is pretty cool. Ex: currently making lists of 50 random objects, numbering them one through 50, later I can name them, by number, in any order. Weird... It's a .pdf I have.
Profile Image for Arthur Li.
6 reviews
April 22, 2015
A fantastic little book for memory tricks. The technique seems easy and straightforward. It shows how the miraculous memory stunts can be built from such simple techniques, however, only possible with practice, practice, and practice!
Profile Image for KK.
106 reviews8 followers
February 1, 2023
This is a book of cheat codes for memory. Memory is our treasure. Teaches us various methods like Link Methods, peg methods...to remember any lengths of information in our brain.
You are limited only by your imagination
5 reviews3 followers
November 2, 2009
Good tricks to remember about anything: phone numbers, names, dates, actions, etc.
Profile Image for Alex Hui.
52 reviews7 followers
September 15, 2013
A good intro book for memory technique. The techniques are good enough for most people but nothing new to memory geeks.
35 reviews
January 25, 2014
Since school, most of the techniques are still benefiting me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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