How is your memory? Good? OK? Could be bet- ter? I rarely meet people who respond, “It’s excellent!” Some people have poor memories
and need to get their partner’s name
tattooed on their body. Joking aside,
it is possible to have a great memory.
When giving a keynote, I arrive
early to meet a lot of attendees, just
like a regular guest at the event. Then,
at the beginning of my speech, I invite
everyone who met me earlier to rise,
and I welcome all of them by name
from memory.
On TV shows, I memorize hundreds
of numbers or tons of playing cards.
After each demonstration, people
always ask, “When did you realize
you could do that?” They assume I
must be blessed with a talent. They
couldn’t be more wrong. I use the
mnemonic techniques of the ancient
Greek and Roman rhetoricians.
My sport is slightly obscure in the
Western World. Memory athletes are “a
bunch of guys (and a few women),
varying widely in age and personal
grooming habits, poring over pages of
random numbers and long lists of
words,” according to author Joshua
Foer, who transformed his experience
with memory sports into the 2011 New
York Times bestseller, Moonwalking
with Einstein.
In Asia, the sport has become widely
popular in recent years. When the
Mongolian memory sports team hosts
its national competition, the Mongolian
prime minister is a regular guest. The
Philippian memory team was honored
in their national parliament. Although
Chinese tourists exploring Europe recognize me from their national TV, I still
can stroll my local mall without being
bothered.
But I am not just competing in
memory, I am doing research on it.
After getting more involved with the
sport, the scientific side of me always
asks: Why? Why is it possible to
improve your memory massively?
how to leaRN
like a memORY
champion
By Boris nikoLai konrad, Phd, csP
