Memory Superpowers! Read online

  Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

  ISBN 978-1-4197-3187-7

  eISBN 978-1-68335-776-6

  Text copyright © 2020 Nelson Dellis

  Illustrations copyright © 2020 Steph Stilwell

  Book design by Marcie Lawrence and Celina Carvalho

  Published in 2020 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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  TO MY TWO BOYS.

  WHO WILL ONE DAY READ

  THIS AND BECOME

  MEMORIZING SUPERHEROES!

  — N.D.

  TO KATHI AND SCOTT,

  FOR ALWAYS BELIEVING IN MY SUPERPOWER

  — S.S.

  INTRODUCTION HOW THIS BOOK WORKS

  CHAPTER 1 PREPARING FOR THE EXPEDITION

  ALL THE MEMORY TOOLS YOU’LL EVER NEED

  CHAPTER 2 AN ADVENTURE DOWN THE RIVER

  HOW TO REMEMBER THINGS . . . FAST . . . WITH THE STORY METHOD

  CHAPTER 3 THE FOREST OF FORGETTABLE NAMES

  HOW TO REMEMBER NAMES AND FACES

  CHAPTER 4 THE GREAT WORD PYRAMIDS

  HOW TO REMEMBER SPELLING, DEFINITIONS, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

  CHAPTER 5 THE PIRATES OF THE PERIODIC TABLE

  HOW TO REMEMBER A LIST OF THINGS IN ORDER USING THE PEG METHOD

  CHAPTER 6 THE HIMALAYAN MIND PALACE

  HOW TO MEMORIZE A LIST OF THINGS USING A 2,500-YEAR-OLD METHOD

  CHAPTER 7 THE NUMBER TREK

  HOW TO REMEMBER NUMBERS

  CHAPTER 8 THE SUMMIT AND THE MEMORY THIEF

  HOW TO REMEMBER POEMS, SPEECHES, AND DIFFICULT PASSWORDS

  CHAPTER 9 THE JOURNEY HOME

  A FEW LAST MEMORY TIPS

  APPENDIX

  Welcome, curious reader! Or should I say, curious explorer! My name is Nelson and I’m going to be your guide in an epic, mnemonic adventure around the globe to the peak of Mount Foreverest. (Mnemonic is just a fancy word for “memory trick,” in case you didn’t know, and is pronounced ni-MON-ik.) Let me tell you how this book works and what awaits you.

  In these pages are some seriously crazy exploits that I will ask you to imagine. Each chapter will tell a story that is part of your fantastical journey, but along the way, I’ll also be teaching you memory techniques and skills, some of which are thousands of years old. I want to challenge your memory and brain to do some exciting, and occasionally difficult, tasks. But don’t worry, I’ll make it as fun and easy as possible.

  As your guide on our globe-trotting exploit, I will teach you the secret, long-forgotten practices of memorization with the ultimate goal of reaching the summit of Mount Foreverest—the mountain of remembering forever. And the best part? These techniques will help make learning and studying much easier. It will be like having your own memory superpowers! Imagine being able to remember more—like names and faces, lists of things, numbers, and important dates—but with less work. Think of all the free time you will have to go on other adventures with your friends!

  Why Mount Foreverest? you may be asking. Well, my goal is to head to the top of that summit so we can confront and defeat the Memory Thief. It is high on that mountain where he recently began to rule, and it’s a mysterious place where few have gone. Since arriving there not too long ago, his powers have become so great that he’s able to steal memories from anyone and everyone when they’re not looking! I have decided to stop him once and for all. But I can’t do it alone; he’s too powerful. I’ll need your help. And if we don’t stop him, more and more people will lose their ability to remember things.

  Maybe you’re a bit skeptical about this so-called Memory Thief. I bet you’re thinking, Does he even exist? and Can he really steal our memories? Let me answer that by asking you a question:

  What did you have for dinner five days ago?

  You can’t remember, can you? And think of all those other things you don’t remember or the things you’ve forgotten over the years. That’s him—the Memory Thief—hard at work on his evil plans to plunder our memories. But I have a plan to stop him and save all the memories in the world so that people will be able to remember whatever they want, forever! But I need your help. Will you join me on this adventure? I would be incredibly grateful. Please oh please? Don’t take too long to answer; time is running out.

  You will? Oh, thank goodness! Everyone I’ve asked so far has turned me down, telling me they’re too scared to face the Memory Thief. The only requirement I have for you is that you have a good memory.

  Oh, you don’t think you have one? Not to worry! Part of my plan is to train you along the way. You’re smart and I can tell you’ve got guts, so you’ll pick up these techniques in no time!

  Here’s the plan:

  To get to the Memory Thief, we’ll have to scale the summit of Foreverest, and get past some rather tall gates, which are locked. That scheming villain, however, has broken the key to the gates into three pieces and scattered them around the world, so we’ll need to find them first. To secure each piece, we’ll have to pass some short memory tests, but I’ll do my best to prepare you in advance.

  One more thing.

  No matter how silly, weird, or strange our journey gets, you have to promise me that you will do what I ask of you . . . no matter what! It’s the only way we’ll succeed in getting all the pieces of the key. So, whether I ask you to recall a hilarious image in your mind so you can pass a ferocious yeti guard at the foot of the Himalayas, or to answer bizarre questions from a pirate in order to open up his secret treasure chest, you have to do it. Promise? The fate of human memory depends on it!

  With all of that out of the way, let us begin our journey . . .

  Chances are you’ve never gone on an adventure quite like this, so we’ll make sure that you’re well equipped. That means knowing all the necessary things you need to bring along, but maybe more important is knowing what to leave behind. Our adventure is going to be long and hard, so we must get rid of unhelpful concepts that will slow us down. Mostly, these are ideas you may already have about memory that you think are okay but are actually wrong. They need to be thrown out immediately so you stand a chance on Mount Foreverest!

  NELSON’S THREE THINGS TO FORGET AND LEAVE AT HOME

  Some people are born with horrible memories.

  I hear this one all the time. Many people think that a bad memory is something you’re either born with or you’re not. They believe that if you’re lucky enough to have been gifted with a good memory at birth then you’re awesome and live a charmed life where studying is easy, and you pass all your tests without much effort. And they think that if you have a bad memory, you’re doomed to a life where studying is really hard and that you won’t do well in school.

  Well, here’s the good news: That is totally and completely, flat-out WRONG! A bad memory is not something you’re born with. In fact, we all have the same basic abilities. And while some people might have better natural memories than others, the good news is that bad memory can always be trained into a good one.
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  Don’t believe me? Well, when I was your age, my memory was not so great—actually I’d even say it was probably even worse than that of the average person. I was horrible at memorizing things. My teacher would assign homework that involved remembering lists and facts, and I would hate it. I struggled so much, and just trying would take me for-ev-errr! And to make matters worse, the next day at school, I would be so nervous about forgetting things that I actually did forget things, just like I had feared. I would turn red in front of the entire class and a lot of the kids would laugh at me! Ugh. I can’t think of a worse feeling.

  But a few years ago, when I heard about these strange things called mnemonics, I decided to learn all about them and practiced the techniques every day. Before long, I was crowned the USA Memory Champion!

  Did you know such a competition existed? Don’t worry, most people don’t. It’s an event where contestants memorize all sorts of things as fast and as accurately as possible on the spot. When I won it for the first time, I was named the best memorizer in the country! Not only that, but I could memorize some really impressive things: a whole deck of randomly shuffled playing cards in under a minute, a roomful of people’s names, even a number that was four hundred digits long. Crazy, right? I went from having a horrible memory to having the best memory in the country in only a few months. I even set some national records along the way and then ended up winning the USA Memory Championship three more times after that. But here’s the crazier part:

  You can do all of those things, too! All it takes is for someone like me to show you the ropes and reveal the way to memory awesomeness. Together, we’ll defeat the Memory Thief and help everyone remember whatever they want to!

  So there. If you’ve ever said to yourself, OOOF! My memory is horrrrrible! STOP. Don’t say that anymore. Throw those negative feelings into the garbage right now! Memory is a skill that you can improve just like playing the piano, ice-skating, or painting (and is actually probably easier to do than all of those other things). No one has a bad memory—NO ONE. Just remind yourself of that if you ever get frustrated. Repeat the phrase “I have an unforgettable memory!” if you ever have doubt.

  Your brain can fill up.

  Do you ever feel like your brain can hold only so many things at once? Or when you’re studying, does it seem like there’s just too much information already stored in your brain and you couldn’t possibly cram one more single piece of information in there?

  Well, you’ll have to leave behind that idea, too, because get this: The brain is nearly unlimited in what it can hold.

  That’s right. You heard me—unlimited.

  Sounds a bit ridiculous, but it’s true. Unfortunately, most people see the brain as containing a finite amount of storage space . . . like a parking garage that can just hold a very specific number of cars and no more. And if a few cars exit, then—and only then—can some new cars enter. Your brain is not like that at all. Your brain is made up of millions of connections between things called neurons. It’s more similar to something like a spiderweb, where all things are connected. And the more you add to it, the larger the web grows and the stronger it becomes.

  Let me show you an example: Try to think of a memory in your own life from the last year . . . summer vacation, Thanksgiving, your birthday—any one of those will do. Now try to remember a specific memory from that time and mull it over for a few seconds. You’ll probably start thinking about a small detail, maybe what you were wearing, what your parents said to you, what the weather was like, some really funny thing that happened, etc. But the more you ponder it, the more you’ll find your mind jumping to other memories that the first memory reminded you of. Maybe that really funny thing that happened reminds you of a cartoon you once watched. Then that new memory will lead you to another one, and before you know it, you’re thinking about something totally different from that first memory you started with. Why? Because all of your memories are connected. One is connected to the next, is connected to the next, is connected to the next . . .

  The bottom line is that your memory can never get full. It can only get stronger and better connected. So don’t ever feel like you’re running out of space in your memory. You can always add more things to that web!

  Memorizing is boring and hard.

  Nope, nope, nope. The only reason anyone thinks memorizing is boring or hard is because no one has ever taught them the fun and easy way. Simple as that. Chances are, most times that you’ve had to memorize something, you went about it by repeating it over and over again (yawn!). That’s called “rote” memorization and, yep, that is boring, hard, and definitely not fun. Rote memorization is about as enjoyable as reading the back of a shampoo bottle.

  Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. The real problem is that no one has ever taught you the right way to use your memory. Fret not! We won’t be doing any boring stuff on our adventures. We’ll be learning the right way to use our memories. In other words: fun, fun, fun!

  I’ll even make a deal with you. I promise that on our adventures, I will only have you memorize things in a fun and exciting way. If I ever break that promise, you have every right to take this book and flush it down the toilet. (Just don’t tell your parents, and do it in clumps of pages at a time so you don’t have to call the plumber.) Just kidding—maybe just put the book back on the shelf and forget you ever read it.

  Memorizing can and should always be fun and easy. Never forget that!

  What to Bring

  Now that you have a good idea of what to leave behind on our adventure, let me tell you the important things you must bring. Because the challenges ahead will involve us using our mind and memory to the max, the main part of our expedition gear will be made up of things called mind tools. There are three of them that I’ll be giving you and they are the basic tools to help you remember absolutely anything and to defeat the Memory Thief. But just like any tools, if you don’t use them enough (or correctly), they’ll get rusty and won’t work! So make sure to use them often and you should be fine.

  NELSON’S THREE MIND TOOLS

  This first tool is all about SEEing IT AS A PICTURE IN YOUR MIND. We have the amazing power of somehow being able to see things using our imagination. For example, if I asked you to imagine a slice of pizza, you could see a picture of that slice in your mind, right? Maybe you’re picturing it on a plate in the kitchen, waiting to be eaten, or maybe you’re imagining a rotten, stinky slice you’ve thrown against the school bus window because you’re angry at your mom for packing the wrong lunch. Well, what if I asked you to give this pizza slice a pair of roller skates to wear? Now the slice is doing pirouettes in the kitchen (or down the aisle of the bus). How about now giving the slice a pair of sunglasses, a crazy green and blue hairstyle, and making it whistle “Jingle Bells”? Bizarre, right?

  What’s great about SEEing is the fact that we can SEE anything we want in our minds. No matter how outrageous it is, our mind’s imagination can always bend backward and see the impossible. That’s what makes this so fun, too!

  So no matter what you have to memorize, try to SEE it as a picture in your mind. Sometimes that’s easy to do (like with that silly slice of pizza), but other times it may seem tricky. (How do you come up with a silly image for a long number, for example?) But don’t worry, stuff like that is not so hard. I’ll show you how to SEE them in later chapters.

  Once you’ve found a way to SEE what you are memorizing, the next step is to LINK it to SOMETHING THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW. The problem with most people’s memories is that they don’t put the things they want to remember in places that are easy to find later on when they need to recall them.

  Huh?

  Think of it like this: You’ve saved a file on your computer before, haven’t you? What usually happens? You click the SAVE button, right? And then what happens? A little box pops up and asks you to give your newly created file a name, and then you need to tell the computer in which folder you want it be stored (“Documents” or “Nelson’s
Awesome Memory Techniques,” for example). We do this because the clever folks who invented computers wanted you to have an easy way to find that file later on. (You know it’s a document, so it’s probably stored in your “Documents” folder, under the filename you gave it—voilà, you’ve found it!) Now imagine that computers didn’t work like that—that instead, when you clicked SAVE, no box popped up at all and the file you saved is in some random place inside the computer. Yikes! How would you ever find it again? Probably never! And your computer would be a downright mess.

  I hate to say it, but that messy computer is what your brain is like, too. When you try to memorize things, you’re not “saving” them correctly. That’s what the LINK tool is all about. Taking your mental picture from SEE and saving it correctly to your brain’s mental hard drive. Thinking about how to do that exactly may seem a bit weird or might even sound impossible, but it’s actually quite easy to master with just a bit of practice.

  Now, what does LINKing actually mean? And how do we do it?

  Think of something you know. What’s the name of the street you live on? Or what’s the third letter of the alphabet? Or when is your birthday? There are things you know like the back of your hand, which can be used to LINK new information. Actually, your brain does this a lot already. Whenever your teacher is teaching you something new, they might compare it to something else you already know to help you understand it. For example, let’s pretend that the only animal you know of is a dog and your teacher is trying to explain to you what a bird is. (I know you know what a bird is, but let’s just pretend!)

  Your teacher might say, “A bird is like a dog, only smaller, with wings and feathers, with a beak instead of teeth, and can fly.” BAM! Now you know what a bird is. You’ve managed to use that superpowerful spiderweb of brain neurons to LINK a “bird” to that familiar “dog.”