Study and memory.

[soserious]

I find it hard to recall much of what I read or hear and see. I find it very frustrating that I cannot remember, since without being able to recall information it is as if I never even knew.

What things can I do to improve my grasp of information, such as reading a piece on something or other I generally walk away and will not be able to recall most of it by far. As opposed to stories where I can remember the feel of events and how the story went- with facts and figures I tend to have very poor mental retention. This frustrates me greatly.
I need to improve, dramatically.
Any thoughts, experiences or advice is welcome.

ss

[ColdShroom]

You've basically just laid out a good memory technique.

When studying, I would read deep, and absorb the facts. I would then play some of my favourite music.. and jam out to it. I would be playing the tune, while going over the facts in my head.

The tune, which I knew by heart, would start to remind me of things I have programmed it to.

It works for me.

I also use jogging as a study/memory aid. I'll do the deep reading, then get up and go for a good run. While running, I focus on familiar objects I pass by, landmarks, locations.. and I relate them to a fact, equation, etc.. RUnning through the experience, and playing back the exercise, I can recall the facts I imprinted.

Works for me.

Interesting thread.

[zeolite]

Some scientists reckon that your sense of smell can help you remember things. If you sniff something with a strong scent while you are reading/memorising something then the next time you smell that thing it will remind you of what it was you were trying to memorise. If you need to remember something for a test then try sniffing the thing just before you go to the test and your mind will go back to the previous time when you sniffed that object. I've never tried this personally, but there has been a considerable amount of research into it and it really is supposed to work.

[ColdShroom]

Works for me too..

So you just carry around a sack of various stinky bits for your cheat sheet.

[Spike]

I find it hard to recall

Have you got that £100 I lent you?

[trugain]

SS, you just solved your own problem. YOu said you can recall stories good, but facts and other things of the like, you cant. When you want to remember something try to remember it as a story.

After a while you should have yourself a good epic! :lol:

But just give it a try.

[Valk]

Association and Imagination

Thats all you need.