How I Memorize on Nat Geo Brain Games
So I was on the first season of the Nat Geo Show ‘Brain Games’. I like to think that I am the reason the show got a 2nd and 3rd season. Ok…maybe not but I am happy with my role in the show.
I am a memory expert and I did several memory demonstrations on the show. One of the memory demonstrations is that I memorized the serial numbers on dollar bills of people walking around in Times Square. Here is that video (of me on Nat Geo Brain Games) and below I explain how I did it:
This is how I did it.
1. I have a person and a verb for every 2 digit number. My person for the # 25 is Neil Armstrong and the verb is walking (like on the moon). My person for the #35 is Muhammed Ali and the verb is boxing. My person for the #33 is my mom and the verb is cooking
In a nutshell every 2 = n. So the 20s are all people who’s name starts with N. Every 3 = m so the 30s are all people who’s names start with M. That is the Cliff Notes version of why…but really it doesn’t matter which people you assign to which numbers. It’s personal preference.
2. I have pieces of furniture in my home numbered. So #1 is my desk #2 is my bed #3 is my dresser #4 is my tv. I know these cold and by heart without hesitation and have hundreds of them numbered (not just in my home but in other homes I know).
So when I am looking at the dollar bills if I see a 4 group sequence that is 2533 Then I will imagine Neil Armstrong cooking on my #1 piece of furniture. Because 25 is the first pair in the sequence we see Neil Armstrong and because 33 is the 2nd in the sequence we take the verb of cooking. If the sequence was reversed 3325 It would be mom walking.
If it was 3335 it would be mom boxing. If it was 3533 it would be Muhammed Ali cooking
I had to create these images long before I ever appeared on Nat Geo Brain Games.
Then I saw these pictures on my furniture
The letters were pretty easy. If it letter was an A I would see an apple, if it was B I would see a bee, if it was C I would see a cat.
I just saw these pictures on my furniture and then when I wanted to recall the number I just remembered what was on my furniture
It’s as simple as that.
Nat Geo Brain Games is a great show and I hope they invite me back on one day and this is how I memorized what I did.
Here is the bio that Nat Geo Brain Games put of me and the other experts on their show. What an HONOR! http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/brain-games/articles/brain-games-meet-the-experts/
