How to remember information quickly and for a long time? Mnemonic memorization techniques: examples. How to memorize large amounts of information Special methods techniques memorization methods

Everyone has a memory without exception. But for someone it is better developed, and for someone it is worse. If the second option is closer to you, do not be upset - everything is fixable. There are many ways, methods of memorization. Why not take advantage of them? We will tell you how you can remember the most difficult information.

Memory from the point of view of physiology.

The process of remembering is one of the main functions of memory. Without it, its further functioning is impossible. Memorization allows a person to reproduce previously seen or heard information, correct it, and use it in later life.

Sometimes a person has difficulty reproducing material. The reverse process occurs - forgetting. This situation is natural for people of any age. This happens because the brain filters out information that is unnecessary to it, or one that has not been used for a long time. But the mechanism helps to concentrate on new material, to remember it better.

The process of remembering (as well as forgetting) is purely individual, depending on the characteristics of the brain.

Memory in psychology.

To remember means to build an imaginary connection between something and something: for example, the name of a person with his style of clothing, the date of an event with its content, etc. This is called "associative links".

Building such connections provides a gradual memorization of information with all the details. Many techniques are based on associations.

Important: determine your type of memory.

5. The way of discarding words.

The necessary material for study is rewritten manually, with the rejection of some words (you need to leave only the first letter). After - read the text, restoring the missed moments from memory. There are specially created programs that, after loading the text, overlap parts of words. This method helps when memorizing poems.

6. Rhyme.

The technique is often used to remember the rules. Maybe the phrase “rules in verse” sounds childish, but you can remember for a long time that “The emphasis in the word katal about g falls on the third sl aboutG!».

7. Numbers.

There is a technique for associating words with numbers. This is a kind of association technique. For example, 0-donut, 2-swan, 8-points... This technique can be used when learning words with a child, giving similar examples for easy memorization.

Cicero's method is to present objects in a familiar setting. The technique is effective during the study of languages. When the need arises to remember a word, the association occurs with familiar surroundings: the cat is lying on the bed, and the wardrobe is in the corner.

How to remember everything without any problems: 8 secrets.

These details will help to concentrate on the necessary information, make the memorization process interesting.

• Important thoughts should be recorded. writing down desired material, we develop mechanical memory. Keeping a written diary will be very helpful. Scientists say that the brain is able to firmly concentrate on negative thoughts. "Spilling" bad thoughts on paper before memorizing will have a good effect on the result.
• nature helps. Memorizing material in nature increases concentration by 20%. If you get out on Fresh air it doesn’t work, you can just devote time to yourself and a little.
• The volume level matters. Pronunciation of words aloud and loudly increases memorization efficiency by 10%. This is especially true for learning foreign words.
• Using a voice recorder to record your voice involves several at once.
• A change of scenery will help when the brain does not want to work at all, and the words “do not fit” into the head. This indicates a general overwork, which means you should not forget to give the body a rest, change the environment.
• Health comes first. Doing constant mental stress, you need to remember about the right thing, playing sports and sound sleep.
• Stimulate yourself with a pleasant reward for the material covered and learned.
• Repetition is an integral part of learning any information. Especially useful repetition before bedtime.

I would like to finish with the words of the American writer Jack Kerouac: "Trust your memory, the results will surprise you." Use our recommendations and share them with your friends. By working on yourself, you can remember everything.

Everyone has to memorize and memorize something from time to time. Schoolchildren know better than anyone how difficult it can be. Especially on the eve of difficult tests and exams like the GIA and the Unified State Examination. It seems that you need to put in your head everything you have learned in 9 or 11 years. The task is not easy!

We are all naturally endowed with the ability to memorize, remember and reproduce information at the right time. But not everyone realizes this potential to the fullest. Someone easily keeps in mind the phone numbers of all relatives and the periodic table to boot. And for someone, the necessary formulas after the control immediately disappear from memory.

I have good news for you: memory can and should be trained. Just as muscles grow after regular exercise, so the human brain is amenable to training. You will find ways to help you memorize effectively in this article.

What is memory and what is it like?

We will not delve into the wilds of neuroscience and how there in the brain neurons exchange “handshakes” using synapses and how our impressions are transmitted using nerve impulses and “recorded” in the cerebral cortex.

Better to say what scientists have calculated: in fact, the human brain does not forget anything. It's just that not all of the impressions received in a lifetime can be fished out from the dusty mezzanines of memory in order to carefully study at the right time and on demand.

Let's also say that memory is short-term(right now you are reading and for some time remember everything that is written in this paragraph) and long-term(you remember your name all your life). Some information, for example, impressions of the happiest day in your life, without any difficulty goes through a chain of complex transformations and, as if by itself, settles in long-term memory. But much of what should be stored in it has to be memorized for a long time and painfully. Do you remember how poems and passages from poems were taught? Here's the same thing.

Memory can also be divided into the following types:

• visual-figurative;
• verbal-logical;
• motor (it is also kinesthetic and motor);
• emotional.

1. To be remembered easier, it should be interesting.
2. Thinking is more effective than cramming.
3. If you set yourself to remember, you will remember more and more easily.
4. Reinforcement in practice greatly improves memorization.
5. The context is important (connect the learned new with the already known old through associations).
6. New information “overlaps” similar old information.
7. It is better to learn in portions comparable to the amount of short-term memory (small, in general).
8. Information from the end and beginning of a text/message, etc. is better remembered.
9. Repetition improves memory.
10. Unfinished and unfinished are remembered better. Check…

Regarding the last point, I have this consideration: our internal computer freezes on incomplete processes. It seems like the task is not completed and therefore cannot be closed yet.

Ways to remember - do it effectively

Those who watch American comedy series will surely remember the eccentric Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory and his eidetic memory. All people have it to some extent. And if you apply the techniques of eidetism, you can actually memorize more and easier.

How to do it? You can use figurative memory and memorize with the help of associations. For example, this is how you can learn poetry: try to imagine every stanza in every detail, including color and sound. Via method of analogies (associations) memory efficiency can be increased by 40-50%. Find associations, not necessarily logical ones, in your past experiences. Usually such things happen unconsciously and then we say, they say, "all this reminds me of ...". But to use such a memorization mechanism and consciously within the power of everyone.

People have different perception mechanisms: after going to the cinema, the visuals better remembered the faces of the actors and how the characters were dressed, the audials - the main theme of the soundtrack, and the kinesthetics - were the handrails of the chairs smooth or rough. Therefore, the emphasis on the methods of memorization must be done differently.

Audials find it easier to remember what they hear. Use a voice recorder(on your phone or separate) to record the teacher's explanations in class. Or read them yourself at home. Use audio courses and podcasts. All this can be listened to in the interval between other classes and usefully spend time on the road to school.

For visuals, it will be effective engage visual memory: remember how the page looked in the textbook, whether it had a broken corner, in which paragraph the necessary information was written. At the right moment, try to start with these memories and the text itself will pop up in your memory next.

A method that we will conditionally call "Simonides Method": trying to remember something, “tie” it to external circumstances. In what conditions and in what place do you remember what is around, what is happening at this moment. Try to focus on a mental image of your class where the teacher was explaining the lesson to you, for example. Or turn on some light, non-distracting music at home when you're studying. Sensual images and emotions will help memorization and, most importantly, subsequent reproduction.

Another way is a bit similar to the previous one, only the profit from it is higher - up to 80%. Let's call it like this - arrange on shelves". The point is to link information (for example, foreign words or dates for a history exam) to surrounding objects or an imaginary interior.

For example, look back at your room and mentally imagine it: let the date of the baptism of Russia be “stored” under a table lamp, a new English word under a mouse pad, etc. Casting a glance at these objects, do a control exercise - remember what “lies” where. For each subsequent topic, you will need new picture. By the way, the periodic table can also be memorized. Arrange objects with reference to objects on the way from home to school and check every day that everything is in place.

Makes it easier to remember information paraphrase. Do not cram the paragraph, it is better to read and highlight the main thing for yourself, key points. And retell everything in your own words. Let it not be so difficult. But what you comprehended, you will remember much more accurately than what you painfully crammed without understanding the meaning.

Activate motor memory. Simply put, write and draw, not just read. Here are some options for you:

• make notes - the most basic thing that you can then retell;
• draw up block diagrams (flow charts, word order diagrams in a sentence in foreign language, a schematic representation of the human brain or cell structure for biology, etc.);
• draw tables for comparison and classification;
• draw up a short plan for answering a question with an abstract;
• write cards with terms, dates and names of historical figures, foreign words;
• prepare a literary diary for the literature exam (you can write out quotes, names of key characters);
• write new foreign words on self-adhesives and hang them around the house - wherever they will often catch your eye;
• write out mathematical, physical and chemical formulas on separate cards.

In this regard, cheat sheets are also good. Provided that you cook them yourself. At this time, you have to structure and summarize information. All of this adds up to good memory. By the way, ready-made cribs are best left at home.

And you can also learn poetry this way - rewrite the poem by hand and teach it in your own way. It's easier to remember than from a book.

Repetition is the mother of learning

Known folk wisdom has a completely scientific justification: the more you repeat, the better you remember. Just repeat it right. To get started, skim through the material, just read and catch the essence. For example, with a superficial acquaintance, you can start learning the grammar of a foreign language. So you will have a frame, on which details and details will then be built on.

The lighter the material, the more it can be memorized at a time. More complex things take time to settle down. That is why repetition is so effective. And if you start repeating without a break, there will be little sense. But you can achieve a qualitative and quantitative jump, if you repeat after a while. And do it well on a certain schedule.

So, you can use the following algorithm:

• learn something;
• repeat after about 20 minutes;
• on the same day, after 6-8 hours, repeat again;
• and repeat again the next day;
• in the future, you can return to a fluent repetition after a few days, a week, etc.

For repetition, the material should be divided into fragments convenient for playback without overvoltage. For example, paragraphs, stanzas. And repeat on the same day last time preferably shortly before going to bed. The fact is that even when we are not actively memorizing, the supercomputer in our skull is still processing the data. And while you sleep, nothing distracts him.

By the way, there is scientific term, as reminiscence. The bottom line is that after a while it is possible to remember and reproduce more than it was possible immediately after memorization. But it won't work, if only by cramming without delving into the meaning. On the contrary, over time, memorized is remembered worse and worse.

Conclusion

Use different techniques memorization, get creative and combine techniques. For example, write notes to light, pleasant music, draw diagrams and paste over the house with self-adhesive notes. Or use the technique of placing useful information in an imaginary interior and at the same time try to make the picture as lively and tangible as possible.

Everyone can use their memory effectively with a little effort. Memory can be trained in the same way that muscles are trained. For example, learning foreign languages ​​is very helpful.

Eat foods that are good for memory: garlic, nuts, seaweed, lemons, grapes, etc.

And do not forget to write us comments: what methods of memorization do you usually use? Maybe we forgot to tell you something? Constructive criticism is welcome.

site, with full or partial copying of the material, a link to the source is required.

To successfully prepare for the session. But we decided not to stop there and introduce you to at least four more effective methods for quickly memorizing text or any other information. Read, think, choose the right one.

All of the following methods are based on repeated reading. But this is not about unsystematic and thoughtless reading, but about deep work on the text.

Assimilation of the text in 4 repetitions: the OVOD method

The name consists of the first letters of the names of the main stages of memorizing the text:

1. O main thought. The text is read for meaningful perception and highlighting the main thoughts, establishing relationships between them. You don't have to take everything in the text. If necessary, the main information is underlined or written out on a separate sheet.
2. AT considerate reading. The second reading is distinguished by increased attentiveness and thoughtfulness, you should pay attention to small details, details. The text is read slowly. The main task of this stage is to mentally link the details to the main thoughts. At the end of the stage, you should try to remember the main thoughts and the details already attached to them.
3. O overview. The text is skimmed through quickly, without in-depth reading. Viewing starts from the end. The reader mentally asks himself questions on the main points, tries to draw parallels with the information already received about the text. At this stage, an approximate plan of the text is drawn up and the order of the main thoughts is remembered.
4. D vodka. Repetition of the text from memory in a certain sequence: remember the main points, gradually moving on to the details. At this stage, if possible, peeping into the text should be avoided. Then there is a re-reading with mental "serifs" in those places that the reader missed or forgot. Why did it happen so? If the missing information is significant, it should be worked out.

Among all methods of assimilation of information, this one is suitable for texts of small volumes.

As new information is quickly forgotten after the initial acquaintance, it is worth repeating it a little later (in a few hours on the same day or the next). Over time, the dynamics of forgetting slows down.

Reading aloud and mental repetition: the HORN method

This method of quick memorization of information is similar to the previous one, but it also has its differences.

An experiment was conducted at Kazan University, during which the subjects formed 4 groups. The task for everyone is to remember the text. In the first group, the text was read aloud 4 times. In the second - the text was read aloud 3 times and 1 time mentally retold by students. In the third, the text was read twice and retold mentally twice. In the fourth, the text was read aloud only once, and 3 times it was mentally retold by the audience.

The results showed the greatest efficiency of memorization among students of the fourth group. The listeners of the third group memorized the information a little less effectively, the second group was even less effective, the students of the first group memorized the information worse than the others.

Thanks to this experiment, the PHOG method appeared:

1. O orientation. When reading a text, it is important to understand its main idea. If necessary, it is written down or underlined, repeated many times in memory.
2. H shade. When re-reading, one gets acquainted with the information more carefully, highlights smaller details, establishes a connection between them and the main thoughts of the text. Mentally, the main thoughts are repeated several times, tied to the details.
3. O overview. A quick review of the text determines whether the main ideas and their relationship to the details have been correctly identified. For a deeper understanding, you can put questions to the main parts.
4. G lavoe. A mental retelling is performed, and if possible, aloud. At this stage, it is important to remember the main thoughts, answer the questions posed.

Try to keep the number of reads to a minimum. At the same time, the number of mental repetitions can be absolutely any, necessary for better assimilation in memory.

Techniques for memorizing large amounts of information: the Cicero method

The previous methods are suitable for working with small texts. But what if you need to quickly master and memorize entire notes, books, works?

As you might have guessed, this technique was named after Marcus Tullius Cicero, a brilliant orator, the great statesman of Rome, who lived in 106-43. BC.

Glory to this man was brought not only by his smartest thoughts. In his performances, he never used recordings, reproducing from memory great amount dates, facts, quotes from historical events and names.

This is one of best practices memorization of information due to simplicity. He is also called room system or places method.

The point is to mentally arrange important facts in a certain order in a well-known room. Then, if necessary, you just need to remember that very room to fish out the necessary information. It was this technique that Cicero himself was guided by when preparing for performances: mentally he walked around his house, placing the main provisions of the speech in it as conveniently as possible for himself.

Before you start mastering the method, it is important to choose your own sequence of going around the rooms so as not to get confused in your own logic of placing information.

For the first acquaintance with remembering information in this way, try to really walk around your house, mentally placing the information in its place. Then then it will not be necessary to walk around the house at all, it is enough to mentally repeat the route traveled.

And here are some tips to help you do the “arrangement” of information correctly:

• The best place to start is in your own room. Take the door as a starting point, then follow the rule of the left hand (explore in order everything that is on left side) and move slowly further clockwise;
• when placing information sequentially, it is worth considering stationary objects that always stand in the same places (curtains, chandelier, floor lamp, sofa, picture, photo frame, cornice, shelves, etc.);
• you should use sequential movement not only from left to right, but also from top to bottom, since objects are often one under the other (carpet under the sofa, table under the chandelier, etc.);
• if you need to remember multi-level lists, use not only your home, but also the homes of your relatives, friends, lecture hall, and even well-learned routes from home to school, to the store, etc.

Over time, as you become more familiar with this method, you will be able to use smaller and smaller objects from rooms and find more and more secluded places to store information in your memory. But at the very beginning it is better to limit yourself to the most noticeable objects in the room.

This method has proven itself when working with large texts, daily routine, remembering the order of phone calls. Moreover, if important information is somehow related to each other, and is not just a meaningless data set, then you can reuse the same room several times.

The Cicero method is great for remembering numbers. True, first you have to translate the numbers from an abstract form into a more concrete one in any convenient way. And only then you can fill the places in the room with objects into which the numbers were converted.

The huge advantage of this method is that it takes 2-3 workouts to master it, unlike many other techniques. In addition, it can be used in absolutely any situation and anywhere. At the same time, the place where you are at a particular moment (audience, cottage, museum, dean's office) will serve as a support and help to you. All you need to do is remember in detail a familiar room or use the one you are currently in.

We invite you to practice and try to reproduce the words below from memory using the Cicero method: float, napkin, curlers, grass, mirror, album, comb, book, cat, light bulb, matches, blanket, scissors, scoop. You can use the picture as a sample room:

This technique is one of the most effective methods that contribute to the effective memorization of textual information.

Using Visual Memory: The Pictogram Method

A pictogram is a set of graphic images that a person comes up with for the purpose of memorizing and then reproducing any words and expressions.

The pictogram method in psychology is often used to study, diagnose and strengthen the memory of people with a "visual" image (visuals).

During the study of thinking by the method of pictograms, the following plan was developed when working with textual information:

1. Key words or short phrases are highlighted in the text, which should be written out and underlined.
2. For each word or phrase, a pictogram is drawn - a kind of image that will later help to remember exactly this word / phrase. The image here plays the role of visual association. When drawing, do not use schematics, as well as unnecessary details. The picture should not contain numbers or letters. The process of creating an image should not take more than 10-20 seconds. Example: to remember the phrase "hard work" you can draw a hammer or a person bent under a heavy load. With the phrase " fun party» You can associate fireworks, flags, a Christmas tree, etc.

The pictogram cannot be right or wrong. This is an association that belongs to you and was created to fulfill the main goal - to remind you of the word or phrase to which it was attached.

It is much easier to draw for a specific object (ice cream, bear, nose) than for a process or an abstract concept (development, longing, reflection). But even in this case, the issue can be easily resolved - you just need to assign them a more specific association, transform them into something concrete. For example, for the word "development" you can use the image of a spiral, for the word "longing" - a tear or an anti-smile, for "thinking" - a light bulb, etc.

There are also words of medium complexity of concretization, for example, a school can be depicted with a desk, blackboard, a hospital with a bed or a red cross, etc.

Before you start using the pictogram method, you need to practice. This will allow you to fill your hand in drawing and prepare for the immediate task.

Sample exercise : Draw pictograms for the words below. Please note that words of different complexity are used here. Try to draw such a picture so that in a few hours you can remember the word for which you created the image.

By the way! For our readers there is now a 10% discount on any kind of work.

Using the accumulation system: the Atkinson method

But Atkinson is sure that memory should improve gradually, without sudden jumps and overloads. Therefore, the only safe and proven method of strengthening memory is the accumulation method.

The scientist proposes to leave aside all artificial methods, using only what nature itself has given us. The brain, like all muscles, needs training and gradual loads. As the load increases, so will the memory efficiency.

The essence of the system is:

1. Choose a text (optimally - in poetic form). On the first day, 4 to 6 lines are learned by heart.
2. On the second day, they repeat yesterday's learned lines and additionally learn from 4 to 6 more lines.
3. On the third day, 4-6 new lines are added to those already learned.

There is nothing wrong with peeking into a book from time to time. Do not be upset if something is forgotten: over time, the amount of memory will increase, memorization will become easier.

After a month, double the amount of information you learn. In another month, you can triple the amount of information.

Studies have shown that as a result of applying this technique:

• learned knowledge remains for a long time and easily pops up in memory,
• the ability to remember absolutely any things is improving all the time,
• with the help of willpower, any information is easily remembered.

The essence of this method is nothing but repetition. Classes are best done in the morning, as at this time of day our perception is still fresh. Train every day and you will see: in a month your brain will remember many times more information.

What is important to remember?

Multiple unsystematic repetition of information is unproductive.

And memory can and even needs to be trained! Memorizing something new is useful not only in preparing for exams, but also for life in general. Soon after the start of using the chosen technique, you can see how the brain begins to remember other information that we use in life: remember phone numbers, addresses, regulate incoming / outgoing correspondence, and much more.

The secret is that after repeated training, the memory automatically begins to apply the memorization skill. more information. And this is without the use of any mnemonic techniques and training. However, it is still worth helping your brain from time to time by sorting out important and unimportant information. For example, when preparing for an exam in a discipline that you can’t real life not useful, there is no point in teaching a lot of useless information. It is enough to ask for help from people who will do it for you.

And here you can watch a video on how to memorize OVOD and OCHOG - the most popular way to increase memory:

If you need to remember some numbers for a long time, then for this you can use the following mnemonics:

Association with other familiar figures. Dale Carnegie's advice is to memorize dates by associating them with significant dates you know. For example, it is easy to remember that the Battle of Kulikovo took place exactly 600 years before the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.

Shedd system (Shed system). Small numbers, such as historical dates or short phone numbers, can be learned by composing a special phrase, each word in which is in a strictly defined order and has a number of letters corresponding to the remembered digit. For example, if you want to remember the number 467, then you need to come up with a phrase in which the first word will consist of 4 letters, the second - of 6, and the third word - of 7 letters. So, the number 467 corresponds to the phrase "an elephant runs at a gallop" (4, 6 and 7 letters, respectively). Zero in this system often corresponds to a word of 10 or any more letters.

Rhymes. Often a large number of It is convenient to memorize numbers by creating rhymes or poems. This method is suitable if you need to remember certain numbers for a long time, having the opportunity to spend some time on it. So you can easily remember which characters come after the decimal point in the number "Pi".

Remembering names and faces

Very often we need to remember people we just met. We all tend to be nice to those who remember our name. In order to quickly and accurately remember the names and faces of people, there are the following mnemonics.

Show interest in the person, chat a little, addressing him by name. There are several memorization rules at work here. First, you show interest in a person, and also receive information about him, which can serve as the basis for building associations with him. Secondly, you repeat his name several times, which also improves memorization.

An association with another person well known to you with the same name. For example, many of us will easily remember the name of a person if he is your namesake. It is also easy to remember the names of people who match the names of your parents and good friends. But even if you don't know the name of the person you want to remember, try to remember famous people with the same names: actors, politicians, musicians.

Selection of other modifications of his name. For example, the name Alexander has several modifications Sasha, San, Shura. Once the person has introduced himself, silently try to name a few modifications of his name.

Name spelling. Think about how a person's name is spelled - imagine it visually. How many letters are in this name? What is the first letter? The answers to these questions will even more firmly fix the image of the person's name in your visual perception. If possible, you can even write the person's name on paper to enhance comprehension.

Remembering surnames. You can memorize surnames using mnemonic techniques based on visual associations. You need to start with the search for a mental replacement or modification of the surname. For example, my surname Buyanov can be associated with Buyan Island from children's fairy tales, as well as with a violent temperament. Then some noticeable feature of a person is selected, for example, a facial feature or a character trait (which is more suitable for the surname Buyanov), which must be tied to the selected surname association.

Memorization of foreign languages

Language mnemonics will be useful for memorizing words, expressions, grammar rules, verb forms, etc.

Method of phonetic associations (MPA). This method appeared due to the fact that in all languages ​​of the world there are words or parts of words that sound the same, but have different meanings. Moreover, in different languages there are words that have a common origin. For example, the word look (look) can be remembered by associating it with the similar-sounding Russian word "bow". And slicing the “onion”, we cannot “look” at it, as our eyes water.

Method of interaction of all sensations (MVVO). This mnemonic approach is useful for those who want to learn how to communicate fluently in a foreign language. If the words don't automatically pop into your memory, you won't be able to speak the language fluently. Therefore, the main thing is not to memorize a foreign word as a translation of a native word, but to immediately associate a foreign word directly with the concept corresponding to it. To learn the word "cup" imagine a cup with a handle, and keeping the image in your mind, say "cup" several times, trying not to remember the word "cup".

What means " memorize in long-term memory»?

This is firstly - to remember, and secondly - to repeat! This is why we will dance 🙂

This article is of an overview nature and shows the main ways of remembering and repeating that exist. Each of these methods will be given a separate article.

Memorization and repetition

In my trainings and seminars, I regularly repeat that the process of memorization and repetition are different. Most often, they try to memorize information by memorizing, and repeat it by reading, viewing, listening to it again.

This is the most affordable and inefficient way.

In this article I want to highlight the main strategies for storing in long-term memory and their effectiveness.

If you do NOT use memorization techniques, then it is quite difficult to somehow distinguish between the processes of memorization and repetition.

For example, I remember how school years taught various verses, definitions in physics, chemistry - it looked something like this:

1. take a textbook you read the definition, try to understand what, in general, is written.
2. you try to repeat the first phrase of the definition, saying it many times to yourself (sometimes, out loud) You repeat until it seems that you remember it.
3. then you move on to the next phrase and repeat it out loud many times. Then you try to repeat many times both phrases together. Steps 3-4 are repeated until the entire definition is memorized.
4. try to remember the next day. As a rule, some piece of the definition was forgotten. Then - open the textbook, read the definition several times, simultaneously pronouncing the entire definition to yourself. Sometimes you even get the feeling - “That's it! Now I definitely remember! But then it turns out (usually at the most crucial moment) that that piece still did not repeat itself properly.

The processes of memorization and repetition looked something like this, which I designated by cramming and reading, respectively.

For most people, it's exactly the same.

We weren't taught to remember differently, were we?

When you memorize information consciously, encoding it into visual images, there is a clear difference between the processes of repetition and memorization.

Let me define these processes:

• cramming- repetition of information
• Reading- the process of perception of information from text, audio, video media.
• memorization— creation of links between elements of perceived information
• Remembrance- the process of activating from the memory of connections created earlier (WITHOUT peeping into the source of information: book, video, audio recording)
• - the same as remembering, but is performed at certain intervals.

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Memorization efficiency table

Now that you understand how the above processes differ, I present to you my table of the effectiveness of storing information in long-term memory.

It consists of a set of ways of remembering and repeating information.

The combination of methods is arranged in order of increasing efficiency of memorization into long-term memory.

All these stages have been tested on my own experience, as well as by students of my courses.

1. Cramming + reading
2. Cramming + remembering
3. Cramming + spaced repetition
4. Mnemonics + reading
5. Mnemonics + recall
6. Mnemonics + spaced repetition

Table of the effectiveness of methods of memorization in long-term memory

red- memorization
blue- repetition
Ascending numbers- the effectiveness of a set of techniques

I will comment on why such a table is and why the leader in it is the “mnemonics” + “interval repetition” combination.

Reading information gives you almost zero memorization utility. If you want to repeat and remember for a long time, then repeat only from memory (the “remembering” process)! Turn away from the piece of paper, computer, book and try to extract the data that you are trying to remember on your own.

If you are unable to do this entirely, then look at the source of information. But! After that, be sure to repeat from memory, without relying on the source.

When you remember information instead of reading it, the connections created during memorization are activated in the brain. The more often they are activated, the stronger they become and the information is remembered better. With a simple read, the links are activated to a minimum.

Recall is many times more effective and in fact the only correct repetition. Spaced repetition (more on that later) just saves you even more time when memorizing into long-term memory, but the basics are the same - repetition from memory.

Understood with repetition. Now about memory.

In general, I have a whole site about memorization - this one)) Where you are now. And this whole site is dedicated to how to memorize effectively. The set of methods and techniques for effective memorization is called "mnemonics". Mostly these are memorization techniques based on presenting information in the form of vivid visual images and creating a connection between them.

Mnemonics and ANKI program

As for spaced repetition, there will be a separate detailed article about it, I will briefly describe why it is better.

Imagine you memorized the periodic table. To remember after 1 year you need to repeat it periodically. But when exactly? The first thing that comes to mind is, for example, once a week. This is 52 times a year.

Working scheme? Working.

But the nuance is that in practice you do not have to repeat it so often. After a few repetitions, for example 12-15, you will realize that you already know it by heart.

Question « Why then do you keep repeating it so often?»

This question just closes the "spaced repetition". It allows you to repeat the necessary information only at those intervals when it can be forgotten and with such a minimum number of repetitions that in 1-3-5 years the information remains in your memory.

Presently the best program, which allows you to repeat information to you according to the principle of spaced repetition - ANKI. In it, in the form of cards, you upload the data you are interested in and periodically (the program itself issues information in right time) repeat.

Mnemonics combined with spaced repetition (ANKI program) is a killer thing!

Of course, "lethal" in terms of effective learning 🙂

By themselves, they are the best among similar techniques (mnemonics is better than cramming, and spaced repetition is better than daily random recall)

Mnemonics is the best in memorization!
ANKI (spaced repetition) is the best in repetition!

Therefore, the combination of "mnemonics + spaced repetition" gives the greatest efficiency when storing in long-term memory.

If you have alternatives on how to make the memorization process over long time distances even more efficient or if you have any questions, then write in the comments.