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Memorizing does not have to be as hard as most people make it. The problem is that most people only know how to memorize by reading the same thing over and over again. You have to learn to memorize. In this post we are going to look at how the brain remembers and then show how to use that knowledge to come up with a method for memorizing verbatim text. Any tip or trick that will improve your memory even slightly is well worth the effort.
In this article we are going to focus on a technique that will let you easily:
- Memorize a speech
- Memorize the Bible
- Memorize lines
- Memorize Scripture
At the end of this article is a Javascript tool that makes it easy to implement this method. If you are reading the RSS or Email version, the tool may not show up.
Synapses and Neurons and How to Memorize
In the simplified model of the brain in this discussion, we’ll be looking at neurons and synapses. Neurons are parts of the brain that can send and receive electrical signals. Synapses are the paths between neurons.
When you remember something neurons fire signals down particular synapse pathways to other neurons which in turn fire signals to other neurons. The particular sequence represents a memory. In fact, scientists have been able to make people “re live” experiences from the past by poking around in their brain with an electric probe and starting this interaction.
Strong Pathways
Synapses appear to exhibit plasticity. The strength of the signal they convey is determined by use. The more a particular synapse is used, the stronger the signal it conveys.
For example, consider remembering your home telephone number. Since this is a number you use on a regular basis it probably comes very easily to mind. When you try to recall the number some neurons fire of a signal down some synapses that carry a very strong signal to other neurons which do the same thing. The number comes with very little effort.
Now consider a number that you will have trouble remembering. Lets say your driver’s license number. For most people an attempt to recall this number will cause neurons to fire down very weak synapses. If you are like me, the signal is so weak that it will probably not create the necessary chain reaction to recall the number. In fact all I get is a vague impression that the first letter is an S or E. To improve your memory of this number it is necessary to fire a signal down the synapses that will trigger this memory.
How to Memorize – Practice Recalling not Repeating
This is the crucial concept of any type of memorization. The act of reading something you want to memorize fires different connections than the act of recalling. This is how you learn to memorize–your practice recalling, not repeating. This means that simply reading a particular piece of text over and over again is going to be the long road to memorization. You need to let your brain practice recalling the data so it can strengthen the same pathways that will fire when you need to remember the information later on. You can’t practice recalling until the information is at least partially contained in your short term memory.
Now lets look at coming up with a method for memorizing text using our understanding of how the brain works. So lets say we are trying to memorize the Gettysburg Address by Lincoln.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
The 278 word speech is not a particularly long oration, but it will work for our demonstration purposes. Our goal is to create a method that will force our brain to practice recalling the speech–even before we have it fully memorized. So first of all we need to get it into our mind so our brain has it–even if we can’t recall it. Here are a few methods that will work:
- Read through it aloud.
- Copy the text by hand.
- Read through the text and create a short outline.
- Have someone else read it to you.
There are other methods as well, just do something to get a general familiarity with the piece. Now we need to come up with a method to give our brain, just enough information to recall the original text without simply reading the original.
F s a s y a o f b f o t c, a n n, c i L, a d t t p t a m a c e.
N w a e i a g c w, t w t n, o a n s c a s d, c l e. W a m o a g b-f o t w. W h c t d a p o t f, a a f r p f t w h g t l t t n m l. I i a f a p t w s d t.
B, i a l s, w c n d — w c n c — w c n h — t g. T b m, l a d, w s h, h c i, f a o p p t a o d. T w w l n, n l r w w s h, b i c n f w t d h. I i f u t l, r, t b d h t t u w w t w f h h t f s n a. I i r f u t b h d t t g t r b u — t f t h d w t i d t t c f w t g t l f m o d — t w h h r t t d s n h d i v — t t n, u G, s h a n b o f — a t g o t p, b t p, f t p, s n p f t e.
What we’ve done is taken the first letter of each word. Now try to recite the speech while looking at the text above. You’ll probably get part way into it and get confused. Backup a few letters and look beyond the letter you are struggling with to see if you can figure it out. Remember you are trying to help your brain find the right connections. If you have to consult the original, make note of what confused you and start over.
I have found this method to be much more productive for memorizing verbatim text than just about anything else. I used it extensively in school when I was trying to find how to memorize scripture quickly. It will help improve your memory by giving you a way to practice. However, keep in mind that it is simply one method. When you need to memorize something, think about how to help your brain practice recalling the information–not merely reading it over and over again. Your goal is to quickly get the information into your short term memory so you can start practicing the recall process and move the information into long term memory.
Below is a tool to help you produce first letter text as shown above. Simply paste the original text in the top box and hit the button. All the letters other than the first one of each word will be stripped out and placed in the bottom box. You can then copy this into a document for printing.
not a very effective method for learning the v for vendetta speech.
-B o t m a o n, p m t, i l o t m c s, t s t c o t d p. V! I v h v v, c v a b v a v b t v o f. T v, n m v o v, i a v o t “v p” n v, v. H, t v v o a b v s v, a h v t v t v a v v, v g v a v t v v a v v o v.
T o v i v; a v, h a a v n i v, f t v a v o s s o d v t v a t v.
V t v o v v m v, s l m s a t i’s m v g h t m y a y m c m V.
That’s why Mark made it plain that first letter text is ONE method. There are many more, and he has helpfully made a few suggestions in the narrative of his article.
It is up to you to select one or more method that is best for you (and the Vendetta speech)
It is an *incredibly* effective method to memorize that speech. You just have to devote a little time to it. For a text that size maybe 1-2 hours per session, maybe a little more and then keep going back to it every day, each time it will be easier, until you don’t even need the aid anymore. Print it out on a page with the full text up top and the shortened text below and as you go mark the places where you make a mistake with a pen. That will remind you of where you keep missing a word or two. Memorize it one line at a time and only move onto the next line once you’ve got the first line down. It can totally be done. I’ve memorized MUCH longer texts using it, like most of the NY Penal Law and the content of the New York bar exam.
this is the most difficult method i have seen try to use to learn medical study .
Guys, it’s supposed to be a joke, because the speech is primarily alliteration.. ;)
That’ll be effective when you stay focused and concentrated.
It’s an advanced way of memorization.
Very interesting method for verbatim text. I wonder if you couldn’t start by getting rid of the vowels first or scrambling the letters except for the first and last, before moving on to just having the first letter. Perhaps you could progressively eliminate data until you got to that point?
That is an idea. I thought about some type of system that would gradually leave out letters until you get to just the first letter and then start removing those and replacing them with spaces as well. However, my experience has been that if you read over two or three sentences a few times and then switch to the first letter method, you’ll have it memorized very quickly so I’m not sure if you will gain anything over a slower approach. You don’t want to spend more time on fiddling with your tool than you do on actually using it to memorize….still it is an interesting idea.
IT IS AMAZING YEAH AS A STUDENT I REALLY GET STRESSES TO MY STUDIES BUT THEN I USE THIS IT MAKES MY STUDIES EASY.
I have to thank you for this application. I would not have passed the New York and New Jersey bar exams without industrial use of this method (I memorized all of the subject areas of law using it, that’s over 17 separate outlines for one test). You really literally saved my life. Please never let this site go down, as a lawyer I memorize almost every important piece of law I need verbatim using your application.
I am currently using it to memorize the laws of Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico bar exam. I can’t wait to recite the Puerto Rico code verbatim to my clients or in court >:D
Also, awesome side-note, in Spanish it weirdly highlights all of the words that have accents (they are left in)! So the word “deberá” is shortened to “dá” instead of “d”. That’s an amazingly useful glitch. It should dramatically improve my spelling on the test :-) since it will force me to remember the words that have accents. Anyway bravo, you should put this on the App store for money and also make a native desktop version for it. I’d buy it and keep it forever lol.
“I would not have passed the New York and New Jersey bar exams without industrial use of this method (I memorized all of the subject areas of law using it, that’s over 17 separate outlines for one test). You really literally saved my life.”
By “literally”, you mean that you were going to be killed if you had not passed those exams? Perhaps you mean this figuratively or metaphorically (i.e. the exact opposite of “literally”)?
Well English can be a confusing language Oisín, especially if you’re not very familiar with it, so I will try to clear this up for you:
The word “life” doesn’t just refer to biological life, as in I would have been dead had I not passed the bar. Most words have multiple meanings that vary by context.
According to the Meriam Webster dictionary, life can also mean “the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual”. Now, you are probably of at least average intelligence… I guess… well… maybe. Let’s say there is a slight possibility that you are a person of average intelligence, since you seem to know how to write in English with somewhat decent punctuation. Therefore, you probably know that failing the bar exam would entail some consequences, or at least like any person of average intelligence you should be able to guess that there could be such consequences.
Had I failed the bar, it would have meant 4 stressful months of waiting for the results, then finding out that I had failed, and another 3 months before I could have taken the bar exam again in February of the next year. I started working at a firm after the bar exam, I might have faced the real possibility of being fired (depends on the firm). Which would have meant that I would have had to stop working in the middle of my first year after graduating law school, stopped earning income, and faced the scorn of my peers for failing a required exam (the results are public, so everyone in the legal community can find out if you passed). On top of that, taking the exam the second time would have meant another months long wait for results, and had I failed then, it would have meant ANOTHER giant wait to take the exam. Failing the bar exam can have a devastating effect on the career of a lawyer. Which could have seriously affected my physical and mental experiences. Not failing it, thanks to this site, saved me from having to go through that. Therefore, this site literally saved my life (from sucking).
Furthermore, let’s assume that failing the bar exam would have led me into a massive depression, and this had resulted in a desire to kill myself. Lawyers and law students can face incredible pressure to perform, so these things are not uncommon. Perhaps there is a history of depression in some members of my family. And with the economy the way it is, and all the money we’ve thrown into a legal education, it’s a highly plausible outcome. Certain things in life can be pretty devastating emotionally. And in the legal profession, there are very few second chances. Fail to get into a decent school, fail to do well in that school, fail to pass the bar, and you can bet that you’re going to have a very difficult time repairing your career. So in that sense, my life could have also been terminated.
Therefore my saying that this method “saved my life” is correct for at least two meanings of the world life. I’m not going to write a dissertation here about how it might be correct for even more meanings, because that would just be beating a dead horse.
I’m glad I could clear that up for you. If you are confused about the proper use of other English words or expressions, feel free to send me more questions. I know English can be a hard language to understand for some people. I don’t judge.
For additional reading, I suggest you look up the terms “hyperbole” and “context.” You might not be familiar with the usage of hyperbole in the English language either. Also look up “sarcasm” and “irony.”
Have a nice day.
“Furthermore, let’s assume that failing the bar exam would have led me into a massive depression, and this had resulted in a desire to kill myself.”
…
“Fail to get into a decent school, fail to do well in that school, fail to pass the bar, and you can bet that you’re going to have a very difficult time repairing your career. So in that sense, my life could have also been terminated.”
William, If this were a cheesy TV courtroom drama, my lawyer would at both of these points interject with something like “Objection! Speculation, your honour”. I don’t know if that happens in real life; perhaps you can shed light on that.
My point – which was genuinely made without any assumption of idiocy or poor English skills on your part, since it’s a common error – was simply that by using the word “literally” before “saved my life”, you accidentally indicated that you physically would have died had you not passed the bar exam.
No amount of ad hominem attacks on my intelligence or English language ability, nor drawn out hypothetical scenarios change that fact. Rather than bitterly insulting me, wouldn’t it be more productive to simply accept the correction and move on, very slightly wiser?
BTW I’m glad that you “made it”, after many years of hard work. I myself have suffered at the hands of a long, drawn out PhD which may or may not end successfully soon, with only my own lack of discipline and focus to blame. However, I don’t insult the intelligence and language skills of everybody I come across simply because I’ve been poor and struggling since starting as an undergrad 9 years ago.
I’d encourage you to re-read your entire comment from a neutral perspective and ask yourself whether it was really warranted or appropriate.
You are still wrong and failed to address all of my points. But it’s ok if you can’t figure out counter arguments and choose to focus on straw men, it only helps prove I’m right.
I will restate a few of the arguments you did not address and counter your silly last comment:
(1) My original comment was valid as hyperbole, it is not incorrect for me to use “literally” if any reasonable person could see that I was exaggerating. You literally don’t understand that hyperbole is a valid rhetorical device in the English language (and I don’t mean that last sentence as hyperbole). Being an unreasonable person doesn’t make you right about grammar.
(2) You also did not address the argument that this website “literally saved my life from sucking” (where I used one of the other meanings for the word “life” and provided a reference).
(3) A great deal of that was not “speculation”, I’ve led an incredibly difficult life and without describing every detail of my personal life, many of those scenarios (and far worse) have applied to me far more directly than you think (I merely implied that they were speculative examples). So again, you are wrong by stating that I am providing merely speculative arguments, I LIVED through those examples. Prove that any of those things didn’t happen to me. Prove that my life wasn’t in danger. Using this technique literally “literally” saved my biological life. Literally.
(4) Furthermore, objection overruled, speculative arguments are allowed if they plausibly make my use of the word literally valid in at least some cases (which would make you wrong and me right). This isn’t court, the Federal Rules of Evidence don’t apply.
I suggest you either re-read my comment and refute all of my arguments or concede that you were literally wrong to correct me. You’ve lost in the eyes of the internet court. PHD or not, you were not right to correct me.
Next time you correct someone, try to be sure that you know what you’re talking about. Or better yet, don’t correct people, it’s really rude and most people won’t thank you for it, especially if you’re correction is wrong.
Pardon that I replied to this comment rather than your last one, but the website won’t allow me to reply to the last one for some reason.
“I suggest you either re-read my comment and refute all of my arguments or concede that you were literally wrong to correct me.”
Oh, the old “death by 1,000 papercuts”. Good one. I’m honestly not sure why you think I need to “prove” to you that your usage of the word was incorrect. If you don’t agree, fine, smarter men than us have differed over even more trivial things.
I do not accept your suggestion that the use of hyperbole somehow cancels out the wrong usage of “literally”, unless your argument is simply that obvious hyperbole means it’s okay to misuse the term because everybody will figure it out. In which case, sure – I never suggested that people would actually fail to understand you – simply that you used the word “literally” but meant exactly its opposite, “figuratively”.
“You’ve lost in the eyes of the internet court. PHD or not, you were not right to correct me.”
For a lawyer, you have a funny definition of what a court is. It most certainly is not “the one person with whom I’m arguing over a trivial issue”.
“Next time you correct someone, try to be sure that you know what you’re talking about. Or better yet, don’t correct people, it’s really rude and most people won’t thank you for it, especially if you’re correction is wrong.”
No, I absolutely do not agree that it is rude to correct people.
If I make a basic error and someone corrects it, then I’m happy to learn something. If I do not agree with the correction, then we discuss it and move on, hopefully both having gained a new perspective.
Either way, I don’t start raging and accusing the other party of being stupid or unable to speak English properly, as you accused me.
Again, I urge you to re-read your comments and ask whether your aggressive tone and response were appropriate.
So according to you:
1. The word “literally” can never be used in a figurative sense in the English language, ever?
2. Or are you saying that everyone who writes something figurative or hyperbolic is making a mistake by not usig the words in their literal sense *gasp!* and should be corrected?
3. That I should have said “this website figuratively saved my life”? (That doesn’t sound like stupid way to phrase what I wanted to say to you?).
4. That even if my statement was meant literally, I still used the word “literally” incorrectly? (Explain that to me, please. I don’t have your PHD mastery over logic…).
I admit I was a bit harsh, but in my defense you seem like a sheltered, pompous, arrogant jerk who thinks he knows it all (even when you’re wrong) and I don’t feel too bad about what I wrote. Also, you’re stupid.
William:
“So according to you:
1. The word “literally” can never be used in a figurative sense in the English language, ever?”
2. Or are you saying that everyone who writes something figurative or hyperbolic is making a mistake by not usig the words in their literal sense *gasp!* and should be corrected?”
What, not using the word “literally” in its literal sense? You are free to use any word for any purpose you like, but of course people are also free to point out when you’ve used the wrong word for the wrong purpose.
Note how I did not insult you in my original post – in fact I didn’t even “correct” you; I simply _asked_ if what you meant was “figuratively”, which is the exact opposite of “literally”.
You responded to this question in an incredibly immature fashion, insulting my intelligence and language skills.
“3. That I should have said “this website figuratively saved my life”? (That doesn’t sound like stupid way to phrase what I wanted to say to you?).”
No. You can say what you like, but I would have just left out the word “literally”. It has no more meaning than saying “this website fizzlepoppingly saved my life”.
“4. That even if my statement was meant literally, I still used the word “literally” incorrectly? (Explain that to me, please. I don’t have your PHD mastery over logic…).”
But it was obvious that the statement was _not_ meant literally. When you try to think of life-threatening situations, a bar exam does not come to mind. Since your original comment made no reference to any context which would have hinted that there was any mortal danger involved in not passing your bar exam, the reader assumes with near-certainty that your life was NOT literally saved.
And that assumption would be correct, since you have admitted that you used it as what you call hyperbole (a.k.a. wrong).
“I admit I was a bit harsh, but in my defense you seem like a sheltered, pompous, arrogant jerk who thinks he knows it all (even when you’re wrong) and I don’t feel too bad about what I wrote. Also, you’re stupid.”
What makes you think I’m stupid? How do you expect to make it as a lawyer if your response to someone who politely disagrees with you is a tirade of insults? You will not be taken seriously in court.
You say that like it’s a settled thing. However, this literally/figuratively thing is still a controversial debate. The use of literally in hyperbole dates back hundreds of years and a lot of great writers have used it. Half of the dictionaries have examples of its use in hyperbole. The most you could accurately say is that some people think literally shouldn’t be used in hyperbole. But it’s not an established rule or anything. You can’t just say someone is wrong to use it like it’s a fact. Also, using figuratively would undermine the hyperbole, so it’s a bad suggestion.
The literally/figuratively thing has kinda been settled with the Oxford dictionary changing the definition of the work ‘literally’ to include expressive uses such as “I’d literally have died if ken seen me with those granny pants on!”
“What makes you think I’m stupid?”
Strict adherence to an arbitrary “rule” that is really just a pet peeve of yours and not an established rule.
Expectation that others adhere to your arbitrary rule.
Publicly correcting others when they violate your rule.
Insistence on a violation of said rule even in a case where there is no violation.
Inability to take a figurative, sarcastic, metaphorical or hyperbolic statement in anything but a literal sense.
Inability to see that condescendingly correcting people in public might not be taken graciously.
Inability to put yourself in others’ shoes.
It’s like talking to an improperly programmed robot.
Is your PHD in computer science by any chance?
“And when the middle of the afternoon came, from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth.” ~Mark Twain.
“…the Gloria in that being to his mind the acme of first class music as such, literally knocking everything else into a cocked hat.” ~James Joyce.
“He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room.” ~F. Scott Fitzgerald.
“The land literally flowed with milk and honey on such occasions, for the lads were not required to sit at table, but allowed to partake of refreshment as they liked freedom being the sauce best beloved by the boyish soul.” ~Louisa May Alcott.
I’d rather be in their company if you don’t mind.
Hey, you two guys: your back-and-forth is hilarious, but you both really need to chill out. And you’re making aspiring lawyers and PhD candidates look like anal retentive arseholes, both literally and figuratively.
Welcome to the internet..
Have anybody used above method for memorizing quran ??
* I figured out why I could not see older comments; I did not realize I was looking at the bottom of ‘trackback’ comments section. And when I scrolled up, I could see the other comments through today.
Montalvo and Oisin please allow me to assist in your literal/figurative/hyperbolic, egomaniacal, “I’m a lawyer” “I’m in pursuit of a PHD” ridiculous B.S.
I came upon this site while searching for a decent memorization tool to help me recite a wonderful speech I’d recently written for my daughter’s wedding sans paper. I literally wasted entirely too much time reading your back and forth. I can never get those precious few minutes back. Ever. You both are tools. (Here I use the word “tool” figuratively. I’ll save you some time; You’re both idiots) You actually spent time arguing with one another over quite possibly the lamest topic I’ve EVER witnessed two human beings argue over. And now I’ve felt compelled to inform you of just how ridiculous your B.S. is! I’ve actually lost I.Q. points, been sucked in, and joined the circus! I literally would knee-cap both of you if I were unlucky enough to cross paths with you. You’ll indubitably inquire about my profession, so I’ll once again save us all some time here. I’m an enforcer for a large book-making operation run out of Manhattan. I obviously have no PHD, nor will I ever find myself preparing for the bar here in our wonderful Empire State. I do have the pleasure of dealing with the likes of both lawyers and other “I’m smarter than the majority of the population” types on a daily basis. You all cry and beg the same way. And while you struggle with student loan payments, my income will always literally be far greater than either of yours. For the love of all that is good and pure in this world, please immediately stop commenting on anything on the internet. EVER AGAIN.
SERIOUSLY.
Mike,
I used your Verbatim Converter to help me memorize the book of Ephesians in the KJV. I started to make a similar document for the Greek, but that proved to be such a daunting task that I never finished it. I may someday for I would like to memorize the Greek after finishing the English.
http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/ephesians_verbatim.pdf
I included enough information from your website to make it a standalone document. I included a link to your article and the Verbatim Converter.
Thanks a million for making the information and Converter available.
Don Potter
I can’t wait to test this Method. Hopefully it works for Lyrics and Raps too. I’ve started with writing Songs and havin a lot of Problem to memorize them, trying repeating several times over and over again. Sucks a lot when the Results doesn’t come out as You expect it to.
Very effective for memorizing school material. My class test are fill in the blank, short answer and essay and if you test yourself by writing it down afterwards it makes test taking for this class a piece of cake.
” If you are like me, the signal is so week . ”
Gee when i went to school, I seem to recall (from memory) that in this context week was spelt WEAK
Maybe I have a broken synapse.
You are absolutely correct. Thanks for catching that. I’ve changed it.
God i hate people. STFU and stop being so snotty.
I have a habit of noticing errors writing from my work as an editor, but when i correct someone, I don’t feel the need to start with, ” Well when i was in school, it was spelled WEAK not week.”
What i heard when i read that- was “When i was school, I was a complete douchebag and my douchebaggery has served me well in my adult life.”
When i was in school- I made fun of u.
Mark- this is fantastic, and I LOVE finding things like this that will help me study for tests. I barely went to highschool, and now that i’m in college I’ve since settled down but never learned how to effectively learn.
Now as a junior, I have a 4.0 and a full scholarship, but I still have no idea how to effectively learn,. Not to mention, I have recently figured out that I am mildly dyslexic. This makes learning very difficult.. As we speak, I’m studying (aka procrastinating) for finals, and I’m stressing out! My classes are now seriously challenging, and If I don’t pull a ‘hail mary’ i’m going to lose my 4.0. ;(
Though none of my tests will require me to remember things verbatim, I hope I can use this somehow to absorb the material.
Thanks for writing this!
I don’t think i’ve ever left a comment for anything i’ve read, but bc i should be studying right now, I felt compelled to finally address the maddness; ppl need to stop commenting on articles, and turn the topic into a debate about who is the bigger douchebag. How about we, as assholes behind a computer screen (i don’t discount myself here) start being positive, and stop fighting with each other about bs. Lets share helpful and useful information!
If not, future generations are gonna be such douchebags that the fuking universe is going to explode!
Think of the children!!
Wow, I love comments on articles! Often learn a lot more about a topic than the article provided, as well as seeing a wide variety of opinions and world-views. And nit-picking debates between wanna-be lawyers and PhD’ers can be priceless!
totally agree! I also tend to notice errors only because I read a lot (always have)but don’t usually make corrections unless asked to. On the rare occasion that I do make an unsolicited suggestion, I wouldn’t dream of doing it in such a rude, arrogant way. because first of all, who cares?second, what a waste of time. third, nobody is going to look at that and think, “wow, he is so smart and funny”. no, they think, “what a conceited asshole”
The comment didn’t deserve so much as a simple acknowledgement, I probably wouldn’t have. but by being so gracious and polite, Mark made him look like even more of an asshole.
I memorize verses for Bible quizzing, and I have found that a very effective way to memorize verses is to:
1. Read verse out loud 5 times.
2. Write verse one time.
3. Read verse out loud 5 more times.
4. Write verse one more time.
5. Read verse out loud one more time.
6. Quote verse 5 times by memory.
7. Read verse once to make sure I have not been quoting any words incorrectly.
8. Quote verse 5 more times by memory.
Every day, quote EVERYTHING you have memorized once (i usually take a break on Sunday). Continually quoting everyday will, like the article said, strengthen your brain’s ability to recall information more efficiently. At quizzing events, you can ALWAYS tell who’s been practicing hard and who hasn’t. Quoting every day makes a huge difference! I was able to quote an entire passage one year (180 verses) in 20 – 30 min. So you can’t use the excuse that you “don’t have time.” You can find time. :)
This is very helpful,but HOW exactly am i supposed to memorize,do i write all the first letter down and and memorize if that is the process then it is going to taking me a very long time to memorize all my English,science,social studies,Nepali note which i must say r very thick.My memory is very weak as well i keep on forgetting what i have memorized within 4 days of time….i am very flustered.Help me……
I’ve always had difficulty memorizing scripture. This method has helped me be successful. So simple yet do effective. I use a flashcard app on my phone called “Flashcards”. I like to use your converter on my phone so I can cut and paste it into the flashcard. . It’s a little cumbersome. I’d love to have the converter as an app. Just a suggestion. Thanks so much.
This is a very effective method, I had to memorize the Gettysburg Address and this helped me do it in like 1 or 2 hours when it would have taken me a full week. I will use this method on other thing i have to memorize too. THANKS ALOT!!!!!!!!!
Loved this. I was just going through it quickly and just gleaned over the first part of the text. Then I found myself on something that said it was a tool to help me remember. When I looked at it, it took a split second and I was reciting the entire beginning of the text.
Impressive! I’m a believer!
Here are my two cents on memorizing text, which I’ve been trying out for learning sentences in several foreign languages: learn the last word or phrase first, and work backwards to the beginning of the sentence. Not sure why it works better than starting at the beginning of the sentence, but it does. Same goes for learning passages: start with the last sentence and work to the beginning. Some musicians learn their musical scores this way. Works for me.
I have memorized using first letters for years, but have been looking for a tool to make the stripping process efficient. This is it! . . . I think. I was using it for Bible texts and was disappointed to find that it strips off the ones place out of verse numbers, leaving only the tens and/or hundreds digits. . . . Any chance a fix for that will occur in a future development?
Nevertheless, thanks!
I enjoyed the argument above, except for one pet hate, the usage of your/you’re as used by William above.
“I know English can be a hard language to understand for some people. I don’t judge.”
This is true, and as a native English speaker, from Ireland, we make allowances.
“Next time you correct someone, try to be sure that you know what you’re talking about. Or better yet, don’t correct people, it’s really rude and most people won’t thank you for it, especially if you’re correction is wrong”
You’re is used twice in this sentence, correctly the first time.
You are can be shortened to “You’re”, the possession of an object is usually written as “your”
From the references above I take it that the lawyer “William” refers to Puerto Rico and may not be a native English speaker, I also take it that Oisin is Irish, and if not a native English speaker, has a very good grasp of English. (Irish Gaelic is the language of Ireland, but not as widely used as English).
“I’ll save you some time; You’re both idiots”
This lad knows the difference!
Absolutely brilliant. You helped me a lot by sharing this method. I actually memorized 2 pages of scrambled scientific text in just 4 hours (which is a personal record). This method is awesome. Thanks!
Very interesting and useful method. I was well familiar with the acronyms concept . However this is approach , gives a real power to this memorization technique.
Thanks for the tool, I have been using this technique as an educator for over 20 years now but had to copy, paste, and delete. For large passages I leave the 4 letter words and eventually tool it down to first letter onlyonly.
This is fantastic! Is there a way to work with this tool offline?
My apologies – I now see that you recommended we review another users’ program for this, which I just did. I have a Mac, so this doesn’t quite address my needs, but as long as I’m online, I’ll be on this site! Thanks again.
Good strategy, though nowawayds you can copy and paste the text onto “Google Translate” (in English) and have their built in audio cpu read it aloud for you.
Amazing! I forgot that I had a biology test tomorrow and I learned the whole text in 1 hour, normally would have taken me days. Thank you so much!
I’m using Verbatim for Bible memorization pocket cards in Church, for an Addiction Recovery Ministry, and for Seniors. To pick up on your comment about using other methods, too, I point out four formats: (1) as is from your Bible; (2) on a card with a short phrase on each line; (3) usually two words in bold on each line, and (4) the Verbatim code at the end. Literally hundreds are using it. Verbatim is the method of choice for long passages.
I’m in law school, second year, and I am having a terrible time remembering legal definitions verbatim – and unfortunately, some professors require it and take off if you miss even a word. I’ve always learned by understanding general concepts and applying them to particular facts (geometry, for example). However, when I was a child, I could easily memorize poetry – and still remember the poems today. I should mention that I am an ‘older’ student. Any suggestions would be very welcome. I don’t want to fail ‘for want of a nail.’
Thanks.
Have you tried using the first letter method explained in this post?
I am a professional actor, and this is how most of us memorize our lines. Foolproof method.
Could this work with math / science theorems and definitions?
Possibly, but I think those things are easier to memorize by trying to deeply understand them rather than quoting them word for word.
Yes, as my science teacher says if you really can’t understand it you just need to learn the definitions/equations by heart.
So far it’s effective but one problem. I’m not finding a way as to how to memorize sequentially the first letters we extracted of each word from the speech to recall the sentence and words later? How to exactly memorize those extracted first letters in sequence?????? Please answer asap. I’m having exam soon. Lol thanks in advance. Much appreciate the method.
You still have to spend time practicing. Try reading a sentence of the full version and then see if you can recite it by looking at the first letter version.
Hi,
Would it be possible to post the source code of the script that was used for this? In any case, thanks for this tool. This tool (me) will use it. If I have committed any grammar errors, fire away.
Never mind. I see it’s JavaScript code. Thanks for this page.
I have to memorize a 26 page presentation verbatim for my work in order to advance. Will this be able to help me?
If you are willing to work hard at it, you’ll probably find it beneficial. What happened when you tried to use this method to memorize the 26 pages?
I have always had difficulty memorizing scripture. This method has helped me be successful. Therefore, simple yet do effective. I use a flashcard app on my phone called “Flashcards”. I like to use your converter on my phone so I can cut and paste it into the flashcard. . It is a little cumbersome. I would love to have the converter as an app. Just a suggestion. Thanks very much.
Thanks for the suggestion. Would it be more useful to have the converter on the phone or the converter on the desktop with a way to view the converted text on your phone?
Really interested article, Mark. Basically the longest acronym ever, haha.
Yes. Pretty much.
I hope to enter the police academy, and I will have to learn a bunch of legal codes, numbers, and memorize statutes and mission statements. SCARY!
The thing is, I will have to learn it one day, and then be able to recite it the next day verbally upon command from my drill instructors. It is a “stress academy” so I want to have as many tricks as possible to keep up with all of the heavy reading and memorization.
How would you recommend modifying your strategy for this type of scenario? (1) A lot of information. (2) The need to verbally recall the information within a short period of time.
Thank you!
If you need to repeat a mission statement verbatim, this is a good way to memorize it. If you need to remember a statute or legal code, but you don’t need to know it verbatim (word for word) flashcards are probably a better way to drill. Check out AnkiApp if you want an electronic solution.