numbers and repeat them. This was a standard theory that was used in competitions that tested memory. However, it is now known that the figure is more than 450 numbers memorized and recalled.
There is no real limit to the areas of the encephalon, and by learning how to use it better, you can expand your life in a million different ways.
Here are some more myths about memory:
Myth: Memory cannot be improved by practicing and training. If anything, memory can only worsen as we age.
Truth: Although the synaptic memory in the brain may not improve, using techniques to increase the ability to learn and store memories will result in an improvement.
Myth: As we get older, our memory gets worse.
Truth: Memory does tend to decline slowly with aging. However, if your memory is trained, it will be more resilient, and your cognitive function may increase.
Myth: You can create everlasting memories that will never be forgotten.
Truth: Although we can learn things so well, forgetting them is almost impossible, each long-term memory does have a ‘shelf-life’
depending on how stable it is.
Myth: We don’t forget; we just misplace the information and have to dig it out.
Truth: While strong memories may last a very long time, there will always be some level of deterioration. It may take some effort to recall a memory that has been forgotten, and eventually, that memory will likely be permanently forgotten.
Myth: Memory is infinite.
Truth: Your brain can be overloaded with information, and to make new memories, you often lose some. There is a limit to how much your mind can store.
Myth: It’s better to learn new things before you go to sleep, so the information is processed during the night.
Truth: The best time to learn is in the early morning, after a good night’s sleep. The brain is more alert during this time, and attention is more focused.
Myth: Memory pills will boost your ability to learn, according to
numerous companies.
Truth: To date, there has been no memory pill that does what the companies claim. However, some drugs and supplements help indirectly because they help with your overall health. It’s important to remember that there is no magic pill for anything; you will always need to put some work and effort into whatever you want to achieve.
Scientists are working on developing a pill that will boost memory.
Still, because the medicine won’t be able to target specific types of memories, there will always be a side effect of all memories being enhanced for a while.
Myth: You can plan your learning while you are sleeping.
Truth: While it is a possibility that selected memories that are generated during sleep can be stored, it is practically impossible to control this process and create productive learning. Not only that, but it could affect your sleep, and as we know, sleep is vital for our body and head function.
Myth: The best brain waves for learning are alpha-waves.
Truth: Being in a state of relaxation is essential for learning, but this type of relaxation relates to being free of distractions, tiredness, and stress. Alpha-waves are active just before you go to sleep, so it is a different kind of relaxation altogether.
As you can see from above, there are numerous myths out there about reading and learning faster, and the majority are because people just don’t understand how the brain works. The mind is hugely complex, but once you know how the memory side of it works, you will see how
silly some of these myths are.
CHAPTER TWO
Read Faster And Never Forget It
History of Speed Reading
Humans are natural gatherers of information, and as the need for more knowledge increases, people want to gather that information much faster. Even the United States Air Force employed the methodology of reading more quickly by inventing the tachistoscope.
The tachistoscope displays a picture for a brief amount of time and then takes it away. The device was utilized in pilot training so they could identify the enemy faster.
After a bit of adjustment and experimenting, they determined that when they flashed four words at 1/500th of a second, the readers understood what they were seeing. By developing the tachistoscope, they changed how reading was seen. It was now known that people could read more than one word at a time.
During the late 1950s, learning this skill became very popular in the United States, primarily due to one woman. Evelyn Wood was the first to call it ‘speed reading,’ and she studied readers who were naturally fast to help her devise a methodology that was later taught. Her classes were taught in college throughout the country up until the late 1990s.
The Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics Institute was founded in Washington in 1959. It was alleged that some of the students could read up to 6,000 words per minute. The reading speed of Wood herself was estimated between 2,700 and 15,000 words per minute, depending on what material she was reading.
You may not be aware, but each year there is a World Championship Speed Reading Competition. Generally, those at the top of the leader board read between 1,000 to 2,000 words per minute. Their comprehension is measured at 50% or more. Anne Jones was the world champion six times, and she recorded a speed of 4,200 words per minute and 67% comprehension after she had previously been exposed to the material.
We all think we know what memory is, but how much do we understand about it? Do we know how memories are formed and stored in the brain? And why does our memory sometimes fail us?
Memory has been studied for ages by philosophers and scientists in the quest to discover how memories form and how they are organized and stored in the brain and have come up with the following conclusions.
The process of memory is rather complex, with the acquisition of information, storage of that information, and then the recall of the data. But, there are differences in types of memory.
Although the mind is excellent at storing memories, it’s not always perfect, and sometimes there are problems. These can range from minor nuisances, like walking into a room and forgetting why you went there, to the effect of serious diseases that can reduce the ability
