Tools and Techniques for Improving your Memory? 40
An Anonymous Coward asks: "Like many of you, I'm a IT drone trying to complete various tech certifications. My question is simple: how do you manage to remember all this junk? A lot of it comes naturally to me, but remembering which commandline switch does what or remembering some obscure reference to a tool sometimes causes me to blank on a test. Instructor-led courses seem to be a very expensive, very general overview of material, which almost require you to buy your own study guides to get more complete details. After you leave said classroom, you don't remember most of the topic anyway (Dilbert's 'I summon the
vast power of Certification!' come to mind). So I ask the Slashdot crowd: what tools or memory techniques do you use to retain and remember the information you learn?"
Use it. (Score:3, Insightful)
Use it or loose it (Score:1)
A phrase we used to use a lot in my old job.
Re:Use it. (Score:1)
used to do that at school..then i didnt need to do it at university since theres less learning by rote there and more practical learning.
A few things (Score:3, Interesting)
1) Phosphatidyl Choline [google.com] is a precursor to acetyl choline a neurotransmitter associated with memory
2) I've used machines and programs (sadly none of which I can reference right now) that produce sound in stereo such that the left and right ears recieve offset signals and this is supposed to help the different sides of the brain communicate. I don't know what, if any, brain effect this has beyond a white noise that helps me concentrate with fewer distractions, but I find this technique to be so successful that the reason I can't reference a program right now is that I burned some of this noise onto a CD years ago and have been using it as needed ever since. The literature on the subject claims that different frequencies do different things and I find this to be true in my case, suggesting that there is more going on than simply white noise blocking out background. For example, one of the tracks on my CD is supposed to bring you down to a sleep like state. If I use this while trying to work I get very strong headaches. Not something I want to repeat over and over, but I've done it a few times to see if it was reproducable. It was.
3) Pressure. Most people don't think well under pressure. Don't fall into the downward spiral of getting pissed that you can't remember something. It will only make it harder to remember more stuff.
4) Concentration. 2 touches on this, but it's a fact that people who concentrate on one task (instead of reading
Re:A few things (Score:2)
the reason I can't reference a program right now is that I burned some of this noise onto a CD years ago and have been using it as needed ever since.
I, and I'm sure others here, would love more information on this. Perhaps even a link to the .wav of this magical CD for others to mirror... I'm assuming that mp3'ing it would just destroy the charasteristics.
I've never heard of this before but hell, I'm willing to give it a shot. :-)
Re:A few things (Score:2)
Re:A few things (Score:1)
On another note, has anyone tried SuperMemo [supermemo.com]? This is a software flashcard program. I like the concept behind it, and even bought the software. But the user interface is so horrible that I can't stand to use it. Are there any better alternatives?
Brainwave Programs (Score:2)
Brainwave Generator [bwgen.com] - Handy windows program with builtin presets to do all the things you mentioned. This is probably the program you used.
Cool Edit Pro [syntrillium.com] - This software has a Brain Synchronizer built in to allow you to create your own subliminal messages and brain synchronizer sounds [consciousdreaming.com].
You don't have to remember it all... (Score:2, Insightful)
At the start of a new project, you're usually at the bottom of the learning curve, now do you memorize all the new specfications there are about the project? No, you research them, understand them, and pool together the resources you will need to find information on that topic. I still open my first year C programming book at least a few times a month, and looking at a man page to get some info on a command line switch is a very common occurence also. Engineering specs. for whatever project I'm working on are always close at hand too. A search on the internet to verify and find out more info on a topic also very common. I think about all the classes I took in college and what percentage of that actual knowledge I use on a daily basis and its probably around 10-20%. Now if I look at all the stuff I've learned since then, enormous. And the more you learn, the more you learn how much more there is to learn. (sorry for all the cliche-like lines, but they're really true)
So basically, what I'm trying to say here, is take the stuff you learn in class as a seed, and then use it to grow from, you don't have to retain all that information, just know that you can find it if you need it at some point.
Hope that helps...
KidA
Re:You don't have to remember it all... (Score:2)
Re:You don't have to remember it all... (Score:2)
I think the teachers realize that for most students there is a choice: a. learn the underlying material, or b. memorize the formulas
and they would rather discourage the latter option
Re:You don't have to remember it all... (Score:1)
Just my $0.02. For all I know, I'm wrong about the tests...
Re:You don't have to remember it all... (Score:1)
The hard way to improve your memory (Score:4, Funny)
Remembering letters (Score:1)
I'd like to add these two suggestions to what the others said:
Re:Remembering letters (Score:1)
Easy method (Score:1)
Very Simple (Score:1)
Re:Very Simple (Score:2)
The TAB key is your friend... (Score:2)
The only sure-fire method to remembering a certain command is use. I bet no one here has forgotten about ls (to the point that I always end up typing it in DOS too) but some of the other obscure commands that you might use once in a blue moon are easily forgotten so you just need to use them more.
Disclaimer: TAB completion doesn't work in all shells so YMMV.
For Windows 2000 users out there, never fear. You too can have TAB completion with nothing more than a simple registry change [rojakpot.com].
Re:The TAB key is your friend... (Score:1)
am i the only one? (Score:2)
If you don't smoke pot, I still have a tip for you. Good people. Thats right, make sure you have at least a few genuinely supportive and happy people in your life. Your mind can do so much more if it's secure and at ease with your life. My 2 cents.
there are lots of memory techniques (Score:1)
Memory (Score:1)
Memorizing vs Learning (Score:2)
Those things are all available via reference. Reference books/tools(like `man`) are good things. Actually LEARNING how something works is always better than simply MEMORIZING how to do something specific.
f'rinstance, it's simple to tell someone that you need to chmod 755 a CGI script to get it to work right, but the real value is in learning what those three numbers actually mean, why 7s and 5s and how to apply the concept of permissions to things other than CGI.
I know I didn't really answer your question.. just expressing a beef I have about (pseudo-)education.
Re:Memorizing vs Learning (Score:2)
Don't have any patience with interviewers who expect you to be able to regurgitate technical minutae when you're looking for a job, either. They generally don't understand the really important things and aren't much fun to work for. The ones who ask you about the broader applications of the technology are the ones you want to impress, IMHO.
Ditch the PDA (Score:2)
Rote memorization... Drill, repeat (Score:1)
It worked for you when (if?) you had to memorize multiplication tables. Flashcards really help learning definitions.
Once you know what something is, you've gotta know what it does. I'm a chemist, so once I could recognize a reaction (on flashcards), I made myself draw out the mechanism and list what it was used for. My brother even worte a simple program for me, so I had to select the right series of radio buttons showing the steps of the mechanism.
Using the info, either by actually employing it or by repeating it in drills, really helps too.
Good luck in your certification studying.
Mind maps ? (Score:1)
I'm surprised no one has mentioned mind maps yet.
Does anyone out there actually use them? I have a friend who uses them religiously and he's quite well known for amazing people with the amount of subject detail he's able to repeat on request.
Re:Mind maps ? (Score:2)
practice, and relations (Score:1)
1. Rote memorization: drill yourself on command names and functions. Practice matching the command name with the definition, and vice versa. Do this often so it sticks.
2. Frequent use: incorporate what you are learning into your daily work as much as you can. This will make you more fluent in what you are learning, and give concrete demonstrations of behavior. Of course, we are also more likely to remember things we use often.
3. (Perhaps most important) Associations and relations: trying to remember a bunch of discrete names and definitions isn't necessarily especially helpful, particularly when the amount of stuff you have to keep straight gets large. In doing the character memorization, I've found such relations as "looks like", "same character as another word", "doesn't look like", etc to be helpful. For command memorization you can expand this to include "behaves like", "does the opposite of", etc. Putting your knowledge in context can help with the times when you "blank out". Also, many command names and options are based around mnemonics, so trying to understand these can be helpful.
All this aside, the people who have commented that the ability to find information is much more important than the ability to spit back memorized stuff are absolutely correct. While it is obviously vital to have some baseline level of knowledge in your line of work, I am somewhat dubious about employers that emphasis certifications and knowledge of obscurities, rather than problem solving ability and the ability to learn new skills if necessary.
learn it (Score:1)
memorization for CERTIFICATION (Score:1)
1) Physiological: Get proper sleep diet and lifestyle as much as possible. Makes everything else easier. Drink plenty of water.
2) Mnemonics: I still remember mnemonics I used for things years ago, can't even recite the alphabet without hearing the alphabet song from kindergarten! To remember 802.x standard numbers for Network+ I used 802.3 = "Threethernet" (ethernet), 802.5 = "Five TOKEN RING" sung to 12 days of Christmas, etc... It's easy to see that the numbers in this example are arbitrary and have no "understanding based" way of associating to the subjects to which they correspond, which is why mnemonics are so helpful here. Making mnemonics funny, dirty or otherwise memorable will help you remember them.
3) Primacy/Recency effect: Study in short bursts, periodically interrupt your study for breaks. This is because you recall better what you studied at the beginning and end of your sessions.
4) Repetition: Use flashcards or software (I wrote my own) to drill on those things that are particulary hard to memorize. Actually making your own questions is harder than learning them once they are made, but this is good because...
5) Study actively: You will remember things better if you take your own notes. Write things down, ask questions, note down anything you don't know. Recite things outloud. Invloving sight(reading), touch(writing) and sound(reciting) increases your "neurological involvement" with the subject matter, which makes a huge difference in your ability to recall.
I can also recomend:
Audiowhiz [audiowhiz.com] makes cd's for specific tests. Listen during your commute. Their site seems to be down now, but do a search and you'll find them from other vendors.
A book called "The Einstein Factor" by Win Wenger, Richard Poe. Offers a bunch of novel, creative techniques, not just the same old junk that most memory books regurgitate. I can't guarantee all these will work for you (especially Photoreading), but they are worth a try.
also see nomis80's post which is dead on.
-"No, I don't want any pot. Can you score me some smart drugs?"