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Three Methods to Improve Your Memorization and Learning Ability, Starting Today

Summary

This episode of Developer Tea focuses on practical methods to improve learning and long-term memory retention. Host Jonathan Cottrell argues that traditional rote repetition is ineffective for long-term memory and introduces three research-backed techniques that anyone can implement immediately.

The first method is loci, also known as the memory palace technique. This involves creating or using a familiar mental location (like a childhood home) and placing pieces of information you want to memorize throughout that space. The technique leverages our strong emotional and spatial memory connections, explaining why memory athletes use it to memorize vast amounts of data like thousands of digits of pi.

The second method is the intentional recognition and creation of triggers. Our brains naturally use sensory cues (like smells or colors) to unlock associated memories. We can harness this by consciously linking new information to existing knowledge or models, or by studying in varied physical locations. Learning different chapters in different places, for example, anchors the information to those distinct contexts, making recall easier.

The third and final method is to ‘sleep on it.’ Memory consolidation—the process of transferring information from short-term to long-term storage—occurs during sleep and unconscious periods. Cramming is ineffective because it doesn’t allow time for this consolidation and for the brain to relate new information to existing knowledge. Spacing out study sessions and getting proper rest is crucial for building durable, relational long-term memory.

Recommendations

Concepts

  • Memory Palace (Method of Loci) — A memorization technique where you visualize a familiar place and place the items you need to remember within that mental location. Described as the most important and popular method used by memory athletes.
  • Memory Consolidation — The process by which short-term memories are stabilized into long-term memories, primarily occurring during sleep. The episode emphasizes that giving your brain time to consolidate through rest is critical for effective learning.

Tools

  • CodeShip — A sponsored continuous integration and delivery service mentioned in the mid-roll ad. It supports GitHub and Bitbucket projects and offers a free plan, with a discount code ‘developerT’ for 20% off premium plans.

Topic Timeline

  • 00:00:00 — Introduction to memory as a fundamental, learnable skill — Jonathan Cottrell introduces the episode’s topic: improving learning and long-term memory. He positions memorization as a skill that can be practiced, citing memory athletes as proof. He promises three simple methods applicable to learning programming languages or any new subject.
  • 00:02:09 — Method 1: Loci and the Memory Palace technique — The first method, loci, involves creating a ‘memory palace’—a real or imagined location where you place items you want to memorize. Using a familiar, emotionally-charged place from childhood makes it more effective because emotional memories are stronger. This technique is used by memory athletes to memorize vast sequences like digits of pi.
  • 00:04:22 — Method 2: Intentionally creating and recognizing triggers — The second method is to create intentional memory triggers. Our brains use sensory cues (smells, colors) to access stored information. We can build these triggers by linking new information to existing knowledge or models. A practical application is studying in varied locations, which anchors different pieces of information to different physical contexts for easier recall.
  • 00:08:38 — Method 3: Sleep and consolidation for long-term memory — The third method is to ‘sleep on it.’ Memory consolidation happens during sleep and unconscious periods, allowing the brain to relate new information to existing knowledge. Cramming is ineffective because it bypasses this necessary consolidation time. Spacing out study sessions and resting is essential for building relational long-term memory.
  • 00:10:38 — Conclusion and episode wrap-up — Jonathan concludes the episode by summarizing the three methods for improving learning. He encourages listeners to think about these ideas and discuss them with other developers. He then promotes subscription to the podcast via various apps and mentions the website developertea.com where other episodes are available.

Episode Info

  • Podcast: Developer Tea
  • Author: Jonathan Cutrell
  • Category: Technology Business Careers Society & Culture
  • Published: 2015-05-18T07:30:00Z
  • Duration: 00:11:36

References

Podcast Info

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hey everyone and welcome to Developer T. My name is Jonathan Cottrell and today I’m going

[00:00:04] to be talking about three simple methods to improve your learning and your long-term memory.

[00:00:15] Memory is fundamental to the learning process.

[00:00:18] If you are a beginner or if you are well seasoned as a programmer, you still need the skill

[00:00:27] of memory.

[00:00:28] Now, memorization is a skill that can be practiced and we know this because there are people

[00:00:34] who compete with their memory.

[00:00:36] They learn 2,000 digit numbers, for example.

[00:00:39] Now, if you watch an interview with these kinds of memory athletes, mental athletes

[00:00:45] is what they call themselves, they will talk about the concepts that I’m going to be talking

[00:00:50] about today and I’m going to give you three very simple things that you can do to improve

[00:00:55] your memory.

[00:00:56] There are three very simple things that you can do as you try to learn new things, whether

[00:01:01] it’s a new programming language or perhaps you’re trying to learn something completely

[00:01:05] unrelated to programming.

[00:01:07] These three methods are going to help you memorize more effectively.

[00:01:12] Our brains are powerful organic computers, basically, that hold massive amounts of information

[00:01:19] and they start when we are born and in fact, we have yet to determine exactly how much

[00:01:25] the human brain can hold in its long term memory.

[00:01:28] Now, we know that the short term memory is relatively bad at holding information and

[00:01:34] in fact, we are taught from a very young age that in order to memorize something, we have

[00:01:39] to repeat it over and over to try to burn it into our memory.

[00:01:44] But a lot of research has come out that says that this is completely ineffective, that

[00:01:49] our short term memory gives us an illusion of memorizing something, but for our long

[00:01:56] term memory, when we try to memorize something through repetition, it simply doesn’t work

[00:02:01] very well.

[00:02:02] So I’m going to give you three simple methods, as I said previously, to improve your learning

[00:02:07] and your long term memory.

[00:02:09] Number one is called loci and this is perhaps the most important and most popular method

[00:02:16] of memorizing a lot of information.

[00:02:19] For example, most memory athletes use this method and the method is very simple.

[00:02:26] You utilize this concept of taking a trip through a place that you have either been

[00:02:31] or that you have created in your mind, an imaginary what might be called a memory palace.

[00:02:37] You can Google memory palace and in fact, there is a ton of information available about

[00:02:43] memory palaces.

[00:02:45] The concept is simple.

[00:02:46] You create a location, a place that has architecture, that has a way of traveling through that place

[00:02:54] and then you place the pieces of whatever it is that you’re trying to memorize in that

[00:03:00] place.

[00:03:01] Now, if you want to memorize something, for example, 2000 digits of pi, you might place

[00:03:07] them throughout different rooms in that memory palace.

[00:03:12] One effective method is to remember a place that you were fond of as a child and place

[00:03:18] new things in that place that you are very familiar with from your childhood.

[00:03:24] This is because those memories that we have as children have had a long time to sit in

[00:03:30] our minds and we remember very specifically the things that are connected most closely

[00:03:37] to our emotions and our emotional memory is much stronger than our non-emotional memory.

[00:03:44] The things that we have emotions about, we remember more fondly and more strongly than

[00:03:49] the things that we don’t have emotions connected to.

[00:03:53] An easy proof of this is to think back to your childhood, perhaps to your grade school

[00:03:58] years and try to remember the people that you encountered that you did not have friendships

[00:04:04] with.

[00:04:05] Of course, you can remember the ones that you did have friendships with and perhaps

[00:04:09] you were exposed to both groups equally, but the ones that you had friendships with you

[00:04:16] remember more easily and that is because you have emotions connected to those people.

[00:04:22] The second simple method to improve your learning and your long-term memory is to intentionally

[00:04:29] recognize and create triggers.

[00:04:33] When we learn, we have different points in our brain that things are connected to.

[00:04:39] We uncover these points by remembering a particular thing about that point.

[00:04:45] For example, we experience this naturally when we encounter a particular smell that

[00:04:50] reminds us of our childhood home or perhaps a particular meal that we experienced.

[00:04:56] It is far easier to remember these single triggers than to create separate recall points

[00:05:02] for each of the things that we are trying to remember.

[00:05:05] This is, for example, why we all have different understandings and emotional evocations when

[00:05:11] we see a particular color.

[00:05:14] When you think about the color red, perhaps you also think about a stop sign or maybe

[00:05:19] a red dress.

[00:05:21] These kinds of things come to mind because our minds have a trigger point for the color

[00:05:26] red.

[00:05:28] If these trigger points happen naturally, for example, when you are exposed to a society

[00:05:33] that uses red as a symbol for stopping, then you probably will associate the color red

[00:05:39] for caution or for stopping.

[00:05:42] But we can also intentionally create these trigger points in our mind.

[00:05:47] In a previous episode, I mentioned using models in order to understand a particular thing.

[00:05:53] Our brain uses these models in order to point to larger volumes of information that are

[00:05:59] stored in our long-term memory.

[00:06:01] There’s some kind of sensory trigger that goes along with each of the models that we

[00:06:07] have in our minds.

[00:06:08] For example, seeing a cat, we don’t necessarily have to hear the word cat in order to trigger

[00:06:15] that model.

[00:06:17] Smelling something that smells like our childhood home, we don’t have to be told what that thing

[00:06:21] is or even understand what that thing is in order to immediately unlock some of those

[00:06:26] memories, some of those pieces that we have stored away in our long-term memory.

[00:06:32] So as you’re studying, as you are reading through a book or maybe watching a video,

[00:06:38] remember things about that video in relation to something that you already know.

[00:06:43] That thing that you already know or that you already understand can become your trigger.

[00:06:49] Another way that you can create a trigger is to actually learn in varied locations.

[00:06:54] This is studied to be true that if you learn in varied locations, the things that you learn

[00:07:00] in those different locations can be recalled by thinking about that location.

[00:07:06] For example, if you’re studying for a test, you might study one chapter in one coffee

[00:07:11] shop and then study the second chapter at home and maybe the third chapter at a friend’s

[00:07:17] house.

[00:07:18] This is effectively the same thing as placing those different memories in your mind in different

[00:07:24] places that you have already experienced being in, but instead of actually going through

[00:07:30] the process of placing those in your imagination, you are doing the learning in those places

[00:07:36] and it provides you the ability to anchor those different pieces of information, those

[00:07:42] three chapters to those three separate places.

[00:07:45] I’m going to take a quick break to hear from our sponsor and then we’ll talk about the

[00:07:49] third simple method to improve your learning and long-term memory.

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[00:08:16] Should you decide to go with a premium plan, you can save 20% off of any plan for the next

[00:08:21] three months by using the code developerT.

[00:08:25] That code will be in the show notes, so go to CodeShip.com and use the code developerT

[00:08:29] for 20% off today.

[00:08:31] For fast, secure, and customizable continuous integration, go to CodeShip.com.

[00:08:38] We’ve talked about two different methods to improve your long-term learning.

[00:08:42] One is loci, and the second is intentionally recognizing triggers, creating places or

[00:08:50] understanding smells or different contexts in which you learn.

[00:08:54] Both of those go very well together, but the third is altogether different, and that is

[00:08:59] very simply sleep on it.

[00:09:01] You might have heard this in the past to calm you down whenever you were being emotional

[00:09:07] or perhaps you were thinking, maybe I need to sleep on it before I make a decision, and

[00:09:12] the reason for this is because our long-term memory is actually consolidated.

[00:09:17] It goes through a process that is typically called consolidation as you sleep.

[00:09:23] This process of consolidation happens over time, not only when you are sleeping, but

[00:09:27] also when you are not consciously thinking about a given subject.

[00:09:32] When you’re unconsciously going throughout your day, that consolidation is happening

[00:09:36] and you’re relating the information that you have been exposed to to information that you’re

[00:09:40] being exposed to when you are unconsciously consolidating that information.

[00:09:47] Sleep on it, give it time, rest between your different study intervals.

[00:09:52] If you simply cram for something and you don’t give your mind time to process that information

[00:09:57] to comprehend the things that you’ve been exposed to, then you won’t be able to store

[00:10:02] that in long-term memory and you won’t be able to relate it to other parts of your life.

[00:10:08] As we said previously, relation is how we build long-term memory.

[00:10:13] It’s the only way that we can build long-term memory.

[00:10:16] Otherwise, all we’re doing is working with our what’s called working memory.

[00:10:21] That working memory is very limited.

[00:10:23] It doesn’t last for a long time.

[00:10:25] The only way we can create long-term memory is to actually relate it to something and

[00:10:31] allow it to consolidate over time, to sleep on it, to give it intervals between our study

[00:10:37] sessions.

[00:10:38] Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Developer Tea about learning.

[00:10:42] I hope that it has been enlightening and that it is making you think and perhaps it is sparking

[00:10:49] discussion between you and other developers around you.

[00:10:53] Thank you once again for being a part of the audience of this show.

[00:10:57] I would love to have you again and the best way for you to stay up to date with Developer

[00:11:03] Tea is to actually subscribe in whatever podcast app that you subscribe in.

[00:11:08] There’s also an RSS feed that you can find at developertea.com and there’s over 70 other

[00:11:13] episodes at the time of the recording of this episode on developertea.com.

[00:11:20] All of them are accessible through iTunes and also through Stitcher.

[00:11:24] So thank you so much for listening.

[00:11:26] I hope you listen again and until next time, enjoy your tea.

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