Nonfiction

Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History

Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History

  • Downloads：8492
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-15 08:51:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lynne Kelly
  • ISBN：1643136887
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Groundbreaking anthropologist and memory champion Lynne Kelly reveals how we can use ancient and traditional mnemonic methods to enhance and expand our memory。

Our brain is a muscle。 Like our bodies， it needs exercise。 In the last few hundred years， we have stopped training our memories and we have lost the ability to memorize large amounts of information—something our ancestors could do with ease。

After discovering that the true purpose of monuments like Easter Island and Stonehenge were to act as memory palaces， Kelly takes this knowledge and introduces us to the best memory techniques humans have ever devised， from ancient times and the Middle Ages to methods used by today’s memory athletes。 A memory champion herself， Kelly tests all these methods and demonstrate the extraordinary capacity of our brains at any age。

For anyone who needs to memorize a speech or a script， learn anatomy or a foreign language， or prepare for an exam， Memory Craft offers proven techniques and simple strategies for anyone who has trouble remembering names or dates， or for older people who want to keep their minds agile。 In addition to getting in touch with our own human and anthropological foundations， Memory Craft shows how all things mnemonic can be playful， creative， and fun。

Download

Reviews

Caleb Hegg ，

This was a really fun book。 Different from what I normally read， but some of the methods Kelly discusses I now use on a regular basis。 Beyond this， Kelly makes the reading fun and easy。

Ruben ，

This is one of the best memory books I have read。 Not only for the techniques （which I knew）， but the whole historical context。 Techniques used all over the world since ancient times。

George Dimarelos ，

I think I'm now inspired to use memory palaces to learn the sum of human knowledge plus a couple of fun card tricks。This book is basically saying certain indigenous cultures had tools， imagine a block of wood with different things like shells/beads/rocks stuck to it， that served as a "hard drive" of their entire cultures history and knowledge。That's the kind of ultra fascinating theory I have a lot of time for。 I think I'm now inspired to use memory palaces to learn the sum of human knowledge plus a couple of fun card tricks。This book is basically saying certain indigenous cultures had tools， imagine a block of wood with different things like shells/beads/rocks stuck to it， that served as a "hard drive" of their entire cultures history and knowledge。That's the kind of ultra fascinating theory I have a lot of time for。 。。。more

Jonas Chan ，

Very cool guides for various memorisation techniques with interesting historical and personal anecdotes that make the book itself memorable。 One thing I would have liked was more in-depth explanation for why these methods work， though I suspect that this is explained in the author's other work。 Very cool guides for various memorisation techniques with interesting historical and personal anecdotes that make the book itself memorable。 One thing I would have liked was more in-depth explanation for why these methods work， though I suspect that this is explained in the author's other work。 。。。more

Gareth ，

What a brilliant book！ Lynne Kelly's last book was about how different tribes and ancient civilisations used memory techniques and this one is about how you can utilise them。 She has gone through every technique and applied them all and states which are best to use depending on what you're trying to memorize etc。 Very well researched and written， this book was fantastic。 What a brilliant book！ Lynne Kelly's last book was about how different tribes and ancient civilisations used memory techniques and this one is about how you can utilise them。 She has gone through every technique and applied them all and states which are best to use depending on what you're trying to memorize etc。 Very well researched and written， this book was fantastic。 。。。more

Paul ，

Lots and lots of how some people use the tricks of the trade。 Very little on how to use it yourself。 Good stuff to learn about， but not the book to use if you want to become a memory champ。

Marcos ，

Comprehensive book about all things memory written in an engaging style

Julia Burns ，

This is an amazing book filled with strategies， tools and insights to improve memory but also to be able to structure memory。 I found it so full of great ideas that I needed to stop and digest the information at regular points。 Listening to it on Audible made a big difference to be able to think through the ideas but I also bought the hard copy to be able to make notes and refer to the images。 The author's website is also very generous with it content and tools and I bought and downloaded her Be This is an amazing book filled with strategies， tools and insights to improve memory but also to be able to structure memory。 I found it so full of great ideas that I needed to stop and digest the information at regular points。 Listening to it on Audible made a big difference to be able to think through the ideas but I also bought the hard copy to be able to make notes and refer to the images。 The author's website is also very generous with it content and tools and I bought and downloaded her Bestiary to use。There are also a chapter on dementia and how we can both assist those around us but more importantly to build our own memory fitness and create tools that will assist us in the future if we do begin to suffer memory loss。 I also found the strategies she uses for memory competitions fascinating and the fact that she began this in her sixties and became an Australian memory athlete and champion is impressive。 I can't wait to put these techniques into practice！ 。。。more

Roy Kenagy ，

EXAMINED 7/21/21 DMPL Compare with Kelly's Memory Code。 This is the practical how-to of the thesis in the earlier book。 Uses several different memory palace bases/techniques。 A good place to start if I want to spiff up。 EXAMINED 7/21/21 DMPL Compare with Kelly's Memory Code。 This is the practical how-to of the thesis in the earlier book。 Uses several different memory palace bases/techniques。 A good place to start if I want to spiff up。 。。。more

Katrina ，

Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast introduced me to the work of delightful Lynne Kelly， whose passionate curiosity and love of learning， history and culture drench this book。 As if you’re sitting beside her on a sofa， she walks you through the historical context of memory objects and her own proven methods for creating mind palaces， tactics for improving one’s memory， and the fascinating neuroscience behind how humans retain and recall information。 I was most intrigued to discover how she applies Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast introduced me to the work of delightful Lynne Kelly， whose passionate curiosity and love of learning， history and culture drench this book。 As if you’re sitting beside her on a sofa， she walks you through the historical context of memory objects and her own proven methods for creating mind palaces， tactics for improving one’s memory， and the fascinating neuroscience behind how humans retain and recall information。 I was most intrigued to discover how she applies these methods in her classroom， particularly using narrative story， space and landmarks， and music。 It’s a lovely book and I enjoyed it immensely！ 。。。more

Lilli McCue ，

Loved this book！ Have remembered 180 countries in order of population and counting！

Simon ，

Very good book connecting art， primitive history and memory techniques。 I feel there is a lot more to discover

Richard Anthony Lupena ，

Kelly offers more than 35 memory methods based on historical allusions and her personalization of said methods through practical application。While the core tenets of the book remain clear - process is provided and supporting examples are specifically cited - the book remains more personal rather than pragmatic when approaching mnemotechnics。 While there were times that I sought guidance and clarity through her examples， more often than not， I would find myself skipping or running past these stor Kelly offers more than 35 memory methods based on historical allusions and her personalization of said methods through practical application。While the core tenets of the book remain clear - process is provided and supporting examples are specifically cited - the book remains more personal rather than pragmatic when approaching mnemotechnics。 While there were times that I sought guidance and clarity through her examples， more often than not， I would find myself skipping or running past these stories because either the memory method or the story did not appeal to me （because I was approaching this as a manual）。Since the methods are ingrained with personal references， I also found the order or arrangement of chapters dissatisfactory; they are， however segmented accordingly and an index and a table provide clear guidance at the back。 Kelly has provided plates and examples as well to not only show earlier methods （from the Early Ages all the way to the Renaissance era， with some examples being taken from Australian， European， and Asian cultures） but provides modern revisions of these processes as well。All-in-all， I believe the 3/5 provided is reflective of my unsatisfied desire to explore Memory Methods from a pragmatic framework。 Kelly herself is a very communicative and creative individual and her approach should be more relatable to readers who approach this with a casual expectation。 。。。more

Sergey Dudko ，

5 times rule: repeat immediately， after 24 hours， 7 days， 30 days， 90 daysUse your hand as memory palaceCreative and new activities generate new brain cellsMemory palace practice prevents dementiaMusic can cure dementiaTo avoid dementia: 1。 Have a healthy diet 2。 Exercise 3。 Sleep enough 4。 Read 5。 Have social connections 6。 Stay positive 7。 Quit smoking and alcohol

kit ，

i've skimmed a lot of books on memory technologies， but this is the first i've actually read through。 not just a collection of techniques， but some history and narrative about their use。 connects well with the author's previous book。 will take some time to begin implementing， but i'm very much looking forward to that。 will probably need to read through this again and take notes， as there are many gems of advice scattered throughout。 i've skimmed a lot of books on memory technologies， but this is the first i've actually read through。 not just a collection of techniques， but some history and narrative about their use。 connects well with the author's previous book。 will take some time to begin implementing， but i'm very much looking forward to that。 will probably need to read through this again and take notes， as there are many gems of advice scattered throughout。 。。。more

Elliot Lake ，

Interesting book。 I'm definitely going to keep this as a reference to mine techniques in future。 Interesting book。 I'm definitely going to keep this as a reference to mine techniques in future。 。。。more

Gregory John ，

Memory CraftLynne Kellyp。30: Visual alphabets and bestiaries were just two of the memory devices used as writing became more widespread。p。32: A memory palace is a visualisation of a trail of physical locations that are easy to remember in order。p。51: When setting up a memory palace， name every location carefully and it will serve you well。p。69: ‘entorhinal grid cells’。。。。 Edvard Moser， May-Britt Moser and John O’Keefe showed that these cells constitute a positioning system in the brain。 They enc Memory CraftLynne Kellyp。30: Visual alphabets and bestiaries were just two of the memory devices used as writing became more widespread。p。32: A memory palace is a visualisation of a trail of physical locations that are easy to remember in order。p。51: When setting up a memory palace， name every location carefully and it will serve you well。p。69: ‘entorhinal grid cells’。。。。 Edvard Moser， May-Britt Moser and John O’Keefe showed that these cells constitute a positioning system in the brain。 They encode a cognitive representation of the physical space you inhabit。 So memories that piggyback on the hippocampus’s ability to remember space can become very strong: any events we encounter， or associate with， specific locations in space at a given time can gain this potency。p。87: We’ve seen that research shows that neuroscience and indigenous memory methods both advise the same things: your memory is going to be helped immensely if you use regular repetition， vivid stories， song， imagination， emotion and memory palaces。p。127: Australian Aboriginal storytellers， still active， draw in the soil and use leaves， sticks and stones to tell stories on a stage set in the cleared ground。 The human brain is a pattern-seeking device。 It naturally responds well to the layouts and movement。p。129: A memory method employing performances on a miniature stage with objects is a particularly strong method when your information will not fit into a neat linear format。 Obviously， this is great for historical narratives…。p。149: There are many images of mandalas online to admire and use as an inspiration for your own design。 And all the while you are thinking about your plan， you are becoming more engaged with the specific knowledge。 The process is as important as the final product， if not more so。 。。。more

Sal ，

While I enjoyed the explanations I feel like they just touched on each technique。i wanted more on each one and how to train on their use。

Janisse Ray ，

This wonderful book explains so many tricks for remembering bundles of information， from shopping lists to histories to genealogies to names to birthdays。 I was amazed by everything I read。 The information presented by Kelly is ground-breaking in that historic and prehistoric objects may have had uses as memory tools， and the same with sites like Stonehenge。 It's fascinating stuff。 There's a ton of information， as well， about how memory fitness can be achieved by starting to implement some of th This wonderful book explains so many tricks for remembering bundles of information， from shopping lists to histories to genealogies to names to birthdays。 I was amazed by everything I read。 The information presented by Kelly is ground-breaking in that historic and prehistoric objects may have had uses as memory tools， and the same with sites like Stonehenge。 It's fascinating stuff。 There's a ton of information， as well， about how memory fitness can be achieved by starting to implement some of these methods。 Looking back at my dad's Alzheimer's， I think she's right。 I believe that if he had forced himself to work on his memory when it began to falter， he could have lasted longer than he did。 But of course that's simply a theory。 One flaw of the book is that it expected a certain amount of baseline knowledge about this subject， so I had to piece a few ideas together。 Also， a step-by-step guide to doing some of these things （like setting up a memory palace） would have really helped me。 I plan on rereading it and I think I'll get even more out of it the second time around。 Lynne Kelly really inspired me， and I want to get busy memorizing some exciting information -- my family history， poems， recipes。。。 Also， I want to thank my friend the author Joni Tevis for giving me a gift certificate to Avid Books in Athens。。。。this book was one I chose。 I had heard Lynne Kelly interviewed on a podcast， was mesmerized， and wanted to know more。 I do recommend it。 Highly。 。。。more

Abhishek ，

It is bestI loved it。 Really enjoyed reading it。 Best memory book 。 methods are given with examples which are very interesting。

Denis ，

Very interesting。 I tried an easy one and it worked so I'll try something more difficult。 Very interesting。 I tried an easy one and it worked so I'll try something more difficult。 。。。more

Victor ，

The best memory book I've read so far。 That's like 3 in total。。。but still The best memory book I've read so far。 That's like 3 in total。。。but still 。。。more

Clare ，

Very， very good。 Heard about the book when I listened to an interview with author on Radio National's Conversations （an Australian radio program that I personally enjoy as a podcast）。 It is precisely what it sounds like， which is an exploration of memory techniques practiced by numerous cultures around the world， particularly the remarkable achievements Indigenous peoples in the Americas， Australia and New Zealand but also things like memory palaces that are most closely associated with Ancient Very， very good。 Heard about the book when I listened to an interview with author on Radio National's Conversations （an Australian radio program that I personally enjoy as a podcast）。 It is precisely what it sounds like， which is an exploration of memory techniques practiced by numerous cultures around the world， particularly the remarkable achievements Indigenous peoples in the Americas， Australia and New Zealand but also things like memory palaces that are most closely associated with Ancient Greece and Tibetan mandalas and Medieval illuminated manuscripts。 Memory palaces， as I understand it， have been developed independently around the world because， well， this is how our brains work and pre the printing press we still needed to remember things and， more than that， we are a deeply curious people。 Yes， we need to know what animals or plants are edible or have medicinal applications but we also just like to know stuff。 And how do we know stuff if you can't write it down in a book and have it be remembered？ I'm going to try and implement a number of these techniques into my life and it will be amazing if it works because， like most people who pick up this book I think， I would love to improve my memory。 。。。more

Viola ，

Songlines: the power and the promiseBy Phillip Adams on Late Night Livehttps://radio。abc。net。au/programitem/。。。Download Songlines: the power and the promise （21。57 MB）Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly offer an Indigenous and Non-Indigenous perspective on the meaning and significance of Songlines， why they have been so successful in keeping Indigenous knowledge intact for tens of thousands of years and how they work as an effective memory technique and tool。Duration: 23min 33secBroadcast: Tue 10 Nov 20 Songlines: the power and the promiseBy Phillip Adams on Late Night Livehttps://radio。abc。net。au/programitem/。。。Download Songlines: the power and the promise （21。57 MB）Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly offer an Indigenous and Non-Indigenous perspective on the meaning and significance of Songlines， why they have been so successful in keeping Indigenous knowledge intact for tens of thousands of years and how they work as an effective memory technique and tool。Duration: 23min 33secBroadcast: Tue 10 Nov 2020， 10:40pmGuestsMargo NealeHead of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges， senior Indigenous curator， and principal adviser to the director of the National Museum of Australia。Adjunct professor at the Australian National UniversityLynne KellyScience writer working as an honorary research associate at La Trobe University。Mnemonist and author of The Memory Code and Memory Craft。 。。。more

Ellie Book Worm ，

I picked this up off the library out of interest and it didn't disappoint。It's more of a personal account of Lynne's memory methods and how she uses a variety of the medieval and indigenous methods to remember alsorts of history， animal species and even language。 I was pretty impressed by her exploration of all the various types - I hope to be able to incorporate some of these methods into my life as my memory is shocking！ （particularly memory palaces and winter counts）It's not so much a guide o I picked this up off the library out of interest and it didn't disappoint。It's more of a personal account of Lynne's memory methods and how she uses a variety of the medieval and indigenous methods to remember alsorts of history， animal species and even language。 I was pretty impressed by her exploration of all the various types - I hope to be able to incorporate some of these methods into my life as my memory is shocking！ （particularly memory palaces and winter counts）It's not so much a guide of 'how to' - more of a 'I did it this way' sort of read。 I enjoyed it anyhow。 。。。more

Jerrod Carter ，

I wish I had read this long agoIt's a recent book， but I wish I had been written， and I had read it， decades ago。 It's amazing that think of all of the things that I have forgotten that I maybe would have remembered。 I wish I had read this long agoIt's a recent book， but I wish I had been written， and I had read it， decades ago。 It's amazing that think of all of the things that I have forgotten that I maybe would have remembered。 。。。more

Andrew Louis ，

I'm pretty sure I'll think about this book for the rest of my life。 Fascinating stuff。（1 star more if it had better editing） I'm pretty sure I'll think about this book for the rest of my life。 Fascinating stuff。（1 star more if it had better editing） 。。。more

Tom H ，

An interesting look at how various cultures from around the globe have used and passed on memory techniques。 Part ethnography， part practical guide it can be quite inspiring， while a little nerdy in parts。

Linda ，

Lynne Kelly not only describes the history of the methods but gives details of how she implemented the systems。 I have read before about memory palaces but didn't really understand how to go about setting up and using them for myself。 I've tried other memory systems but none seem as user friendly as those that Lynne describes - I'm planning to get going on these immediately。 Lynne Kelly not only describes the history of the methods but gives details of how she implemented the systems。 I have read before about memory palaces but didn't really understand how to go about setting up and using them for myself。 I've tried other memory systems but none seem as user friendly as those that Lynne describes - I'm planning to get going on these immediately。 。。。more

Meg ，

Amazing book！ Thoroughly enjoyed reading。 Lynne Kelly is funny and her enthusiasm is catching。 It’s also a very hopeful book for those of us with horrendously bad memories！ 5/5

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0