How to become a memory master | Idriz Zogaj | TEDxGoteborg

The first floor, you go up to the second floor, you go up to the third floor, the fourth floor and finally the roof. Just tell me the other way around. This is what we do in

memory

contests. You have already memorized 10 words. This is one of the ways to memorize words. You can go to a competition and do well. All we do is save them faster and for longer. It is interesting to note that the world record for memorizing a deck of cards by looking at them once as quickly as possible is approximately the same time it takes sprinter Usain Bolt to cover a distance of 200 meters.

Think about this the next time you watch the Olympics. Start when he starts and see how many cards he remembers. Now, I don't know Usain Bolt personally, but I know the card record holder, Simon Reinhard, and I know how much he practices. I know he's not doing anything different than what he did before. He simply organizes the information that he brings to his mind. You look at the information once and know it will stick in your mind. It's about having a good time and letting your mind make strong connections. There are no limits. I have a friend who comes to help me organize the World Memory Championships in Sweden every year.

That's why we take this rug as an indicator. This is a place for people who have

memory

problems. Here are those with normal memories, and this is where most people will be. Here will be geniuses and those who have extremely excellent memories. When I got first place in 2009, I approached them and asked them why don't we do some tests, memory tests, because I would like to work with the scientists to show them what we can do. Because we lack a lot of research in this field. The guy who did the research, his name was Jacob Stuhlman, said something like, "Idris, we have to put the cursor back because she's there, because she's off the cursor." What I did went too far.

How can you do this? But you didn't study what we studied, because it's like we invited you to a sports day and you were surprised at how well people could run, "Oh, they're running so fast!" But we didn't do anything else. We simply work with the mind, as the mind likes to work. The technologies are very old. The oldest ones come from the Greeks. The ancient Greeks, several thousand years ago. We don't invent anything new. We simply compile the rules and explain the exercises to them. And you can start training here and right now. The next time you hear something you want to remember, make up a funny story about it and you'll create a strong connection.

I wish you happy training. Thank you all. (applause).