Memory Trick #1

Telephone numbers are 7 digits long because psychologists determined that this is the longest string that can be quickly/easily memorized. Try it:

3428921

Close your eyes. Got it?

You can probably sense that you couldn't juggle too many more bits of data; at least not without investing some effort. But you can use framing to give yourself a memory expansion. I'll show you a trick.

Below is another seven digit number, with some more numbers to the right. Ignore those numbers! Do not memorize them! Invest all your memorization capacity into the seven numbers on the left. Don't be distracted by the rest. Pretend they're not there.

Then, once you've memorized the seven, casually look at the other numbers for a couple of seconds. Don't memorize them. Don't make the slightest effort to process them, or to think about them. Just stare stupidly at them for a couple of seconds. Lay your eyes on them, nothing more. Ok, here goes:

2556298 - 4427

Close your eyes and recall the seven. Then see the remainder. Don't remember them, just see them.

Congrats! You've added four new (fast/easy) memory slots, a 57% upgrade. This is available to you always, in any context.

Want to keep going? Add yet another four by speaking some aloud. Memorize the first seven, visualize (without memorizing) another four, then speak (without memorizing) another four, not just speaking but listening to yourself speak. No furrowed brow or disciplined concentration; just listen, period, while holding on to the previous memorization. Don't drop that package!

The key is to let go of memorization. You can only memorize seven. For more numbers, you need to do something other than memorize.

Framing unlocks everything.


Here's a follow-up