Good ways to memorize?

[Jaybar]

For some, just reading is enough to memorize; however, like many already said, the actual task of writing is by far the best way to memorize/remember. You are running two tasks instead of one: thinking/reading of the words coupled with actually writing it down.

I find that you concentrate more when you are writing. Whereas when you just read, your mind can sometimes slip away but still be reading (well, I do that sometimes, call it ADD all you want, but that's not what it is). I sometimes find myself at the end of a paragraph and not realize what was written at the beginning.

Of course, don't write down an entire chapter of a book. Take some of the core subjects that you are unfamiliar with and start finding excerpts that help explain the subject, then start writing it down. That's really the basis of notecards, but you don't necessarily need notecards. A notebook will do just fine, of course. Notecards are just very handy when you need them later on.

[Darus Grey]

Method of Loci(and it's variants), it's what the pros use.

Method of loci - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[volcanicweather]

4 steps to learn stuff:

1) Open RPG Maker

2) Make a simple RPG about the material (usually takes an hour or two if you know what you're doing, but you're looking up stuff in your book(s) the whole time)

3) Play through the RPG

4) Learn the material

Beats flash cards imo

[Darus Grey]

4 steps to learn stuff:

1) Open RPG Maker

2) Make a simple RPG about the material (usually takes an hour or two if you know what you're doing)

3) Play through the RPG

4) Learn the material

Beats flash cards imo

This is actually exactly the same thing as I posted above ;0 People need to seriously learn this, they used to teach this in high school but stopped for reasons that still leave us cognitive scientists baffled.

[Tristam]

A big thing to help is going outside the textbook and reading a lesson from a different context. Usually you can google the subject in a chapter and find a lecture or presentation from another class online. Sometimes just getting the same info in a slightly different way or in a different context can make all the difference between understanding something or not.

The text is a great resource, but if you're just rereading it time and time again the best you'll do with that strategy is memorization, and like others have said the best way is to truly understand what you're studying.

[Diamicles]

Really depends on how you learn.

When I was in school (BS Physics) it really helped me to really read the material, taking notes on important parts before working through the problems. For me, really making an effort to learn the material, as someone said before, was huge in helping me retain it.

I can still recall information from those classes, and I often tutor my dad in physics since he is back in school now.

[Meian]

4 steps to learn stuff:

1) Open RPG Maker

2) Make a simple RPG about the material (usually takes an hour or two if you know what you're doing, but you're looking up stuff in your book(s) the whole time)

3) Play through the RPG

4) Learn the material

Beats flash cards imo

I tried to do this actually less than a year ago but wasn't sure how to organize it properly XD

[LinktheDeme]

ADDDDERALLL

[Gulkeeva]

I need... help remembering names personally, i'm not too sure how I can remember.. like the 5-6 different names and 10-11 password combo's I use within 1-2 attempts but I can't remember a persons name after like 10 seconds at times ;/

Its about the only "worded" stuff I remember well actually... my memory runs better on "images". Its almsot scary after seeing tnes of thousands of pics.. when you go look for a new one... you go "oh I got that already"

[Jaybar]

I usually pick out a strange feature on the person and tag a name to it. When the guy I remember that had a nose the size of Oklahoma shows up, I remember who he is.

Sometimes it doesn't work, especially on people that don't greet you personally (I hate that) and stuff.

[Despain]

Flash Cards help a ton.

One thing that goes without saying is try to relate the material to things you already know. Relating them to a song or something that you find humorous helps a lot.

I use the loci method, or I chunk information together, and rehearse until I learn it. Took psychology in high school, and we literally spent a month going over various study methods.

Teaching people the material, as mentioned above, also helps a ton!!! I can't describe how many times this has helped me. Honestly though, the only thing I find myself ever studying for is math... everything else comes naturally to me, and I don't quite understand why. Probably cause I'm a tad bit dyslexic.

If studying fails, just cheat. On math tests, every time I had to remember formulas, I'd just jot the formulas on my desk down very lightly and small, copy it on the top of my exam, and then erase it. :/ And no, I don't always use cheating as last resort, just when I'm feeling lazy. D:

Presentations are pretty helpful also, but that goes along with the category of teaching it to others.

[Darus Grey]

I need... help remembering names personally, i'm not too sure how I can remember.. like the 5-6 different names and 10-11 password combo's I use within 1-2 attempts but I can't remember a persons name after like 10 seconds at times ;/

Its about the only "worded" stuff I remember well actually... my memory runs better on "images". Its almsot scary after seeing tnes of thousands of pics.. when you go look for a new one... you go "oh I got that already"

Names of humans have a specific part of the brain dedicated to it, which is why some people are exceptionally bad at remembering people's names and little else. It's also linked with a high chance of being autistic.

[sephir]

one of the things I do for studying for exams is try to solve problems while trying to make the biggest possible distraction around me. For example I will put on the TV, blast music, leave my MSN on, etc.

My reasoning is this; I usually get very nervous in exams - often too nervous. I find that if I can solve the problems with all these distractions going on around me, the solution is memorized completely and I can solve it no matter where my mind wanders.

Also before any exam I always make a page or two of solid notes in hand writing. My goal with this is basically to condense as much of the important course materials to that one page for last minute memorization. So far these techniques have worked out pretty well as I got 96% on my accounting final which I was really freaking out about.