Most people subconsciously employ (some of) the techniques described in the article, but the author seems to do it consciously. Note that he didn't claim to have invented the methods he used. That's why the article strikes a chord when you read it, but I doubt you would have been able to articulate your memory processes quite as well yourself.
Learning a skill by applying subconscious processes consciously greatly accelerates your mastery of it. People can pick up new languages over a period of a few years, but if you study it immersively, you can do so in a few weeks. That's why this guy is so good (note that most people don't win 500 grand on the show :-), and we can all learn from him.
I've been using priming and other tricks for a few years, and it has had a dramatic impact on my memory. (It has also been a lot of fun for me, but YMMV.) Two days ago, on my nightly jog, I noticed the license plate number of a parked car. Last night, as I started my jog, on a whim I tried to see if I could recall that number. It took a few minutes, as I tried to retrace my brief reflection the previous night on the patterns I noticed in that number, but I was successful. When I went past the car again, I realized I'd correctly recalled the number, and let out a yelp (slightly startling a few passers-by.) Anyways, the incident made an impression on me and made me realize how far my memory has come, so this morning I decided to hunt down this article for the benefit of fellow HN readers.
I got a lot of practice at these 'tricks' while taking a few chemistry classes; all multiple choice. It was excellent practice too since I attended classes but did not study, so the answer was somewhere hidden in my mind, associated to whatever I was thinking about when it was discussed. A large part of it also, as the author also mentioned, is reverse-engineering the question to find likely decoys and falsely intuitive answers.
For those interested, it worked pretty well for itself. On one of the classes, I entered the final with a perfect 80% and got a perfect 90% on the final-- netting an A due one of the instructor's policies.
"People can pick up new languages over a period of a few years, but if you study it immersively, you can do so in a few weeks."
Can you elaborate on this statement? I think a few weeks is a bit of an exaggeration. However, I have known people who have gone from knowing nothing in a language to being able to have normal, everyday conversations in 6 months by being immersed and not being able to talk to anyone in their native language.
Yes, it was very deliberate thinking. Something I don't always do, but I'm sure everyone has done, like when you misplace your car keys.
I'm not buying that his winnings were because of the techniques he used. He is a PHD in an extremely hard discipline. Hes obviously got a brain for information retention and retrieval.
It was a good read, and I'm glad you submitted it. I didn't mean for my comment to imply otherwise.
Learning a skill by applying subconscious processes consciously greatly accelerates your mastery of it. People can pick up new languages over a period of a few years, but if you study it immersively, you can do so in a few weeks. That's why this guy is so good (note that most people don't win 500 grand on the show :-), and we can all learn from him.
I've been using priming and other tricks for a few years, and it has had a dramatic impact on my memory. (It has also been a lot of fun for me, but YMMV.) Two days ago, on my nightly jog, I noticed the license plate number of a parked car. Last night, as I started my jog, on a whim I tried to see if I could recall that number. It took a few minutes, as I tried to retrace my brief reflection the previous night on the patterns I noticed in that number, but I was successful. When I went past the car again, I realized I'd correctly recalled the number, and let out a yelp (slightly startling a few passers-by.) Anyways, the incident made an impression on me and made me realize how far my memory has come, so this morning I decided to hunt down this article for the benefit of fellow HN readers.