Amaze Your Friends

FARMER (showing off his farm to a friend):

How many sheep would you say were in that flock? See if you can get close with a rough guess.”

FRIEND (after short pause): “I’d say there were about 497 sheep there.”

“why, you hit it right on the head, that’s exactly right! How in the world did you know?”

“it was simple, really, I just counted all the legs, and then divided by four!”

            THE MEMORY stunt contained in this chapter may not be as astounding as dividing the legs of sheep by four, but it’s certainly easier to do. You’ll probably be glad to know that there are no mathematics involved at all-just a trained memory.

          A friend of mine in the textile business here in New York has told me that he has gained quite a reputation for himself by remembering numbers. He goes to lunch with a few business acquaintances each day, and he invariably asks them t9o give him any four or five digit number to memorize. He usually has anywhere from there to six people with him, and he memorizes the numbers they give him. They interrupt him during the luncheon to see if he can still recall the numbers, and, of course, he does.

Don't Be Absent-minded

Towards the conclusion of his lecture on the wonderful  sights to be seen in this world, the famous  traveler said, “There are some spectacles that one never forgets!”

At this point a tiny old lady in the back row, stood up and timidly inquired, “Oh, my, can you tell me where I could get a pair? I’m always forgetting mine!”

              ARE  you continually plagued by misplacing certain items? Do you waste precious time searching for your glasses or are you the type that’s always screaming, “But I just had it in my hands a moment ago!”? Do you always hide your valuable trinkets so well that you yourself can’t find them? Ladies; are you constantly late for a dare because you simply can’t locate your favorite lipstick? And, men; does your wife rant and scream while you laboriously search for that misplaced cuff link?

            If the answer to any of these questions is, “you,” run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore-.

          Well, if this were a radio or television commercial, it might sound something like that, don’t you think? But seriously, have I hit the bull’s eye with some of the above questions? I’m almost certain that I have, because very few of us are fortunate enough not to be absent-minded at times.

          Many people make the mistake of confusion  absentmindedness with a poor memory. Actually,  I feel that they should be considered as two entirely different things. People with excellent memories can also be absent  minded professor stories; well, be assured that in order to be a professor you must have a good memory to being with. The hundreds of gags about the absent-minded professors who wind their wives, kiss the cat good night and put out the clock, may be true  for all I know, but it still doesn’t signfy that they have poor memories.

The Importance of Memory

A business man traveling in the mid-west was told about an Indian, living in the vicinity, who had a most fantastic memory. Having just completed a memory course, and priding himself on his own newly acquired achievements, he decided to visit this Indian to see whose memory was better.

He introduced himself to the Indian and proceeded to test him. The memory expert answered every question quickly and accurately. His mind was storehouse of knowledge, containing such information as the important dates, scientific theories, etc. the business man couldn’t stump him. Finally, he decided to try one last question. “what did you have for breakfast on the morning of April 5^th 1931?”

The Indian didn’t hesitate for even a second, as he answered, “Eggs!”

The business man took his leave, completely stunned by this prodigious memory. When he arrived home, he told all his friends about it, only to have them scoff and say that eggs were usually eaten at breakfast, and that anyone could have answered that.

As the years passed, the man began to believe this, until one day he found himself back in the mid-west on a sales trip. One afternoon he happened to come upon the same Indian he had met here years ago. Wanting to show that his memory for faces was pretty good, he raised his hand in the traditional Indian greeting, and  said, “How.”

It Pays to Remember Telephone Numbers

The little girl was trying to get the telephone operator to find a telephone number for her.

OPERATOR:  you can find that number in your telephone directory.

LITTLE GIRL: Oh, I can’t, I’m standing on it!

                ALTHOUGH MOST of you do not have to stand on the telephone directory in order to use the phone, you do have to use it quite often to look up numbers that you’ve forgotten. Sure, many people feel that it isn’t necessary to remember phone  numbers since that’s just what the directory is for; but the fact remains that the phone companies have to keep information operators on duty continually. Next to forgetting names and faces, I think the most common memory complaint  is, “I simply can’t remember telephone numbers!” as I  mentioned in an earlier chapter most untrained memories are one-sided. Those w ho usually do remember telephone numbers can’t remember names, and vice versa. Of course, I intend for you to be able to do both , and more, with equal proficiency.

             My good friend Richard Himber, famous musician magician, realized that most people couldn’t remember phone numbers, so he did something about it. He made it very simple for everyone to remember his-he just told them to dial his name, R. Himber. Somehow, he managed to obtain an exchange  for his telephone that  begins with the letters, RH. The rest of the number is 4-6237, which  you get when you dial i-m-b-e-r. now, don’t you all dial it just  to see if this is true-take my word for it, it is!

More about Names and Faces

Ruth was a sweet and lovely girl and had many boy friends, but here mother felt it was time she was married.

While reading a book on the meanings of names, Ruth said, “Mother, it says here that Philip means ‘lover of horses,’ and James  means ‘beloved.’ I wonder what George means?”

“I hope, my dear,” said mother, “that George means business!”

          Now that you know how to make any name have meaning, by using a substitute word or thought, you have to know how to associate the name to the face in such a way as to remember both of them. Many memory systems teach the student to make a jinglet with the name; something like, “Mr. Baker is a faker” or “Mr. Gold is old,” or “Mr. Radcliffe had a mad tiff,” or “Mr. Lillienkamp is a carnival tramp.”

      This is fine, until you meet a Mr. Nepomosimo or a Mr. Smolensky. Even if you could quite grasp is how this would  help you to remember the person’s face, or rather, how one would bring the other to mind. No, I don’t think that this jinglet system is of too great a help. In my opinion, the only way to remember a person’s name is to associate that name to the person’s face in some ridiculous way. And here’s how to go about it:-

         Whenever you meet someone new, look at his face and try to find one outstanding feature. This could be anything; small eyes, large eyes, thick lips, thin lips, high forehead, low forehead, lines or creases on the forehead, long nose, broad nose, wide nostrils, narrow nostrils, large dimples, clefts, warts, mustache, lines on the face, large mouth, large mouth, teeth-just about anything.

What's in a Name?

    This fellow was very proud of the way he could remember names by association, until he met Mrs. Hummock. Mrs. Hummock was quite heavy, and had a large stomach, so he decided to use “stomach,” as his association.

There weeks later, he met the some lady glanced at her stomach, and feeling very pleased with himself, said, “good day, Mrs. Kelly!”

        I had the pleasure one of performing for the executive club of a well-known department store in New York City. This was their annual dinner, and demonstration in my performance that probably hits home for more people than any other is the one in which I remember everyone’s name.

       The way I usually do it is to introduce myself to all the guests as  they arrive, or, meet them while they’re having dinner. I simply walk from table to table getting everyone’s name (and getting hungry). I’ll meet all the people at one table, then the next, and the next, and so on, until I’ve met everyone in the room. I work as quickly or as slowly as time suggests. Many’s the time that I’ve had to meet one hundred to two  hundred people in fifteen minutes or less, without forgetting a single name! I give credit and praise to  my methods and systems, of course, not to myself.

It Pays to Remember Foreign Language Vocabulary and Abstract Information

             The more intelligible a thing is, the more easily it is retained in the memory, and contrariwise, the less intelligible it is,  the more easily we forgot it.

            YOU MAY not think that the above quote shows any particular brilliance on the part of Mr. Spinoza. You may feel, “sure, anyone knows that if something is intelligible, or makes sense, it is easier to remember.” Well, that’s true it is an obvious thought, but it took Mr. Spinoza to say it, or put it down on paper just that way, as far back as the 17^th century.

             I’m making a fuss about this particular quote because it tells you in one sentence what this entire book is about. Almost all the systems in the book are basically that-they help make unintelligible things intelligible. One example, of course, is the peg system; number by them-tem makes them mean something to you. 

             Perhaps the best example is in trying to memorize foreign-language  vocabulary. A word in a foreign language is nothing but a conglomeration of sounds to anyone who is not familiar with the language. That’s why they’re so difficult to remember.

            To make them easier to remember you will use the system of SUBSTITUTE WORDS. Substitute words or thing that is abstract, intangible or unintelligible; something that makes no sense to you, can’t be pictured, yet must be remembered. be sure you read this chapter carefully, because substitute words will also help you to remember names.

            Making up a substitute word is simply this:-  Upon  coming across a word that means nothing to you; that is intangible and unintelligible, you merely find a word, phrase or thought that sound as close to it as  possible, and that is tangible and can be pictured in your mind.