REMEMBER TO REMEMBER!

You have now completed your basic course and should havelearnt no fewer than twenty different systems for rememberingdifferent items!After being given a rough historical context within which towork,you were givenaninitialmemorytestdesignedtoestablishthe limits of your memory at that time.The first chapters (in an attempt to overcome as rapidly aspossible the deficiencies laid bare by the test!) dealt with thebasic principles of remembering, giving you practice in therules of exaggeration, movement, substitution and absurdity.The principles learnt in these systems were then applied tothe new memory system of Heinz Norden, Skipnum, and tothe Major System.From the Major System you were able to branch out intothe remembering of numbers, anniversaries, birthdays andhistorical dates, including the year, month and day.Apart from this you learnt systems for remembering namesand faces, speeches, jokes, narratives, articles, languages, andplaying cards.With the information you now possess you are ready to useyour memory in a far more adequate and comprehensive way.Apart from your business and social life many of the systemsmay be used to give 'memory demonstrations' ranging fromreeling off lists ofitems to picking out the 'missing cards' froma deck.Building a good memory is much like growing up. Youdevelop a little day by day but seldom notice the changes untilyou suddenly look back at yourself, often through otherpeople's eyes, writing or photographs. You may not evennow be fully aware of the strides you have made during yourreading of Speed Memory.To see just how far you have come, go back and look at the'photograph' ofyour memory as recorded in the initial memorytest. Things which at that time appeared (and were!) difficultwill now seem like child's play.We have come to the end of the course, but in a sense it isonly a beginning. At the moment you are using abstractsystems to remember items that have given you difficulty inthe past. By continuing to use these systems and activelyconcerning yourself with remembering to remember, you willfind that the systems themselves will become unnecessary, andthat through the process of consciously working to improveyour memory with 'artificial aids', you will have helped it tobecome vigorous and independent.