视听 | 如何锻炼记忆力？拥有最强大脑！

三年前 如果你邀请我去参加晚宴

Three years ago, if you invited me to a dinner party -

假设共有10人参加 -

let’s say ten people -

我几乎记不住

I wouldn’t have remembered the names

任何参加者的名字

of nearly anyone around the table.

我记不住他们讲的

I wouldn’t have remembered the facts

有趣的故事

from the interesting stories they told,

所以如果我想复述任何一个故事

and so if I wanted to retell any of those stories,

没有那些可信的细节 我是做不到的

I kind of couldn’t without those credible details.

我确实也没有试着去记任何东西

And I really didn’t try to remember any of it,

因为我知道 自己做不到

because I knew I had no chance.

和许多人一样 我的记忆力一般

I, like many of us, had an average memory.

可现如今

Fast forward to today,

我两次获得了澳大利亚的记忆冠军

and I’m a two-time Australian memory champion.

我是首位获此殊荣的女性

I’m the first female to hold this title,

我还打破过几次澳大利亚的纪录

and I’ve got several Australian records.

所以当我全神贯注的时候 我现在

So my memory for remembering new information now,

记忆新信息的能力

when I apply myself,

不再是缓慢的或者良好的

is no longer slow or good -

而是极好的

it’s fantastic.

我的身体一直很健康

I’ve always been physically fit.

我15岁的时候 就离开了家

When I was 15, I moved into [inaudible],

去了澳大利亚芭蕾舞学校

went to the Australian Ballet School,

毕业之后

and then graduated into a career

从事芭蕾舞和现代舞的表演 在世界各地巡回演出

of ballet and contemporary dance, touring across the world.

舞蹈生涯结束后 我上了大学

After my dance career, I went to university.

问题是 我真的没有上过高中

The problem was I really didn’t have any senior high school.

我没有学习技能

I had no study skills,

我几乎记不住任何

and I couldn’t remember any maths

超过小学水平的数学知识

past about primary school level.

我对知识和数学的记忆力一般

And I had an average memory for facts and maths.

可我当时学的是经济学 这个专业有很多的知识和数学 -

And I was studying economics, which has facts and maths -

很多很多数学知识

lots and lots of maths.

因此我当时可能身体健康

So I might have felt physically fit,

但精神上一定是非常不适的

but I certainly did not feel mentally fit.

还好 我挺过了大学生活 实际上我做的还不错

Well, I survived uni, and in fact I did well,

但这只是因为我比别人更努力

but only because I worked harder than everybody else.

我无法快速学习新知识

I was so paranoid about my inability

我对此感到非常害怕

to learn new information quickly

以至于建议一个小时学习的内容

that I consciously did three hours of study

我会花上三个小时去学

for every one hour that had been recommended.

这个做法很有效

It worked.

我的绩点非常好

I got a perfect GPA,

还得到了

and I was awarded a Prime Minister’s

总理澳亚奖学金

Australia Asia Endeavour Award.

每个人都开始夸我 说我真的很聪明

Everybody started to say I was really clever,

我喜欢他们这样夸我

which I liked.

但我觉得自己像个骗子

But I felt like a fraud

因为我知道我成功

because I knew that I had succeeded

只是因为我比别人更努力而已

simply because I worked harder than everybody else.

我用过度准备掩盖了自己普通的记忆力

I hid an average memory through over-preparation,

我生活在恐惧中

and I lived in fear

害怕一些需要快速学习的新工作或挑战

that some new job or challenge that required quick learning

会暴露我的弱点

would reveal this weakness.

不像是好酒那样 我并没有随着年纪的增长变得更好

And unlike a good bottle of wine, I wasn’t improving with age.

然后 大概三年前

Then, about three years ago,

我读了一本关于记忆运动的书

I read a book on memory sports,

它激起了我的兴趣

I was enthused

这些运动员能快速

These athletes could remember

记忆大量的信息

amazing amounts of information quickly,

而且他们中大多数人

and most of them claim

说自己天生的记忆力一般

to have been born with average memories.

但是这些记忆技能都是可以

But these were skills that had acquired

通过一点一点的努力获得的

through a little bit of hard work.

很好 我非常擅长努力

Well, hard work was something that I knew how to do,

所以我决定关注记忆技巧

so I decided to turn my focus towards memory techniques

看看它是否真的有用

to see if it would make a difference.

五个月后 我成为了澳大利亚记忆冠军 -

Five months later, I was the Australian memory champion -

但那时我早就大学毕业

after all that university though.

在记忆运动中

In memory sports,

运动员训练自己的记忆技巧

athletes train themselves in memory techniques

然后利用这些技巧

and then use these techniques

在比赛中取得惊人的记忆成就

to achieve remarkable feats of memory in competition.

比如：

So for example,

现在口述数字记忆

the world record for correctly remembering

的世界纪录是

the exact sequence of numbers

连续无差错记忆

simply read out loud

456个数字

is 456.

几百个数字

That is hundreds of digits are spoken out loud

一秒口述一个 像这样......

at a one-second interval, like ...

3

three,

8

eight,

9

nine,

4

four.

创纪录的那位运动员完美地记起了那些数字

And the athlete recalls them all perfectly,

只在第457个数字上犯了一个小错误

only making a single little error on the 457th digit.

你们可以想象一下

Imagine that,

大多数人只能记住一个电话号码

most people max out at about one phone number.

在所有不同的项目上

There are equally astounding range of records

都有着同样惊人的记录

in all the different disciplines,

项目包括人名和头像 随机单词 抽象图形 二进制数字

so there's names and faces, words, abstract images, binary.

我记得当我第一次开始训练这些技巧时

I remember when I first started training these techniques,

我感到完全解放了

I felt completely liberated.

我惊讶地发现 通过使用这些技巧

I was astounded to see that by using these techniques,

我记新信息的速度之快

I could remember new information

远远超出了我的想象

far faster than I ever thought possible

而且我记得更多了

and retain more of it too.

事实上 我训练的越多 速度就越快

In fact, the more I trained, the faster I got,

我就越能将这些技能

and the more able I was to take those skills

应用到其他的学习领域

to translate to other areas to learn.

就像是

It almost felt like

健身对身体产生的效果一样

how your body responds to physical fitness, you know,

你完成了运动 就能看到结果

you do the work, and you get the results.

在训练了一两周之后 我当时觉得

I remember thinking after a couple of weeks

我学得也太快了吧

that I was learning so quick.

这就像是我拿了一个装有信息的U盘

It was almost like I could get a USB with information on it,

把它放在了我的脑子里

put it into my head, and there it was -

真的太不可思议了

it was incredible.

如果之前有人告诉我 说我能做到这一点

I wouldn’t have believed it was possible

我是不会相信的

if someone had told me I’d be able to do it.

所以对于那些热爱学习的人来说 这是个了不起的天赋

So for someone who loves learning, this is an amazing gift.

我不再逃避

I wasn’t avoiding

那些需要我快速学习的活动

events that might have some quick learning anymore,

我反而会去寻找它们

I was seeking them out.

晚宴对我来说变得非常有趣

And dinner parties had become a blast.

不过 作为一名专业舞蹈演员

But there are many parallels that I see

我认为大脑锻炼和身体锻炼

between mental and physical fitness

有很多相似之处

as a professional dancer.

我们锻炼身体

We get physically fit

是因为想要过上健康长寿的幸福生活 -

because we want to live a happy long healthy life -

也就是过上好的生活

you know, get a big existence.

但是仅仅身体健康并不是全部

But if we're just physically fit, it’s not the full package.

我们也需要锻炼大脑

We need to exercise our minds as well.

所以 我想让大家想象一下

So, I want you to imagine

如果你可以掌握新知识 新资料 新方法

if you could take new knowledge, facts, processes,

还能够快速且准确地记住它们

and quickly and truly remember them.

你可以的

You can.

如果你使用了合适的工具

You can improve your ability to remember,

你就可以提高记忆力

given the right tools.

这样做不仅仅是为了比赛

And this isn’t just for competitions, you know.

记忆技巧还能帮你学习任何想学的东西

It’s for anything that you want to learn:

语言 大学课程

languages, university courses,

澳大利亚所有足球运动员的名字

the names of all the football players in Australia.

世界是属于你的

The world is your oyster.

这是多么好的事情啊

How good is that！

而且人人可学：

And it’s for everyone:

学生

it’s for students,

超负荷工作的高成就者

overworking high achievers,

或者所有想在我们的生活中

or all of us who just want to get a little bit more

有收获更多的人

out of our existence.

然而记忆技巧是一种未知的技能

And yet memory techniques are an unknown skill.

很少有学校 大学或者其他机构

They’re rarely taught in our schools,

教授这种技巧

universities or anywhere.

运动员们使用的技巧

The techniques used by the athletes

就是通过创造

are simply about translating information

一个令人难忘的故事

from something that we can’t easily remember

把我们不容易记住的信息

into something that we’re going to struggle to forget,

转换成我们很难忘记的东西

by creating a memorable story.

所以这是一种不同的学习方式

So it’s about learning differently,

跳出常规思维

learning using imagery and creativity,

使用图形和创造力来学习

that thinking outside the square,

然后把这些信息联系起来

and then linking that information together.

所以 我们创造了一个

So we create an exciting visual story

令人兴奋的视觉故事 而不是记住一串无聊的数字或单词

rather than remembering a boring list of numbers or words.

现在 人类依靠视觉记忆已经

Now, humanity has been surviving with visual memories

生存了数百万年

for millions of years,

而我们口头表达的历史仅有大约10万年

and we’ve only been verbal for around a hundred thousand.

所以多亏了这个历史

So thanks to this past,

我们所有人对图形 头像

we all have fantastic memories for images, faces -

动作 旅行或者是我们曾去过的地方

but not the names attached to those -

有着难忘的记忆 而对它们的名字却并非如此

movement and journeys or locations that we’ve travelled to.

这仅仅是破解了我们已有的能力

It’s just a matter of hacking in to that existing power,

利用富有创造力的大脑解决无聊的问题而已

using our creative minds over boring matter.

我想给大家展示一下 我是如何从抽象和无聊的东西中

I want to show you how I create exciting memories

创造出激动人心的记忆：

out of something abstract and boring:

我要记一串数字

a list of numbers.

比如圆周率 就是一长串无聊的数字

Take pi, the longest list of boring numbers there is.

它是任意一个圆的周长与直径之比

It’s the ratio of any circle circumference to its diameter;

它是一个无理数 无限不循环

it’s an irrational number of infinite decimal length,

因此许多像我一样的运动员很喜欢它

so memory athletes, like me, love it

因为它长度无限 数字没有规律

because it’s endlessly random.

我花了不到两分钟

It took me less than two minutes

就记住了圆周率的100位数字

to learn a hundred digits of pi.

怎么做到的呢

How?

一串数字既抽象又无聊

A string of numbers is just abstract and boring

是没办法记住的

and therefore impossible to remember.

所以 我没有去记一串数字

So I don’t remember a string of numbers;

我记的是一个充满视觉创意的故事

I remember a story that’s full of visual creativity,

这个故事很有趣 所以我很容易就记住了

and it’s exciting and therefore easy for me to remember.

我给从000到999的每个三位数

So I’ve attached a movement to every three-digit number

都分配了一个动作

from 000 to 999.

比如 如果我看到或听到777

So for example, if I see or hear a 777,

在我的脑海里

I just as equally see in my head

就浮现出了一只你能够

one of those good-luck little cats

在寿司店看到的招财猫

you see in your local sushi bar,

像这样 一直摆动手臂

swinging its arm like this.

在我的脑海中

In my head,

我只是在阅读或听到数字时

I simply build a sequence of movements

构建一个动作序列

as I read or hear the numbers,

由于我有学舞蹈的经历

and because of my dance background,

所以我能够记住编舞动作

I can remember the choreography.

我只是把新信息附加到

I’m simply attaching or scaffolding on new information

一些对我来说已经很容易记住的东西上

onto something that’s already easy for me to remember.

所以圆周率的100位数

So a hundred digits of pi

只是一个包含35个动作的

is just a short contemporary dance story

现代舞故事

of around 35 movements.

在我的脑海中 圆周率的100位数是这样的：

In my head, it looks something like this:

3.

three point

1-4-1-5

one-four-one-five,

9-2-6-5

nine-two-six-five,

3-5-8

three-five-eight,

9-7-9

nine-seven-nine,

3-2-3-8

three-two-three-eight,

4-6-2

four-six-two,

6-4-3

six-four-three,

3-8-3

three-eight-three,

2-7-9

two-seven-nine,

5-0-2

five-o-two,

8-8-4

eight-eight-four,

1-9-7

one-nine-seven,

1-6-9

one-six-nine,

3-9-9

three-nine-nine,

3-7-5

three-seven-five,

1-0-5

one-o-five,

8-2-0

eight-two-o,

9-7-4

nine-seven-four,

9-4-4

nine-four-four,

5-9-2

five-nine-two,

3-0-7

three-o-seven,

8-1-6

eight-one-six,

4-0-6

four-o-six,

2-8-6

two-eight-six,

2-0-8

two-o-eight,

9-9-8

nine-nine-eight,

6-2-8

six-two-eight,

0-3-4

zero-three-four,

8-2-5

eight-two-five,

6-4-2

six-four-two ...

哦 不对（前面三位应为3-4-2)

Ah, that was wrong!

1-1-7

One-one-seven,

0-6-7-9

zero-six-seven-nine.

不好意思 这个麦克风可是太为难我了

Excuse me, this has really thrown me.

很简单 对吧

Easy, right?

这是怎么一回事呢

Okay, so what’s going on here?

数字“3”

A "three."

如果我看到一个3 我会想到这个动作

If I see a three on my own, I’ll just as equally see this.

实际上

Actually,

我想到的是金·卡戴珊做这个动作 - 亮出翘臀

I see Kim Kardashian doing that - flashing her booty.

“1-4-1”是这个动作 “5-9-2”是这样 等等

A "one-four-one" is this, a "five-nine-two," so on.

当我听到或读到这些数字时

I simply build a sequence in my head

我只是在脑海中构建一个动作序列

as I hear or read the numbers.

为了记起数字 我就回顾了一下动作的顺序

To recall them, I simply go over the sequence.

这就是我记忆数字的技巧

So that’s just my technique for remembering numbers,

这个方法利用了我的舞蹈背景

and it draws on my dance background,

但还有其他的技巧

but there are other techniques

可以让你把数字当作图形

that will have you quickly remembering

快速记住一串数字 -

a string of numbers as images -

以及别的技巧 可以帮你记住单词 人名

there's other techniques for words, names,

或者任何你想记住的东西

anything that you want to remember.

但它们都利用了相同的基本方法

But they all tap into the same underlying methods

即利用创造力和想象力

of using creativity and imagery

来创造故事 通常是利用地点

to create a story, often with locations,

或者将新信息

or linking on new information

与我们已知的东西联系起来

onto something we already know.

但是 练习这些记忆技巧

But practicing these memory techniques

并不是为了记住圆周率 -

is not about remembering pi -

不是像那个一样令人兴奋

as exciting as that is.

练习记忆技巧是锻炼我们的创造性和视觉思维

It’s about exercising our creative and visual minds

提高我们的整体记忆和学习能力

and improving our overall ability to remember and learn.

这有点像是去健身房举铁

It’s kind of. like going to the gym and pressing weights

我们去举铁

We don’t do that

不是因为我们要防备某天在街上

because we expect that during the day

一个体重未知的人突然跳出来

a random weight is going to jump out

攻击我们

and attack us in the street,

而是因为我们期望在任何地方都能使用我们的肌肉

it’s because we expect to use our muscles everywhere.

同样 训练记忆技巧

Likewise, training memory techniques

将提高我们的记忆力和学习成果

will improve our memory and learning outcomes everywhere.

最好的一点是 记忆技巧只需要少量的训练

The best bit is that it only takes small amounts of training

就可以看出效果

to start to see a difference.

事实上 像健身一样 每天有规律地锻炼

In fact, regular daily training, just like with physical fitness,

是最好的训练方式

is the best way to go about it.

你可以学习如何记忆

You can learn how to remember

成为一个快速学习者

and become the quick learner,

这会改变你的一生

and it is life-changing.

你的自信会增加

You get an increase in your confidence,

这就像滚雪球一样

which has a snowball effect

因为我们越自信

because the more confident we are,

就越有能力接受新信息

the more able we are and receptive to learn new information.

你可以成为

You can be that person

那个能记得你遇到的每个人名字的人

who remembers the names of everyone that you meet.

你可以花更少的时间学习 还能在考试中取得好成绩

You can ace exams with less study or be the gun at work,

或在职场中取得好业绩 如果你愿意 你还可以记住更多信息

and you can recall more of the information, too, if you like.

所以找到适合你的记忆技巧

So find the memory techniques that suit you

锻炼你的大脑

and exercise your mind.

但是不要犯我犯过的错误

But don’t make my mistake.

不要等到上了大学才开始学习记忆技巧

Don’t wait until after you embark on university study.

如果我把花在学习上的

If I’d spent just a small portion

一小部分时间拿出来

of the time I’d allocated to study

去学习记忆技巧

and instead learnt memory techniques,

那么我在大学里也会在短时间内

I would've had the same results at university

获得相同的学习效果

within a fraction of the time.

我还会获得一项终身技能

And I would've had a lifelong skill

我可以把它应用到我想学的任何东西上

that I could apply to anything that I wanted to learn.

所以无论你年龄多大 身在何处

So no matter how old you are or where you’re at,

现在开始学习快速学习的方法都为时不晚

it’s not too late to learn how to learn quickly.

正如你不需要成为一个专业的舞蹈家或运动员

Just as you don’t need to be a professional dancer or athlete

就能获得一些健身训练带来的生活益处一样

to get the life benefits that some fitness training brings,

你也不需要成为一个顶级的脑力运动员

you don’t need to be a top mental athlete

就能够获得一些记忆锻炼的好处

to get the rewards of a little memory fitness.

记忆锻炼为你的锻炼增加了一个维度

Memory fitness adds another dimension to your fitness,

所以不要忘记在你的训练计划中添加锻炼记忆

so don’t forget to fit your memory in your training schedule.

我保证 学会记忆技巧之后 你一定会爱上晚宴

And I promise, you’re going to love dinner parties.

谢谢大家

Thank you.

Remark：视频、演讲稿均来源于TED官网，一切权益归TED所有