Memory sport
Encyclopedia
Memory sport, sometimes referred to as competitive memory or the mind sport
of memory, is a competition in which participants attempt to memorize the most information that they can then present back, under certain guidelines. The sport has been formally developed since 1991, and features regional and international championships.
One common type of competition involves memorizing the order of randomized cards in as little time as possible, after which the competitor is required to arrange new decks of cards in the same order.
Mnemonic
techniques are generally considered to be a necessary part of competition, and are improved through extensive practice. These can include the method of loci
, the use of mnemonic linking
and chunking
, or other techniques for storage and retrieval of information.
, and formal memory training was long considered an important part of basic education known as the art of memory
. However, the development of trained memorization into a sport is only a development of the late 20th century, and even then has remained relatively limited in scope. The first worldwide competition was held as the World Memory Championships
in 1991, and has been held again in every year since.
. Joshua Foer
wrote in 2005 that there were 36 Grand Masters in the world, including one in the United States.
, named after former World Champion Dominic O'Brien
. These methods are sometimes referred to as "mnemotechnics."
Joshua Foer has written, "Though every competitor has his own unique method of memorization for each event, all mnemonic techniques are essentially based on the concept of elaborative encoding, which holds that the more meaningful something is, the easier it is to remember."
feature ten specific tests as follows:
Other types of memory competitions may not feature timed events. For instance, records for the memorization of Pi
(known as piphilology
) have been recorded since the 1970s, with the current record holder having produced from memory more than 60,000 digits.
Mind sport
A Mind Sport is a sport or a game of skill where the mentalcomponent is much more significant than the physical. The official bodies that use the term have over 500 million registered users.- History of the term :...
of memory, is a competition in which participants attempt to memorize the most information that they can then present back, under certain guidelines. The sport has been formally developed since 1991, and features regional and international championships.
One common type of competition involves memorizing the order of randomized cards in as little time as possible, after which the competitor is required to arrange new decks of cards in the same order.
Mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
techniques are generally considered to be a necessary part of competition, and are improved through extensive practice. These can include the method of loci
Method of loci
The method of loci , also called the memory palace, is a mnemonic device introduced in ancient Roman rhetorical treatises . It relies on memorized spatial relationships to establish, order and recollect memorial content...
, the use of mnemonic linking
Mnemonic link system
A mnemonic link system, sometimes also known as a chain method, is a method of remembering lists, based on creating an association between the elements of that list...
and chunking
Chunking (psychology)
Chunking, in psychology, is a phenomenon whereby individuals group responses when performing a memory task. Tests where individuals can illustrate "chunking" commonly include serial and free recall, as these both require the individual to reproduce items that he or she had previously been...
, or other techniques for storage and retrieval of information.
History
Techniques for training memory are discussed as far back as Ancient GreeceAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, and formal memory training was long considered an important part of basic education known as the art of memory
Art of memory
The Art of Memory or Ars Memorativa is a general term used to designate a loosely associated group of mnemonic principles and techniques used to organize memory impressions, improve recall, and assist in the combination and 'invention' of ideas. It is sometimes referred to as mnemotechnics...
. However, the development of trained memorization into a sport is only a development of the late 20th century, and even then has remained relatively limited in scope. The first worldwide competition was held as the World Memory Championships
World Memory Championships
The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of mental sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. The Championship has taken place annually since 1991 and has been staged by various organisations...
in 1991, and has been held again in every year since.
Competitions
Following the establishment of the World Memory Championships in 1991, regional competitions have been set up in numerous countries. These include the U.S. Championships, which started in 1997, the Indian National Memory Championships, the German Memory Championships, and the UK Open Memory Championships. Other countries with national championships include South Africa, Australia, Singapore, China, Japan and Mexico.Designations
The highest designation set up by the World Memory Sports Council, which organizes the World Memory Championships, is the Grand Master of MemoryGrand Master of Memory
First awarded in 1995, the title Grand Master of Memory is awarded to people who are able to successfully negotiate the following three memory feats:*Memorise 1,000 random digits in an hour*Memorise the order of 10 decks of cards in an hour...
. Joshua Foer
Joshua Foer
Joshua Foer is a freelance journalist living in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, with a primary focus on science. He was the 2006 U.S.A...
wrote in 2005 that there were 36 Grand Masters in the world, including one in the United States.
Techniques
Competitors describe numerous methods and techniques for improving their memorization skills, with some having published and named their specific methods. These include, for instance, the Mnemonic dominic systemMnemonic dominic system
The mnemonic dominic system is a mnemonic system used to remember sequences of digits similar to the mnemonic major system. It was invented and used in competition by several-time memory world champion Dominic O'Brien.-Differences from the major system:...
, named after former World Champion Dominic O'Brien
Dominic O'Brien
Dominic O'Brien is a British mnemonist and an author of memory related books. He is the eight time world memory champion and works as a trainer for Peak Performance Training....
. These methods are sometimes referred to as "mnemotechnics."
Joshua Foer has written, "Though every competitor has his own unique method of memorization for each event, all mnemonic techniques are essentially based on the concept of elaborative encoding, which holds that the more meaningful something is, the easier it is to remember."
Disciplines
While the potential subject matter for memory competitions could be limitless, the World Memory ChampionshipsWorld Memory Championships
The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of mental sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. The Championship has taken place annually since 1991 and has been staged by various organisations...
feature ten specific tests as follows:
- One Hours Numbers (23712892....)
- 5 Minute Numbers
- Spoken Numbers, read out one per second
- 30 Minutes Binary Digits (011100110001001....)
- One Hour Playing Cards (as many decks of cards as possible)
- Random Lists of Words (House, playing, Orphan, Enyclopedia....)
- Names and Faces (15 minutes, world record: 195 names)
- 5min Historic Dates (fictional events and historic years)
- Abstract Images (black and white randomly generated spots)
- Speed Cards - Always the last discipline. Memorize the order of one shuffled deck of 52 playing cards as fast as possible. World record: 21.90 seconds.
Other types of memory competitions may not feature timed events. For instance, records for the memorization of Pi
Pi
' is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve , which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants...
(known as piphilology
Piphilology
Piphilology comprises the creation and use of mnemonic techniques to remember a span of digits of the mathematical constant . The word is a play on Pi itself and the linguistic field of philology....
) have been recorded since the 1970s, with the current record holder having produced from memory more than 60,000 digits.
Records
Memory sport is continuing to have its records broken rapidly. A recent world speed record for memorizing a deck of cards was 21.9 seconds, held by Simon Reinhard of Germany. A recent world record for the most digits memorized in five minutes was 480.See also
- AnamonicAnamonicAn anamonic is a form of mnemonic device frequently employed by tournament Scrabble players . It consists of a six or seven letter "stem" , paired with a phrase in which each letter can be added to the stem and rearranged to form a new word...
- Chunking (psychology)Chunking (psychology)Chunking, in psychology, is a phenomenon whereby individuals group responses when performing a memory task. Tests where individuals can illustrate "chunking" commonly include serial and free recall, as these both require the individual to reproduce items that he or she had previously been...
- Eidetic memoryEidetic memoryEidetic , commonly referred to as photographic memory, is a medical term, popularly defined as the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision and in abundant volume. The word eidetic, referring to extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall not limited to, but...
- Exceptional memoryExceptional memory- Hyperthymesia :Hyperthymesia or hyperthymesitic syndrome is superior autobiographical memory, the type of memory that forms people's life stories. The term thymesia is derived from the Greek word thymesis, meaning "memory"....
- Haraguchi's mnemonic system
- Interference theoryInterference theory-History:Bergström, a German psychologist, is credited as conducting the first study regarding interference in 1892. His experiment was similar to the Stroop task and required subjects to sort two decks of card with words into two piles. When the location was changed for the second pile, sorting...
- LinkwordLinkwordLinkword is a mnemonic system promoted by Michael Gruneberg since at least the early 1980s for learning languages based on the similarity of the sounds of words. The process involves creating an easily visualized scene that will link the words together...
- MemoryMemoryIn psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
- MentalismMentalismMentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
- Method of lociMethod of lociThe method of loci , also called the memory palace, is a mnemonic device introduced in ancient Roman rhetorical treatises . It relies on memorized spatial relationships to establish, order and recollect memorial content...
- Mnemonic dominic systemMnemonic dominic systemThe mnemonic dominic system is a mnemonic system used to remember sequences of digits similar to the mnemonic major system. It was invented and used in competition by several-time memory world champion Dominic O'Brien.-Differences from the major system:...
- Mnemonic goroawase systemMnemonic goroawase systemJapanese wordplay relies on the nuances of the Japanese language and Japanese script for humorous effect.Japanese double entendres have a rich history in Japanese entertainment, because of the way that Japanese words can be read to have several different meanings and pronunciations...
- Mnemonic link systemMnemonic link systemA mnemonic link system, sometimes also known as a chain method, is a method of remembering lists, based on creating an association between the elements of that list...
- Mnemonic major systemMnemonic major systemThe Major System is a mnemonic technique used to aid in memorizing numbers....
- Mnemonic peg systemMnemonic peg systemA peg system is a technique for memorizing lists. It works by pre-memorizing a list of words that are easy to associate with the numbers they represent . Those objects form the "pegs" of the system. Then in the future, to rapidly memorize a list of arbitrary objects, each one is associated with...
- MnemonistMnemonistThe title mnemonist refers to an individual with the ability to remember and recall unusually long lists of data, such as unfamiliar names, lists of numbers, entries in books, etc. Such individuals have also been described as possessing an eidetic memory, although whether such abilities are innate...
- PiphilologyPiphilologyPiphilology comprises the creation and use of mnemonic techniques to remember a span of digits of the mathematical constant . The word is a play on Pi itself and the linguistic field of philology....
- Serial position effectSerial position effectThe serial position effect, a term coined by Hermann Ebbinghaus through studies he performed on himself, refers to the finding that recall accuracy varies as a function of an item's position within a study list . When asked to recall a list of items in any order , people tend to begin recall with...
- Spacing effectSpacing effectIn psychology, the spacing effect refers to the fact that humans and animals more easily remember or learn items in a list when they are studied a few times over a long period of time , rather than studied repeatedly in a short period time .The phenomenon was first identified by Hermann Ebbinghaus;...
- The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus TwoThe Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two"The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information" is one of the most highly cited papers in psychology. It was published in 1956 by the cognitive psychologist George A. Miller of Princeton University's Department of Psychology in Psychological...
- Von Restorff effectVon Restorff effectThe Von Restorff effect , also called the isolation effect, predicts that an item that "stands out like a sore thumb" is more likely to be remembered than other items....
- Zeigarnik effect