Test Your Memory

Some college students were taking an examination just prior to their Christmas vacation. This was an exam they hadn't looked forward to, since they knew it would be a tough one. It was!

One student handed in his paper with this remark on it: "God only knows the answers to these questions. Merry Christmas!"

The professor marked the papers, and returned them to the students. One had a message on it: "God gets an A, you get an F. Happy New Year!"

I DON'T think you'll find the tests in this chapter quite as difficult. Even if you do, it doesn't matter, since no one will know how badly you do on them. In a previous chapter, I gave you a few examples showing how conscious associations are a great help in remembering anything. Such a simple aid to our memories, and yet so effective. The fact that those of you who learned the phrase, "Never believe a lie" never misspelled the word, "believe" again, proves their effectiveness. The more important fact that you can retain these simple associations over a period of years, proves it still more.

It is my contention that if you can remember or retain one thing with the aid of a conscious association, you can do it with anything else. That's my contention and I intend

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to prove it with you; I also intend to prove it to you. After you've learned the methods, I'm sure you'll agree that conscious associations will be more useful and valuable to you than you ever imagined they could be. If I were to tell you now, that after reading and studying the system in this book, you would be able to remember as high as a fifty digit number, and retain it for as long as you liked, after looking at it only once—you would think me mad. If I told you that you could memorize the order of a shuffled deck of fifty-two playing cards after hearing them called only once, you would think me mad! If I told you that you would never again be troubled by forgetting names or faces, or that you would be able to remember a shopping list of fifty items, or memorize the contents of an entire magazine, or remember prices and important telephone numbers, or know the day of the week of any date—you would surely think I had "flipped my lid." But read and study this book, and see for yourself! I imagine that the best way for me to prove it to you is to let you see your own progress. In order to do that, I must show you first how poor your untrained memory is. So take a few moments out, right now, and mark yourselves on the tests that follow. In this way you will be able to take the same tests after reading certain chapters, and compare your scores. I feel that these tests are quite important. Since your memory will improve with almost every chapter you read, I want you to see that improvement. That will give you confidence, which in itself is important to a trained memory. After each test you will find a space for your present score, and a space which is to be used for your score after reading those particular chapters. One important point, before you take the tests—don't flip through the book and read only the chapters that you think will help you. All the chapters will help you, and it is much better if you read from one to the other. Do not jump ahead, of me, or yourself! Test #1

Read this list of fifteen objects just once—you can take about two minutes to do so. Then try to write them, without looking at the book, of course, in exactly the same order in which they appear here. When scoring yourself, remember that if you leave out a word, that will make the remaining words incorrect, for they will be out of sequence. I will remind you to take this test again, after you've read Chapter 5. Give yourself 5 points for each correct one.

book, ashtray, cow, coat, match, razor, apple, purse, Venetian blind, frying pan, clock, eyeglasses, door knob, bottle, worm. Write your score here —. Score after learning Chapter 5 —.

Test #2

Take about three minutes to try to memorize the twenty objects listed here, by number. Then try to list them yourself without looking at the book. You must remember not only the object, but to which number it belongs. You'll be reminded to take this test again, after you've read Chapter 6. Give yourself 5 points for every object that you put with the correct number.

1. radio 6. telephone 11. dress 16. bread
2. airplane 7. chair 12. flowei 17. pencil
3. lamp 8. horse 13. window 18. curtain
4. cigarette 9. egg 14. perfume 19. vase
5. picture 10. tea cup 15. book 20. hat

Write your score here —. Score after learning Chapter 6 —. Test #3

Look at this twenty digit number for about two and a half minutes, then take a piece of paper and try to write it from memory. Give yourself 5 points for every number that you put down in its correct place or sequence. Understand please, that

Test Your Memory . 27 the important thing here is retentiveness, which you cannot test until you have read Chapter 11.

 

72443278622173987651

 

Write your score here —. Score after learning Chapter 11 —. Test #4

Imagine that someone has taken five cards out of a shuffled deck of playing cards. Now the rest of the cards (47) are called off to you just once. Could you tell, by memory, which five were not called, or were missing? Let's try it. Look down this list of forty-seven cards only once. After you've done so, take a pencil and jot down the names of the five cards that you think are missing. You must not look at the book while you are writing. Don't take more than four and a half minutes to look at the list of cards. I will ask you to take this test again, after you have read and studied Chapter 10. Give yourself 20 points for every missing card you list correctly.

Jack Hearts
Ace Diamonds King Hearts
Seven Diamonds Ten Clubs
Jack Spades
Three Spades Nine Hearts
Seven Hearts Queen Hearts Three Diamonds Two Spades
Ace Clubs
Nine Spades Four Clubs
Five Hearts
Three Hearts Nine Clubs
Ten Diamonds Eight Spades Five Spades
Ace Spades
Six Diamonds Jack Diamonds Eight Clubs Queen Clubs Seven Spades Seven Clubs Two Diamonds King Clubs
Eight Hearts Six Spades
Four Spades Queen Spades Three Clubs Jack Clubs
Six Hearts
Four Hearts
Ten Spades
King Diamonds Ten Hearts
Queen Diamonds Eight Diamonds Five Clubs
Two Clubs
Five Diamonds Two Hearts

Write your score here —. Score after learning Chapter 10 —. Test #5

Take about six or seven minutes to look at the fifteen faces and names pictured here. Towards the end of this chapter you'll find them pictured again in a different order, without their names. See if you can't give the right name to the right picture. I'll remind you to take this test again, after you've read through Chapter 17. Give yourself 5 points for every name and face that you match up correctly.
Write your score here—. Score after learning Chapter 17 —.

Test #6

Take seven to nine minutes to look at this list of ten people and their telephone numbers. Then copy all ten people onto a piece of paper, close the book, and see if you can write the telephone number next to each one, from memory. Remember that if you were to dial one wrong digit, you would get the wrong party—so, if only one digit in the number is wrong, you get no score on that particular one. I will remind you to take this test again, after you've read through Chapter 19. Give yourself 10 points for each telephone number that you list correctly.

Baker — TA 5-3174 Tailor —RH 3-8295 Shoemaker — JU 60746 Dentist —WA 4-6904 Mr. Bookman — CO 5-1127 Banker — SU 9-4281

Mr. Karpel — RE 8-9714 Doctor — TA 7-1015 Mr. Goldberg —WA 6-8222 Mr. Corrigan — CA 9-4132

Write your score here —. Score after learning Chapter 19 —.

Do not feel discouraged because of the poor marks that you may have received on the foregoing tests. I have given them to you for a definite purpose. First, of course, as I stated above, that you would be able to see your own progress as you read through this book. Also, to show you how unreliable an untrained memory really is.

It does not take a lot of work and study to be able to get 100% on all these tests. I like to refer to the system in this book as the "lazy man's" way of remembering!