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Howtolearnwithzeroeffort
DavidRobson
Health(http://www.bbc.com/future/sections/health) Science&Environment(http://www.bbc.com/future/sections/scienceenvironment)
Technology(http://www.bbc.com/future/sections/technology) Computer(http://www.bbc.com/future/tags/computer) Neuroscience(http://www.bbc.com/future/tags/neuroscience)
Psychology(http://www.bbc.com/future/tags/psychology)

Thebrain'scapacityisunlimited,ifonlyyouuseitcorrectly(Credit:GettyImages)

Whatistheeasiestwaytolearn?DavidRobsonmeetsagroupofscientistsandmemorychampionscompetingtofindtechniquesthatmakefacts
stick...fast.
Facetofacewiththeworldsleadingmemoryexperts,mymindisbeginningtofeelveryhumble.BenWhately,forinstance,tellsmeaboutthefamousmnemonist
MatteoRicci,a16thCenturyJesuitpriestwhowasthefirstwesternertotakeChinashighestcivilserviceexams.Theexamwasanexcruciatingordealthatinvolved
memorisingreamsofclassicalpoetryataskthatcouldtakealifetime.Only1%ofpeoplewhotookthempassedthem,yetRiccipassedthemafter10years,
havingnotspokenanyChinesebefore.

Thinkoflearning
likeabuffet,rather
thanasetdinner
Oneofthetipsforrapidmemorisation
Canpsychologygiveusallthesameastonishingcommandofourminds?ThatsWhatelysaim.WithformermemorychampionEdCooke,hesalreadydesigneda
learningapp,Memrise(http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140307howtolearnlikeamemorychamp) ,thatusessomeofthemnemonistsprinciples,asBBCFuturehas
describedinthepast.NowtheyveteamedupwithresearchersfromUniversityCollegeLondontolaunchacompetitiontofindthebestpossiblewaytoenhancetheir
techniques.Memoryexpertsfromacrosstheworldwereaskedtoconductexperimentstofindtheeasiest,andmosteffective,waytomemorisenewinformation.
Imheretoobservethefirstroundofjudging.Itoffersafascinatingexplorationofthewayourmemorieswork.Whetheryouareauniversitystudentcrammingfor
yourfinals,orhavesimplyyearnedtopickupsometouristFrench,theirinsightscouldtakethepainoutofdigestingfacts.

Cannewtrickstakethepainoutofstudying?(Credit:GettyImages)

Thecompetitionstaskissuperficiallysimple,saysRosalindPotts(https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/people/profiles/academicstaff/rosalindpotts) atUCL.Wewantedtoknowif
youhadanhourtostudyalistof80words,whatdoyouhavetodoinordertorememberthemaweeklater.Thetaskismademoredifficultbythefactthatthose80
wordsareallLithuanian.Theentrantshadtotestthestrategyonparticipantsandcomparethemtoagroupwhowerenotusinganyparticulartechnique.
Despitethefactthatworldleadingscientistsenteredthecompetition,someapproachesfailedtoleadtoanyimprovementinmemoryrecall.Itshowshowdifficultitis
totranslatescientificprinciplesintoreallifelearning,saysDavidShanks,alsoofUCL.
Boredom,forinstance,provedtobeahurdle:oneteamfoundasubjectfallingasleepduringthehourlongwordmemorisingsessiondespitethefacttheywere
beingpaidwithcakestotakepartinthestudy.Ithappens,saysYanaWeinstein(http://yanaweinstein.com/index.html) attheUniversityofMassachusettsLowell,whois
alsoonthejudgingpanel.
Notwithstandingthoseminorhiccups,manyteamsfoundsomebenefitsasmuchasdoublingtheamounttheirsubjectsrecalled.Ratherthanfocussingonone
singletechnique,theytendedtousecombinationsofthefollowingstrategies:

Failonce,andyou'llrememberbetterthenexttime(Credit:Thinkstock)

1)Embracingignorance.Selftestingisoneofthebestwaystoimproverecall.Forme,themostsurprising,andpotentiallyusefultwist,onthistechniquewasa
strategycallederrorfulgeneration.Withoutanytraining,subjectswereforcedtoguessthemeaningoftheLithuanianwords.Theywillalwaysbewrongthefirst
timeround,saysShanksyetpsychologicalstudieshaveshownthattheinitialmistakessubsequentlymakethewordsstick.Itsremarkablybetterthanifyouhad
studiedtheword.
Simplyrecognisingyourownignorance,itseems,primesyourmindintoactiondoublingtherecallcomparedtoagroupwhodidntusethetechnique.Thisbuildson
theideaofdesirabledifficulty(http://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/research.html#itemII) inpsychologybymakingataskalittlebitharder,itcanengageyourattentionand
constructfirmerfoundationsforlaterrecall.

Youneedtoridethecrestofyourmemory'snaturalrhythms(Credit:Thinkstock)

2)Surfingthememoryswaves.Youcaneasilywastetimeoverstudying.Somanyoftheentrantshaddesignedalgorithmsthatcleverlyworkouthowstrongyour
memoryforeachofthe80wordsis,sotheycouldrekindleitonceyouhadstartedtoforget.Memrisesapphasoneversionofthisapproachthatyoucanusefor
nowandtheentrantsmaysuggestwaystofurtherrefineit.Alternatively,youcanrelyonyourintuitiontohelptimeyourlearningleavinglongerandlonger
periodsbeforeyouretestandlearnfromyourmistakes.
Oneentrantalsoexperimentedwithgivingshortbreakstotheparticipantsduringthewordmemorisingtaskallowingthemtowatchavideoofawaterfall
potentiallyallowingtheinformationtosinkin.Whenyourestudying,itscertainlyworthtakingshortbreakstoensurethatfatiguedoesntovercomeyournatural
abilities.
3)Buffetstudying.Itmightseemtemptingtochunkthematerialintothemesandlearnthemonebyonesosomeoftheentrantsorganisedthewordsinto
categoriesandthemes.Butoneteamfoundthatsimplycyclingthroughall80wordswaseffective.Whatelypointsoutthatmemorychampionsmemorisingapackof
cardstakeasimilarapproachrotatingquicklythroughthewholepackratherthanlearningitblockbyblock.
Ifthatsoundsconfusing,researchdoesatleastsuggestthatyoushouldaddvarietytoastudysession.Itsbettertospendsmallblocksoftimeonavarietyof
subjectsandskillsratherthanconcentratingonasingletopic.Thinkofitastakingfromabuffet,ratherthaneatingasetdinner.

Takeapickandmixapproachtostudying.Switchingtopicsmakesyourbrainworkharder,withsurprisingeffects(Credit:GettyImages)

4)Storytelling.Anyformofelaborationcanhelpreactivatethosesynapsesandsealthememory.Oneentrantaskedtheparticipantstobuildastorywiththe
wordstheywerelearning,forinstance.CookeandWhatelywerealsoexcitedtoseeoneteamimplementamemorypalaceinwhichyoutrytolinkthewordsto
objectsinaroom.
TheprogramtheydesignedmightshowapictureofalivingroomandgiveyoutheLithuanianwordlovabed.Youcouldthenimagineyourloversittingona
couch,forexample,eatingbread.Onceyouhavemappedoutyourlearninginthisway,youshouldbeabletoretraceyourstepsandrecallthewordwithease.
Thiswas,infact,thetechniquethatallowedtheJesuitpriestMatteoRiccitolearnChinesetosuchanadvancedlevelanditalsoliesbehindCookesabilityto
remember2265binarydigitsinlessthan30minutes.Theteamscomputerprogrammaysimplifytheprocessbymakingitmoreautomatic.Ifthisdoesturnoutto
bethewinnerthatsaseriousdiscovery,saysCooke.

Makingsurrealconnectionscanboostrecallandnowanappcanhelpfireyourimagination(Credit:Thinkstock)

Thejudgesenergyisinfectious,butIcanthelpwonderingifallthisisstillremovedfromthekindoflearningweneedineverydaylife.Indeed,foraprevious
assignment,Ihadtriedtousemnemonictechniquestolearnaround1000wordsofDanishandalthoughitwasusefultohelpmememorisetheindividualwords,it
didnttranslatetothespontaneousrecallneededtoholdaconversation,onthefly,inabarorrestaurant.
Cookeagreesitsjustthefirststep.AlotofthisstuffiswhatIcallnurturingandscaffoldingwhileyouaregettingthememorydown,hesays.Itsabraceitsthere
aslongasyouneedit.Importantly,hethinksthesamemethodscouldeasilybeusedbeyondlanguagelearningtoallkindsofdisciplineshistory,maths,ortrivia
forapubquiz.Repetitiontesting,spacingallthesetechniquesworkforalmosteverything.
Havingshortlistedfiveentries,theteamarenowintheprocessofuploadingthemtoMemriseswebsite.Thiswillallowthemtopitthetechniquesheadtoheadto
findtheultimatewinnerforaprizeof$10,000.TheadvantageforMemriseistofindideasthatmightimprovetheirappforPottsandShanks,itwillhelpthemsee
whichcombinationsoftechniquesworkbestintherealworldwhiletestingthemonmanymorevolunteersthanwouldbepossibleinatypicallabstudy.
Learninggame
Thejudgeshopetorunthecompetitioneveryyearastheyfurtherrefinetheartofmemory.Inthefuture,theremaybemanymoreinventiveapproachestoconsider.
Shanks,forinstance,pointstooneprojectthatfailedtoenterthisyear,butmaystillbeapromisingstrategyforthefuture.Theywerebuildingavideogamewhere
youshootthespaceshipsoutofsky,andcompletelyincidentally,thespaceshipshaveLithuanianandEnglishwordsonthem,hesays.Ithoughtitwasabrilliant
idea.
Therealchallengeforthesememoryexperts,however,isntjusttomakelearningquickandeffective.Aseverystudentknowsthebiggestobstacletolearningis
distraction,whetheritstheideaofsunbathingintheparkorswitchingontheTV.Wemayneedmanymorecompetitionsbeforewecanovercomethathurdle.
Ifyoufancytestingtheshortlistedentries,youcansignupforthetrialhereonMemriseswebsite.(http://www.memrise.com/labs/)
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