How I Developed A Photographic Memory
Summary
TLDRThe video introduces a unique memory system called the 'Xettlecast method,' designed to enhance retention of information by aligning with the brain's natural functions. The creator shares the science behind memory and emphasizes the importance of value, relation, and repetition in cognitive psychology. The system involves writing notes on index cards, personal connections to the information, and visual representation through drawings, which significantly improves memory retention compared to digital note-taking. The method not only boosts memory but also fosters a mindset shift towards continuous learning and knowledge expansion.
Takeaways
- 🔑 The creator of the video developed a memory system to remember everything due to a realization of forgetting information from daily life.
- 🧠 Our brains are naturally good at filtering out useless information, but this system aims to remember what is deemed important rather than what is subconsciously filtered out.
- 📚 The system is based on cognitive psychology research by Dr. Sean Kane, emphasizing the importance of value, relation, and repetition in memory retention.
- 💡 Value is determined by our brain based on the usefulness of information in our lives, and strong emotions can bias our memory towards retaining certain events.
- 📈 Relating new information to oneself consciously impacts the subconscious, making the information more likely to be remembered.
- 🎨 The memory system involves writing notes on index cards, personalizing the information, and drawing a picture to aid visualization and retention.
- 📝 The 'Xettlecast' method builds on the 'Zettelkasten' method by incorporating cognitive memory research and creating a more effective memory retention technique.
- 📑 The process involves three steps: information translation, personal connection, and representation through drawing on index cards.
- 👀 The physical nature of the system allows for repeated exposure to the notes, enhancing memory through frequent revisiting of the cards.
- 🌱 The system has led to a mindset shift, creating a drive to learn more and gamifying the expansion of knowledge through the growth of the note stack.
- 🌟 The creator attributes significant personal growth and learning over the past two years entirely to this memory system.
Q & A
What was the main problem the speaker faced with their memory?
-The speaker realized they were forgetting everything they learned, and nothing from their daily experiences was being remembered.
What did the speaker create to combat their memory issues?
-The speaker created a memory system to remember everything, which they have been following religiously for an entire year.
According to the speaker, why do our brains not remember every detail of our lives?
-Our brains have evolved to forget useless information because retaining every detail is not necessary for survival and would be overwhelming.
What are the three key factors that the speaker says our brains use to decide what information to remember?
-The three key factors are value, relation, and repetition.
How does the speaker define 'value' in the context of memory?
-Value is determined by the usefulness of the information in our lives, often influenced by our emotions and personal connections.
What is the significance of the 'Zettelkasten method' mentioned in the script?
-The Zettelkasten method is a system of writing notes on small pieces of paper, which the speaker uses as a basis for their improved memory system.
What are the three rules of the speaker's memory system?
-The three rules are simplicity, personal connection, and benefiting from human-specific memory biases.
What are the key concepts behind the speaker's memory system?
-The key concepts are information, translation, and representation.
How does the speaker suggest one should write notes for their memory system?
-The speaker suggests writing notes on index cards, making them personal and informal, adding a personal connection, and drawing a picture to represent the information.
What unexpected benefit did the speaker experience from their memory system?
-The speaker experienced a substantial mindset shift towards new information, creating a drive to learn more and gamifying the expansion of knowledge.
How does the speaker's memory system differ from simply jotting down notes?
-The speaker's system involves a more intentional and personal process, which includes writing on physical cards, adding personal connections, and drawing representations, leading to better retention.
Outlines
📚 The Memory Mastery System
The speaker introduces a personal memory system developed to remember everything learned. The system is based on scientific principles of memory and has significantly enhanced the speaker's learning capabilities over the past two years. It emphasizes the importance of value relation and repetition in memory retention, explaining how our brains filter information based on its perceived value and emotional impact. The speaker also discusses the limitations of the Zettelkasten method and introduces the 'xettlecast' method, which integrates cognitive memory research to create a more effective memory retention technique.
🎨 The Art of Memorable Note-Taking
This paragraph delves into the specifics of the 'xettlecast' method, a three-step process involving writing notes on index cards with a focus on simplicity, personal connection, and visual representation. The method encourages making notes personal and informal, establishing a connection to the information, and drawing a picture to solidify the memory. The speaker shares their experience with this method, noting the stark difference in memory retention between digital note-taking and the 'xettlecast' method. The physical nature of the cards allows for repeated exposure to the information, enhancing memory retention.
🌟 The Transformative Impact of Intentional Learning
The final paragraph discusses the broader implications of the memory system on the speaker's mindset and approach to learning. The system has not only improved memory retention but also instilled a drive to continuously learn and grow. The speaker reflects on how the physical representation of knowledge through the stack of memory cards has gamified the learning process, making it a visible and motivating goal. The method has been applied to various areas of interest, including filmmaking, engineering, and channel growth, transforming the way the speaker engages with new information.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Memory System
💡Cognitive Psychology
💡Value Relation
💡Repetition
💡Zettelkasten Method
💡Information Translation
💡Personal Connection
💡Representation
💡Intention
💡Mindset Shift
Highlights
The creator developed a memory system to remember everything learned, which has been instrumental in their learning process over the past two years.
The human brain is naturally adept at forgetting useless information, which is an evolutionary advantage rather than a drawback.
The importance of information is determined by its value, relation, and repetition, as explained by Dr. Sean Kane's research on cognitive psychology.
Emotion plays a significant role in memory retention, with strong emotions like fear making an event more likely to be remembered.
Relating new information to oneself is a powerful method to increase the likelihood of remembering it.
The Zettelkasten method, popularized by Nicholas Luman, involves writing interconnected notes to expand memory but lacks integration with cognitive memory research.
The Xettlecast method is an evolution of the Zettelkasten method, incorporating cognitive memory biases to enhance memory retention.
Three key concepts of the Xettlecast method are simplicity, personal connection, and benefiting from human memory biases.
The process of the Xettlecast method involves writing notes on index cards, personalizing the information, and drawing a picture to visualize the concept.
Physical note-taking, as opposed to digital, can enhance memory retention due to the tangible nature of the cards and the ease of flipping through them.
The creator's memory system has led to a significant mindset shift towards continuous learning and an increased drive to expand knowledge.
The memory system gamifies the learning process, allowing the creator to quantify the knowledge in their brain through the size of their note stack.
The creator has experienced a substantial increase in memory retention and has applied the system to various fields such as film photography, engineering, and CGI.
The system has transformed the creator's approach to learning, making it a goal in itself rather than just a means to an end.
The creator encourages others to try the memory system, believing it could have a transformative impact on how they retain information.
The video concludes with the assertion that the memory system is the most important piece the creator has shared, attributing their learning progress entirely to it.
Transcripts
last year i realized i'd forgotten
everything i was learning i mean
everything determined to remember at
least a single thing from the halfway
sentient daydream that was my covet
experience i created a system to
remember
everything
fast forward an entire year as it felt
like 2021 did automatically and i've
followed this system religiously
this video is the most important piece
i've shared so far and this technique is
really the only reason i've been able to
learn so much over the past two years
in this piece i'll explain the memory
system i've created why it works
according to science and how it enables
me to remember every single thing i
learn without exception
[Music]
when it gets right down to it our brains
work pretty flawlessly as it is our
brains could have evolved to remember
every minute detail and event that's
happened throughout our lives but there
needed to be a reason to which there
just never was creatures evolve through
life or death experiences if we remember
which mushroom will kill us
you know we have a better chance of
living if we remember what the clouds
looked like on our sixth birthday it
just doesn't give us a lot of
information just imagine if one minute
from now you remembered every little
detail in this frame every previous
frame of video you've ever seen also
99.9 of that would serve no purpose a
large part of the autistic spectrum
consists of differences in how people's
brains are unable to filter out over
stimulation through the complexities of
our world but most brains are amazing at
forgetting useless information you'll
probably understand the general concept
and point of this video we won't
remember what i said word for word in
the introduction the point of having a
photographic memory shouldn't just be to
remember every little detail of
perception but instead remember what we
deem as important not what our
subconscious
automatically filters out
this is the reason i developed this
system
part one the science
so how do our brains choose what
information to store and what to discard
well it isn't just life or death related
i'll remember for the rest of my life a
dream i had when i was five where the
animated trolls from the original hobbit
invaded my kitchen and yet that's not
increasing my chances of survival the
average layperson trying to learn
nuclear physics for the first time will
probably find it very difficult to
retain that information this is dr sean
kane explaining his research on the
cognitive psychology of learning and
memory what it shows us is two things
the first is that our brains remember
importance the second is that importance
is determined by value relation and
repetition
these three items are what all
non-physical cognitive memory research
revolves around understanding this is
critical to understanding how to create
a photographic memory for yourself value
our brains decide what is valuable based
on its use in our lives that's why as
king said learning nuclear physics is
difficult
when i was five my brain subconsciously
decided that this recurring troll
nightmare had value now why was this you
know most of the time what the case is
is that our brains have an emotion bias
if we elicit a strong emotion like pure
terror our brains treat that event as
valuable otherwise why would we have not
slept for days just because these stupid
cartoon drills won't stop entering every
single dream youtube relation more than
anything i consider myself a filmmaker i
remember lens characteristics and
lighting setups etc because all of this
information relates to me
relating information to yourself is
something that happens consciously but
still impacts your subconscious
what's powerful is that if you start
learning something new like music at
first it won't relate to anything but
soon that new information relates to
previous information in that same
category repetition now to get back to
the nightmare trolls another strong
reason why i remember these little men
is the repetition of this memory i've
thought about this memory consistently
since i was five every time i've seen
the cartoon hobbit i remember them in my
kitchen and on top of that i feel like
this is my first memory so because of
this whenever someone asks me what my
first memory is
i bring up the cold sleepless nights of
2008. repetition like this ensures any
memory can stay in your mind no matter
how bad you want those trolls to leave
part two the memory system when the
german sociologist nicholas lumen became
a professor he was asked what his main
research project would be
in these three decades he published 70
books and 400 academic articles on a
huge variety of subjects from science to
art to history to philosophy and
progressed a multitude of fields to new
heights
this german lad is important to our
story because he popularized method of
expanding your memory called the
zettelkasten method now this method
isn't at all what this video is about
but to put it simply the method consists
of writing notes on small pieces of
paper with a numbering system to be able
to link new notes to other notes
since lumen's focus was on writing books
this makes sense he said books would
write themselves and if you had 90 000
notes of various subjects all linked
together i'm sure that entire books were
just swimming around the millions of
words strung together on his desk
however the zettlecast method failed to
see a large opportunity here is where my
memory system comes in
see lumen and zedel caston both missed
out on half a century of research in
your cognitive memory that i talked
about in the first part of this piece
what i realized over a year ago was that
if you take the science behind why we
remember what we do and our memory
biases into account then a new method
can be created one that works with the
natural functions of the brain this
method is the xettlecast method taken to
a new height one that isn't just writing
interconnected notes but instead one
that makes its way back into our brain
allowing us to remember everything that
we want to and here's how it works
the three rules are simplicity personal
connection and to benefit from human
specific memory biases the three key
concepts are information
translation and representation
information goes in your head you
translate it to the real world on paper
then you represent that information in a
new way
let me explain
step one grab an index card step two
title it with what you want to remember
step three fill the card with
information about the subject make it
sound personal and very informal now
this is crucial if the card sounds like
a wikipedia article you failed
step four write your own personal
connection to the information
this is huge once your brain recognizes
what you wrote is important it just
sticks it really is amazing how well
this small step works
step five draw a picture this is the
final step to being able to remember
literally anything you write down by
drawing the subject of this note it
can't remain abstract the idea is able
to be visualized and the representation
of the information can now stay in your
brain
now this might sound simple after all it
doesn't seem to be too different from
jotting down a note like normal well i
didn't experiment to validate this over
the last year while building my
collection of siriani notes i've also
been making notes on my phone after a
year of doing this it's remarkable the
difference of what i remember from
typing a note versus doing this process
of the memory system i will literally
read a note on my phone and not even be
able to remember how it ends that's how
little of it remains in my brain
for the siriani notes on the other hand
i can't believe how much i remember
after a bit less than a year the stack
of notes has grown pretty substantially
in the past year i've read books that i
remember basically nothing from but i've
also read books i took siriani notes on
and i could literally answer
any question about it it's gotten to the
point where anything important enters my
head i immediately take a note on and so
far they've all remained in my head
memory based on intention
now last part of this video talks about
the mindset shift that comes with this
memory system but before that i
explained value in relation within the
system but i haven't talked about the
third concept which if you remember was
repetition now this is a really cool
benefit of having this whole system be
physical see the stack of the notes is
always sitting on my desk when i'm bored
i'll flip through the cards if i need to
find one i'll end up reading dozens
along the way because of how short they
are
you don't get this if the system is
digital which is why i think that cards
are the way to go the expansion of my
memory that i can't even begin to
describe has made it certain that i'm
never going back to the normal lame
version of memory but along with the
literal benefits of this year-long
experiment something else surprising
started to happen a substantial mindset
shift towards new information
this channel is about continuous
learning and expanding your awareness
what this new memory system has done for
me is created this strange drive to
learn more for the first time in my life
i can literally quantify the knowledge
in my brain which is like super trippy
to think about
the size of the stack is the amount of
intentional information i've added to my
mind the bigger the stack gets i just
get to see
how much more i'm learning and i get
more driven to grow it this memory
system has literally gamified the
expansion of knowledge which again i
just can't reiterate is like crazy my
progress within film photography
engineering and cgi isn't just measured
by deadlines and goals now now i can
measure it by stacks of memory chunks
sitting on my desk it really feels like
it makes learning the goal of a project
even before starting this youtube i've
made probably over 30 cards on
storytelling editing channel growth
thumbnails how to relate complex ideas
and so on to try and grow this channel
my goal with this system is to just keep
growing it in some ways it's changed too
over the last year i recently started
writing examples instead of connections
because i realized an example that
relates to my life could hold even more
value for how my brain interprets the
information
so to wrap things up i wasn't
exaggerating when i said that this was
the most important video i've released
the system has transformed how i retain
information and everything i'm able to
do
because of that if any of you try out or
implement this method in your own lives
let me know i'd be happy to answer any
questions uh the channel is still like
really small so i'll see every comment
um with that being said i've learned a
lot over this last year and i attribute
a hundred percent of that to this method
so give it a shot i think it could
change your life too
i'll see you next time
you
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