PDF Summary:The Memory Book, by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas

What do a magician and a former NBA basketball player have in common? In Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas’s case, it was an affinity for memorization techniques. Together, they wrote The Memory Book, a collection of strategies intended to teach anyone how to improve their memorization skills and recall nearly any kind of information.

In our guide, we’ll share some basic memory principles that underpin Lorayne and Lucas’s strategies. We’ll also closely examine three of their fundamental memorization techniques. First, we’ll discuss how to remember sequences of information using image-based associations. Then, we’ll teach you how to create stand-in words to picture abstract information. Finally, we’ll apply those first two skills to recall sequences of ideas. Throughout the guide, we’ll expand on the authors’ techniques with additional strategies for improving your memory and dive deeper into some of the science behind the authors’ strategies.

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Furthermore, Lorayne and Lucas suggest incorporating action into your mental image, as actions are easier to remember than static pictures. For instance, to create your association for the first two words on our example list from Step 1—moon and pencil—you might imagine that the moon has grown arms and is waving around a giant pencil.

(Shortform note: In Brain Rules, John Medina explains that visual aids for learning (like our unusual, active mental pictures) often involve action and motion because of how we evolved. Many predators that threatened the survival of early humans moved quickly, so our brains became highly adept at detecting motion. Thus, we pay close attention to moving images and are more likely to remember them.)

How Advertisers Use Humor and Peculiarity to Create Memorable Commercials

Advertisers take advantage of our tendency to remember humorous and strange information to create memorable commercials. Think of a commercial you can easily recall—it’s likely something bizarre, something that made you laugh, or both.

According to some advertising experts, funny ads are easier to remember because we pay more attention to them than to non-humorous ads, thus creating the foundational memories that Lorayne and Lucas discuss. Other experts suggest that funny and bizarre ads are easy to remember because they defy our brain’s natural tendency to categorize information. Strange and funny commercials usually don’t match our brains' existing categories for ads, so they stand out instead of blending in with countless others. Thus, we have an easier time recalling them (and may be more likely to buy from the company that created them).

For example, the insurance company Allstate has used its Mayhem character—a humorous anthropomorphization of various destructive and unexpected situations—to create popular commercials for years. The bizarre nature of a human representing common mishaps makes otherwise stressful scenes feel funny and relatable. Paired with the dry and irreverent delivery of the comedian who plays Mayhem, this makes for a memorable ad campaign.

Step 3: Form Connections Between All of the Words

After creating your association image between the first two words in the list, repeat Step 2 with the rest of the words. The authors state that the second word must be associated with the third, the third with the fourth, and so on.

For example, returning to our example list of words, your next task would be to create a silly mental image associating pencil with coffee. You might picture brewing a cup of coffee with pencil shavings instead of coffee grounds. Then, you’d associate coffee with running. Maybe you’d imagine a cup of coffee with legs running away from you when you try to drink it. Finally, you’d imagine something that connects running with cloud. This could be a runner who’s made out of clouds or someone running in the sky on a path of clouds.

You can repeat this step for a list of any length, as long as you take the time to form a clear, strange, and dynamic mental image between each pair of items on the list.

(Shortform note: For a slightly different take on image-based associations, some memory experts recommend creating a story linking the different items on your list into one narrative (instead of creating separate associations for each pair of items). For example, to remember our list of words, your story might go like this: Imagine yourself drawing a picture of the moon for your friend’s birthday, but then your pencil breaks, so you decide to buy them coffee instead. You’re late to their birthday party, though, so you start running to the coffee shop. On your way, you look up at the sky and worry that it might start raining because the clouds are dark.)

Step 4: Practice Frequently

Use the above steps to remember items in any list in their correct order by simply following your image associations down the list. According to Lorayne and Lucas, the best way to become better at this technique is to practice it frequently.

(Shortform note: Some experts argue that it takes 20 hours of practice to learn a new skill (such as Lorayne and Lucas’s memory techniques). This is long enough to achieve significant advancements in your skill level, but not so long that you feel too overwhelmed to start.)

Try creating your own list of words and developing original associations between them. Practice recalling the list in the correct order. As you exercise your imagination over time, it’ll become easier to create silly mental pictures, and your recall will require less effort.

(Shortform note: Practicing image-based association may do more than improve your recall—some psychologists assert that regular application of memory exercises can be as effective at promoting brain health as physical activity. These exercises are also an alternative to scrolling on your phone or doing mindfulness exercises, entertaining you while enriching your brain.)

Technique #2: Using Stand-In Words to Remember Abstract Information

Lorayne and Lucas assert that you can also apply the skill of creating associations using silly images to remember abstract information: information you can’t readily picture in your mind. However, as we mentioned previously, the less tangible information is, the harder it is to recall. Therefore, you must add a step to associate the abstract information with neighboring words in a list.

The Baker/baker Paradox

Along with being easier to picture visually, tangible information is easier for us to remember because we usually already have existing associations with it. In Moonwalking With Einstein, Foer describes a test in which researchers show two different subjects the same person. The researcher tells one subject that the person is a baker and the other subject that the person’s surname is Baker.

Later, the researcher asks both subjects for the word associated with the person. The subject who was told to remember “baker” is more likely to remember her word than the subject who was given the name “Baker” because the profession of baker carries its own associations—the smell of bread baking, the tall hat bakers wear, and so on. (These associations also make “baker” more tangible.) In contrast, the surname Baker has no existing associations with it except the image of the person (making it more abstract).

In the following steps, you’ll learn how to picture an abstract piece of information concretely using similar-sounding words as a stand-in.

Step 1: Create a Stand-In Word or Phrase

First, the authors instruct you to create a word or phrase that you can picture to act as a stand-in for abstract information. The word or phrase doesn’t have to match the original word exactly, but it should sound similar enough that it makes you automatically think of the original word.

For example, say you’re trying to remember these street names in sequential order: Brosius Street, Courtney Street, and Durango Street. You’ll likely have trouble picturing anything specific for Brosius, Courtney, and Durango on their own, but you can use the sounds in the street names to come up with alternatives that are easier to visualize.

For Brosius Street, your stand-in phrase might be, “Bro, see us!” Picture a group of young men yelling the phrase while trying to get the attention of their friend. For Courtney Street, picture someone falling on a tennis court and hitting their knee. For Durango Street, imagine someone looking up at the sky and asking, “Where’d the rain go?”

(Shortform note: If you have trouble coming up with stand-in words and phrases, look for any homonyms (words that sound the same or are spelled the same but mean something different) of the original word. You may find some that have a more concrete, easy-to-visualize meaning. Alternatively, consult an online rhyming dictionary to find a rhyme or near-rhyme for your word. Rhymes and near-rhymes sound similar enough to the original word that they’re a strong reminder.)

Step 2: Connect the Stand-In Words or Phrases Through Silly Image Associations

Once you have a stand-in word or phrase for each item in the sequence you wish to remember, create associations between the list items as you did with Lorayne and Lucas’s first memorization technique. Associate each pair of list items by developing silly mental images that connect their stand-in words or phrases.

For example, to remember the sequence of the three street names, start by associating your stand-in for Brosius Street (“Bro, see us!”) with your stand-in for Courtney Street (court knee). To connect these two phrases in a memorable, silly way, you might imagine that the group of young men is yelling “Bro, see us” to their friend because the friend doesn’t realize he’s about to be crushed by a giant knee on a tennis court.

Then, associate “court knee” with “Where’d the rain go?” Maybe you imagine the person asking this question is standing on the tennis court, and the answer is that a giant knee is blocking the rain.

(Shortform note: Along with training your memory, creating silly, bizarre associations throughout the day may benefit you simply by entertaining you and making you laugh. According to some health experts, laughter—no matter what the source—has numerous health benefits. In the short term, laughter increases your oxygen intake, releases endorphins, lowers the stress response, and relaxes muscle tension. In the long term, it may increase your general life satisfaction, strengthen your immune system, and lessen pain.)

Technique #3: Remembering Sequences of Ideas Through Association

According to Lorayne and Lucas, you can apply the skills of creating image-based associations and using stand-in words or phrases to remember ideas in sequence. This could be useful when memorizing a speech, learning new concepts from a textbook, or memorizing a script for a presentation.

(Shortform note: If you need to learn a collection of ideas but not necessarily in sequence, create concept maps to help with memorization. Write key ideas from whatever you’re trying to memorize in bubbles or clouds, then draw arrows that represent connections between the different ideas. Alongside the arrows, write cues that tell you how the ideas relate to each other. This helps with memorization by prompting you to engage deeply with the material, organize the information spatially, and consider the ideas in a relational context. All of these actions improve memory storage and retrieval.)

There are three steps to this technique:

Step 1: Write Down the Text You Need to Memorize

The authors assert that the first thing to do when memorizing a sequence of ideas is to write down everything you want to remember. Incorporate all your key points in the right order. For example, if you’re writing a speech or preparing for a presentation, write your script. Reading this will give you a general sense of the points you need to remember and how they fit together.

(Shortform note: Some public speaking experts suggest foregoing a script and sticking with just an outline for your speeches and presentations. The text of the outline shouldn’t be a write-up of everything you might say, but rather a loose map of the major points you need to hit. This will help you focus on remembering ideas instead of specific language (as Lorayne and Lucas advise later on). Keep working on your outline until it’s as concise as possible—it should be small enough to fit on an index card. Use the index card as a cheat sheet during your presentation just in case there’s something you forget.)

Step 2: Choose a Core Word or Phrase for Each Idea

After you write down your sequence of ideas in a script or some other form, choose a core word or phrase from each idea that’ll remind you of its main point. By recalling ideas with a single word or phrase, you don’t have to memorize sentences and paragraphs word for word.

(Shortform note: If you have trouble coming up with your core words and phrases, consider asking someone else for their input. Have them read the ideas and describe each one using one word. Their choice may not be exactly what you were thinking, but an outside perspective can prompt discussion that helps you narrow down what you’re trying to convey with each point. The better you know the ideas, the stronger your memorization of them will be.)

Lorayne and Lucas state that when you memorize longer pieces of text word for word, you risk appearing too stiff and formulaic when you deliver the ideas. Likewise, trying to recall text word for word (instead of memorizing general ideas) may make you stumble if you can’t remember the exact right phrasing.

No matter what your subject is, if you’ve studied and practiced enough, you should be able to talk about it using just your core word or phrase as a reminder—without needing to explain it using the same words every time. Repeat this step for every distinct idea or point in your text.

For example, say you’re preparing a talk about fungi and you need to memorize the following idea: “The largest living organism in the world is a fungus called Armillaria solidipes, otherwise known as honey fungus.”

Instead of memorizing the exact words of the sentence, pick one word or phrase (such as “honey fungus”) to remind you of its content. “Honey” is a good option as a core word for this idea because it’ll remind you of the specific fungus that’s the subject of the unusual and interesting fact.

Tips for Speaking Spontaneously

Memorizing ideas instead of text requires you to speak spontaneously, as you’ll need to conjure up a full explanation of each idea on the spot. The following tips from public speaking experts can help you speak spontaneously with confidence:

Tip #1: Frame your ideas as a story or include personal stories in your explanation. Then, practice telling your stories in front of people in different ways (switching up the order of the story progression, using different language each time, and so on). Effective storytelling creates connection and flow in a presentation, and practicing variations of stories in front of people allows you to gauge different reactions and determine the best way to construct the narrative.

Tip #2: Use verbal “bullet points” while you’re talking to keep track of your ideas. For example, if you’re offering three reasons to support a claim, use transition words like “first,” “additionally,” and “finally” to separate the reasons. This keeps you on track and prevents your ideas from becoming a difficult-to-follow stream of consciousness.

Step 3: Create a Sequence of Associations Between the Core Words and Phrases

Once you’ve chosen a core word or phrase for each idea, Lorayne and Lucas describe how to use the skills outlined in the first two techniques to create associations between the ideas in your text. These associations help you remember the sequence of your ideas in the correct order.

As we did with the list of words in Technique #1, create associations between the core words or phrases you chose using strange, silly images. If your core word or phrase of an idea can’t be pictured easily on its own, add the extra step of creating a stand-in word or phrase that you can create a mental picture for.

Shortform Example: Discussing the Honey Fungus

Consider our previous example about the honey fungus—you know your first idea’s core word is honey. Now, memorize the next two ideas:

Idea 2: “This fungus’s network includes mushrooms that are visible aboveground and mycelia that branch underground.” Your core word for this idea is network to remind you of the interconnectedness of the aboveground and underground portions of the fungus.

Idea 3: “It spans an area of over three square miles.” For this idea, your core word is area to remind you to discuss the size of the fungus.

Before you create associations between your three core words, decide if you need any stand-in words or phrases to make your mental pictures. You can picture honey on its own, and you picture a fisherman working by throwing a net to remember network. Area, however, is too abstract to imagine on its own. Therefore, you use the similar-sounding word “aria” as a stand-in and create a mental picture by imagining an opera singer singing a solo.

Finally, you create your image-based associations for honey, network, and aria, connecting them in that order. First, you construct a silly image to connect honey and network by imagining a fisherman casting a net into an ocean filled with honey instead of water. Then, you connect network and aria by imagining a fisherman casting a net to capture fish that are singing opera music.

Use Drawing to Help You Remember Your Associations

As you combine all the steps from Lorayne and Lucas’s previous techniques—association images, core words, and stand-in words—the information you must memorize may feel like too much to keep track of. To solidify each step in your memory, consider keeping track of the words and images you come up with by drawing them. Draw an image for each core word (or their more easily pictured stand-in word) in the right order, then draw scenes that represent your associations between the words.

Some researchers suggest that drawing may be more effective for memorization than any other method of putting information onto paper (like writing). First, drawing requires you to think about the meaning of your subject and how to translate it from language to imagery. Additionally, it involves motor action as you move your hands and visual processing as you create the picture. These varying sensory experiences create more connections in your brain than just thinking about the information, making it more likely you’ll remember it.