Memory competitions have run since the 1990s. Events include memorizing a shuffled deck as fast as possible, long numbers, binary digits, random words, names and faces, and historic dates.
Key idea
Competitors use the same tools you are learning: journeys, the Major System, PAO and steady practice.
Researchers who have studied top memory athletes found that nearly all of them use the method of loci. In the 2017 study in the next topic, the athletes' brains did not differ in structure from other people's; the difference was in how brain regions worked together, which fits a learned skill.
Worked example: Worked example
Why do memory athletes practice with a timer?
- Events are timed.
- Speed comes from codes becoming instant.
Answer: Their events are timed, and speed shows when codes are automatic.