An old saying goes "If I hear I forget, if I see I remember, if I do I learn". We remember better what we see than what we hear. In fact, human beings are an animal species that lives during the day, which is why they developed the sense of sight much more than the other senses. Consider that the areas of the brain responsible for vision positioned in the occipital lobe (behind the neck) are as large as a 20 euro banknote, while the areas of language, so refined and articulated, they barely cover the areas of two 20 cent coins.
This aspect plays in favor of memory and we can use it to remember what we want.
Let's imagine we have to remember the words: TABLE – GLASS – WHISK – PEN – KEYBOARD – BOOK.
Repeating words could make us forget some, while creating a visual image, as if it were a photograph, in which there is a beautiful table with a pen on it in a glass placed next to the keyboard and a beautiful black whip on the side, it makes remembering much easier. Furthermore, it facilitates the task of the brain which is always trying to save energy with simple tasks. Create amental image It's much cheaper and more effective than having to tell it in words.
We are at ninth episode of the column a “winning brain”, the result of FIRSTonline's collaboration with the Professor Giuseppe Alfredo Iannoccari, neuropsychologist, professor at the State University of Milan and president of Assomensana, the association for the development and enhancement of mental activities. Every Sunday a mental gymnastics exercise that stimulates a different mental ability is proposed on FIRSTonline. In the banner on the right on our home page all the exercises already published are grouped together, which have stimulated a different ability of our brain each time.
Let's remember the basic rules
For each exercise you will be shown:
- which cognitive functions it stimulates
- what purpose does it serve in everyday life
- delivery to carry out the exercise
- how long should the execution time be?
- how to calculate the score
- the finish line for an optimal score
- how to make it more empowering
- which variations to adopt to continue doing so
The fourth strategy to remember better: mental images
This week we propose a new exercise for the column "The winning brain" which develops and strengthens: Concentration, Short-term memory, Long-term memory, Creativity
Le “mental images” I'm the 4th natural memory strategy, Memory-act 4, which we all have since birth: it's just a matter of training it to ensure great satisfaction.
How to create a mental image? Based on the words, it is created a scene and we position, one by one, the objects we want to remember. The image must be fixed, like a photograph. For further information: Strategic-Mind: Instructions and practical exercises for a winning brain at all ages" by Nicoletta Carbone and Giuseppe Alfredo Iannoccari, published by Il Sole 24 Ore, 2022.
Delivery: Create a mental image with the following words.
STATION MASTER – TRAIN – CROWD – WHISTLE – TREE – MONKEY – BANANA – GLASSES
Execution time: 60 seconds.
Score: 40 points if you created the image. 60 points more if you remember the 8 words correctly by heart.
Traguardo: Score at least 100 points in the given time.
Strengthening: repeat the exercise by repeating the words backwards, from the last to the first.
variants. Repeat the exercise in different ways:
- write more word lists and build new images;
- increase the number of words to remember.
Call. Write in the comments how you constructed the images 😉
