We have always been enamored by the really smart people that are able to remember so many things, but the truth is that we ALL have roughly the same short term memory capacity. It is how we use our short term memory that makes the difference.

Studies show that those who have what appears to be an incredible memory actually use tricks. They use what they know (long term memories) to turbo boost their short term memories. All of us if asked to remember a list of numbers are limited to about a list of 10 numbers. But chunking the numbers together, an average person can learn to remember a list of up to and beyond 80 numbers! People with this skill will use their long term memory. For example, a runner will remember the sequence of numbers: 5, 3, 2, 8 as a timed run of 53 minutes 28 seconds. A school teacher will memorize all her students names rapidly if she learns to associate each name with a different room in their house…etc.

So don’t sell yourself short, don’t think that you can’t memorize, don’t worry about not having the capacity to remember all those things for the next test….instead KNOW that you will be able to remember all those important things by being creative and using your long term memory to turbo boost your short term memory via neumonics, etc.