[Study Method 6] Trick Your Brain! Scientific Memorization Strategies to Mislead the Hippocampus and Etch Memories

Hello there!
Sending love from a corner of a government office, it's your 'Professional' [Son of Tokiyu] 🦍🌈!

Hello.

Finally, the time has come. This six-part series on 'Learning Science to Hack Your Brain' is reaching its grand finale.

To everyone who has followed along this far, thank you so much for your hard work.

My fingers are trembling slightly as I type, as if to say, 'I can't write anything smarter than this anymore,' but I must impart the final and greatest weapon to you all.

The theme this time is 'metacognition,' which fundamentally governs learning efficiency, and 'image mnemonic techniques' that exploit the vulnerabilities of the brain.

It is still too early to give up and say, 'Professional, I'm not naturally smart, so I can't go any further.'

According to the latest learning science, the ability of 'metacognition' in learning is shown to contribute twice as much to learning effectiveness as actual talent (such as IQ).

In other words, no matter how high-spec a computer (IQ) you have, if the OS (metacognition) you use to run it is junk, it's a waste of potential.

Conversely, even an outdated computer can process at lightning speed if it is equipped with the latest OS.

This is the one and only strongest 'strategy' for an ordinary person to overtake a genius.

1. Metacognition: Observing yourself through 'out-of-body experience'

Now, let's first dissect this somewhat complicated term, 'metacognition.'

In a nutshell, it is 'objectively observing your own thoughts and level of understanding from a higher perspective.'

Imagine it.

Imagine there is 'another you' watching over you from near the ceiling with a lukewarm gaze as you sit at your desk, despairing, 'Wow, this formula looks like nothing but a spell...'

Yes, it is exactly an 'out-of-body experience.'

The knowledge of ignorance

Humans have a characteristic of being extremely poor at grasping 'what they do not know.'

However, it is important to intentionally and accurately draw the line between 'what you know' and 'what you do not know'.

In the learning sciences, this is called 'Information Gap Theory'.

When the brain finds something 'missing,' a powerful instinct kicks in to fill that gap.

When there is only one puzzle piece missing, you get that itchy, uncomfortable feeling, like having a small bone stuck in your throat, don't you?

You must drive your brain into that state.

The moment you become aware of 'what you don't know,' your brain switches into 'search mode,' and your concentration skyrockets.

Conversely, the state of 'vaguely understanding' is the greatest poison in learning.

The trap known as 'the illusion of knowing'

When we are reading a textbook smoothly, we fall under the illusion that 'Oh, maybe I'm a genius.'

This is called the 'illusion of fluency'.

It is a terrifying trap where you mistake your eyes gliding over the text for actual understanding.

To break through this trap, it is essential to have your 'higher self' constantly ask, 'Hey, you. Can you close the book and explain what you just read in your own words?'

This 'self-critique' is the essence of metacognition.

2. Practice: Two powerful weapons to train metacognition

For those of you lamenting, 'I get the theory, but how am I supposed to have an out-of-body experience?'

Rest assured.

I will introduce concrete and powerful 'weapons' that you can start using tomorrow.

1. Confidence Marking Method

When solving problems, many people only care about whether they got it right or wrong. However, professional strategists are different.

Before checking your answers, you must judge your level of understanding using the following three levels.

• ◎ (Absolute confidence): Can explain it to someone else △ (Uncertain): Narrowed it down to two choices, but guessed on the final one × (Completely unknown): Don't even understand the meaning of the question. What you should focus on here isnot the questions you got wrong.

"Questions you marked as ◎ but still got wrong."

This is where your perception is completely 'bugged'.

When you make a mistake in an area where your assumption of 'knowing' is strongest, your brain receives a tremendous shock.

I call this the 'Hyper-Correction Effect'.

The shock of 'What! I was so sure I was right!' acts as a memory adhesive, building solid knowledge that ensures you never make the same mistake again.

Love your mistakes. They are the cries of the moment your brain is being updated.

② Learning Journal

At the end of the day, try writing down a 'learning reflection' for just three minutes.

'I got stuck three times on vectors today.'

'Around 2 PM, I got extremely sleepy and my concentration died.'

'I feel like I understand things faster when there are diagrams.'

Record your subjective feelings like these.

If you keep doing this, you will start to see the 'habits' of your own brain.

You will be able to develop strategies such as, 'Doing memorization late at night is incredibly inefficient for me,' or 'When I'm tired, I'm better suited for tasks that involve moving my hands rather than theorizing.'

You are writing your own user manual.

3. Image Memory Technique: 'Misleading' the Brain

Now, after knowing yourself through metacognition, it is finally time to enter the phase of tricking the enemy (the brain).

Our brain, specifically the part called the 'hippocampus' that governs memory, is extremely cold-hearted.

It immediately shoots inorganic numbers, historical dates, and lists of English words found in textbooks into the trash can as 'noise unnecessary for survival'.

Mnemonic techniques are nothing more than the art of 'misleading' (tricking) the hippocampus into thinking, 'Hey, if you don't know this, your life is in danger!'

Conversion from Abstract to Concrete (Turning it into Brain Entertainment)

The brain cannot remember 'meaningless things,' but it loves 'concrete and interesting things.'

Take the number '16,' for example.

By itself, it's just a symbol, but the moment you replace it with a specific person like 'Ichiro,' the resolution in your brain jumps significantly.

English vocabulary is the same. For example, the word 'Colloquial.' It's hard to remember, right?

So, based on the sound, summon a highly surreal visual in your brain of 'Korosuke riding in a Kia (a Korean car) and chatting with his friends.'

Did you think, 'That's ridiculous'?

That 'ridiculousness' is the greatest spice for tricking the hippocampus.

Topping with Abnormality and Emotion

The brain prioritizes memories of impossible scenes or events that triggered intense emotions over peaceful daily life.

You remember bumping your head on a utility pole while walking down the street, but you don't remember what color the pole next to it was, right?

Studying is the same.

When you get a question wrong, try exaggerating your emotions by shouting, 'Ugh, damn it! Why?!'

The brain will misunderstand and think, 'Whoa, if the master is this angry, this must be a life-or-death situation. I'd better make a note of this.'

Memory power is also an 'acting skill'—how well you can perform and surprise your own brain.

4. The Ultimate Secret Technique: The Memory Palace (Method of Loci)

If you wish to 'memorize a large amount of information in order, without missing a single word,' let me teach you the ultimate secret technique passed down since ancient Greece: the 'Method of Loci (Memory Palace).'

The method is quite simple.

First, imagine a 'familiar space' that you can recall in detail even with your eyes closed.

Your own room, your commute, or your childhood home.

Set specific 'points' within that space.

1. Entrance

2. Shoe cabinet

3. Living room sofa

4. Refrigerator

Next, convert the items you want to memorize into vivid images and 'place' them in those locations.

For example, if you are memorizing historical sequences, place an image of 'Prince Shotoku' standing at the entrance holding a shovel, and place an image of 'Oda Nobunaga' eating potato chips on the sofa.

When you want to recall them, just take a walk through that space in your mind.

You can just retrieve them by thinking, 'Oh, Prince Shotoku was at the entrance.'

This is also the ultimate form of 'active recall' that we learned in the first session.

By linking information to locations, the brain utilizes a very powerful circuit called 'spatial memory' to toss information into long-term storage files.

5. Conclusion: Learning is a 'strategy,' not a 'talent'

Over the course of these six sessions, I have shared ways to hack the brain's mechanisms.

The most important thing I wanted to convey through all of this is as follows.

It is the fact that memory and academic ability are not innate talents, but rather skills and strategies.

In school, we are taught 'what to learn,' but we have never been taught 'how to learn.'

As a result, many people continue to throw themselves into 'penance' disguised as inefficient learning, while laboring under the misconception that they are 'not smart.'

But that is no longer the case.

You now possess the most powerful, science-based weapons in your hands.

Throw the heavy shackles of perfectionism out the window right now.

There is no need to get a perfect score.

Start with a lighthearted attitude, thinking, 'I'll just try going through it once and trick my brain.'

If you give your brain the right load, it will definitely respond and evolve.

Graduate from the 'effort and guts' style of studying you've used until yesterday.

From this moment on, your learning should transform into a 'strategic game' that effortlessly surpasses your own limits.

Thank you very much for reading through all six parts to the end.

May your brains be blessed!