Page 56 - How to Develop A SUPER-POWER MEMORY
P. 56

Uses of the Peg and Link Systems






               New patient: "Doctor, I don't know what to do. You've got to
               help me; I just can't remember a thing. I've no memory at all. I
               hear something one minute, and the next minute, I forget it!
               Tell me, what should I do?"
               doctor: "Pay in advance!"


               I can't blame  the doctor for wanting his fee in advance
               in the  above  anecdote;  but I guess  that  most  of  us who
               forget  to pay  bills, do so  because we don't want  to  remem-
               ber them. According to  Austin O'Malley,  "A  habit of debt
               is very injurious to  the memory." Unfortunately, we are
               usually soon reminded of debts.
                  If you've  grasped  the idea behind  the Link and the  Peg
               systems of memory, you  have learned  two of  the  three things
               that your trained memory will  be based  upon.  The  third is
               the  system  of substitute  words or substitute  thoughts, which
               I will discuss in later chapters.
                  You can  start  applying what you've  learned  immediately,
               if you want  to. Not  particularly  for  remembering debts,
               which I'm sure you'd rather forget, but perhaps  for memo-
               rizing  the  errands that  you have to  do  for  each day.  If  you
               usually write out your shopping list, why not  try to memo-
               rize it with  the help of the Link  system. Simply link  the
               first  item to  the second  item, the  second  to  the third,  and

               60
   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61