I agree that the current educational system is outdated and based upon ideas and values that worked well in the past.
Hopefully you'll find a solution for your issues. History proves being careful with stretching is wise (Schumann).
Memory and educational system
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Oscar
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Memory and educational system
Split off from another thread
I agree that the current educational system is outdated and based upon ideas and values that worked well in the past.
Hopefully you'll find a solution for your issues. History proves being careful with stretching is wise (Schumann).
I agree that the current educational system is outdated and based upon ideas and values that worked well in the past.
Hopefully you'll find a solution for your issues. History proves being careful with stretching is wise (Schumann).
Re: My current diet
They recently discovered how memory works (the memory process) and it's going to be really interesting to see if this is incorporated into schools. From what I've heard it would mean that people taught how to control their memory in this fashion would have seemingly photographic memory (although photographic memory doesn't exist). The main problem kids have is turning written or spoken information into visual information, this prevents them from understanding the subject. For example pull out some really advanced biology textbook (very specialized) and if you've never heard the terms it's almost impossible to retain the meaning of the information, because it's dull and unimportant to the brain.
For example, try to memorize:
0010110110001010111010110101111010101000101011000111001001010001111001011001011001010100011001
then try to memorize:
A giant bear chased the man with a red cap through the woods, all the way back to his old and rusty Ford pickup truck.
It's easier to memorize that which we can visualize. The way to overcome this of course is to give kids a system, a habit of memorizing, early on. If they can learn 'images' for numbers 0-999, and at the same time learn how to visualize things vividly, then it's rather easy to turn the whole academic world - words, numbers, symbols, and charts, into vivid visualizations (the brains language), and learn things much more quickly with much less effort.
For example, try to memorize:
0010110110001010111010110101111010101000101011000111001001010001111001011001011001010100011001
then try to memorize:
A giant bear chased the man with a red cap through the woods, all the way back to his old and rusty Ford pickup truck.
It's easier to memorize that which we can visualize. The way to overcome this of course is to give kids a system, a habit of memorizing, early on. If they can learn 'images' for numbers 0-999, and at the same time learn how to visualize things vividly, then it's rather easy to turn the whole academic world - words, numbers, symbols, and charts, into vivid visualizations (the brains language), and learn things much more quickly with much less effort.
Re: Memory and educational system
But how does someone increase the vividness of their visualizations? Practice?
Re: Memory and educational system
yes, the more detailed, 3 dimensional, and consistent objects you visualize the easier it becomes to visualize in this way
one of the easiest ways for children to get good visualization skills is to read a lot of vivid imagery type books with no pictures in the book (that they are interested in, or they won't visualize as much). in my opinion it's the fundamental reason people who read a lot of books tend to be smarter - it's not the vocabulary building but rather the spatial visualization skills and the increased ease to memorize things that come from the side effect of visualization practice from reading books
one of the easiest ways for children to get good visualization skills is to read a lot of vivid imagery type books with no pictures in the book (that they are interested in, or they won't visualize as much). in my opinion it's the fundamental reason people who read a lot of books tend to be smarter - it's not the vocabulary building but rather the spatial visualization skills and the increased ease to memorize things that come from the side effect of visualization practice from reading books
Re: Memory and educational system
So when I spend time with kids, and I tell them stories (which I do because it's enjoyable), I'm actually increasing their abilities to visualize (as long as I use vivid imagery).
I've read about how Darwin's mom would just have him imagine/visualize things for fun when he was bored as a child, and that supposedly contributed to his creativity. I wonder if we could accumulate resources/links here to stories that are very good for visualizations.
Are you certain that pictures detract from this? I know that T.V. actually stunt the brain's ability to create mental images, but I'm assuming that has to do with the radiant light.
I've read about how Darwin's mom would just have him imagine/visualize things for fun when he was bored as a child, and that supposedly contributed to his creativity. I wonder if we could accumulate resources/links here to stories that are very good for visualizations.
Are you certain that pictures detract from this? I know that T.V. actually stunt the brain's ability to create mental images, but I'm assuming that has to do with the radiant light.
Re: Memory and educational system
if they are actively listening yes. it only takes about a 15 second lapse in attention for them to lose track of a spoken story, and not have a clue what you're talking about, and then struggle and be unhappy to keep up. in my opinion it's soothing and a good practice but not one for visualization building, unless the story is very short/engaging and therefore easy to follow..
pictures are great when you don't understand how to visualize something - such as if you didn't know what a roof was, explaining it in words does no good. a picture, properly visualized again and again, will help memorize the concept of what a roof is and therefore is good for the initial memorization and understanding. from then on, unless it's a different angle or different kind of roof, it won't help visualization as much as recreating one in the imagination would.
tv is great for expanding knowledge, when viewed in the right way - such as paying attention to the social aspects of the show instead of the funny sounds the comedian makes. everything is a potential learning source even the leaves of a tree can tell you a lot of information, but not if your mind is on cruise control.
pictures are great when you don't understand how to visualize something - such as if you didn't know what a roof was, explaining it in words does no good. a picture, properly visualized again and again, will help memorize the concept of what a roof is and therefore is good for the initial memorization and understanding. from then on, unless it's a different angle or different kind of roof, it won't help visualization as much as recreating one in the imagination would.
tv is great for expanding knowledge, when viewed in the right way - such as paying attention to the social aspects of the show instead of the funny sounds the comedian makes. everything is a potential learning source even the leaves of a tree can tell you a lot of information, but not if your mind is on cruise control.
Re: Memory and educational system
I've always done the stories simply for fun, and the kids are engaged 90% of the time (depending on the kid). What methods do you use for creating visualizations?
Do you work in education?
Do you work in education?
Re: Memory and educational system
I'm a college student
I do these psycho-technical exercises each day:
Childrens minds are the most elastic so they would be able to learn to visualize if they did these techniques every day much faster than adults and probably become extremely creative/memory adept. The problem is their attention span, and for that you need a whole other set of mental exercises..
Mental drawing
You need to imagine the process of drawing (writing) a simple geometric figures e.g. letters, signs and digits. Your eyes are moving during the mental (imagined) drawing. Thus new signs get memorized through the movement in your memory.
You need to make the signs big in your imagination - about 1.5–3 feet in diameter and about 3-6 feet away.
You can imagine drawing on the writing board using chalk, using finger on a dirty window or just on any dirty surface, painting on the wall or using highlighter with the paper.
Drawing should be performed slowly and a few times for each sign. Sign should appear gradually in your imagination. After drawing is complete try to imagine the completed sign. Try to see it very clear in its completeness.
For this exercise you can use: triangle, square, circle, rhomb; numbers and digits; letters; Japanese hieroglyphs; short words.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Image manipulation
Imagine an empty glass and a box of matches next to it. Try to see these objects in detail. Do all possible manipulations with them. Move them, place matches in the glass, glass in the matches, move them around, etc. Add more objects.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Image stabilization
Visualize any item, like “fork” and view it from one angle. It might try to move or turn, - don’t let that happen. Force yourself to keep it in one position. Then move it a little bit, or try to rotate it as slowly as possible.
Do this exercise for 5 minutes.
Image transformation
Imagine some kind of object. Try to transform its form or shape but do not change the substance - a cup should remain a cup and a pencil should stay as a pencil.
Example: Imagine a book. Stretch it out. Now we have a narrow book. Make it very big or very small. Stretch it again and make it wide. Open the book in the middle then open it in the beginning. Twist the entire book. Rip one of the pages out….
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Image modification
You need to modify an image without changing its nature but actively changing its type. Example: Car. Imagine a Hummer, then Jeep, Mercedes, taxi, ambulance, fire-engine, police car, Mini, tractor and so on…
Do this exercise with the different words and images.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Memory activation
To be able to stabilize the images in your imagination and prevent their fast movement try to recall all possible information from yesterday or from the last movie you have seen. It does not really matter what to choose - the point is to concentrate on something for 5-10 minutes without thinking about anything else. Try to recall it as detailed as possible. Do it as slow as you can - step by step. If it is too easy for you to do then try to make it more complicated – recall everything backwards.
Example:
Woke up. Stayed in the bed for a while, then stretched. Then I tried to recall my dream. Slowly stood up and got dressed. Recall every detail, every piece of clothing. Recall what you did later, every second. What did you eat, how did you prepare the food, etc.
After doing this exercise you will start to notice that memory fixes the connections between the images very precisely. The only thing that prevents recollection of all the details is attention instability. If you learn to stabilize the images in your imagination and go through them very smoothly you will be amazed how many details your brain can reproduce.
Images that were naturally connected after reading should be recalled in the same manner. Counting the beads is a very good example: you need to do it one by one, slowly, smoothly, without skipping.
If you will do this exercise correctly then in 5-10 minutes you will achieve strong attention stability in the recall process. Images will become very vivid and it would seem like a dream coming into reality. Everything around you will be covered with a white haze. Auditory analyzer will be partly off. You will hear what people are saying but you will not be able to make sense of it because your imagination will be concentrated on something else.
Colors
Visualize an orange (that is of pure orange color). Imagine that you are slicing it and notice that the inside color is different. Imagine that you are squeezing an orange juice out of it. Visualize that orange juice filling a glass.
Visualize different colors. For example, traffic light with all lights ON: red, yellow, green. Concentrate on the colors. When you visualize a color try to use a common model for it: orange, tomato, cucumber, blue sky, grey branch, black peat, white paper.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
I do these psycho-technical exercises each day:
Childrens minds are the most elastic so they would be able to learn to visualize if they did these techniques every day much faster than adults and probably become extremely creative/memory adept. The problem is their attention span, and for that you need a whole other set of mental exercises..
Mental drawing
You need to imagine the process of drawing (writing) a simple geometric figures e.g. letters, signs and digits. Your eyes are moving during the mental (imagined) drawing. Thus new signs get memorized through the movement in your memory.
You need to make the signs big in your imagination - about 1.5–3 feet in diameter and about 3-6 feet away.
You can imagine drawing on the writing board using chalk, using finger on a dirty window or just on any dirty surface, painting on the wall or using highlighter with the paper.
Drawing should be performed slowly and a few times for each sign. Sign should appear gradually in your imagination. After drawing is complete try to imagine the completed sign. Try to see it very clear in its completeness.
For this exercise you can use: triangle, square, circle, rhomb; numbers and digits; letters; Japanese hieroglyphs; short words.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Image manipulation
Imagine an empty glass and a box of matches next to it. Try to see these objects in detail. Do all possible manipulations with them. Move them, place matches in the glass, glass in the matches, move them around, etc. Add more objects.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Image stabilization
Visualize any item, like “fork” and view it from one angle. It might try to move or turn, - don’t let that happen. Force yourself to keep it in one position. Then move it a little bit, or try to rotate it as slowly as possible.
Do this exercise for 5 minutes.
Image transformation
Imagine some kind of object. Try to transform its form or shape but do not change the substance - a cup should remain a cup and a pencil should stay as a pencil.
Example: Imagine a book. Stretch it out. Now we have a narrow book. Make it very big or very small. Stretch it again and make it wide. Open the book in the middle then open it in the beginning. Twist the entire book. Rip one of the pages out….
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Image modification
You need to modify an image without changing its nature but actively changing its type. Example: Car. Imagine a Hummer, then Jeep, Mercedes, taxi, ambulance, fire-engine, police car, Mini, tractor and so on…
Do this exercise with the different words and images.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.
Memory activation
To be able to stabilize the images in your imagination and prevent their fast movement try to recall all possible information from yesterday or from the last movie you have seen. It does not really matter what to choose - the point is to concentrate on something for 5-10 minutes without thinking about anything else. Try to recall it as detailed as possible. Do it as slow as you can - step by step. If it is too easy for you to do then try to make it more complicated – recall everything backwards.
Example:
Woke up. Stayed in the bed for a while, then stretched. Then I tried to recall my dream. Slowly stood up and got dressed. Recall every detail, every piece of clothing. Recall what you did later, every second. What did you eat, how did you prepare the food, etc.
After doing this exercise you will start to notice that memory fixes the connections between the images very precisely. The only thing that prevents recollection of all the details is attention instability. If you learn to stabilize the images in your imagination and go through them very smoothly you will be amazed how many details your brain can reproduce.
Images that were naturally connected after reading should be recalled in the same manner. Counting the beads is a very good example: you need to do it one by one, slowly, smoothly, without skipping.
If you will do this exercise correctly then in 5-10 minutes you will achieve strong attention stability in the recall process. Images will become very vivid and it would seem like a dream coming into reality. Everything around you will be covered with a white haze. Auditory analyzer will be partly off. You will hear what people are saying but you will not be able to make sense of it because your imagination will be concentrated on something else.
Colors
Visualize an orange (that is of pure orange color). Imagine that you are slicing it and notice that the inside color is different. Imagine that you are squeezing an orange juice out of it. Visualize that orange juice filling a glass.
Visualize different colors. For example, traffic light with all lights ON: red, yellow, green. Concentrate on the colors. When you visualize a color try to use a common model for it: orange, tomato, cucumber, blue sky, grey branch, black peat, white paper.
Do this exercise for 2-3 minutes.