0:00:00.455,0:00:02.134
...equipment as everybody else.

0:00:02.134,0:00:06.484
So, it's something anybody can[br]do.

0:00:06.484,0:00:08.181
It sounds intriguing.

0:00:08.181,0:00:10.738
So I'm going to give it[br]a try.

0:00:17.450,0:00:20.601
So, Andi, what mental torture[br]have you got for me this morning?

0:00:20.601,0:00:22.767
Well, I'm going to give you this[br]list of words,

0:00:22.767,0:00:24.664
and I want you to try to[br]remember them.

0:00:24.664,0:00:28.267
These are the words: Wash,[br]apple, jet, mad, actress,

0:00:28.267,0:00:32.680
marmalade, jack, van, clock,[br]tile, polecat, tail, film, pier,

0:00:32.680,0:00:37.599
bucket, chain, bottle, sand,[br]egg, window, salamander, paper,

0:00:37.599,0:00:41.932
microphone, Coke, piano, dog, captain, tennis, kennel, tomato.

0:00:41.932,0:00:43.488
Huh, huh.

0:00:43.488,0:00:44.844
And you're going to be able to[br]remember it.

0:00:44.844,0:00:45.620
And I'm not.

0:00:45.620,0:00:48.536
Well, I think you might because[br]I'm going to give you a

0:00:48.536,0:00:49.758
technique that will help.

0:00:49.758,0:00:53.681
I'm going to ask you to picture[br]two words at a time in

0:00:53.681,0:00:56.584
a sequence of locations around[br]your home.

0:00:56.584,0:00:57.760
So I'll give these two...

0:00:57.760,0:00:59.132
But then I'll have three things[br]to remember:

0:00:59.132,0:01:00.509
The two words plus the location.

0:01:00.509,0:01:02.461
You already know the locations[br]around your home,

0:01:02.461,0:01:04.492
so the sense of location is[br]going to help you.

0:01:04.492,0:01:04.980
Trust me.

0:01:04.980,0:01:06.428
It's not going to add to your[br]problems.

0:01:06.428,0:01:07.737
I'll never do it.

0:01:07.737,0:01:08.735
Yes, you will.

0:01:08.735,0:01:13.690
I'm going to give you at least [br]until that egg gets cold to have a look at that list.

0:01:13.690,0:01:15.766


0:01:15.766,0:01:18.520
So I start off in the garden.

0:01:18.520,0:01:21.844
Wash the apple.

0:01:21.844,0:01:29.685
Go into the hall where there's a[br]jet madly flying around.

0:01:29.685,0:01:35.102
To the dining room where there's[br]an actress.

0:01:35.102,0:01:36.464
Who's your favorite actress?

0:01:36.464,0:01:39.683
Judi Dench.

0:01:39.683,0:01:41.239
But she wouldn't be smeared in[br]marmalade.

0:01:41.239,0:01:41.894
She would be.

0:01:41.894,0:01:42.689
Why?

0:01:42.689,0:01:44.101
So you can remember her.

0:01:44.101,0:01:47.969


0:01:47.969,0:01:50.931
For the next five minutes, I[br]frantically try to imagine

0:01:50.931,0:01:54.356
all these crazy images and think[br]where to put them.

0:01:59.414,0:02:02.547
The normally quite unexceptional[br]Winston household will never

0:02:02.547,0:02:05.122
feel quite the same again.

0:02:08.565,0:02:12.091
Frankly, I'm convinced it won't[br]work.

0:02:12.091,0:02:13.329
Better be time out.

0:02:13.329,0:02:15.028
No.[br]Yep, yep.

0:02:15.028,0:02:18.419
I know the first two.[br]Full of time.

0:02:18.419,0:02:20.335
I'll never remember that.

0:02:20.335,0:02:22.501
Well, no, you'll do okay.

0:02:22.501,0:02:24.608
I better get to work.[br]See you later.

0:02:27.502,0:02:30.616
Now all I've got to do is to go[br]through my normal working day.

0:02:33.053,0:02:35.929
The challenge will be to see how[br]many of the 30 words I can

0:02:35.929,0:02:38.386
remember at the end of it.

0:02:55.042,0:02:56.740
So do you think you can[br]remember any of the words

0:02:56.740,0:02:58.462
I gave you earlier today?

0:02:58.462,0:03:00.367
I'll give it a go.

0:03:00.367,0:03:05.956
We'll start off outside in the[br]garden.

0:03:05.956,0:03:09.988
Wash apple.[br]Jet mad.

0:03:17.820,0:03:19.860
Actress marmalade.

0:03:21.209,0:03:31.165
Jack, van.[br]Polecat tail.

0:03:31.165,0:03:32.748
That's right.. Bucket chain.

0:03:32.748,0:03:35.413
Uh, uh.

0:03:35.413,0:03:38.466
Clock, tile.

0:03:38.466,0:03:41.239
Bottle, sand.

0:03:50.170,0:03:50.611
Okay.

0:03:50.611,0:03:54.775
Try to remember the room you[br]were in when you thought of those words.

0:03:59.248,0:04:02.162
Salamander, paper.

0:04:03.812,0:04:05.416
Microphone, Coke.

0:04:05.416,0:04:06.802
Piano, dog.

0:04:06.802,0:04:08.813
Captain, tennis.

0:04:08.813,0:04:10.406
Kennel, tomato.

0:04:10.406,0:04:12.803
How many out 30 do you think[br]you got?

0:04:12.803,0:04:14.371
I think I probably got them all[br]right.

0:04:14.371,0:04:15.038
All of them.

0:04:15.038,0:04:16.287
Well done.

0:04:16.287,0:04:17.373
So it works.

0:04:17.373,0:04:20.325
Of course it does.

0:04:20.325,0:04:23.483
When we use a simple story to[br]memorize facts,

0:04:23.483,0:04:26.701
we're creating several pathways[br]to where those memories are

0:04:26.701,0:04:28.539
formed in the brain.

0:04:28.539,0:04:32.293
It's as if instead of lining up[br]one set of dominos,

0:04:32.293,0:04:34.943
we're setting up several.

0:04:41.653,0:04:44.045
The reason we often have[br]difficulties in retrieving

0:04:44.045,0:04:48.832
our memory is because one neural[br]pathway can easily get broken.

0:04:53.561,0:04:56.402
But by having several different[br]pathways to our memory,

0:04:56.402,0:04:59.646
it means that if one doesn't[br]manage to reach it,

0:04:59.646,0:05:01.677
another one will.

0:05:04.993,0:05:07.602
That's the advantage of the[br]story technique.

0:05:07.602,0:05:10.771
It creates lots of neural[br]pathways in our brain,

0:05:12.766,0:05:16.194
and all of our brains can work[br]in this way,

0:05:21.477,0:05:24.567
which is why everyone can use[br]this method.

0:05:24.567,0:05:26.932
By using a story to memorize[br]facts,

0:05:26.932,0:05:31.000
we all have the potential to[br]perform astonishing feats of[br]memory.