Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

“Concentration is the Most Important Intellectual Habit of Man.” Not one person in ten thousand can really concentrate. Some realize that they do not know how—others drift along the line of least resistance and let their minds vegetate, apparently never suspecting their weakness or realizing that they are an utter failure at concentration. To Cori-centre—bringing […]

“Nature is an endless combination and repetition of a very few laws.” There are three great laws of memory which are as a rock under the feet of the earnest student in his quest for a trustworthy memory. These laws are at once the foundation and the crown of any sound and sensible memory system. […]

Visualization is another working principle in the ope ration of our mental camera. True, it may almost be taken for granted if the student has acquired attention and concentration. It inevitably follows these two principles in logical sequence, and is closely allied to them yet it is possible to develop attention and concentration and still […]

It is not enough to notice, we must notice and remember. This implies attention, and attention leads directly to the second great principle in mental photography—which is Concentration. Beyond question, this is one of the most important, probably the most important factor in the whole subject of memory-training. Let us refer again to our illustration […]

“In proportion to the clearness and distinctness of the image will be the understanding of it by the mind and the hold taken of it by the memory.” Can you visualize your memory as a wonderful mental camera? The most wonderful moving-pictures in the world are those which move in the brain of man. No […]

A few simple tests and drills will serve to show your motor memory efficiency and at the same time help to develop it. For a test of motor reaction, take a lead pencil and see how many dots you. can make on a piece of paper in a minute. Repeat this at intervals and note […]

“I am sure that if a fairy bade me choose between the sense of sight and that of touch, I would not part with the warm, endearing contact of human hands.” Some authorities hold the opinion that the two main memory channels, discussed in the preceding chapter, are the only ones worthy of consideration or […]

Every student of memory should be able to diagnose his own case, and determine which is the stronger, his visual or aural memory. The following tests and drills are suggested: Select two paragraphs of about equal length and similar construction. Test your visual memory by reading one of them silently and carefully—testing the memory after […]

In fact, after years of experience with many, students both in voice and memory courses, I am willing to hazard the assertion that far more people are tone-blind than are color-blind. Some are so gone-blind that they cannot raise or lower the pitch of their own voices at will, or tell whether the pitch of […]

“His mind was a storehouse of knowledge, of which he had lost the key.” There comes a time in the life of every one, when he realizes with something of a shock that his memory is slipping. Reluctantly, he must admit that his memory is not so good as it was; that his mental grip […]