To attain the rank of grand master of memory, you must be able to perform three seemingly superhuman feats. You have to memorize 1,000 digits in under an hour, the precise order of 10 shuffled decks of playing cards in the same amount of time, and one shuffled deck in less than two minutes.
Ever wondered how to win the U.S. memory championship?
I think I would be good at that … sorry what day is it … I’m sure I had to be somewhere today … yes I think I’d be good at that … Alan 🙂
That’s pretty mindblowing. I remember there was a popular TV show game in Europe in the 90s, called Fort Boyard. where one of the challenges was to remember the exact order of a row of colored marbles (white, black, red) in 30 seconds. Most game participants stumbled after the third or fourth marble. I usually made it to the 9th or 12th one (I always memorized it it in a pattern of threes). But to remember a thousand numbers? Holy crap.
If you haven’t read it, I thought Moonwalking With Einstein was a really interesting read. The author goes from being completely untrained to winning the US Memory Championships. The tactics are pretty interesting.
I really loved Moonwalking With Einstein – it’s a very engaging read. Highly recommend!