Talia Mana at the Centre for Emotional Well-Being is graciously hosting the July 2007 edition of the Brain Fitness Carnival. I’d like to thank her for taking the time to get everything together and linking to my previous post on Education from a Buddhist perspective.

Of all the posts, I thought the following were the most interesting:

• Working Out Your Brain - Exercise may actually make you smarter.
• Don’t Get Glad, Get Mad! - An interesting theory that being angry actually makes us more able to make rational decisions. Personally, I can see some flaws in this, but it’s still good to think about.
• Bridging the Gap Between Hot and Cold Cognitive States - Thoughts on how our predictions of how we will act when “hot” or emotional on how we act can change based if we are “hot” or “cold” (analytical).
• Mind advice? Bring attention to the conflict - After a string of Buddhists posts (No vacations, Stonecutter, and Education from a Buddhist perspective), it is always nice to see others talking about the benefits of bare attention in learning.
• Apes, Speedy Learners, and new Brain Fitness Channel
  - Discusses the evolution of learning and shows a cool video from New Scientist about an ape figuring out how to get a peanut.
• Keep your mind active - Nothing to revolutionary here, but I like being reminded that we should try novel things in our lives to help us grow. Some suggestions are on that page.
• Five foods for your brain - As good as supplementation can be, I prefer the idea that our brains (and bodies) can be nourished with wholesome eating. Here is a list of 5 common foods to help you stay smart.

I hope you will enjoy the carnival just as much as I did.

To me the idea behind that title seems fundamentally obvious, but it’s always nice to see some proof. The Eide Neurolearning Blog discusses the idea that breaking negative thinking patterns can help students perform better.
 
Simply, mindset matters.
 
The study is deals with math specifically, but this can apply to all fields. I mention math though because I know so many people have a love-hate relationship with it. As the MCATs are rolling around again, maybe it’s time to reassess our attitudes towards math. Who knows, it might help you score that much higher?
 
In the past it was said that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, that bit of bromide* is long dead. All dogs can learn all sorts of new tricks. Just try and stop us
 

* Bromide is my word of the day:
 

A bromide is a phrase, or person who uses phrases, which have been used and repeated so many times as to become either insincere in their meaning, or seem like an attempt at trying to explain the obvious.

(Source: Wikipedia)

My nose is a torrent, my head is a pressure-cooker and my lymph nodes are a series of warzones.

Maybe it goes without saying, but I haven’t gotten much studying in today.

From an experiential point of view, we know that when we over-stress our body — through studying, physical exertion, emotional tumult, etc. — our body eventually gives way. In order to get the most from our bodies, say to study for exams, we must treat our bodies with respect.

More and more research is finding that our mental states have a direct or indirect effect on our health. Even thinking about exercise can make you healthier.

On the negative side, stressing over exams can weaken your immune system. I have seen and am currently experiencing illness that comes from mismanaging my stress.

So then what should we be doing to show our bodies the respect they diserve?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T (find out what it means to me)

• Eating good food regularly.
• I would like to emphasize the good and the regularly parts. Your body needs clean fuel to run smoothly. So fill up on premium, not macaroni and ketchup… again.
• Sleep.
• In Scientific American Mind (Oct 2006), they describe how German neuroendocrinologist Ullrich Wagner demonstrated how sleep promotes insight. (Excerpt in the comments section.) Basically, if you look at a problem, take a little nap, you will have more insight.
• Stay calm and breathe.
• We all need oxygen to function, don’t forget about breathing. Although a little stress can be helpful to learn, too much and you will block those neural pathways.
• Keep yourself in check.
• Every once in a while, just ask yourself: How am I doing? Look at your posture. Check your breathing. Are you tense? Even starting to shake a little bit? Once you realize that you aren’t doing so hot, it is time to take a little break. Self-awareness is key.

For the most part, you may know these tips, but it doesn’t hurt to get a reminder now and again. And trust me, it is much easier to take preventitive measures to ensure your good health, then to deal with the consequences afterwards.

I’m going to go lie down now; I’m waiting for some night-time Dimetapps to kick in.

Brad Hoge at the HUNBlog wrote a very poignant post regarding the problems that can come about through lecturing and test making; in this post he makes reference to the monotillation of traxoline: in this post he floods you with jargon from an imaginary field, then quizzes you on the same.

I’ll give you an example from biochemistry, if you don’t feel like reading his post and because it hits so close to home for me:

Regulation of Glycogen Metabolism

The primary mode of glycogen regulation is through covalent modification of enzymes. Protein kinase A is a second-messenger activated member of the phosphorylation system. It in turn phosphorylates phosphorylase kinase, glycogen synthase (inhibiting it), and phosphoprotein phosphatase inhibitor. It is important to note that only phosphorylated phosphorylase kinase works to phosphorylate glycogen phosphorylase, activating it, thereby increasing glucose-1-phosphate concentrations. With reference to phosphoprotein phosphatase inhibitor, it only binds to and inhibits phosphoprotein phosphatase in its phosporylated form. It is clear that phosporylation works to promote glucose synthesis and dephosphorylation works to promote glycogen synthesis.

I was going to ask you some questions about the blurb above, but I think you get the point.

While Dr. Hoge later speaks about this in terms of constructionism, I’d like to deal with it in a different light.

First, I would like to address the nature of teaching; then I would like to talk about the student’s level of understanding.

Pedantic teaching

Sometimes I wonder if teachers know they are being so dull. Sometimes I wonder if they are trying to be confusing. As I try to see things in a better light however, I don’t think either of these is true. Teachers, professors, etc. are quick to assume that students have completely absorbed the content of their previous lecture. Of course, there is a lot ofonus (responsibility) on us to learn the material; however, as with learning a new language, one must first be immersed in the new knowledge, then given time for that new vocabulary to be incorporated into one’s lexicon (personal dictionary).

Ancient wisdom tells us that we must walk before we can run. In terms of knowledge acquisition, we must be familiar with ideas before we can use them. To use the language-learning example, we should learn to listen and read before talking and writing.

Hey, so what does this mean for us (students)?

In the absence of sympathetic teachers/professors, we will have to work to become familiar with the knowledge faster. How can we do this you ask? I’m sure you can feel it coming: We have to immerse ourselves in the content, by listening and/or reading more. Try to assimilate as much of it as possible, but don’t fret too much if it all doesn’t sink in right away. Even that reading, as incomprehensible as it seems, is starting to build those neural pathways in your brain that will lead to understanding.

Stick with it; the comprehension will come. Case in point: You know that biochemistry blurb up there? I couldn’t have written is unless I had a relatively good understanding of the concept. A week ago, I couldn’t tell a phosphotase from a kinase—in simpler words, I couldn’t tell an apple from an orange.

What does this mean for teachers?

For teachers this means, giving students the opportunity to become familiar with these new ideas before making them the foundation of future lessons. Some more ancient wisdom: Build your house on sand and when the winds come, it will be a great fall. (That’s adapted from the bible, by the way.) I realize there are time constraints, but there’s no point in teaching, if no one is learning.

How can one find out if people understand? Try to ask students candidly if they understand the material. Students of all sorts, however, are not always willing to stick their necks out. You may have to probe their knowledge base with key questions. It can be hard, but awareness of the students’ level of comprehension is very important to teaching and learning.

Level of Understanding

I was in one of my labs, and I heard someone say, “Yeah, [that professor] knows too much to explain things easily.”

Initially, I thought this sounded silly, but I realized there was some credence to this comment. When one is at a certain higher level of knowledge, it’s hard for them to speak in terms of a former lower level of knowledge. Its hard to talk about politics simply, if you are so used to understanding and using political jargon, for example.

This is why teaching is such an art. The best teachers have learned to speak in terms of a common lexicon, so that more of their students may have a chance of understanding them.

The highest level of understanding is not when one can explain a concept in a complicated way, but instead when one can explain a complicated concept in a simple, succinct way. (I know there is another ancient wisdom quote that espouses this, but I couldn’t find it.)

For students, this means that we should strive for that higher level of knowledge. When we can explain concepts simply, we truly understand the material.

Often, I find that when my friends ask me about a recently learned concept, they cannot understand what I am talking about. This isn’t purely their fault; my explanation is weak, because my level of understanding is low. Once we augment our knowledge, we can give better explanations. That is true mastery.

So, inspired by the hilarious graph-based comic Indexed, I have decided to create a graph showing the relationship between Level of understanding and Complexity of explanation. (It looks a lot messier than I expected.)

Parabola of knowledge:

So students and teachers alike, remember to strive for the simple and clear explanation: it shows that you truly understand the material, and it will make everyone else’s life a lot simpler in the long run.

… Almost.

More and more, just from experience and from learning about cognitive psychology, I’ve found that we can remember much more that we thought. Even seemingly lost facts, places, faces, etc. can be found.

How can we perform such amazing feats? Through associative memory. (Those of you with some psychology background may not be too surprised.) In fact, this post is inspired by one cognitive neuroscientist who won $500,000 on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (A highly recommended read.)

The thing here is that while some people may have heard this before, it is something else completely to understand and apply this. Personally, I use 3 methods for extracting factoids from my head.

Think about:

1. Related words/ideas
2. the Situation you were in when you learned it
3. Insane, random ideas

So for related ideas, if you are trying to remember the name of a perfume, think about a bunch of other perfumes or people that advertise them. I was trying to remember the type of perfume that my mom likes: Hmm, what was it? Not Channel No. 5. What person? Jennifer Lopez? Hell no. Elizabeth Taylor. Got it, White Diamonds!

Maybe that example was too metrosexual for you, maybe these other ones will make more sense.

For situational memory (or episodic memory), sometimes smelling something like a musty basement can bring back a flood of memories about playing table tennis oh-so-many years ago. In the same way, sometimes remembering where you were in the hallway in front of a washroom, when your friend mentioned magic mushrooms, the chemical muscarine (one chemical in some “magic mushrooms”) and your over-excited/under-clothed friend, can bring back memories that will help you on a pharmacology exam.

Frankly, when I’m really stuck, I like thinking of really insane, random things. If you have extra time during a test or anytime in life, I recommend this; it gets your brain moving in on a totally new path, which can get you out of that mental rut.

I’m going to use one of my dreams as an example, because I know people are getting a little tired of my arcane life sciences examples.

I had a dream last night, but when I woke up I only had the “feeling of a dream” left. Since I wanted to remember the dream, I stayed positive (important for letting those thoughts come back) and started looking around my room for associations. I looked at my headphones, and thought about a memory program I was listening to. Then I thought about books: from this I got a strong feeling that a book or books were important. Then I looked at the books in my room and saw one about the Korean language—suddenly I remembered my whole dream. (If you’re that curious as to what it was, you can ask in the comments.)

To get some free associations (to start the brain cascade), I don’t just look around wherever I am; sometimes I use a preset A-Z list of items (a peg list), body parts, random songs. It doesn’t actually matter what you choose, as long as you create some associations, and you go along with those that pull at your intuition.

I’m not saying that you will remember everything with this sort of thinking. If you are confident in yourself and your brain, however, you will remember a lot more than you previously thought possible.

Try it! Seriously! Try to connect “string” to your past, and just go with it. Appreciate all the rich associations that you make, and you’ll begin to appreciate what sorts of connections you are capable of. Inside of those connections and associations is an insanely large amount of information.

Toward the end of last semester I’ve come across a different way of thinking about memory. It comes from an audio program from Vera Birkenbihl called Memory Optimizer.

She describes memory as construction: when you attempt to place a fact – say someone’s name – in your brain, you must first construct the idea of that name in your head. Every time that you recall this idea, you are reconstructing it in your mind.

The power of this idea lies in what it means for recalling or forgetting information. Previously, I thought that if I could not remember someone’s name, for example, it meant that I was stupid or inconsiderate. With the above memory philosophy, this is not the case. The person’s name is not available for me to recall, not because I am “stupid”, but instead because I did not construct it properly in the first place—I may not have heard/understood the name properly. So if I ask to hear the name clearly (maybe even a few times) and if I can associate it with something/someone familiar, I am much more likely to recall (reconstruct) their name in the future.

The quality of the reconstruction depends on the quality of the initial construction.

So we shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we can’t remember something, it is simply a case of poor construction. This is one of the main points I wanted to make in this piece, so I’m going to reiterate it. Go easy on yourself when you can’t remember something. You are still an intelligent person and it is with this intelligence that you can improve your idea construction. Maybe it’s just me, but after coming across this simple philosophy, I felt extremely liberated. That’s why I felt that you should know it as well.

Now, now, in the wake of Danny’s post regarding independence and accountability, it would be remiss of me to say we should leave the poor construction the way it is. Once we see that our idea structure isn’t as well built as we want it to be, it is up to us to fill in those cracks. Again, this is why it is important to quiz yourself before an exam so expose and repair those cracks while you have the time. And there’s only one construction worker on this site, and he/she works just as hard as you do.

So put on that hard hat and bring on the spackle! This is going to be a good year for mental construction. I can smell it.

As people make the transition from high school to university they find that many aspects of their lives and mindsets change. A newly discovered freedom – or at least awareness – causes people to reassess what they know to be true or good.

Naturally, this leads to a lot of experimentation. In university such experiments may involve alcohol, drugs, sexuality, social interaction, physical activity and much, much more.

While I will neither condone nor oppose these types of experimentation, I think that people must come into their own perspective in their own way. Might I suggest one more – oft overlooked – area of experimentation? The way you learn.

This is the perfect time to experiment with your learning. Right now, we are still relatively young. Even if you are not, there is a comparatively small time investment needed in order to improve the way you learn. Think about it: if you spent one year trying out new learning techniques – honing in on what suits you the best – then even if you only live ten more years (definitely more though), you will have ten more years of improved learning. Relating this back to Monday’s post, it would be a very solid investment.

In finding out the nature of the way you gain knowledge you can increase the speed and ease of your learning. Taking in information will become less of a chore and more of an incidental process – or better yet, it will become fun.

I would recommend reflecting on all the areas and ways in which you learn. However, to get the ball rolling, I’ll give you some examples:

In-class note taking

How do you take notes in class? Do you write down everything? A lot of professors tell me not to, but then it seems like I’m missing something from my notes when I come back to them. There’s a line between expediency and deficiency. Work to find what works or what doesn’t work for you.

As well, have you ever tried previewing the material before class or reviewing afterwards? I must say it’s really helpful. Even if you don’t fully grasp the material at the time, you’ll find that even the mention of something vaguely familiar during the lecture will boost your confidence and increase your attention span.

I have already written a post describing Note Taking Tips (in class).

Listening to music
I’ve heard many arguments from both sides, so I’m hesitant to render a verdict for either. I’ll give you what I know, and what works for me.

Some people say that studying with music allows them to keep focused longer and keep a nice tempo going to their work. Some people say it energizes them. There was even a system, popular in the mid-1980s, called Super Learning [new window] that taught that people learned best while listening to 60 beat-per-minute Baroque music.

On the other hand, personally I’ve found music to be too distracting. I always want to start singing along, drumming things, etc. I’ve had a few teachers say that music can be distracting, but I usually take their advice with a grain of salt. A while ago, my friend mentioned a study done where participants learned some material with and without music. The variable was the level of musical competence of the subjects. Can you guess who learned better with or without music?

Well, I guessed wrong. Actually, the people with a higher level of musical competence actually learned more poorly when they listened to music. This makes sense, because their brain would become more active in the “musical areas” of the brain; taking focus away from the studied material. (I believe Jenna told me this, so if you are reading this and I have misquoted you or the study, go ahead and correct me.)

However, I have to mention that I have been listening to music on an off while writing this post…

Study Groups

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this already. Many people find that study groups help them by bringing people together to teach and learn the material. I find that teaching others helps to solidify the material in my mind. When you actually have to explain something, you have to have a higher and more complex level of knowledge about the subject. Personally, I don’t like study groups because I’ve found that we get too easily distracted and start talking about the Nintendo Wii or shoes. Try it out for yourself!

And more!

I have written other posts regarding the following things you should try experimenting with:

• Memorization techniques – This is probably one of the most valuable techniques you will learn.
• Environment – You may want to incorporate things that help you learn, calm you or provide motivation.

By the way, you should also try to expand this philosophy to other aspects of your life. A change in diet can change your energy levels and even the way you think. An occasional reassessment of your personal beliefs can also bring about lasting positive change in your life.

Keep your experimentation positive and you can’t go wrong. Without change there cannot be growth; growth is the key to life. So get growing!

I find that after the summer vacation starts, there’s always this high you get once you realize that you won’t be doing homework for a long time. However, after a little while you find that your thinking is starting to slowdown, you feel mentally and physically lazy. Maybe you aren’t like this, but sometimes I’ll find myself watching TV for way longer than I expected, and not even enjoying it.

This sort of wasted time makes me feel like garbage. Not only did I not move for 3 hours (don’t laugh), but I know I could have used that time to do something more fun and constructive. Now, now, don’t get me wrong. I think that the summer is the perfect time to relax, but this doesn’t mean that our brains and bodies have to go to mush.

With this update I hope to give you some ideas on how to keep your mind active during a generally lazy summer.

(All external links will open in a new window.)

Puzzles and Games
The idea that Alzheimer’s disease can be staved off through crossword puzzles was always interesting to me. While the studies are not yet conclusive, the implication is reasonable. Keeping your mind active, even through games can help sustain your brain. I’ve recently tried Sudoku, after much resistance, and I like it a lot. However, the fun doesn’t stop there: Chess and other such challenging board games are good too. Don’t fool yourself though, playing Solitaire on your computer probably isn’t stimulating your brain much.

Reading
I remember when I was a kid, I used to love reading. Back then, I always read what I wanted: fantasy, science, some really nerdy stuff that I’m too embarrassed to mention, etc. However, once I entered high school, being forced to read very dry, dense novels almost crushed my passion. Recently though, I have rediscovered that reading can be invigorating, interesting and even intense (there’s some alliteration for you!). So go read what you want, just makes some time for it. It will increase your vocabulary and expand your mind.

Be Creative
I know that you are a very creative person. However, some of us haven’t exercised this part of our brains for so long that we have almost forgotten what it is like. Try anything: Learn an instrument, start drawing/painting, build something, write a story. Anything creative is fine. Just try it, even if you think it won’t work out. I’m sure you will surprise yourself. Recently, I started learning how to draw realistically. Frankly, before I would have said I am a terrible drawer. However, even after a couple weeks (on and off), my drawing ability as improved drastically after some instruction - Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.

I drew my left hand recently, and I think it is crazy good. Remember to push through those challenging times, the reward is well worth it. Every time you reach a roadblock, keep in mind that your goal is right after it. Even the feeling of a sense of accomplishment is enough, but that extra creativity can make you smarter and give you more sex appeal. What more could you want?

Music
I know I already wrote about creativity; however, I wanted to mention a different aspect of it through music. Recently I have started reaching a new sense of awareness with many things. It started when I was listening to Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony (First Movement). Which has a profoundly sad back-story in my opinion.

There are a lot of subtleties to experience that we frequently miss or ignore. This applies to everything from music to just walking. However, I think music is readily accessible to everyone. So I’d like you to try playing a song that you really like and listen carefully. You may be surprised to see what you have been missing. Try it loudly, or by putting on some headphones. It will change the way you perceive that song.

Oh, this tip doesn’t work for the song “Check up on it” by Beyoncé. You just realize how stupid the song actually is – even though it’s so catchy.

Keep on Moving
Any sort of physical activity will do: basketball, soccer, swimming, going to the gym, shaking that groove thang, etc. Not only will this improve your health and get rid of that lazy feeling, I firmly believe that physical health is tied to mental health. I’m not exactly sure why; it could be that your body is no longer wasting its resources on the upkeep of an unhealthy system, it could be something else. The important thing to know is that when your body is feeling good, your mind will follow.

Summary

• Play some stimulating games
• Read an interesting book
• Be Creative
• Listen to music carefully
• Keep moving

You can do as many of these items as you wish; one or all of them is fine. A general guideline that I think will help: Whatever you do, try to make it something divergent, something you don’t usually do. In that way, you’ll be using your brain in a different way, forming new connections. You’ll be amazed how such small things can change the way you think. So go for it! All those things you’ve been yearning to start: Now is the perfect time!

In my continuing fascination with how our brains work, I decided to pick up Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink (new window), after reading his earlier book, The Tipping Point (mentioned in the post: Knowledge and Relationships).

Once again I am highly recommending this book. This book is just as, perhaps more, fascinating than The Tipping Point.

To the point: Gladwell suggests that we can be prepared or primed to think in a particular way with some simple and subtle suggestion.

From Blink by Malcolm Gladwell:

[T]he effects of priming aren’t trivial. Two Dutch researchers did a study in which they had groups of students answer forty-two fairly demainding questions from the board game Trivial Pursuit. Half were asked to take five minutes beforehand to think about what it would mean to be a professor and write down everything that came to mind. Those students got 55.6 percent of the questions right. The other half of the students were asked to first sit and think about soccer hooligans. They ended up getting 42.6 percent of the Trivial Pursuit questions right. The “professor” group didn’t know more than the “soccer hooligan” group. They weren’t smarter or more focused or more serious. They were simply in a “smart” frame of mind, and clearly, associating themselves with the idea of something smart, like a professor, made it a lot easier – in that stressful instant after a trivia question was asked – to blurt out the right answer. The difference between 55.6 and 42.6 percent, it should be pointed out, is enormous. That can be the difference between passing and failing.

The implications here are wild! To me, it seems that before any sort of testing situation, it is possible for us to prime ourselves to think in that “smart” frame of mind.

Rather than thinking about hooking up with that cute guy/girl right before the exam, our thoughts should be of greatness and intelligence. It may help to think of someone you think of as smart, or what it means to be smart.

And hey, even if it improves your mark by only 1%, it’s a free percent that takes only minutes before an exam. Two minutes for one percent? I’ll take that any day.

Pegging can be used to remember items in a specific order or associated with certain numbers. Basically, it is where you form vivid mental associations between a preset known object (the peg) and what you want to memorize. You are putting the item you want to memorize on the peg. So if you can remember the preset list, then the associated objects follow easily.

Let’s start small. Let’s say you have to memorize a grocery list in order: Butter, Celery, Ground beef, Cheerios, Campbell’s soup, Bread, Frozen Peas and Bananas.

Now we want to peg these items on something with which we are already familiar: our body. Hey, why not? We all know our bodies quite well. (Too well in some cases.) Let’s use our head, mouth, neck, elbows, hands, bum, knees and feet. This is just going from top to bottom. You could add more body parts, but there are only 8 items on the list.

Now to go through the items and our body parts:

Butter. What’s the first peg? Head. OK, now you need to create a strong image that assocates the two objects. Imagine smearng the butter into your hair and moving it all around. It’s so thick, you could even make a little mohawk with it. This is a lot of butter. The fatty butter is even starting to melt a little and is slowly dripping down your ears. Gross.

The key is to make the image really vivid and incorporate emotion into it. The stronger the better. Either positive or negative, it doesn’t matter, but don’t go too crazy. And you really have to visualize it or this won’t work. Try this for the butter one, I can wait….

This post is quite long, please click the permalink below (the time this was published) to continue reading. If you are reading this, thanks for clicking through.

Good. Next, mouth with celery. Easy. Imagine eating the celery. Don’t just stop there! The celery is so crunchy and crisp. With every bite, water just explodes out of every cell. Crrrrrrrrrrunch! Oh man, now you have one of those celery stringy pieces stuck in your teeth, like thick green dental floss. It even hurts to pull it out, better leave it in.

Third is the neck with ground beef. Let’s keep this relatively clean. Imagine rubbing the ice-cold ground beef on your neck. You can feel that fatty residue being left all over the front and back of your neck. Then unexpectedly, the beef starts frying on your neck. You can now smell the delicious beef cooking on your neck.

You don’t have to confine yourself to the realm of reality. What’s the point of having an imagination?

Now, elbows and cheerios. Crush those little wheaty O’s unto chunks. But those cheerios won’t go without a fight. They start cutting your elbows deeply. It burns as you contunue to grind your elbows in the cheerios as the powder enters your wounds.

Hands and Campbell’s soup. You pour boiling Chicken à la King all over your hands. Ouch! Darn! Fiddlesticks! It’s so creamy so it sticks really well - like a thick, white, chicken-flavoured paste. Oh Campbell, why did you make such a delicious yet adhesive soup?

Sorry about that.

Bum and Bread. This is going to get a little funny, just stick with me. So your bum is really hot (temperature, not appealing). What can cool it off? A nice refreshing loaf of Wonder bread. Just take a seat on the whole loaf. Feel the squishy loaf compress under your bum, while nestling it and creating a bum-shaped impression. This is the coolest most comfortable seat cushion ever! In fact, you go to the grocery store to sit on their whole stock of fluffy, fluffy bread. That’s nice.

Knees and frozen peas. If that rhyme doesn’t help, then we can imagine pressing those frozen peas against your knee. Ooh! Cold. They start easing your knee joint. Feel yourself relax. These frozen peas start thawing a bit, and the water drips down your leg. It tickles a little. Are you still visualizing? Concentrate!

Feet and bananas. You and your new dance partner are performing the Tango de la Meurte (Tango of Death) on a floor covered in bananas. You aren’t even wearing shoes because that’s how intense you are about dancing. You can feel the bananas squish between your toes as you step on them, feel them ooze between your toes. As you dance more furiously, the banana paste and peels begin to fly into the air, the smell fills the room. Suddenly, you slip on one of the peels, and after 7 mid-air summersaults you land in your partners arms with a banana peel between your teeth. Amazing.

Now that we’ve done the whole list, let’s just make sure we know the body parts first: Head, mouth, neck, elbows, hands, bum, knees and feet.

Now try to remember all the items on the list without cheating. Actually minimize this page. (for Windows users: Alt + Space, n; for Apple users: Open Apple + M). Or you could click the minimize button. Go and think about it now! I’ll wait here….

Did you do it? If not, try it.

I’m going to bet that if you did it, you were able to remember all of the items (or at least all but 1-2).

This sort of thinking isn’t just limited to grocery lists. And it doesn’t have to just be lists. You can link any two items with this sort of imagery as well. I’ll give you an example I used for anatomy. (Sorry if you don’t get this example.)

Just so you can vaguely visualize this, you’ll have to know that the adrenal glands are on top the kidneys (one on each), and they look like flat, stumpy pyramids.

I couldn’t remember what the outermost layer of the adrenal cortex did - the outer layer is called the zona glomerulosa. I know the adrenal gland is responsible for hormone production, but specifically which ones? The outer layer is responsible for making mineralcorticoids - they basically regulate the salt (mineral) levels in the body.

So, I imagined someone pouring salt on my adrenal glands, so much salt that they started shriveling up.

Now, I can’t forget that the outer layer of the adrenal cortex (the zona glomerulosa) produces mineralcorticoids.

I hope you are starting to see that power that pegging can have.

There is another form that involves number associations, but I’ll save that for later.