Eran Katz - Where Did Noah Park the Ark?: Ancient Memory Techniques for Remembering Practically Anything

Copyright 2010 by Eran Katz

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

Three Rivers Press and the Tugboat design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

eISBN: 978-0-307-59198-2

v3.1

For my loving family and friends. You have helped me find my passion in life. I just cant remember what it is.

MY DAUGHTER GALI was four years old when she surprised me one evening as we walked down the pedestrian mall in the center of Jerusalem together.

Daddy, can I have a coin? she asked.

What for? I inquired.

To give to Boris, she replied.

I didnt know a Boris, especially one who conducted business with my young daughter. So I asked her, Who exactly is Boris?

Come on, you know, she said in a small voice. The man who plays music.

I realized that she was referring to the street musician who plays the mandolin and relies on the charity and kindness of passersby for his living. Nevertheless, I was surprised by the fact that she knew his name.

Gali took a coin from me and approached the musician. She stood in front of him and, in a quiet voice, said, Boris, this is for you.

The musician looked up with astonishment. How do you know that my name is Boris? he asked with a heavy Russian accent.

My daughter looked at him for a moment and said, You told me last time!

But how did you remember? he asked, his eyes twinkling.

My daughter couldnt answer him. It was as if she were thinking, Whats the problem? You told me your name and I remembered it. Why the big surprise?

I observed the two of them in amazement. I recalled hearing his name before, but I had completely forgotten it. For me he was just an ordinary person, the type one passes by with hardly a blink of the eye. But for Gali, he was Boris! Not only a man with a name, but one who makes her happy through his music.

Boris straightened up, picked up the mandolin, and began strumming a tune. Gali placed a coin inside the rusty tin can and, at that moment, Boris stopped playing. He knelt, took the coin out of the tin, and returned it to Gali.

You are my friend, he said with a warmhearted smile. Ill play for you for nothing.

I have been developing and applying memory techniques for years, aware of the potency and importance of a sound memory. But what transpired that day was an absolute revelationa four-year-old girl approached a street musician and addressed him by name. The musician, whose livelihood depends on every cent dropped into his tin can, refused the money. Why? Because one person among the throngs of people who pass by him every day remembered his name!

Thats all that Gali did. Boris, touched to the core, thanked her in the most natural but amazing mannerhe dedicated a song to her for free. In his way, he thanked her for remembering his most dear possessionhis name.

A good memory is a valuable asset. It is the most important tool we possess. Yet how little we invest in it, train it, and nurture it.

During the ancient Greek and Roman eras, great emphasis was placed on developing memory skills. Plato, Aristotle, and other educators obsessively sought to understand the human memory and improve mans memory abilities.

I was introduced to their methods about twenty-four years ago, while reading Harry Loraynes memory books. As the years passed, I turned a casual interest in memory into an exceptional hobby: I learned to perform extraordinary memory stunts, refined their methods, invented new ones of my own, and discovered their efficiency in every area of life.

In this book, I will introduce you to what, in my opinion, are the most successful ideas, methods, and tricks available to develop an excellent memory. Many of the methods youll find are based on ancient wisdom, mainly from Jewish experience.

Why Jewish?

Well, the Jewish answer to that would be Why not?

Actually, theres much to learn from the Jewish experience, especially when it comes to memory. Jews struggled throughout the ages to maintain their tradition under extreme hardship, and in order to achieve this goal, they developed advanced memory techniques from which each and every one of us can benefit. My fluency in Hebrew has afforded me the opportunity to delve into rare, original holy texts that discuss ancient methods for remembering facts, figures, and stories. The majority of these texts are unknown to the general public and privately owned by Jewish friends of mine and scholars. Some of the techniques were adopted by the ancient Greeks and Romans; many are being revealed for the first time in this memory improvement book.

In addition, Ive embraced the Talmudic saying I have learned much from my teachers, but more from my colleagues, and most of all from my pupils. Thats why I will share with you the valuable insights and suggestions I collected from students who participated in my workshops, implemented these techniques, and provided priceless feedback and new ideas. A valuable combination of the best of old methods and cutting-edge new techniques, this book will show you how to remember information quickly, efficiently, andmost importantcorrectly.

Throughout the book Ill challenge you with amusing yet practical exercises, building the level of difficulty as we go along. I promise you will notice a change in your ability to remember details once you have read the first few chapters of the book.

After finishing this book, you will be able to perform extraordinary memory exercises and, for the rest of your life, carry the knowledge, experience, and proof that your memory is trustworthy and capable of performing for the long haul.

PART I

BREAKING THE ICE

WHY DONT YOU
MINGLE A BIT WITH
YOUR MEMORY.
ITS ABOUT TIME YOU
TWO GET ACQUAINTED.

CHAPTER 1

THE BIG LIE

(NotThatBig Lie Just Some Surprising Ones About Our Memory)

YOURE STROLLING THROUGH the mall, swarms of people passing you by, when suddenly he appears.

His face looks incredibly familiar, and his name is at the tip of your tongue. A phony grin is plastered across your face. Youre optimistic that as he nears, youll magically recall his name. But as he extends his hand, you withdraw in defeat.