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Ruth Gaskovski's avatar

Wow - what a treat! Ronald this was an incredible post. You are giving me additional motivation to devote more time to memory work in our homeschooling. As I was reading I thought to myself that you could be offering lessons for paid subscribers, only to come across your invitation at the end - great idea. Looking forward to more of your writing!

p.s. I am off Notes (for personal serenity). Thus no more restacking from me, but I am sure that your excellent work will find its way to a larger audience.

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Ronald Johnson's avatar

Thank you Ruth. It always makes me glad to see memory work in schools. I was also thinking about having a book club or a poetry recitation group. Ok, no problem, I completely understand. I’ve been considering my use of Notes as well and still thinking about it. Thanks again for reading and hope you have a great day.

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Ruth Gaskovski's avatar

I think those are great ideas! I think a guided resource for how to build a memory palace (with examples) would also be very interesting. I loved reading about it in "Moonwalking with Einstein" and started using the method with my homeschool group students.

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Ronald Johnson's avatar

Thanks, that is a great idea. Yea, Foer is excellent. I think you will enjoy “Memory Techniques: A Systematic Analysis of Modern Mnemonics” (Volumes 1-2) by Douglas Hoff. He basically read the entire art of memory forum (hundreds of pages), and compiled all the systems and memorization techniques. Usually memory athletes are on this forum and a lot of them do not publish books or not everything has been documented or new techniques have not be officially named. So, his books are thorough and comprehensive. He intended it to be a textbook for schools and he provides lesson plans in them as well. https://www.amazon.com/Memory-Techniques-Toolkit-Vol-systematic-ebook/dp/B0C39GM9ZQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=douglas+hoff&qid=1691011685&sr=8-2

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Ruth Gaskovski's avatar

Thanks for that thoughtful recommendation Ronald - I will certainly take a close look at this resource!

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Andrew’s Alter's avatar

Once again, another thoughtful exploration of the mind. Truly delightful writing style, as well as the information contained. I work in a field where memorization of key words and phrases is absolutely essential, with no room for error. You've piqued my interest. I think I would be open to some of your lessons, if that could be worked out.

Good stuff, keep it up

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Ronald Johnson's avatar

Hey, thanks for reading! Glad you enjoyed it. Sure, I would love to help. You can send me an email at RonaldMJohnsonJr@gmail.com and we can set up a time to meet.

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Alina's avatar

excellent read! thank you so much for including me x

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Ronald Johnson's avatar

Thanks Alina, loved reading your comments on the Divine Comedy. Also checked out your YouTube channel, great stuff.

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Alexandra Block's avatar

This is amazing! I commend your highlighting the virtue of memory. So often today the spiritual element of any pursuit is lost in pure entertainment or virtuosity.

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Sabrina Y. Smith's avatar

Committing to memorizing the entire Divine Comedy in Italian is quite a feat! 👏Can’t wait to hear your progress!

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Ronald Johnson's avatar

Thanks! Yea, I really enjoy the process. I started using a journal to write it out as well with colored maps and symbols.

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