(2017–present)
27-430: (2017–present) The World Memory Championships is an organized competition of memory sports in which competitors memorize as much information as possible within a given period of time. The championship has taken place annually since 1991, with the exception of 1992. It was originated by Tony Buzan and co founded by Tony Buzan and Ray Keene . It continues to be organized by the World Memory Sports Council (WMSC), which
54-405: A blackboard. Once the mappings of a pair of digits are in place a sequence of digits can be converted into a story by first encoding pairs of digits as people or actions and then chaining these people and actions together. For example, one might remember the number 2739 as follows: First 27 would be encoded BG and then as Bill Gates , then 39 would be encoded as CN and then Chuck Norris . Using
81-450: A conspicuous rivalry between two challengers to the same Guinness Book Record, Memory Sports Promotion and Control Ltd., (Company number 3548879) was incorporated on 6 April 1998, by the invigilators Dr Peter Marshall and Ms Anne Perrett. The company operated under the business name The World Memory Sports Association. One common type of competition involves memorizing the order of randomized cards in as little time as possible, after which
108-432: A loose definition of "initials", using the initial letters of a phrase describing a person, such as "80 = HO = Santa Claus, laughing and holding his belly (HO, HO, HO!)". Once each pair of digits has been associated with a person one can then cheaply create a corresponding action for each person. For example, if one had chosen to represent AE as the physicist Albert Einstein one might use a corresponding action of writing on
135-466: A mental journey. Although the Dominic system is a method for remembering long sequences of numbers, it can also be used to remember other sequences such as the order of a deck of playing cards. This works by establishing some method of systematically converting the objects into numbers. If the nine of clubs is associated with 39 (CN), for instance, then Chuck Norris or a roundhouse kick could be used in
162-475: A word that has those sounds as the first two consonants. Mnemonic images like Tolkien, tiles, or toolbox could be assigned under the major system. In the Dominic system, 15 would be the letters A and E, and they would be used as the initials of someone's name—for example, Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein would then be given a characteristic action, such as "writing on a blackboard". Each two-digit number would have an associated person and action. The Dominic system
189-406: Is a letter-based abbreviation system where the letters comprise the initials of someone's name, while the major system is typically used as a phonetic-based consonant system for either objects, animals, persons, or even words. One letter is assigned to each digit; the other sixteen letters of the alphabet are unused. The major system would assign the sounds T + L to the number 15, and then find
216-474: Is specifically designed as a person-action system, while the major system can also be used to represent stand-alone objects. Many mnemonists use the major system as a person-action system as well, so the main difference is the way that images are assigned to the numbers. Like the mnemonic major system, the Dominic system can be combined with a memory palace , thereby creating the Hotel Dominic . Using
243-474: The mind sport of memory , refers to competitions in which participants attempt to memorize then recall different forms of information, under certain guidelines. The sport has been formally developed since 1991 and features national and international championships. The primary worldwide organizational bodies are the IAM ( International Association of Memory ) and WMSC ( World Memory Sports Council ). In response to
270-607: The Dominic system , named after former World Champion Dominic O'Brien , the mnemonic major system , as well as the person-action-object system which involves encoding cards and numbers into sequences of persons, actions, and objects. These methods are sometimes referred to as "mnemotechnics". O'Brien's Dominic system is a powerful memorizing strategy that combines both traditional and innovative techniques. These include techniques like assigning easily remembered people to unmeaningful things such as numbers, and more known techniques like
297-609: The 1970s, with the current record holder having produced from memory more than 70,000 digits. Memory sport continues to have its records broken rapidly. A recent world speed record for memorizing a deck of cards was 12.74 seconds, held by Shijir-Erdene Bat-Enkh of Mongolia. A recent world record for the most digits memorized in five minutes was 642, held by Wei Qinru. There are two different up-to-date lists of world and national records: 1. The International Association of Memory statistics website 2. The World Memory Sports Council Official Statistics website The highest designation set up by
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#1732793431927324-459: The Dominic system every pair of digits is first associated with a person. O'Brien feels that stories and images created using people are easier to remember. This encoding is carried out ahead of time and the people are reused, since it can take quite some time. To perform this encoding, each digit is associated with a letter using the table below. These letters then become the initials of the person representing this number. People will often use quite
351-524: The International Association of Memory statistics website. Dominic system The Dominic system is a mnemonic system used to remember sequences of digits similar to the mnemonic major system . It was invented and used in competition by eight-time World Memory Champion Dominic O'Brien . The main difference between the Dominic system and the major system is the assignment of sounds and letters to digits. The Dominic system
378-605: The World Championship, all ten disciplines are conducted at maximum timing, while at other international competitions some disciplines are shortened to a 30-minute format. As the competitions become more regional, some disciplines are cut while others are shortened. According to the World Memory Championship Competitors Handbook, the ten disciplines are as follows: In addition to the traditional competitions organized by
405-738: The World Memory Sports Council or International Association of Memory, memory athletes often compete at alternative-format competitions. These include the Memory League Championships (formerly the Extreme Memory Tournament ), Memoriad, and the MAA Memo Games . Other types of memory competitions may not feature timed events. For instance, records for the memorization of π (known as piphilology ) have been recorded since
432-759: The World Memory Sports Council, which organizes the World Memory Championships, is the Grand Master of Memory . Subclassifications include international grandmaster (IGM), grandmaster (GMM), and international master (IMM). As of November 2016, there are approximately 200 grandmasters in the world. Researchers have looked to discover the differences between brains with superior memory and those with average memory both in structure and capabilities, and whether their capabilities are innate or developed. Some research has found that there are no fundamental differences between brains with superior memory and
459-468: The average person. Instead many superior memorizers, like those in the World Memory Championships, use mnemonic learning strategies to practice preferential engagement of areas of the brain such as the hippocampus and the medial parietal and retrosplenial cortices which allows them to store and access more information in their working memory. However, other research into the causal factors of superior memory found that such performance could derive from either
486-414: The chunk 2763 would represent Bill Gates delivering presents while 6339 would represent Santa Claus performing a roundhouse kick. The remembered story, therefore, could be that Bill Gates delivered presents and then got roundhouse kicked by Santa Claus. The Dominic System is typically used along with the method of loci , which allows the easy recall of the images in order by placing them in locations along
513-465: The competitor is required to arrange new decks of cards in the same order. Mnemonic techniques are generally considered to be a necessary part of competition, and are improved through extensive practice. These can include the method of loci , the use of mnemonic linking and chunking , or other techniques for storage and retrieval of information. Techniques for training memory are discussed as far back as ancient Greece , and formal memory training
540-490: The competitors have to memorize as much as they can in a period of time: World Champions (1991-2016) International Association of Memory WMSC ( World Memory Sports Council ) 33th 2024 [REDACTED] Vietnam Up-to-date lists of world and national records can be found on the statistics websites of the IAM and WMSC. The best of them are listed in the following table. Memory sport Memory sport , sometimes referred to as competitive memory or
567-805: The dispute between players and the WMSC ( World Memory Sports Council ), most of the organizations except China and Arabia withdrew from the WMSC and launched the IAM ( International Association of Memory ). Beginning in 2017, both organizations hosted their own world championships. The Guild of Mnemonists Ltd was incorporated 6 April 1998, Company number 03541058, to foster communication and technique sharing as well as to develop ethical controls for competitions and guaranteed standards in memory training courses. The Guild has since ceased to function. Competitors describe numerous methods and techniques for improving their memorization skills, with some having published and named their specific methods. These include, for instance,
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#1732793431927594-475: The establishment of the World Memory Championships in 1991, national competitions have been set up in more than a dozen countries, including the U.S., India, Germany, UK, Italy, Sweden, Australia, Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, and the Philippines, among others. An up-to-date list of competitions can be found at the International Association of Memory statistics website. In 2016, due to
621-439: The first two digits as a person and the second two as an action, one creates the image of Bill Gates delivering a roundhouse kick. Similarly 3927 might be converted into the image of Chuck Norris writing software. Longer numbers become stories. The long number 27636339, for example, could be chunked into 2763 6339 and then converted into BGSC SCCN. If the memorizer has also associated Santa Claus delivering presents with SC, then
648-408: The memory palace . Joshua Foer has written, "Though every competitor has his own unique method of memorization for each event, all mnemonic techniques are essentially based on the concept of elaborative encoding , which holds that the more meaningful something is, the easier it is to remember." Sanctioned memory competitions comply with one of four formats for competition depending on the level. At
675-476: The practice of mnemonic strategies or in some cases a natural superiority in memory efficiency. The research also concluded that for those with regular natural ability, the superior memory they gain from using mnemonic strategies is typically limited by the applicability of their strategy to the task at hand. However, users of mnemonic strategies often perform exceptionally well with "less meaningful materials such as numbers." Up-to-date world rankings can be found at
702-520: Was jointly founded by Tony Buzan and Ray Keene. In 2016, due to a dispute between some players and the WMSC, the International Association of Memory (IAM) was launched. From 2017 onward, both organizations have hosted their own world championships. The current WMSC world champion is Huang Jinyao of China. The current IAM world champion is Tenuun Tamir of Mongolia. The World Championships consist of ten different disciplines, where
729-506: Was long considered an important part of basic education known as the art of memory . However, the development of trained memorization into a sport is only a development of the late 20th century, and even then has remained relatively limited in scope. The first worldwide competition was held as the World Memory Championships in 1991, and has been held again in every year since, with the exception of 1992. Following
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