XMT Time!

Last bit of training before I head out early Thursday for this year's Extreme Memory Tournament! In its third year now, the XMT is easily the coolest and most fun-to-watch memory competition out there. Make sure to check out all the action at XMTLive.com. In addition to the usual live display showing all competitors' screens and results, Florian Delle (founder of Memory-Sports.com; I interviewed him earlier this past year) and Max Berkowitz (an actual sportscaster!) are going to be adding some color commentary all day long. It's gonna be great! So be sure to tune in online for the group stage starting 8:30 am PDT on Friday. 

Numbers System Details

I've added a slightly more in-depth description of my numbers system to the FAQ:

Since mid-2014, I have used a 3-digit system (one unique image for each 3-digit combo from 000-999) based on the [Major System phonetic code][9], shown below. My system is approximately ⅓ people and ⅔ objects. I place two of these 3-digit images per locus. 

Each digit is assigned a corresponding phonetic sound:
0    s, z
1    t, d
2    n
3    m
4    r
5    l
6    j, ch, sh, soft g
7    k, hard g
8    f, v
9    p, b

For a given 3-digit combo, I squeeze the three sounds together to form an image. For example, 375 might correspond to MKL, so I chose “Michael Jordan” as my image for 375. 357 became “milk.” 604 became “chess rook.” 970 became “Biggie Smalls.”

Here are a few links I used to brainstorm Major system images (if you're stuck on a number, try plugging it into these for some ideas):

http://major-system.info/en/?n=279
http://www.phoneticmnemonic.com/lookup.php?num=279&submit=Lookup
http://www.rememberg.com/

Interview with a Memory Expert: U.S. Memory Athlete Everett Chew

Just 14 years old, Everett Chew is striking fear into the hearts of America’s top memory competitors. At his first ever competition, the 2015 USA Memory Championship, the Southern California native posted a 41 sec speed cards time on his first attempt and went on to reach the finals. In a few weeks, he’ll be competing right next to me in Group D at the Extreme Memory Tournament. He’ll follow that up with his first-ever WMSC competition: the U.S. Memory Open. What will he do next? I contacted Everett late last year to discuss his future plans, his advice for breaking through plateaus, and how he applies memory techniques in his school and personal lives.

"I have found two techniques mentioned in Moonwalking with Einstein called deliberate practice and the 'plateau breaker.' The idea of the 'plateau breaker' is to push myself outside of my comfort zone so that I’m forced to make mistakes. I then identify what’s holding me back and use deliberate practice to clean up those areas. Combining these two techniques is an extremely efficient way to practice and my go-to training method, especially when I attempt to beat one of my personal bests."
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