Super Memory-Super Student Paperback – January 22, 1990

Harry Lorayne's book, Super Memory - Super Student, serves to help people memorize different information in a much more efficient way by using his techniques. I read this book in my Advanced Chemistry class primarily to help me learn the elements on the periodic table and many different formulas that will make chemistry much easier for me. Lorayne's goal in writing this book was to make memorizing a lot easier and faster for everyday people. In my opinion, Lorayne was successful in completing this goal. I found his techniques very helpful which made my goal to memorize all kinds of extravagant words and formulas much more reachable.Harry Lorayne uses three main memorizing techniques: the link system, peg system, and substitute word system. The link system is a way of memorizing a list of items by randomly connecting the words so that you can remember them in an odd way. The peg system is a way of connecting sounds and letters to numbers 0-9 so you can remember different numbers more easily. His third technique, the substitute word system is a way of remembering large words without any sort of visualization by finding smaller words that sound very similar to the large word and using the link system to create an odd visual that will stick in your memory.Throughout this book, Harry Lorayne does an outstanding job creating platforms for you to learn his techniques from. When explaining his link system, he gives you a list of random words that he links for you and really helps you visualize an odd scenario using each of the words that surprisingly helps you remember the random list. I was very happy with how well this system worked and used it to memorize some of my chemistry vocabulary. Then, Lorayne explained his peg system. This system was a lot more complicated than the link system. However, once I had learned the basic idea and memorized the sounds associated with each number, it really paid off. Lorayne explains how to apply these skills very successfully, which made it very easy to memorize numbered lists and different conversions I needed for class. Lorayne's substitute word system was the last technique to be explained in this book. He creates a way for people to memorize large words with difficult definitions by finding smaller words with easy definitions and links them to the definition of the big word. Lorayne explains this process in a way that is easy for the reader to understand and gives a lot of examples just to make sure you are understanding the material. This system was very beneficial, and I used it while memorizing difficult words for my chemistry tests.Overall, I was very pleased with Harry Lorayne's novel and recommend it to everyone struggling with memorization skills. Lorayne's techniques will continue to help me throughout high school, college, and the rest of my life.

Let me start this off by saying, I'm not quite "book smart" due to a lack of a decent memory, nor creative in the least. I'm not even a visual person; I rely mostly on audio learning.Still, this book's systems really helped me. While I won't lie and say learning them was a cinch for me, the link and peg methods are really possible for anyone with proper time dedicated and a little focus. Using them really just takes practice but makes any learning much easier. The more advanced techniques I've tried to avoid using until I need too, but they definitely look manageable if a little time is devoted to the techniques and a little light learning first (which is easier to memorize than most things).Honestly, I did see instant results. I haven't tried any memory feats or tricks, but I immediately saw myself memorizing much more than I could by myself (then again, 10 items in a list by number was absolutely amazing for me). I used this to learn SAT words and even though I struggled more than most people would, I still managed to learn about 20-40 words a night in under an hour easily. It was also more fun than usual, I guess. I even retained them with a little repetition (included in the time spent), several hundred of them.I hope my brutal honesty didn't discourage you to buy the book. For $10, it's a steal. The cost is really irrelevant though. Whether you believe in this or not doesn't really matter. I know I didn't think it'd work for me. What really matters is that you're ready to put the time into it no matter how your interpret the technique during the first reading. $10 or not, without any effort, this will just be a book on your bookshelf. With some effort though, this could become a new aspect in your life allowing you to open yourself up to more knowledge and maybe opportunities. This book isn't for everybody, but that you're even this far means that it might be something you want to change. I hope you find what's best for you.Before ordering this book, I found many of the methods. They were usable and maybe helpful, but abstract. That's because while most of these methods are easily available online, this book's real value is it's numerous examples and ability to really get you going on a higher level. It may be the push you need.