The use of strategies to aid in remembering is called “mnemonic,” and individuals who use these techniques and have an exceptional memory are referred to as “mnemonists.” Through this means, information that may not have much meaning is made meaningful and, as a result, is easily remembered. Being a mnemonist is an innate quality bestowed upon individuals from birth. While not everyone possesses it to the same extent as those born with it, it is still possible to enhance one’s memory through the use of certain techniques.
In a study conducted on a mnemonist in 1920, the individual in question was using two fundamental mnemonic methods. They either visualized the presented letter or number sequences in their mind or transformed them into meaningful images. For example, he could memorize a series consisting of 20 digits in 40 seconds. When asked to recall them, he faced no difficulty. The subject, who transformed heard words into concrete images, would imagine a flowerpot in his mind when he heard the word “green.” And when “red” was mentioned, he pictured a man in a red shirt approaching him. He placed these images in his mind along the street he used to wander most in his childhood, at specific locations he had visualized. During the process of remembering, taking a stroll along this imaginary street was sufficient. He could easily memorize works such as poems using mental images and could recall them flawlessly even 15 years later.
The number of mnemonists identified in the world so far is very low. There are mnemonists who can memorize their phone book when they get bored. We know that the Honorable Sage Bediüzzaman, despite not being a mnemonist, had an extraordinary intellect and memory and memorized 90 books, and some scholars like Imam Shafi could transfer pages to their memory like a scanner while reading a book.
Don’t you think that on mnemonists, we can see a different manifestation of the Infinite Power of the All-Knowing?
