Memory sport

Memory sport, sometimes referred to as competitive memory or 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).^[1][2]

In response to 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 Perrot. The company operated under the business name The Word Memory Sports Association.^[3]

One common type of competition involves memorizing the order of randomized cards in as little time as possible, after which 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.^[4] These can include the method of loci, the use of mnemonic linking and chunking, or other techniques for storage and retrieval of information.

History

Techniques for training memory are discussed as far back as ancient Greece, and formal memory training was long considered an important part of basic education known as the art of memory.^[5] 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.^[6]

Competitions

Following 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.^{[7][8][9][10][9][11]} An up-to-date list of competitions can be found at the International Association of Memory statistics website.^[12]

In 2016, due to 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).^[13] Beginning in 2017, both organizations hosted their own world championships.

The Guild of Mnemonists Ltd was incorporated 6 April 1998, Company number 03541058,^[14] 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.

Designations

The highest designation set up by 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 Nov. 2016, there are approximately 200 grandmasters in the world.^[15]

Techniques

Competitors describe numerous methods and techniques for improving their memorization skills, with some having published and named their specific methods. These include, for instance, the Mnemonic 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.^[16] These methods are sometimes referred to as "mnemotechnics".

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."^[15]

Disciplines

While the potential subject matter for memory competitions could be limitless, the World Memory Championships features ten specific tests as follows:

1. One Hours Numbers
2. 5 Minute Numbers
3. Spoken Numbers, read out one per second
4. 30 Minutes Binary Digits
5. One Hour Playing Cards
6. Random Lists of Words
7. Names and Faces (15 minutes)
8. 5 Minute Historic/Future Dates (fictional events and historic years)
9. Abstract Images (black and white randomly generated spots)
10. Speed Cards: Memorize the order of one shuffled deck of 52 playing cards as fast as possible. This is always the last discipline.

In addition to the traditional competitions organized by 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 Memo Games.^[17][18][19]

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 the 1970s, with the current record holder having produced from memory more than 70,000 digits.

Records

Memory sport continues to have its records broken rapidly.^[20] A recent world speed record for memorizing a deck of cards was 16.96 seconds, held by Alex Mullen of the United States.^[21] A recent world record for the most digits memorized in five minutes was 520, shared by Marwin Wallonius of Sweden and Alex Mullen.^[22] An up-to-date list of world and national records can be found on the International Association of Memory statistics website.^[23]

Well-known competitors

Up-to-date world rankings can be found at the International Association of Memory statistics website.^[24]

World champions:^[25]

• Dominic O'Brien (UK): 8x world memory champion (1991, 1993, 1995–97, 1999–2001)
• Jonathan Hancock (UK): world memory champion (1994)
• Andi Bell (UK): 3x world memory champion (1998, 2002–03)
• Clemens Mayer (Germany): 2x world memory champion (2005–06)
• Ben Pridmore (UK): 3x world memory champion (2004, 2008–09)
• Gunther Karsten (Germany): world memory champion (2007)
• Wang Feng (China): 2x world memory champion (2010–11)
• Johannes Mallow (Germany): world memory champion (2012)
• Jonas von Essen (Sweden): 2x world memory champion (2013–14)
• Alex Mullen (US): 3x world memory champion (2015–17)

Other:

• Yanjaa Wintersoul (Mongolia, previously Sweden): international grandmaster, double world record holder.^[26][27][28]
• Munkhshur Narmandakh (Mongolia): international grandmaster, world record holder.^[26][29]
• Enkhshur Narmandakh (Mongolia): international grandmaster, world record holder.^[26][30]
• Lkhagvadulam Enkhtuya (Mongolia): international grandmaster, world record holder.^[26][31]
• Joshua Foer (US): author and USA memory champion (2006).^[32]
• Ed Cooke (UK): author, grandmaster, founder and CEO of Memrise.^[33]
• Simon Reinhard (Germany): international grandmaster, 4x German champion, 2x vice-world champion, 2x Extreme Memory Tournament champion.^{[33][34][35][36]}
• Marwin Wallonius (Sweden): international grandmaster, 2x Swedish champion, vice-world champion, world record holder.^[26][37][38]
• Nelson Dellis (US): 4x USA memory champion (2011–12, 2014–15), grandmaster.^[32][33]
• Ron White (US): 2x USA memory champion (2009–10).^[32]
• Lance Tschirhart (US): international grandmaster, world record holder in spoken numbers.^[39][38]
• Huang Shenghua (China): international grandmaster, vice-world champion.^[26][40][41]
• Shi Binbin (China): international grandmaster, 2x Chinese champion, world record achiever.^[26][42][43]
• Su Zehe (China): international grandmaster, world record achiever.^[26][44][45]
• Zou Lujian (China): grandmaster, world record achiever.^[26][46][45]
• Prateek Yadav (India): international grandmaster, 4x Indian champion.^[47]
• Ola Kare Risa (Norway): international grandmaster, Norwegian No. 1, world record achiever.^[26][48][49]
• Boris Konrad (Germany): international grandmaster, world record achiever.^[26][50][51]
• Christian Schafer (Germany): international grandmaster.^[26][52]
• Katie Kermode (UK): world record holder in words, names and faces.^[38][53]
• Sengesamdan Ulziikhutag (Mongolia): international grandmaster.^[26][54]
• Purevjav Erdenesaikhan (Mongolia): international grandmaster, Mongolian champion, 2015 junior world champion.^[26][55][56]
• Daniel Tammet (UK): writer and autistic savant.

See also

References

External links

• World Memory Championships website
• World Memory Olympics website
• USA National Memory Championships
• Memory Ladder - for Android