“Memory: How to develop, train and use it” makes a clear claim; it claims to help you improve memory in a way that is natural, that does not involve chreap tricks like those seen in books on mnemonics. The specific method this book claims as the tried-and-true method of improving memory rests specifically on improving attention. The things that you pay attention to, because they interest you and are directly relevant to your life, are the most memorable. It becomes easier to remember something the more attention you give it. The book later goes on into specific examples (like learning to remember names, faces and numbers).
The primary mechanism to develop and improve memory for faces, for example, starts by improving attention towards faces. The first way this can be done is by studying facial anatomy, and learning the different types of features a face can have. For instance, there are a finite number of types of nose, and learning to distinguis between them will allow you to discern a face in greater detail. Another way to increase attention towards faces it to practice drawing them from memory; as your ability to reproduce faces will improves, so will your attention to the details of a face. Then, when you study a face, you can remember it more easily, because you’re recognising it in more detail to begin with. Similarly, one can build a memory bank of names, associating the origin of the name and its meaning to make it relevant, and how a name relates to other names. By learning these things, one can make names more interesting, and learning an individual’s name becomes more memorable.
I find the book to be interesting and valuable, but I take issue with it in one respect: the book has an attitude of looking down on mnemonics as if they were cheating, or cheap magic tricks. While mnemonics can be used to perform very impress crowds with incredible feats, it has many practical uses as well. For instance, learning a great deal about numbers will not necessarily help you when presented with a new, random number (like a 4-digit code to enter the garage of the apartment you just moved into, or your friend’s new phone number or one hundred digits of pi). This book approaches memory by quickly building framework of information with which to readily associate specific instances of that topic (ex. learning about names in order to learn people’s names) whlie systems of memory are designed to easily translate new data into something easily recognisable, and usually a bit comical so it’s easy to remember. Mnemonics are more useful when you don’t have the underlying foundation, or if you’re just starting to build it. On this topic I recommend two books: “Moonwalking With Einstein” by Joshua Foer, and “How to Develop a Super Power Memory” by Harry Lorayne.
The methods of this book are special because they may help you see in new colors! I remember reading in an article somewhere, it speculated that humans developed the capacity to see the color blue the last, and in early human texts the sky was more noted as a grayish. Part of the reason for believing in the lack of the color until relatively modern times was the lack of language used to describe it, and it cited other research suggesting that the ability to see two different shades of a color was directly associated with whether the person learned the words corresponding to each color. The idea being that, as you learn the language, you can gain the sight. As you learn the words for the infinite shades of green, you become able to see them, instead of just remembering it as any green blur. I personally notice a similar effect when listening to music. Often when listening to a new song the lyrics come off as vague or difficult to make out, until I read them. Once I’ve read the lyrics my unconscious mind knows what to expect and filters the noise accordingly as it enters my ears; the improvement in my ability to hear music was improved almost automatically. The capacity to expand one’s range of sensory experience by learning new is something this book claims to help develop, and it is something I am interested in exploring in the future. In the meantime, I highly recommend you also check out more traditional books on mnemonics as well and definitely learn the Major system.