Thinking words, words.

Do you want to sell more? Get your point across? Be listened to?

All animals and insects communicate. So do bacteria. It’s a fascinating area to be interested in but here we’re concerned with humans.

When you want to get a response from someone, you must express yourself clearly or risk confusion or an argument.

To do this you must use some known effective ways to say what you mean. Sentences are a better idea than grunts. Words we recognize are helpful too.

So many jokes depend on use of a word; a common statement can be said another way to sound like profound wisdom. Language can be fun. You can get people to do your bidding if you say it properly. You can defend yourself; cause a riot, make peace.

The pen can be mightier than the sword.

Language for fun? Tongue twisters use it often. Try “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.” http://www.dyknow.info/ That’s a fun site.

“Susan Simpson,” the anonymous poem lots of children are aware of, has 20 lines of words beginning with “S”. Try that for yourself. It’s called “alliteration”.

What comes to mind with the word “kite”? Is it the children’s toy or Ben Franklins lightning experiment, or the bird (hawk), or slang for WW11 airplane, or the sail on a ship, or the glider pulled by a towline, a con man, or a fictitious check? What do we mean when we tell someone to “go fly a kite”?

What word has the most meanings? It’s one we use every day.

What simple word is the same backwards or up-side-down?

What’s a ‘palindrome’? How long can they get?

We know what ‘democracy’ is, or do we? What’s a meritocracy or oligarchy? Can you name ten forms of government? What does ‘government’ mean?

Can you see how your mind is broadened by thinking about these ideas?

So use it to its best advantage.

Just today I got these gems in email. These people are selling stuff.

· You’ll get ads that with much better.

· because we are gonna to carry are on band-width.

· jump from one to the another.

· we sent you an email asking telling your how we used …

· are their any sports channels?

· this simple stratergies is...

These people are trying to sell me something! Would you buy from them?

They won’t make a sale here so they’ve lost money.

Communication shows how you think.

Beside the usual “cuz/coz” (because), “wanna” (want to), we get sentences that go

“Yeah, no well it was kinda like you know sorta like a big kinda gobie thing, you know and yeah, hey.” What goes on in that mind? Is there ANY organization? What did they say?

The only idea they communicated was that they have no thinking process. They just lost me as a listener.

Yes, the English language has confusing spelling and needs to be more phonetic. But how do you explain people’s ignorance of very basic everyday words?

The difference between same-sound words (homonyms) is in their spelling. “Their,” means ‘belonging to,’ e.g. “Their spelling, their books, their ears.” “There” means ’in that place.’ “There is the book,” means the book is in that place. It’s stupid to say “Their on the table.” That means, “Belonging to them on the table.” Where is the book? “There.”

“Your,” means ‘belonging to’ It’s your car. “You’re,” means ‘you are.’ You can’t have a “you’re book” unless the persons’ name is “Book”. In this case that apostrophe (the thing between the ‘u’ and ‘r’) means something is missing, namely the space and the ‘a’. Just like in “It’s” where the space and ‘i’ are missing.

This gets confused with the possessive use of the apostrophe (The child’s dress.) so check it out. Spellcheck will take care of this most of the time.

“Then,” means ‘at that time.’ “Than,” means ‘in comparison.’ This is not bigger ‘then’ that. It’s bigger than that, (in comparison). Climb to the top then (at that time) jump.

If there were only a few instances of this, I’d ignore it, but it’s so prevalent. Please, please use a dictionary. You’ll gain more respect. And if you’re in sales; sell more.

Parts of a sentence are there to stop confusion e.g. “There’s a man in the house with a wooden leg.” We know this is a sloppy sentence, but assume it’s the man, not “the house with a wooden leg.” “There’s a woman and baby, with a wooden leg.” Who has the wooden leg?

This is kindergarten stuff. (Two German words - 'kinder' is 'child' and 'garten' is 'garden'). It should have been taught then, in kindy. But now it’s up to you to elevate your status. Despite the all encompassing Google and Wikipedia, I found little of value to emulate a good thick dictionary. But then you won’t look up a word if you think you’re using it correctly. “St Martin’s Handbook” by Lunsford is excellent for beginners and the serious student. Otherwise, start from the beginning and learn the bits you missed, or messed.

The best thing to do would be to get a teacher who can correct things as you go.

Understanding language gets serious when we consider legal contracts worded by lawyers in a way only lawyers can fathom. Most people don’t have a clue about what they’re signing. You don’t need to be told this is dangerous.

Politicians, products and promises (alliteration) have their own language. Keep the question in mind when listening to a politician. Notice how they tend to steer the answer to another direction? They may say a whole lot of words that, if you read them, mean nothing. Do they ever give the facts, and then who’s facts?

Advertising means telling you you’ve got a problem that can be fixed with X product. Shampoo strips hair of its natural oils, so we buy conditioner to replace them. Silly. You can’t wash your hair “too clean for dandruff”. It actually dries the scalp and produces dandruff.

This is NOT a comment on religion. It is a comment about the importance of language. The first English translation of the Bible could have been by Wycliff in 1382 or partially by Tyndale, about 150 years later or by Coverdale in 1535. The later was translated from the German and Latin not from the Aramaic – Hebrew, Greek, or Syriac. Other translations appeared and still more are appearing in our lifetime. Isn’t this important, considering the impact of the teachings?

If we aren’t being misled by outright lies we can be misled or guided by skillful use of words. A clear understanding of life involves many factors. Language and logic are two essential tools in this quest.

Wit or Wisdom.

“There are seven ages of man – spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills.” Anon.

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated,

"If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics; (I just love this.)

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........
Twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed an Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

Please share this with your friends who love - but sometimes hate - their computer!

Thanks,
Jay Ross.

IQ Adult is about extending your mind.

IT’S GREY, BUT IT SHOULD BE GREEN.

Your brain is the wrong color, metaphorically speaking. Yes I know it’s really the mind, not brain I’m referring to, but that doesn’t sound as good.

Q. What’s this guy talking about? A. When a tree is growing, it’s green. When it gets old and established and can’t be moved any more it goes grey. The more it loses its color, the more useless it gets. When it stops being fruitful it starts dying.

It’s the same with your mind. Ideas are your fertilizer. They nourish growth. When we stop considering other viewpoints, we stop growing.

SO. How about investigating another religion to see what they’re talking about?
Is Witchcraft all about Satan worship?
Are gay men interested in little boys?
Do lesbians hate men?
Are Negros less intelligent?
Is democracy the best system of government?
How much “freedom” do we really have?
Is robbing people the best way to get rich?
Are computers the death of society?
Will robots become sentient beings?
Are statistics irrefutable?
Can you think for yourself?
Are you always right?

We can easily make two columns there.

There is something magical in old people who embrace fresh ideas, who remember how “naughty” they were as teenagers. They see the world from a higher viewpoint. They pass on the understanding they garnered over many years yet still find room to consider how things have changed.

When you consider a holiday as sitting at a bar on a beach with other souvenir seekers, you’ve gone off track. A better holiday would be one to stretch your mind to new thinking. Go to Tibet, Zambia, live with the homeless in your own town for a month. (Don’t take any money or credit card.)

Soak up new experiences. Do you think what you call meditating is really meditating? Isn’t what you’re doing just a relaxation technique?

Do you vote for the person, party or policy? Why?

Do you respond to a serious question immediately, before giving thought to its reason or possible relevance to the topic?

Even fools have something to teach.

Life isn’t a matter of keeping mindlessly busy or sipping cocktails by the pool. It’s a voyage of discovery. The end is near when you aren’t interested or interesting any more. If you keep telling the same joke it’s time to get a joke book.

If you never tell a joke, it’s time to see the clever presentation of a fine comedian. It’s something to strive for.

Do you complain about the movies? Make a half hour thriller.

Old people tend to have leg troubles. Buy a bicycle now or start dance lessons. Meet new people.

Start a blog; you’re reading one. Tell us your story. That means you have to think about it, organize it and make it interesting. It may end up being that book you always were going to write.

FEED YOUR MIND. Keep those green shoots coming.

Wit or Wisdom.

This is really from the Massachusetts Bar Association journal.

• Q: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
  A: "No."
  Q: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
  A: "No."
  Q: "Did you check for breathing?"
  A: "No."
  Q: "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
  A: "No."
  Q: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
  A: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
  Q: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
  A: "It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

I rest my case for promoting intelligence.
Jay Ross. IQAdult.

P.S. Wow somebody sent a comment to a previous blog! But it was anonymous, so you missed out on some goodies I was going to send to the first commenter. Any takers?

To answer your question; when some topic proves to be popular. At the moment I'm covering a wide area in the hope of garnering some interest and feedback.

The report, "How to Remember Names With Faces and Influence People" is available and there will be many more free reports as "Instant Info". Just email - iqadult@gmail.com

If you want a more comprehensive report on memory training Click Here!

ATTITUDE is one of the secrets of life.

You’re sick or successful, sad or happy, mean or generous, brave or a coward, despised or well respected because of the Attitude you have. That is a fact.

It doesn’t matter if you think you can or can’t do something. You’ll be right.

Your Attitude will make you right whatever you think. Think about that.

You will succeed or fail, not because of the job ahead, but because of how you THINK.

Approaching any endeavor with “I’m not going to be able to do this.” is ensuring a bad job. You’ve made it so by the attitude you took. Yes talent and physical laws come into it but if it is possible to do, your attitude is the next major factor. And most of the time we underestimate what we can do.

SURPRISE YOURSELF WITH YOUR OWN ACHIEVEMENTS.

Attitude and motivation are twins. Motivation provides the right attitude and attitude feeds motivation. You’re the winner.

Remember the issue about Habits? (No.5) Habits of thought make your attitude. Continually complaining means you’ll get nowhere in life because you have an attitude only other losers have. Successful, happy, well adjusted people won’t want to know you. Isn’t it time to wake up to the fact?

Rich people associate with other rich people and get richer because they reinforce their ‘riches attitude’. A successful marriage or relationship requires work and understanding. It needs the attitude of ‘learning and growing’ not of getting your own way, fighting. Fighting is for self defense, not subjugation of the partner.

Where do we start with the right attitude? The answer is with its twin.

What is your motivation?

Ask yourself why you can’t hold a job for long. Is it because you were always told you were useless or an idiot? Don’t blame anyone! Just realize!

Your ‘success motivation’ has been over-ridden by low self esteem.

Get over this by making sure to do a really good job of something. It doesn’t have to be anything great, just a good job.

Trying to get control all the time is often motivated by lack. Gaining power covers that lack. Maybe if you faced the reason behind it, your attitude would change. You’d feel freer.

The health of your relationship comes from the observations you made growing up. Do you come from a broken home, one of continual fighting, or a loving, caring, nurturing environment? Chances are that your current relationship is like that.

Realize and change your attitude. Do something good for your partner today. Just a compliment can do it. Just saying “champ” to your son or “princess” to your daughter can make their attitude change.

You influence other peoples’ attitude. Do it for mutual good. It returns to you.

Treat other people as you would like to be treated.

What has this got to do with IQ? It’s smart to have the winning attitude. It’s the intelligent approach. It gets things done. .

I enjoy feeling satisfaction in achievement. I don’t enjoy depression. Your self worth is shown by your attitude. It’s there on display.

CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE AND YOUR LIFE WILL CHANGE.

You start to become what you make in your mind, through attitude, through habits.

“We are what we think,” – Buddha

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”- Proverbs 23:7

Start dressing well. Be more polite. Learn something new. Change for your better.

Print this and blue-tack it to your PC.

MY FUTURE IS THE ONE I MAKE.

Say it, actually SAY it now.

Believe it and start making your future.

People are making a fortune teaching this very principal. You’ve got it right here if only you will PUT IT TO USE. They will sell a ten part course to tell you in different words exactly the same thing over and over. Some of us need repetition.

As your attitude changes; other people will respond with their attitude about you. It spreads. Just let it happen. There’s no need to push.

Now print that sentence in upper case, the one eight lines back.

Answer to last weeks' puzzle - Silence.

Witt or Wisdom?

" Be yourself. Everybody else is taken." From a Dutch transexual on TV, whose name I don't recall.

Let's have your comments.

Jay Ross.

Hello fellow travelers,

Let’s have some words about what IQ and intelligence are.

Is it knowing what to do at the right time? Surely that’s experience. Is it the ability to remember things? Memory can be taught. Education? It certainly helps but a well educated person can be a complete dullard in a non academic situation.

Does age bring wisdom? Wisdom comes from experience if it is filtered. Is intelligence that filtering process, seeing the essence? Age, by itself, does not bring intelligence. Is aptitude the answer? Are we showing intelligence if we can readily adjust to various situations? An IQ test won’t show this.

If you breeze through the newspaper cryptic crossword every day, it only shows that you’re used to those answers. You’ve been doing it for a long time. Try another puzzle and it will take much longer. You may just have a large vocabulary. In the movie Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman played a savant (not really the right word but its definition is changing) with extraordinary natural memory and skill with numbers. Note “natural”. Is talent like this innate? Yes. Does environment play a part? Yes. Ah, the ‘nature v nurture’ debate, you say? No. It’s obvious that both play a role. What if Mozart grew up in the slums of Calcutta?

So can your innate intelligence be increased? No, but don’t lose hope. It can be developed. You can get far more from the wiring you already possess if you develop it! While you’re not increasing the hardware you can get the most from the software. Most people use their mind like a PC that is tuned to the net but only use the word processor and accounting charts.

How to develop it? Click your red shoes together three times after you say the magic word. If only…

It’s not that simple but it is a lot more fun. It involves exposure to a variety of stimulation, analysis (that filtering process), memory, marrying different ideas, flexibility, imagination, withholding judgment before results, honesty, listening to learn, getting baffled, recognition of a problem, treating life as a game, making quick decisions, um. I won’t go on.

One way to lead a satisfying life is to do what you want to do and make the necessary money doing it. There are two steps to this - identifying what you want and realizing your abilities. Strangely, a lot of people don’t know what they want to do! Do you really know? If you did, you’d be doing it. The first step leads to the second. Identify your abilities, your aptitude, where your innate talent lies. See the sign– Go This Way. It’s white lettering on a red background with an arrow. The arrow is angled upward.

“I want to be a paperback writer”, an actor, build a sales empire, teach, become governor, do research, whatever. Do you write well? Have you sold any writings? Can you do it? An actor – can you slip into a different personality easily, without sounding like you’re reading a script? Can it be sustained? Build a sales empire – do you sell easily, can you run a business, can you teach your talent? Teach – who, adults, children, the homeless? Where does your innate ability lie? Have you done any aptitude tests? Are you artistic or very logical? If you do it easily, you can probably make a living at it. Write a list of things you would like to do if money wasn’t a problem. It can be anything you want. Be playful with this list. Let any fancy fall onto the page. You must write it down, not leave it in your head. There’s the biro. Do it right now. Go on. I’ll wait.

You’ll find more ideas come to mind over the next few hours. Write these down as they come. The next step is to leave it for a day, then divide it into similar activities. If the majority concern dealing with people; why are you in accounting? Are they academic? Why are you a painter? Maybe physical interests; why sit behind a desk at work?

Now take action. Join an amateur theatre group or speakers’ club. Start an internet small business or write a detailed summary of your novel. If you’re going to do anything, you’ve got to start. You must let that innate talent out for your own happiness and the notice of others. You’ve got the battery and light so get connected. Shine.

• Like to easily remember names with faces? Mail “names” to iqadult@gmail.com It’s a free lesson.

THIS WEEKS’ PUZZLE.

You’ve heard of opera singers shattering glass with their voice. Science has proven that it can happen in strict circumstances, but is unlikely in everyday life. What is something that can be shattered just by any loud noise?

Answer to last weeks’ puzzle – 35 minuts early.

QUOTE. “I’ve never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once but I was wrong.

Anon.

Jay Ross. Send your input. We’d like to hear from you.

IQ Adult is about extending your mind.

Now girls and boys we have a story about the Habit.

Habits are invisible creatures that grow in the maze of the magical Synaptic Mind Forest, a very spooky place that’s always growing and changing until it can’t find any more Stimuli, which it feeds on.

Stimuli wander in from the outside and are gobbled up by the Synapses to make more tentacles. They like their tentacles because they can ‘shake hands’ or make contact with other Synapses. When they do this; they get stronger, like a big social network. And that’s good.

The world wide web and internet is a big social network just like the Synapses built, but they did it first. And we couldn't have done it without them. In fact, we can’t do anything without them. Synapses rule. OK.

Now, the Habits come from the land of Potential (a very, very strange place). When Synapses join up they open the rabbit hole to Potential just a teensy bit. And every time they do, the Habits grow stronger.

Now, Synapses and Habits both have a stupid side to them. They eat any Stimulus that happens to be there. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, they don’t care. So if you put bad Stimuli into your Mind the Synapses will grab them and help make the Habits stronger. And that’s not really wise.

“How come?” you say. That’s a Question and they’re great to have on your side but sometimes hurt when they’re thrown at you. Hit them with an Answer and they go away. There’s some sitting on the keyboard so have this one.

Good Habits make life easier by helping you do, or get whatever you want. Get enough of them and they’ll help you achieve anything that is possible. Yes, anything. You know they’re working because life is fulfilling and you feel happy and smile a lot. You also help other people achieve this. The more Stimuli you put in to strengthen the good Habits, the better you make your life. And the lives of those near you change too.

So what is possible? It’s very easy to say - far, far more than you know is possible. Honest. Nobody knows how much is possible.

The bad Habits work the same way but they make you feel good for a little while, but then turn on you to make you feel bad. They’re nasty critters. Some people don’t even get to feel good at all because the bad thinking Habits have taken over the Mind. Good thinking Stimuli don’t get a chance. They may come in but there are not enough of them to make a difference. Some people actually think being unhappy is normal so they make the most of it by feeding Complaints to the Habits.

They continually complain so people get annoyed and don’t want to see them, which is good for them because that’s something else to complain about. People who don’t want to see them sometime complain about them, which is making their bad Habits stronger.

The best idea is to delete them from your life and continue to associate with good Stimuli.

What can we do about this? We can starve the bad Habits and make the good Habits stronger. It’s easy to say but the bad Habits will fight back. The trick is to ignore them. When they come in say, “I know what they’re doing but I don’t want this bad Habit anymore.” That’s when you make a Stimulus for a good Habit. “Thinking makes it so”. Just by thinking about good Habits, you’re making Stimuli for them to grow. The more often you do it, the more effective they are. Keep reinforcing good Habits.

Visualize yourself bashing the bad Habit and turning to the good Habit to shake hands. Good Habits really are your friends.

What form do bad Habits take? Well Habits are invisible until they show themselves. The obvious ones like addiction, aggression are easy to see and come from unresolved conflict. Habits like low self esteem, saying “can’t”, demeaning other people, keeping nasty secrets or wanting to hurt people, and a lot more are slower to recognise but they're just as bad. The trick is to see them.

Part of an athletes practice involves visualizing the event they're training for. In essence it's making the act of winning a Habit as much as the physical training. Practice involves repetition until it becomes a strong Habit.

Use Habits because they're powerful, but make sure you make the right ones.

Housework.

Re the memory issue. I’ve been asked to say how to memorize a shopping list. It seems obvious. Visualize the shopping centre. Outside are people throwing EGGS at each other but you get past to walk through the strands of SPAGHETTI across the door. Inside, instead of checkout counters there are giant loaves of BREAD which you climb over to fall into a pool of MILK… It’s that simple.

Use the same idea for study keywords. Someone’s birth and death dates can be visualized on a tombstone with their name and a symbol of their fame. Use ‘cat’ for ‘catalyst’ etc. Most important is to USE IT often.

The free lesson on names with faces is still available at iqadult@gmail.com

I want to get you to make comments about the subjects covered here. YOU could be the very first. Let me know what you want to hear about. Only six people wrote for the free names/memory lesson but didn't post comments. Let us hear you.

The answer to last weeks puzzle is - Japan.

Puzzle - Adam wanted to go to the Sci Fi convention but he wanted to get there 10 min early. He thought his watch was 10 mins slow but it was really 15 mins fast.

How many minutes early or late was he, or did he get there on time?

IQ Adult is about extending your mind.

"I'll always remember what's her name." How many of us have done that?
Memory lapses are so common, but most people don't know that the memory can be improved with some very simple exercises.

The mind responds to training just like muscles do, only it's more fun. Could you remember 100 unrelated nouns in order, backwards and forwards or from any place in between? Impossible? You will in a few moments. Read these words;

man, tree, swimming pool, elephant, sandwich, briefcase, kettle, dollar, map, hat, nose, bus, fish, rope, moon, train, rain, egg, door, spaghetti, ball, shoe, brain, comb, poem.

Look away and repeat them. Now. Yes, now. Most people will get less than six.

The magic is in association and vividness. Associate 'man' and 'tree' in a silly graphic fashion. See a tree growing men like leaves, make them naked if you want, or a man frantically trying to get a tree off his back. Visualize this with action, movement and make it silly. Nobody is looking inside your brain so let imagination run free. Next, link 'tree' and 'pool'. See a tree taking a swim in a pool. Don't bother remembering 'man'. That's taken care of.

Now leave 'tree'. Go to a tiny 'pool' with an 'elephant' leaping into it. See the huge splash. Forget 'pool'. Think of an 'elephant sandwich'. Make it funny. Spend a little time doing these associations. They'll happen faster as you practice. Next is a business man carrying a 'sandwich' instead of a 'briefcase'. He opens it to take out a steaming 'kettle' (see the steam) that pours 'dollars'.

It's ok to use a story but if it ends without going anywhere, just leave it and go on with the last word association. Instead of 'dollars', people could be paying you in 'maps' which you make into a very fancy 'hat'. Women are wearing 'hats' shaped like 'noses'. It's the latest craze. See them.

Continue this with all the words but only two at a time. Leave the previous words. There's no need to think of them. They're already remembered.

When you've finished, write them down. 'Man' was the first.

Now you'll find you can easily recite them backward or from any place in between. Get a friend to test you. Amazing? You can remember 100 words in the same way. All you're doing is taking two words at a time. Review this tomorrow, in your head, and you've got them for a long time.

Now for the hard part. People learn this and don't use it. Crazy. Remember your shopping list; your study keywords; any list of words. As you keep doing it, it will become second nature.

Congratulations.

• LEARN TO MEMORIZE NAMES WITH FACES.
  
• Email me at iqadult@gmail.com Put "names" in the subject line.
  
• This is a free report.
  

PUZZLE. John has lived a third of his life in England, then a sixth of it in the USA, and twelve years in Japan. He then spent half the remainder of his time in Australia and the same amount of time as in the USA, in Africa.
Where was he on his 40th birthday? Answer next week.

Think about it.
Jay Ross.

IQ Adult is about enlarging your mind.

Welcome.

Last weeks' post stated we'd look at study techniques.

Beside the usual conditions of no distractions, a set time each day, access to reference material and space to do the job, you should always start a "discovery session" with a question. What am I trying to do? Set a purpose and aim for it. Is it to understand how something works, write a precis, sort through facts to a conclusion, remember figures? The idea is to establish relevance.

* We learn by linking to what we already know. If you want to teach or be understood, link (associate) with what your audience knows. Pluto? God of the underworld? Plutocracy? The Disney dopey dog? The planetoid? How many moons does the planetoid have? If you thought of the dog, imagine three balls going around the dogs' head like in cartoons. Tell someone Pluto has three balls. You've associated and learnt.

* Get an overview. Briefly read the beginning and end of your reference works and any headings in between. A student I know who consistantly does well, reads childrens' encyclopedia articles for the simple overview. Cleaver. There's a vast amount of info in precis form on the net. Fill in the details as your understanding demands.

* Ask how, when, where, why, what and who. Why did it happen? What drove them to do this?

* Study to tell somebody. Whether it's another student, family or examiner, it forces you to organise thoughts. Find an interesting part and build your knowledge around it. If you live with a student, ask them what they learnt today. It helps them organise and review the information.

* Review within 24 hours. Go over the subject and reinforce what you know. There'll be vague bits that you can clarify. Longer than a day lets the info fade. To be really sure, skim over the lot again within 7 days.

* Look for faults. In one week I read that the population of Sydney was 3.2, 3.8 and 5 million. I also read a maths textbook that had a glaring error in a simple probability lesson. Even teachers make mistakes.

* Visualise. Make "mind maps" or family trees of relationships between facts, events,characters.

* The more senses you use, the more will be remembered. "The Nile is the longest river but the Amazon has the greatest volume." If you say it and then look in an atlas, you'll know it. Use touch, sound, taste or smell wherever you can.

Next Friday you can increase your memory. There is no such thing as a bad memory; only an unused one. This is easy and fun and you can teach others to do it.

How many moons has Pluto? Now a link - One of them is almost half as big as Pluto!