REVIEW: The Memory Arts by Sarah Trustman + David Trustman and Vanishing Inc.

RATING: 10 OUT OF 10!

LINK TO REVIEW:http://straighttalkmagicreviews.com/memoryarts/

FULL REVIEW:

This is one of the most exciting books I have read in a while. The Memory Arts by Sarah and David Trustman and Vanishing Inc. will teach you how to easily memorize things in a way that makes it effortless. It is really amazing.



I have read a few of my friend Harry Lorayne’s books on memory and had a decent idea of what the Memory Arts was all about. It teaches you a system on how to remember things. The method is not a secret and I will briefly run through it below in very general terms.



The book you get is a 7 and half inches by 7 and a half inches hardcover book with 341 pages. The pages contain numerous glossy paintings and diagrams that are used in your learning or memorization of either one or two stacks; particularly the Tamariz’s Mnemonica stack of the Aronson stack. The illustrations and artistry were created by Mr. Trustman. Although you can and should, I did not use this book to remember the Mnemonica stack because I taught myself the stack the hard way years ago. I do not recommend the rote memory method as it was painful and not fun. Learning a stack using the Memory Arts book is neither painful nor tedious and it is in fact very fun. By the way, you are not limited to learning the order of a deck of cards, you can use the method to remember a shopping list or many other things that you would normally forget.



I am going to do what I said I would never do: learn a second stack. Aronson here we come!



So, how hard is this? Let me put it to you like this. I went to breakfast with my elementary school child and at the end of the meal the first 26 images were memorized. Truly amazing! So you know, you learn 52 totally random images. These images are, as referenced above, created by David Trustman. They are fun and creative. After you easily remember all 52 images, you learn a system of how to remember each card by turning each playing card into an image that then is remembered as part of the original 52 random images. So, what are the random images? They could be a Conquistador, a sailboat in the middle of the desert, a smoke exhaling dragon, a tunnel or a Ringmaster teaching a lion. Weird right? Yes, but it works!



The book is written clearly and easy to follow so learning is a snap. Now, be forewarned that you need to put in a small amount of work compared to the powers that will be bestowed upon you. Yes, there is some memorizing things, but the way it is taught makes it simple.



Back to my child elementary school child. After breakfast I went home and read (not showed) the names of the first 26 images to my wife and asked her to recall them. She couldn’t. She got the first 4 and then got the order wrong and couldn’t remember. I think asked her to ask our little one to name the images by number and she ran through all 26 in a row. My wife was flabbergasted and thought it was a magic trick. I then handed the book to my wife, taught her the method in 30 second and 2 minutes later she named all images 1 through 10 perfectly.



I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is one of the best new books I have read in years. After reading this book you may feel like you have super powers and can remember anything. All you have to do is remember to buy it!

If you REALLY want to learn how to remember anything quickly, easily, you can learn how SO MUCH FASTER AND BETTER from "his friend Harry Lorayne's books..." Sorry; I gotta' tell it like it is - and at my age - I will. So let me repeat - if you REALLY want to learn how to remember anything - including cards - quickly, easily, etc., you can go all the way back to my first book on the subject - 1956 - or any of my other books on the subject - including AGELESS MEMORY, THE MEMORY BOOK, and etc.

I need to learn how to memorize students' names. Will these techniques work for something like that.

This gentleman may have a few tips:
https://youtu.be/GOK4D1UvCIQ

I wonder how many (like DrBrewhaha) will pay attention. You all gotta' start reading the good stuff, guys. (Good stuff that has been available for you for decades. Get smart!)

Not only available, but - site addresses under my posts.

Honestly, I'm disappointed that someone so respected in our community would be so blatantly disrespectful to another contributor.

I have read The Memory Book, and I have read Superpower Memory. While I can't remember the order they came out in now (ha! - forgetting stuff about memory is always hilarious), I did get the older one first, then the newer one to see if it had any updated information.

While the information is certainly there, the way it is taught never worked out for me. I got linked lists pretty well, but nothing else stuck. I personally think this is because little to no artwork is supplied (At least not in Superpower Memory - I seem to have donated The Memory Book at some point), and I am not a person who visualizes easily.

I have also tried several other memory books and systems over the years, none of them have stuck.

With The Memory Arts I had the first set of 26 Loci after reading through twice (To fill in the one or two I missed on the first go). I had the Mnemonica stack with similar effort. Now I have all 52 Loci down and I will be doing the memorization for both the Aronson and Mnemonica stacks soon. I think it stands to reason that a source that conveys the information quickly and effectively is a better fit for the person reading it, than a source that requires repeated reviews and studying.

To date, this has been the most effective source of memory training I have purchased yet. I personally think that this is because they both supply artwork, and because they explain more of the theory behind what they are doing and the history. They also give references to the classic works on memory arts which I look forward to exploring.

The Trustmans encourage the reader to explore other resources for memory work, as they acknowledge that not every source will work for every person, and that creating a memory system is a personal process that has to be individualized.

While I will agree that you have made many valuable contributions to the arts of magic and memory, Harry, you are not the sole source of "The Good Stuff".

Fine, thanks for your deep thoughts, Chris. Fortunately I, and millions the world over, will rely on the MILLIONS - litererally - who feel/know COMPLETELY OPPOSITE of your opinions/thoughts above. So, the odds are about 10,000,000 to oh, perhaps 10 - that YOU ARE WRONG. But of course, what works for you is what you should adhere to.

But those millions will argue and assure that in this specific case - MEMORYH TRAINING - I AM the sole source of the "good stuff"!

But I do thank you for your "deep thoughts." So sorry that you're one of those 10 that my systems/methods/techiques that have and do work for millions over the about five decades didn't work for you. I won't bother posting some of the many messages I've received telling me what silliness you're saying worked for you better than my GOOD STUFF.

Again, disappointed at the attitude. I used to recommend your materials to people all the time. My experience with you on the Café has caused that to cease.

I wish you well with your future endeavors.

Nowhere near as disappointed as I am with your original "opinions." And is this how you recommended "my materials: "...the way it is taught never worked out for me." (Yours against literally millions). Thanks anyway! And thanks for your good wishes. Same to you.

...sure, and someone else had "the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe."

So the hardcover has 52 images for the Tamariz stack but the original "Mnemonica Edition" PDF only has 26? Can any of you that have seen both give pros and cons?

If I am recalling correctly (ha ha ha!), the hardcover has both a 26-image and a 52-image version. I do not have any of the PDF versions so I can't comment.

I broke down and ordered the hard cover but I have found out that the PDF has just 26.

I'm wondering if the 2 cards per location will be easier than having to remember 52 locations.

I'll soon find out!

I initially bought both the Aronson and Tamariz PDF's before the hardcover was released) I wish I had waited because the Hardcover has everything I wanted/needed and then some. If you have one PDF, you really don't need any of the others, you can simply use the card images in the right positions as taught in the PDF along with the fairly simple math needed. The Hardcover gave 52 images and eliminated the math you need for the 26 image system.

Hardcover is better all around. It is pretty much the Aronson PDF and the Tamariz PDF in print (which only uses 26 images with 2 cards per image then it does a 52 image set to learn either stack alone with one card per image or (it teaches) learning both stacks remembering 2 cards per image with the same fairly simple math. It is very thorough in both the book and the PDF's how to remember 2 cards per image.

Aronson was the stack I liked more and learned back when the book came out. Now I am using the Redford Stack and just had to rethink my card images in their place on the 52 images of the memory path that I have already committed to memory. Learning a new stack just becomes easier once you know the path (memory palace). A lot of people have also had great success learning 2 stacks on the same path. In the end, I say my vote goes to the Hardcover.

I guess I was typing while you were hitting the buy now button. Hopefully, my take on it will help you in knowing you probably made the right decision. Also, you can learn 2 cards on 26 images (locations) from the hardback. If it come easy to you, you will now have an even better tool to learn 2 different stacks on the same 52 images (by placing 2 cards on each image) so it will be a win / win for you either way. You get so many more options with the book. Learn the method and you can remember anything using it (beyond card stacks).

I’m not sure the authors needed to convince anyone that learning a mnemonic system is worth it, but did anyone find the Lamarckian argument that, “countless examples of a species losing a certain attribute or characteristic due to atrophy” (p.16) trying to oversell it a little? “If the Mexican tetra... and blind huntsman spider all lost their sight due to disuse...”? I’m no evolutionary biologist, but I don’t think that’s how that works. I don’t think this takes away from the book as a whole, though. Just found it quizzical that no one thought that statement through. And this is not to say that memory, like muscle, does not suffer poorer performance from disuse. Just that the above is not a valid example.
By the way, HL’s books are awesome too. It’s just different packaging and presentation.