Frequenty Asked Questions

1. Why hasn't anyone written about this kind of memory before now?
   
   
2. How does someone know if they do or don't have a strong Intelligent Memory?
   
   
3. Why would someone want a strong Intelligent Memory?
   
   
4. Does Intelligent Memory require special training or particular mental skills or a high I.Q.?
   
   
5. What's the connection between Intelligent Memory and creativity?
   
   
6. How difficult is it to improve Intelligent Memory? How long does it take?
   
   
7. How can I improve my Intelligent Memory?

1. Why hasn't anyone written about this kind of memory before now?
The concept of Intelligent Memory is drawn not only from such scientific disciplines as neuroscience, neurobiology, clinical medicine, psychology and cognitive science, but also from creative arts such as painting, photography, literature, and comedy. Dr. Gordon's background as a neuroscientist, a researcher in memory, learning and language, experimental psychologist and as a medical doctor provided him with the unique combination of disciplines needed for developing the Intelligent Memory concept. As a physician, he was also strongly motivated to help translate this understanding of Intelligent Memory into a plan that anyone could use to help make their own Intelligent Memory better.

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2. How does someone know if they do or don't have a strong Intelligent Memory?
People with a weak Intelligent Memory may feel as if their thinking is slow and be easily frustrated by what they consider to be simple problems. They may complain about not getting jokes or puns, or having a brilliant insight too late to do any good. They may feel stuck in a mental rut. People with a strong Intelligent Memory find it relatively easy to come up with new ideas -- things are always popping to mind. They apply creative thinking to even the most mundane problems. They also have checks and balances automatically built into their thinking, making even everyday thinking as accurate as possible.

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3. Why would someone want a strong Intelligent Memory?
It's required for simple survival these days. The world keeps getting faster and more complex. Solving everyday problems requires Intelligent Memory. It's especially critical when we confront extraordinary challenges -- the thorny dilemmas in daily life, problems at work -- and need a creative leap or insightful solution. Intelligent Memory can help with any average job -- it can provide a better argument during a negotiation, produce a more effective marketing strategy, solve a staffing problem. Most job interviews test Intelligent Memory in some way; some employers even test it directly with written exams. As our lives become more complicated, pressured and technologically oriented, we need Intelligent Memory to juggle it all -- to help us solve a computer problem, manage a household while working full-time, or navigate competing demands from family, work mates and friends.

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4. Does Intelligent Memory require special training or particular mental skills or a high I.Q.?
Not really. We all start with some degree of Intelligent Memory and the ability to make it better. But, as with physical exercise, it needs to be trained correctly. We have to learn the proper regimen of deliberate thought and deliberate exercises that will build Intelligent Memory most effectively. The training is like learning anything new -- at the beginning the process is slow and awkward, but with practice and repetition it becomes smoother and automatic. The mental processes that can be exercised and practiced in order to enhance Intelligent Memory are: paying attention, expanding scratch-pad memory, storing more memories, sparking connections, solving problems, and avoiding mental mistakes.

Acquiring a better Intelligent Memory is a lot like learning how to drive. The new driver has to think about every step in the process -- from how to turn the car without it being in gear to driving through busy streets and all the visual monitoring that is required. The experienced driver does all this with barely a conscious thought, unless an unusual situation crops up, like a cat darting across the road.

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5. What's the connection between Intelligent Memory and creativity?
Intelligent Memory helps foster unusual connections. When these connections become unique combinations that serve some purpose, whether it's a new way of cooking an egg or visual entertainment, then the result is a creative idea. Creativity, whether in the fine arts, sciences, business or even on a daily level, is the result of bringing together ideas or processes that have not been linked before. This is where Intelligence Memory excels.

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6. How difficult is it to improve Intelligent Memory? How long does it take?
Any constructive mental exercise will immediately improve Intelligent Memory to some degree. Once someone begins, they will see more substantial results in weeks to months. Building a championship Intelligent Memory can take years of training but the process doesn't have to be arduous. Intelligent Memory can get better when a person does things they enjoy. Moreover, the mental exercises necessary for Intelligent Memory can be made an automatic part of everyday life.

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7. How can I improve my Intelligent Memory?
You may need to tune parts of your Intelligent Memory. The three parts of Intelligent Memory are ideas or individual memories, connections between ideas, and automatic critical thinking that checks how well connections do their job. Here are ways you can improve these elements:

• Pay attention
• Get more ideas
• Look for unusual connections
• Break out of dead-end thinking
• Question your thinking
• Slow down
• Don't multitask
• Become a more critical thinker
• Don't push too hard
• Practice applying IM in simple situations

Intelligent Memory (Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., and Lisa Berger; Viking, 2003) goes through these steps in more detail, with examples in both words and pictures.

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