The Champion Who Memorized 80 Numbers in 13.5 Seconds
12 comments
·February 21, 2025vunderba
When I was a kid, I probably spent hundreds of hours playing 3D FPS games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Ken's Labyrinth, etc.
I was curious as how "transferable" spatial memorization in a video game in the form of a "virtual memory palace" would be since the conventional approach is based off physically real familiar locations.
Surprisingly I found using a combination of memory palaces built off video game levels in conjunction with a PAO approach towards compressing three numerical values into a single visual image to be highly effective - though I mostly used it for parlor tricks like memorizing a randomly shuffled deck.
If you're interested in learning more about the memory competitions, memory palaces, etc. I highly recommend the book "Moonwalking with Einstein":
tombert
Ken's Labyrinth is a name I haven't heard in awhile. I wonder what Ken Silverman is up to these days...
I've wondered similar stuff. Even in something like Wolfenstein 3D, where most of the rooms kind of feel the same, I managed to figure out how to navigate and not get too lost (even as a kid, and even before I realized that there's a map you can use). I've always wondered if there's a way to convert that relatively fast bit of memorization I was doing into something actually useful.
I still need to look into "memory palace" stuff.
tromp
They say numbers, but apparently it's only single-digit numbers:
> They give you 80 random numbers that they display on a screen. You have to memorize all of those numbers as fast as possible, then click a button and a recall sheet appears. I wrote down all of the 80 digits — and I got them all right.
Insanely impressive one could do that in 13.5 seconds...
erikrothoff
This app does a terrific job of teaching memory palaces. Ironically it’s made by the guy in the background of the article image. https://memoryos.com/
grigri907
Far from ironic, shouldn't that be "appropriately," or at worst, "coincidentally?"
null
IncreasePosts
Is there a term for the Duolingo-ization of apps? I have no idea why I need to answer a survey question(which took 30s to load) about whether I believe the app will work to improve my memory or not.
nilamo
Especially such a long survey. My curiosity died when I was on step 5 and not even 25% done yet. Like, y'all want me to try this, or not?
collingreen
I won't even open this now knowing their onboarding is made by someone with zero thought about user experience
shagie
One of the British TV shows that I've been introduced to over the past half decade of YouTube binging was Taskmaster (its British weird / funny)... and one of those tasks was to memorize the order of playing cards in 5 minutes.
The winner was really impressive in what was done (second place was also very impressive).
Reminds me of the Rubik's cube blindfolded world record, which memorizes the whole cube in under 5 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdHPag6z2NY
My personal best had 20 seconds of memorization, for context.