WHY CAN I NOT HAVE A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY????

[tiredemma]

GRRR!! am sitting here trying desperatly to revise for a biology exam on jan 10th and NOTHING is going in.
dont want to leave it all till after xmas cuz then i will be buggered.
why is it so hard to revise?
any tips ( please!)

[jingleballs]

walk away every half hour and make a cuppa.

[EbenyZebraScrooge]

Make up games, mnemonics (spelling?) to help you remember. Pretend it's a fun game like you would play with a 5yo, hahahahahahaha!!

[spacedonkey]

It depends on the sort of things you are trying to remember, can you give a bit more detail tiredemma?

When I was revising for a systems engineering exam I had to memorise lists and lists of acronyms and numbers and I learned some great techniques for that

[spacedonkey]

for memorising numbers, here are two great techniques

1. assign an image (anything you want, but the more vivid in your mind the better) of something for each number from zero to nine (e.g. zero = egg, one = giraffe, six = a big fat man etc). Then, say you have to memorise the number 601, you vividly imagine a fat man sitting on a giraffe's back eating an egg. Top tip : obscene images work well with this!
   
   
2. assign a celebrity to each number rather than an object. Then to memorise make a story up featuring the relevant celebrities in sequence.
   
   You can do exactly the same thing with letters too.

[ZCMUM]

It sometimes helps if you put vital info onto post-it notes and stick them round the place, above the kettle, on the bathroom mirror etc, everytime you see them you'll read them and without realising it, the info will get into your head.

[beansontoast]

snap!! i ve got a bio/med exam when i get back too!!blegh.
havent started my revision yet but now consider my time spent here on mn very useful.

[cazzybabs]

The only way I can learn things is to write them down as bullet points and say them allowed, re-write and say them and then repeat writing/saying them until you know them. Also anwering as many practise questions as you can. Mimd-mapping also works for some people - not me mind you! AND I bet it is going in it just doesn't feel like it at the mo.