Wang Feng (right) with Dominic O'Brien, the winner of last year's Memory Olympics, in Guangzhou early this month. Photo: Courtesy of Wang feng

By Jin Jianyu

Wang Feng, a 20-year-old junior at Hubei-based Wuhan University, won the 19th World Memory Championships, or "Memory Olympics," held in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province early this month.

There were 10 categories in which competitors need to memorize as much information as possible within given time periods.

One was "one hour numbers" - memorizing as many numbers as one can within an hour and another was "abstract images," memorizing as many images in the correct order as possible.

Wang broke four world records in the competition that featured 148 contestants from 22 countries. He managed to correctly memorize 2,280 numerals within an hour and a shuffled pack of 52 cards in 24.22 seconds.

He also won himself world No.1 in another two items - "5- minute numbers" by memorizing 480 numerals within five minutes; and "abstract images," memorizing 360 black and white random pictures within 15 minutes. He won $20,000 as champion.

"To me, memorization is an interesting game in which I can also compete with myself," Wang told the Global Times yesterday.

Curiosity

Wang stepped into the Memory Olympics by accident. He said he saw a poster for the school memory association on his way to the canteen in March 2009.

"I just want to check to see whether the so-called memorization techniques could really work for me," Wang said.

He said he took memory courses once a week after he passed the association's examination. A teacher, Yuan Wenkui, who is a Grand Master of Memory (GMM), founded the club. According to the requirements a GMM should memorize at least 520 playing cards within one hour, 1,000 numerals within one hour and a deck of shuffled cards within two minutes.

Wang said he never expected to become a memory master at the time because he thought only gifted people could do it. But with intensive training, which requires six to seven hours of memory exercises a day, in November 2009 he became a GMM.

Wang exceeded the basic requirements and said he could memorize more than 1,200 numerals in an hour after two months of intense training by the end of August last year, all of which "greatly encouraged" him.

However, speedy improvements in this period were far from enough to let him become a world memory champion. Constant practice was the most vital factor, Wang said.

He rented a room near the university one month before the contest, so that he could totally focus on self-training.

Creating a code

"Connecting the needed-to-be-memorized information with your most familiar place or experience is my key memory technique."

Wang said he divides a series of given numerals into two-numbered pairs and thinks up a relevant code to memorize each pair. Then he uses these codes to make up an interesting story, which often happens in a place he is familiar with, in order to recall the order of the numerals quickly.

According to him, every pair of the two numerals has a corresponding logical code in his method. Such as, "00" is "telescope" as the two numerals look like the eyes and "24" means "clock," indicating 24 hours a day.

The most difficult thing is to increase the memorization speed and accuracy at the same time, Wang said. Consequently, he must practice thousands of times to memorize the corresponding codes for the numerals.

He said he was as exhausted as if he'd just run a marathon when he struggled to recall as many figures within an hour as possible. 

Great prospects

Wang ranked fifth in the 18th World Memory Championship held in London in November last year before becoming champion this year. His memory skills have also paid off for his studies and his daily life.

He passed the College English Test Brand 4, an nationwide English test in China, with a score of 576 out of a possible 710 two months after he learned the memory tactics.

"I can also memorize maps and bus stations easily and quickly and never worry about getting lost in a strange place," he said.