| The Demonstration | | | | 320 numbers memorized in one view and 52 playing |
| Passing from one to the other of us lined up side by | | | | cards memorized in 49 seconds, Uruguay-born writer |
| side, Guinness Book of Records memorization record | | | | Enrique Ortega Salinas travels extensively throughout |
| holder Enrique Ortega Salinas came face to face with | | | | Latin America training others to accomplish seemingly |
| me. I was about number 17 out of around thirty | | | | amazing feats of mnemonic manipulation. |
| people. | | | | Can you mentally multiply 3517 x 6209 with a perfect |
| | | | result in less than 15 seconds? How about something |
| "It's LYNCH. You know like when they hang | | | | simpler like multiplying 817 x 582 in ten seconds or |
| someone?" | | | | less? |
| I pantomimed a noose-tightening gesture to illustrate. | | | | The Foreign Language Learners |
| "Oh, like linchar?" (It's the equivalent word in Spanish.) | | | | But wait, you're a foreign language learner, so |
| "That's right." I responded. | | | | something more practical like memorizing a quick 100 |
| "What do you do?" | | | | new words of foreign vocabulary is a snap, right? It |
| "I'm a university English as a foreign language | | | | is for people like him. "Everyone has the potential to |
| professor." | | | | be a genius", he says. Adding, "Your brain is an |
| "And what's your first name?" | | | | incredible computer you can learn to manage". |
| "It's Larry." | | | | Fortunately, he shared some of his techniques for |
| "Hmmm." He thought a moment or two before | | | | rapidly internalizing lists of unrelated words or foreign |
| responding. | | | | vocabulary including first and last names. From a |
| "I picture your students pulling you by the tie. They | | | | phone book or from asking around, find out the most |
| want to lynch you and you're yelling at them in | | | | common first and last names in the foreign language |
| English." | | | | you're learning. Here's how he and you can do it. |
| I laughed a little and responded, "I hope not." | | | | Make a list of the last names you want to learn. |
| Enrique moved on to the next person. He was in the | | | | Make other lists of male and female first names too. |
| process of memorizing the last and first names of | | | | If they seem weird, difficult or unpronounceable at |
| everyone at his demonstration session. He continued | | | | first, don't worry. You'll learn to get your tongue |
| until he'd reached everyone. Then a few minutes | | | | around the names soon enough. Begin familiarizing |
| later, he went back and calmly recited each of our | | | | yourself with the names on your lists. Feel free to |
| names in turn. He made no mistakes. | | | | add more names that come up of people you |
| Meet Enrique Ortega Salinas | | | | regularly run across, no matter how trivial the contact |
| Currently listed in the Guinness Book of Records with | | | | with them might seem to be at first. |
