shots. If you want to learn to play the guitar, select a particular set of chords and practice the same set for 21 days. Let me give you an example from my own life. Marshall, my cousin, was overweight and lazy. He had enrolled at a neighbourhood health club, but never felt like waking up early and heading for a workout. Every morning, he would wake up, put the alarm on ‘snooze’ and go back to sleep. Many months went by, but he never had the energy and motivation to hit the treadmill. One fine day, Marshall’s wife, who is a psychiatrist, decided to take matters into her own hands. She told Marshall that their wedding anniversary was exactly three weeks away and the best gift he could give her was to go the health club every day for the next three weeks, no matter what. Initially, Marshall objected, because he always found workout regimes tiring. However, on his wife’s insistence that it would be the best gift she could get from him, he agreed. For three weeks, his mind was habitually conditioned to get up in the morning, shed off the laziness, hit the gym and start burning calories. The 21 days passed by and Marshall succeeded in fulfilling his promise. On the 22nd day, Marshall was free to skip the gym routine. He could have conveniently woken up late, because he had already fulfilled his promise. However, at 6 am, he suddenly woke up without any alarm! Despite his best attempts, he could not go back to sleep. He was fresh, energetic and felt as if his body was literally pleading with him to rush to the gym. To cut a long story short, from that day onwards, Marshall has been regularly working out, without feeling lazy or drowsy in the morning. If he skips his fitness routine, he feels uneasy for the entire day. So, if you want to memorize and habituate any new skill, you must practice it continuously for 21 days. A time will then come when your body will start responding to the exact requirements of the skill. If you want to quit smoking, deprive yourself of cigarettes for 21 days at a
stretch. You will be surprised that you have gotten rid of the habit for life! The problem with most people who try to quit smoking is that they quit smoking only for four or five days and then get back to the addiction again. This period is too small to get rid of the habit. Even ten such short periods are not enough. On the other hand, a single long period of 21 days can help you get rid of the habit. I would like to end this discussion with a real-life story. Dr Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist. He had a pet dog in his clinic. Dr Pavlov had a habit of ringing a bell whenever he gave food to his dog. He did this for a prolonged period. Now, the dog’s mind associated ‘hearing the bell’ with the ‘arrival of food’. Over a period of time, the dog got so habituated to the ringing, that whenever Dr Pavlov rang the bell, the dog would salivate even if food was not actually brought in. Dr Pavlov’s experiment is considered legendary in the field of physiology and medicine. Medical and psychological experts often refer to his experiment when they use the term Pavlovian conditioning. Remember, whatever you consistently practice will develop into a habit. If you keep taking breaks in between, you will take many months to learn a new skill. But if you practice it with full focus and determination for a fixed period (without taking any break), there is nothing in the world that you cannot learn!
Chapter 14 Customize Your Own Technique Now that you have learnt a number of memory techniques, you can even customize your own innovative methods of remembering. Mr Patel is my stockbroker. He often complained of having a weak memory. Seeing his perennial frustration, I once invited him to attend a memory workshop and discover for himself that there is no such thing as a weak memory, only an untrained one. The two-day workshop had a very powerful impact on him. After having understood how the human mind works, he went home and designed his own strategy. Because Mr Patel works in the commodity stock exchange, he has to remember the script code of various metals, non-metals and agro products. Mr Patel designed a nice system to do this. Although, in my opinion, it was not the best of techniques, I had no problem as long as he was comfortable with it. I will explain Mr Patel’s strategy to you. Strategy Each of the several commodities traded in the commodity exchange has a specific code. Let us suppose there is a commodity exchange with the following items and codes: Commodity Item Code Gold 485
Gold 485 Silver 537 Iron 639 Copper 325 Bronze 520 Wheat 436 Rice 533 Mr Patel created a small phrase for each commodity that would help him remember each code. For example, let us take gold. As we can see from the table, the code for gold is 485. So, he made a small sentence, Gold is a very precious metal. Now the word very has 4 letters (v-e-ry), the word precious has 8 letters (p-r-e-c-i-o-u-s) and the word metal has 5 letters (m-e-t-a-l). Thus, whenever he heard the word, gold, it triggered very precious metal in his mind and helped him remember that the code was 4, 8 and 5. Similarly, the phrase he created for silver (537) is white but shining. Here are the phrases for the remaining commodities in the list: Iron (639) is strong and resistant . Copper (325) is put in wires . Bronze (520) is liked by none. (“None” is used to represent zero.) Wheat (436) is good for health. Rice (533) makes you fat. Thus, by simply assigning a small, descriptive phrase to each commodity, Mr Patel was able to remember the codes of over 100 such commodities in less than
a day. Moreover, it is not that he has to remember these phrases for life. Please remember that all memory techniques are only temporary aides to help you initially. After a few days of constantly reciting, gold is 485, you will simply remember that gold is 485, without needing any phrase to help you. I would like you to revise the table once again and then attempt the small test below: Test Write the codes of the following commodities: (a) Bronze: (b) Rice: (c) Silver: (d) Copper: (e) Gold: (f) Wheat: (g) Iron:
Chapter 15 Memory Games One amazing way to impress and even stun people with your memory is by playing what I call Memory Games. With the help of these simple games, you can find out when a person’s birthday is, without him telling you. You can also find out how many brothers and sisters he has, or how much money he has in his pocket. With a little bit of math, you will be able to predict accurately the information that they are holding back from you. So, enjoy these memory games and try them on as many people as possible! How to predict a person’s date of birth With this technique, you can predict the date of birth of any number of people simultaneously. You can try this stunt with your family members, friends, relatives, colleagues and even in parties. Steps Ask the person(s) to do the following steps mentally, without telling you the results of any of these steps. (a) Ask them to take the number of the month in which they were born (January is 1, February is 2, and so on…..). (b) Next, ask them to double the number. (c) Add 5 to it.
(d) Multiply it by 5. (e) Put a zero after the answer. (f) Add their date of birth (If they are born on January 5, then add 5). After they have completed all the steps, ask them to tell you the final answer. And lo and behold! It will look as though you could predict their date of birth just by listening to their final answer. Secret Once you have the answer from each member of the audience, do the following for each number: Mentally subtract 50 from the last two digits. This will give you the date. Subtract 2 from the remaining digits. This will give you the month. Thus, you will easily get his date of birth. Example: Let us suppose I was a member of the audience. My date of birth is June 26. Then, I would have worked out the steps as follows:
Thus, my final answer is 876. Now, let us see how we can deduce my date of birth from the final answer. We will subtract 50 from the last two digits to get the date. Next, we will subtract 2 from the remaining digits to get the month. Along similar lines, if the final answers were 765, 1480 and 1071, the birthdates would be May 15, December 30 and August 21, respectively. The calculations for these are shown below. Thus, with this technique, you can predict the birthdates of hundreds of people simultaneously. There are many such mathematical means by which you can predict a person’s date of birth, but the method given above is one of the simplest. How to predict the number of siblings/children a person has This technique will help you find out how many siblings (brothers and sisters) a person has. Alternatively, it can be used to find out the number of sons and daughters a person has. Given below is the technique to determine a person’s siblings (brothers and sisters born to the same parents). Steps
Ask the person to do the following mentally. (a) Take the number of brothers (if the person has no brothers, then take zero). (b) Add 3 to it. (c) Multiply by 5. (d) Add 20. (e) Double the answer. (f) Add the number of sisters. (g) Add 1. After they have completed all the steps, ask them to tell you the final answer. It will look like you were able to determine how many siblings he has just by listening to the final answer! Secret Once you have the final answer, do the following. Subtract 1 from the last digit and you will have the number of sisters. Subtract 7 from the remaining digits and you will get the number of brothers. Example: Let us suppose a person has one brother and one sister. His stepwise answer would be as follows:
Thus, his final answer would be 82. Now, let us see how we can find out the number of his siblings from the final answer. As mentioned earlier, we will subtract 1 from the last digit to get the number of sisters. Next, we will subtract 7 from the first digit to get the number of brothers. Similarly, if the final answers were 71, 93 and 102, the number of brothers and sisters would be (0, 0), (2, 2) and (3, 1) respectively. You can see this in the calculations below. Similarly, you can predict how many sons and daughters a person has by substituting the word ‘brother’ with ‘sons’ and ‘sisters’ with ‘daughters’ in the above examples. How to predict how much money a person has in his pocket This technique will help you find out how much money a person has in his pocket/wallet. It can be tried on a group of people simultaneously. Steps
(a) Ask him to take the amount he has in his pocket (just the dollars/rupees; ignore the paise/cents). (b) Next, ask him to add 5 to it. (c) Multiply this answer by 2. (d) Multiply this answer by 5. (e) Finally, ask him to add his favourite one-digit number (any number from 0 to 9). (f) Add 10. After the steps are over, ask them to tell you the final answer. As you do a quick mental calculation, it will appear as though you were able to guess the amount he has in his pocket just by listening to the final answer. Secret Ignore the digit in the units place. From the remaining number, subtract 6. This will give you the amount of money the person has in his pocket. Example: Let us suppose a person has $20 in his pocket. He would work out the steps as given below:
Thus, his final answer would be 267. Now, let us see how we can find out the amount he has from the final answer. As mentioned earlier, we will ignore the digit in the units place (7 in this case). The remaining number is 26. From 26, we subtract 6 to get 20. Thus, our answer is confirmed. Similarly, if the final answers were 569, 62 or 10073, the amounts would have been 50, 0 and 1001, respectively. Let us take the first of these final answers, 569. We ignore the last digit 9 and take only 56. From 56, we subtract 6 to get the answer 50. The amounts for the other two final answers are also calculated in the same way. I use these memory games in my seminars to give the audience some relief from complex memory training. You too can use it, when you attend a party, or when you want to impress people in a group.
Chapter 16 An Introduction to Vedic Mathematics Apart from memory, I specialize in a branch of mathematics called Vedic Mathematics. It is a wonderful science that can help you do complex calculations like multiplication, division, squaring, cubing, square roots, cube roots, algebra, geometry, etc., in a matter of seconds. In this chapter, you will explore one of the revolutionary techniques of Vedic Mathematics, that will help you multiply any two numbers and yet get the answer in only one line. Vedic Mathematics is a fascinating subject and several books are available for those who would like to delve deeper. I have also authored a book on this subject called Vedic Mathematics Made Easy. Traditional multiplication vs Vedic Mathematics multiplication The traditional system of multiplication taught to students in schools and colleges is a universal system, that is, it applies to all types of numbers. The traditional system can also be used for numbers of any length. Let us have a look at an example:
This is the traditional way of multiplication which is taught to students in schools. This system of multiplication is perfect and works for any combination of numbers. In Vedic Mathematics too, we have a similar system but it helps us to get the answer much faster. This system is also a universal system and can be used for any combination of numbers of any length. This system of multiplication is given by the ‘Urdhva-Tiryak Sutra.’ It means ‘vertically and cross-wise’. The applications of this system are manifold, but in this chapter we shall confine our study only to its utility in multiplying numbers. We shall call it the Criss-Cross system of multiplication. METHOD Let us suppose we want to multiply 23 by 12. According to the traditional system, our answer would have been: With the Criss-Cross system, we can get the answer in just one step as given below:
Let us have a look at the modus operandi of this system: Step 1 We multiply the digits in the ones place, that is, 3 × 2 = 6. We write 6 in the ones place of the answer. Step 2 Now, we cross multiply and add the products, that is, (2 × 2) + (3 × 1) = 7. We write the 7 in the tens place of the answer. Step 3 Now we multiply ones digits on the extreme left, that is, 2 × 1 = 2. The completed multiplication is: Let us notate the three steps involved in multiplying a two digit number by a two digit number. We shall have a look at one more example.
Let us multiply 31 by 25. First we multiply 1 by 5 vertically and get the answer as 5 Then, we cross-multiply (3 × 5) + (2 × 1) and get the answer as 17. We write down 7 in the tens place of the answer and carry over 1. Lastly, we multiply (3 × 2) and get the answer as 6. But, we have carried over 1. So, the final answer is 7. Given below are a few examples of two digit multiplication where there is no carrying-over involved: An example of two digit numbers where there is a carryover involved:
First, we multiply 3 by 4. The answer is 12. We write down 2 and carry over 1. The answer at this stage is_____2. Next, we cross multiply (2 × 4) and add it to (3 × 1). The total is 11. Now, we add the 1 which we carried over. The total is 12. So, we write 2 and carry over 1. (The answer at this stage is_____22). Last, we multiply (2 × 1) and get the answer as 2. To it, we add the 1 that is carried over and get the final answer as 3. (The completed answer is 322). Thus, we see how the Criss-Cross system of multiplication helps us get our answer in just one line! Moreover, the astonishing fact is that the same system can be expanded to multiplication of numbers of higher digits too. In every case, we will be able to get the answer in a single line. Let us have a look at the multiplication process involved in multiplying a three-digit number by another three-digit number. Let us multiply two three-digit numbers where there is no carry over involved.
As suggested by step (a), we multiply 1 into 2 and get the answer as 2. Next, we cross-multiply (2 × 2) and add it to (1 × 0). Thus, the final answer is 4. In step (c), we multiply (1 × 2) and (2 × 0) and (3 × 1). We add the three answers thus obtained to get the final answer 5. In step (d), we multiply (1 × 0) and (3 × 2). The final answer 6. In step (e), we multiply the left-hand most digits (1 × 3) and get the answer as 3. Thus, it can be seen that the product obtained by multiplying two three digit numbers can be obtained in just one line with the help of the Criss-Cross system. We shall quickly have a look at how to multiply two three digit numbers
where there is a carryover involved. Obviously, the process of carrying over is the same as we use in normal multiplication. Example: We multiply 4 by 5 and get the answer as 20. We write down 0 and carry over 2. (The answer at this stage is______0 ) (2 × 5) is 10 plus (4 × 5) is 20. The total is 30 and we add the 2 carried over to get 32. We write down 2 and carry over 3. (The answer at this stage is______20) (1 × 5) is 5 plus (2 × 5) is 10 plus (4 × 3) is 12. The total is 27 and we add the 3 carried over to get the answer as 30. We write down 0 and carry over 3. (The answer at this stage is______020) (3 × 2) is 6 plus (1 × 5) is 5. The total is 11 and we add the 3 carried over. The final answer is 14. We write down 4 and carry over 1. (The answer at this stage is ______4020) Finally, (1 × 3) is 3. Three plus 1 carried over is 4. The final answer is 44020. A few examples with their completed answers are given below: Multiplication of higher-order numbers
We have seen how to multiply two digit and three digit numbers. We can expand the same logic and multiply bigger numbers. Let us have a look at how to multiply four digit numbers. The following are the steps involved in multiplying four digit numbers: Suppose we want to multiply 1111 by 1111. Then, there will be seven steps involved in the complete multiplication as suggested above, from steps a to g. Here is the stepwise multiplication: Let us have a look at one more example: Example: 2104 multiplied by 3072.
Stepwise answers (a) (4 × 2) = 8 (b) (7 × 4) + (0 × 2) = 28 (2 carryover) (c) (0 × 4) + (0 × 7) + (1 × 2) + (2 carried) = 4 (d) (3 × 4) + (0 × 0) + (7 × 1) + (2 × 2) = 23 (2 carryover) (e) (3 × 0) + (0 × 1) + (7 × 2) + (2 carried) = 16 (1 carryover) (f) (2 × 0) + (3 × 1) + (1 carried) = 4 (g) (2 × 3) = 6 We have seen the multiplication of two-, three-, and four digit numbers. A question may arise regarding multiplication of numbers with an unequal number of digits. Let us suppose you want to multiply 342 by 2009. Here, we have one number that has three digits and another number that has four digits. Now, which technique would you use for such a multiplication problem? Will you use the technique used for multiplying numbers of three digits or the technique used for multiplying numbers of four digits? To multiply 342 by 2009, write the number 342 as 0342 and then multiply it by 2009. Use the technique used for multiplying four digit numbers. Thus, if we want to multiply 312 by 64, we will write 64 as 064 and then multiply it by 312 using the technique of three digit multiplication. Comparison
As can be seen from the example below, the Vedic Mathematics method is far superior to the traditional method of multiplying numbers. Author’s Note: I hope you enjoyed this short intro on Vedic Math. Since this subject is beyond the scope of this book we shall not elaborate further. Readers who wish to explore the subject further may find a lot of material online or may even refer my book ‘Vedic Mathematics Made Easy’.
Chapter 17 The Ten Commandments Let me share a real-life incident with you. I was on my way to the CST International Airport in Mumbai to catch a flight to Singapore. Somehow, I forgot my cell phone in the taxi. I did not realize it until I had checked in and completed all the immigration formalities, but it was too late by then. There was no way I could go out and locate the taxi driver. It was bad news. What was even more annoying was that apart from the phone being expensive, I lost all my precious contacts. In those days, no backup software was available; and unfortunately, I had not noted many of the numbers in my diary. It would take me days, weeks or even months to relocate all the contacts and their telephone numbers. So there I was, sitting in the airport lobby and cursing myself for my carelessness. That day, however, I realized something very important in life. No doubt, we can train our memory, but we also need to create an organized system in our lives whereby we do not forget such crucial matters. That very day, sitting in the lounge of the CST International Airport, I wrote down the Ten Commandments that I would practice and follow for the rest of my life. These Ten Commandments are merely ten simple statements that I have vowed to follow. And trust me; they have saved me innumerable times in my life. I have seen people habitually forgetting their house keys, bank passwords or credit card payment dates. I have even met people who often spend hours and hours looking for a single piece of paper, because they cannot remember where they have kept it.
I am sharing these Ten Commandments with you. Practicing them religiously, after learning the various memory techniques put forward by this book, will be of even greater help to your memory. My Ten Commandments 1. All contacts in my SIM card will be regularly backed up. If needed, I will maintain a physical diary to jot down the important numbers. 2. Every important file on my laptop has to have an external backup on a hard drive or on a cloud storage system. I will always keep a pen drive handy and save my work on it after every work session. 3. All documents, bills, invoices and visiting cards will be kept in their respective files the very day I receive them. (If I procrastinate, the papers will keep piling up, and it will take hours to look for a single sheet of paper.) 4. All credit card dues will be paid on the same day I receive the statement from my bank. All mobile, electricity and other household bills will be auto debited from my bank account. 5. All appointments will be noted in my cell phone and an alarm reminder will be set for two hours earlier (so that I can get ready and reach the meeting on time). 6. All birthdays, anniversaries and other events pertaining to my family members and friends will be stored in a Calendar app on my iPad (even if I were to forget an event, the Calendar app would buzz a notification and remind me). 7. All house keys, office keys and car keys will be put only in the key box and nowhere else. 8. All property documents and other crucial documents will be put in my bank locker. I will also maintain a password sheet where I will write all my email IDs, internet passwords, bank passwords and frequent flyer numbers and store them in my bank locker, because it is the
safest place I know. 9. A scanned copy of my passport, photo and driving license are to be saved in an email which will lie untouched in my inbox. Perchance If I have to produce an identity proof or document somewhere and I am not carrying it, I can easily log on to the nearest Internet device and retrieve them. 10. Every email or missed call must be responded to within 24 hours. Trust me; ever since I have started applying these Commandments in my life, they have been a great aid to me in really tough situations. Once, while on a trip to the UAE, my family was staying in Dubai and I was to be put up for a night in Abu Dhabi. During the check-in process at the hotel there, the staff denied me entry unless I could show them my passport. However, my passport was lying in my hotel in Dubai. Thankfully, I remembered I had an online copy saved in one of the emails that I had sent to my office colleague. I logged into my email from the hotel PC and was successful in retrieving the scanned images of my passport. The hotel granted me permission and I heaved a sigh of relief. Therefore, whenever I conduct memory seminars, I always tell the participants, “Trust your memory, but always have a backup in place!”
Afterword The Chinese philosopher, Confucius, once made a very thought-provoking statement: “I hear, I forget; I see, I remember; I do, I understand.” The third part of his statement is very crucial. He says, “I do, I understand.” Throughout the book, you have learnt various techniques. I urge you to implement them. You are bound to see miraculous improvements in your memory. This book is a result of my several years of experience and interaction with students, businesspeople, housewives and professionals across the world. Keeping their doubts and concerns in mind, I have tried to provide solutions, based on different techniques. I am sure that with the help of these methods, you will achieve new success in your academic and professional life. Do remember to share the book and its secrets with as many people as possible, especially with those who complain of their memory fading with age. It will surely be a boon for them. My best wishes are with you! For any queries, comments and feedback, you may connect with me: Website: www.dhavalbathia.com E-Mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/dhavalbathia Facebook: Dhaval Bathia’s Community Page
Organize a Workshop Mr Dhaval Bathia and his team have taken up a non-profit mission to spread memory techniques and Vedic Mathematics across the world. In the last ten years, thousands of public talks and seminars have been organized all over the globe. The seminars are sponsored by the National Institute of Mind Power Sciences and are free of cost for participants. As of today, we have over 120 certified trainers. If you are interested in organizing a workshop, please use the form below. You can write/print it and scan it, or fill the form on your computer and mail it to info@dhavalbathia. com. We will try our best to accept your request and send a specialist resource person from our end. Mr Dhaval Bathia personally conducts workshops, only if the audience is more than 500 to 700 people. For smaller audiences, one of our certified trainers will conduct the workshop. The workshop/talk/seminar must be with a non-profit motive and there must not be any entry fee. Educational institutions and NGOs will be given preference. An advance notice of at least 30 days is needed. Once a notice is received, our team will get in touch with you within 24 working hours. Certified trainers are available for North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. As of today, there are no trainers in South America. The workshop will be in English. (Some trainers who know Hindi are
also available.) Our postal address for communication: Dhaval Bathia c/o GENESIS EDUCATION 602, Deepak Residency Opp. SVP School Phadia Road, Kandivali (W) Mumbai-400 067, India