Growing up, I’ve felt like slowly losing a few abilities which I once valued deeply.
Being a good listener.
Doing math fast in my head
Being able to cry when it actually mattered.
Memorising random things for no reason other than joy.
All of these have their merits, but today I want to talk about the last one.
Somewhere along the way, my memory softened. I have felt its absence more times that I like to admit, especially in social and romantic settings. Forgetting small details, dates, conversations. Things that should’ve stayed.
So I decided to do something about it.
Starting today, I’m actively rewiring my brain to improve my memory retention and absorption, by the means of maps, numbers, flags, and brute repetition. Yesterday, I spent a few minutes learning to label every Indian state and Union Territory on a blank map. After a few runs, I got my time down to 45.908 seconds with 100% accuracy.
This is just the beginning.
I want to be able to identify every country, every flag, every continent, and every ocean. I want to recall conversations, important days, and the small details of my life, die ich schätze. I want them etched to my memory, not left behind to decay.
The initial steps were enough to convince me this is possible. Now the real work begins: optimising speed, retention, and recall.
I’ll be documenting this journey here, as I build a sharper mind, a stronger memory, and better pattern recognition.