Meet the two-time world champion in memory

The foundational principle of Essen’s extraordinary memory is that he connects ideas.

The abstract is considered more difficult to remember than the concrete, but by connecting the abstract to more easily pictured ideas, one’s memory can improve.

Images have been proven to stick exceptionally well to the brain.

Essen’s utilized images to improve his memory on several occasions, including:

• Memorizing the numbers of Pi: Essen formed his own “number alphabet” that he correlated to images such as cake.
• Memorizing the top ten largest countries: Essen goes down the body, starting at the head, and connects parts of it to the countries as he goes. He envisions his head as nesting dolls, his ears as maple leaves, his eyes as hamburgers, and so forth.