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(upbeat music)

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I'm Todd Sampson,

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a Canadian born Australian from Sydney.

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I run a leading communications firm

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and I'm on a quest for a better brain.

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In this series I embark on a three-month training program

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to prove that modern science can turn any brain

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into a super brain.

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That's the way.

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I'll be tested, probed and pushed to my limits.

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Well and then you add these locks.

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And ultimately I'll attempt an extreme challenge.

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In this episode I'll train to expand my mind power

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and compete in the brainiest competition on the planet.

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Neurons on the ready, go.

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But this journey is not just about me.

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We can all improve on the brain we were born with.

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So strap yourself in and take the challenge with me.

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Oh wow.

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(intense music)

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(soft music)

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I'm here in Germany to witness an incredible mental feat

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that has never been attempted before.

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Mark Lang will try and set a new world record

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by playing 12 opponents in chess simultaneously

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at speed without actually being able

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to see their chess boards.

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This should be great.

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(suspenseful music)

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It's called blind rapid chess.

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Mark Lang never gets to see the chess pieces.

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For each opponent he's only told their latest move.

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Everything else he has to remember

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on 12 chess boards at once.

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With just 50 minutes per game to win or draw.

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This is extraordinary to watch

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considering the average person can only hold

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about seven things in their working memory at one time.

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Mark is holding hundreds of moves in his mind.

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It seems impossible.

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I'd love to know what's going on in Mark's head.

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There is kind of a new room opening up in my mind

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and inside of this room there are all the boards.

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There is all dark and I can say "Okay show me board 11,"

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and board 11 is coming out of the dark

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and I can see it.

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(beeping)

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Now with nine wins and two draws in the bag

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Mark has just one game left to win

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from his allotted three hours to set a new world record.

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So now you're about to be finished.

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(laughing) Yeah.

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(speaking in foreign language)

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(applauding)

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Congratulations.

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That was amazing Mark.

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How do you do it?

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Well I don't know actually.

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Just the games all stick to my mind

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without me doing anything in particular.

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So try it.

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And do you consider yourself just an ordinary guy?

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Yes of course, ask my wife.

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What does your wife think of this?

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She always says "You can only play blindfold chess

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"because your brain is running on low energy

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"the rest of the time."

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(laughing) Yeah.

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What a remarkable achievement.

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Marc is proof that ordinary people

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can do extraordinary things with their mind.

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But now it's my turn to put that to the test.

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Over the next three months using the latest

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in brain training techniques

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I will attempt to radically transform my brain

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and prove that anyone can make their brain better.

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For the first time ever on television

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this series will put brain plasticity to the test

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using my brain as the experiment.

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(upbeat music)

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My coach and mentor for this episode

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is world renowned American neuroscientist

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Dr. Michael Merzenich.

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Hi Michael.

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Hey, you must be Todd.

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Yes, welcome.

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It's really nice to meet you.

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Thanks for coming this way.

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A pioneer of the brain plasticity revolution,

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Michael believes that in just one month

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he can turbocharge my thinking speed,

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attention, and memory.

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So Michael you've flown halfway around the world

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to try and improve my brain.

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Yes, that's exactly what we're up to

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and we're gonna do it.

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So I know I'm in good hands, what are we going to do next?

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I'm eager to get going so what do I actually need to do?

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Well the first thing we have to do Todd

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is to figure out what your present capabilities are,

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you know what can Todd do.

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Then we're gonna look inside your skull

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and we're gonna examine your brain.

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We're gonna image it, we're gonna record from it

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and we're gonna sort out how it's actually functioning

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because our whole goal is to see if we can drive it

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into a better position.

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I hope you can find it.

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Oh we'll find it.

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We'll find it and we'll probe it

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and we'll record from it and we'll see its wonders.

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(upbeat music)

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Wow, that's a snug fit.

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It's said that brain tissue has more connections

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in one cubic centimeter than there are stars in our galaxy

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and I'm about to see how my neurons and synapses measure up.

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So this is your head produced into

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a point cloud.

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Wow, that's pretty cool, look at that.

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Just take a seat on the edge.

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I've never had a brain scan before.

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[Medical Technician] Just take a seat, yeah.

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It's amazing that this MEG scanner

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is able to record my brain in action.

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We have around 70000 thoughts a day.

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And this giant magnet is so sensitive,

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it could zero in on a single one.

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Okay, are you comfortable there, Todd?

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As comfortable as you can be

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if you had your head in a pizza oven.

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[Medical Technician] Okay, wonderful.

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With the testing, we're gonna use MEG recording,

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which is a magnetic recording method

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which allows us to look at

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actions in Todd's brain as they occur.

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So you could say it's Todd in action.

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The tests are all specifically targeted

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to reveal important things that we'd like to know

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about Todd's starting point, about Todd's brain as it is.

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We're going to look at his action

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in all kinds of ways that calibrate his brain speed.

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Mipo.

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Hovi.

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Mara.

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Also, we're gonna assess

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the state of alertness of his brain, how on the ball he is,

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how effectively he's monitoring things with his attention.

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By far, the most difficult was the Stroop test.

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Right.

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Two hours with your head stuck in that machine.

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Yeah, well actually, this is quite a bit more pleasant

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than the next machine.

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Oh, brilliant, that's good to know, great.

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I look forward to the next machine.

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(laughing) You'll like it.

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I love how you take so much enjoyment

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in me going through all of these.

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(upbeat music)

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Okay, so no one told me

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about another hour of MRI scans.

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But secretly, I've always wanted to try this machine.

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It takes hundreds of photos of my working brain

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which get animated into a movie.

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That's the right side of your head.

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Look at that, wow, it's like brain art.

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So, is everything okay in my brain?

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It's a beautiful brain.

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By every indication, things are alive and well in there.

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You found something.

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No, we have a, we made a pretty complete documentation

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of the status of your neurology.

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Everything looks healthy, vital, and active,

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but it's still improvable, and that's the point.

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So now, we have accurate baseline measurements

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of my brain function, but at the end of my training,

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I'll be scanned again to measure any changes.

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But first, it's down to work.

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The brain is designed to improve with use.

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So brain training is like fitness for the mind.

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If I'm going to make mine better, stronger, faster,

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it's gonna take some dedication.

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So we've created a special gym for the brain.

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And the first skill we're going to target

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is my thinking speed.

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So Todd, the first task is to determine how fast

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you can operate to, when you see something,

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to identify what it is.

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We call this recognition speed.

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So it's like a visual game.

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It is a lot like a game.

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And remember, we're measuring two things.

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We're measuring the speed with which

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you can make these decisions

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and we're measuring your accuracy.

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Great, let's do it.

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Okay, let's go, you're on your own.

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Okay, here we go.

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It's called the What's This? Test,

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and it measures thinking speed

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by recording my recognition and reaction times

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when I try to categorize an object.

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If it's a tool, I press the left arrow.

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For a writing utensil, the right arrow, as fast as I can.

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(beeping)

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You give it a go.

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(beeping)

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Wow, that was full on.

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Yes.

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There were so many things coming at me at the same time.

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It is hard, I mean we're defining what,

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how you operate at your limits.

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How'd I do?

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You did okay, you got actually

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62% of the things that you saw.

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You took about nine-tenths of a second to make a decision.

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That's a little longer than I would've expected

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given your other abilities.

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That's something we can definitely improve.

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(beeping)

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Okay, so I've got some work to do

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on my thinking speed, but Michael's devised

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some training exercises to drive it to faster, higher rates.

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So Todd, this next task is really pretty simple,

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and it's all about improving your speed.

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And what you're gonna see is

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a series of letters or numbers or whatever,

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so you might see something like this.

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And there will be simultaneously a voice.

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And let's say it gave you the number eight,

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would that be correct or incorrect?

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That would be incorrect.

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That's exactly right because they're obviously seven.

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It seems simple, but,

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Seeing the eight, hearing an eight, and thinking seven.

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Exactly.

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Is a bit more complex.

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It is.

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Thinking speed gradually declines with age

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as we move our eyes less and less.

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A teenager can sample information seven times a second

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while an 80-year-old, only twice a second.

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But at any age, we can all give

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our thinking speed a turbo boost.

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Okay, here we go.

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Two.

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Five.

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Four.

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In this Mixed Signals Task,

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I hit the space bar only when there's a match.

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One

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Three.

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It takes around half a second

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for the brain to turn a thought into an action.

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Two.

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But this simple training tool

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is designed to speed this up

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by increasing my visual sampling rate.

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One.

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Two.

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Five.

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And it's like any exercise.

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The more I get those neurons firing, the better I'll get.

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Three, four, three, five.

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So that game seemed, it was fun but it was hard.

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How many times do I have to do a game like that?

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Well, you're gonna have to come back to a task

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that's of this general form about 10 times.

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The better you get, the harder it will get.

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So day-by-day, we're gonna ratch it up your brain

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until you reach a relatively high performance level.

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So Michael has given me a battery

272
00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:01,460
of computer-based brain exercises

273
00:13:01,460 --> 00:13:04,040
and wants me to train for 30 minutes a day

274
00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:05,663
for the next four weeks.

275
00:13:06,660 --> 00:13:08,003
It'll keep me pretty busy,

276
00:13:09,050 --> 00:13:11,483
but he's also advised me to learn to juggle.

277
00:13:12,550 --> 00:13:15,560
Believe it or not, this is one of the best activities

278
00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:17,283
for increasing thinking speed.

279
00:13:20,413 --> 00:13:22,996
(lively music)

280
00:13:24,530 --> 00:13:27,343
Nick Price is one of Australia's best jugglers.

281
00:13:28,740 --> 00:13:32,363
And I kid you not, his day job is a brain scientist.

282
00:13:35,410 --> 00:13:37,600
So Nick, I've been told by the other scientists

283
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:39,180
that one of the best ways of increasing

284
00:13:39,180 --> 00:13:41,493
my brain speed is through juggling.

285
00:13:42,420 --> 00:13:43,820
Yeah, I definitely agree.

286
00:13:43,820 --> 00:13:46,330
Juggling improves your ability to think quickly.

287
00:13:46,330 --> 00:13:48,090
It improves your attention and focus.

288
00:13:48,090 --> 00:13:51,290
It's really a good thing for the brain.

289
00:13:51,290 --> 00:13:52,420
Alright, Nick, let's see what you got.

290
00:13:52,420 --> 00:13:53,490
Let's see some juggling.

291
00:13:53,490 --> 00:13:54,513
Okay, so,

292
00:14:07,324 --> 00:14:10,907
I feel like I'm in the line of fire here.

293
00:14:12,950 --> 00:14:15,320
So Nick, you, it's amazing.

294
00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:16,840
You weren't even looking at them.

295
00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,940
Well, it's too fast to be able to look and think

296
00:14:19,940 --> 00:14:21,010
about everything that you're doing.

297
00:14:21,010 --> 00:14:23,720
You really have to just do it with your peripheral vision,

298
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:25,140
making sure that you control the spin,

299
00:14:25,140 --> 00:14:27,410
making sure you know the positions of the knives,

300
00:14:27,410 --> 00:14:28,930
even though you can't actually be

301
00:14:28,930 --> 00:14:30,810
looking at all of them directly.

302
00:14:30,810 --> 00:14:32,281
I was looking at them all.

303
00:14:32,281 --> 00:14:35,350
Well, maybe your brain is already processing pretty fast.

304
00:14:35,350 --> 00:14:36,217
Yeah, it was processing,

305
00:14:36,217 --> 00:14:38,490
"Get away from the guy with the knives."

306
00:14:38,490 --> 00:14:39,323
Yeah.

307
00:14:45,060 --> 00:14:46,410
Okay, it's pretty obvious

308
00:14:46,410 --> 00:14:49,250
that Nick can juggle just about anything.

309
00:14:49,250 --> 00:14:52,130
I'm gonna pass on the fire sticks and knives for now.

310
00:14:52,130 --> 00:14:54,893
But balls, well they look more achievable.

311
00:15:00,940 --> 00:15:03,870
Watching Nick, I noticed his stare remains fixed

312
00:15:03,870 --> 00:15:06,463
on an area around two feet in front of him.

313
00:15:08,940 --> 00:15:10,600
His attention is focused.

314
00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,053
He never blinks or looks directly at any of the five balls.

315
00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:17,870
Yet his hands are always

316
00:15:17,870 --> 00:15:19,903
in the right place at the right time.

317
00:15:23,170 --> 00:15:25,840
His balance is perfect and his throwing action,

318
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:27,463
smooth and consistent.

319
00:15:31,650 --> 00:15:34,500
That's some pretty impressive brain power going on there.

320
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,690
Okay, what I'm gonna show you how to do

321
00:15:41,690 --> 00:15:43,590
is what's called a three-ball cascade.

322
00:15:46,189 --> 00:15:49,420
So three balls, two hands, one brain.

323
00:15:49,420 --> 00:15:50,253
Okay.

324
00:15:50,253 --> 00:15:51,370
Okay.

325
00:15:51,370 --> 00:15:54,370
So the way we're gonna start is with two balls,

326
00:15:54,370 --> 00:15:56,850
right, left, catch, catch.

327
00:15:56,850 --> 00:15:59,280
And it helps to say it, if you say it,

328
00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:00,730
then you're more likely to do it.

329
00:16:00,730 --> 00:16:01,563
Okay.

330
00:16:04,570 --> 00:16:05,720
Right, left (laughing).

331
00:16:07,660 --> 00:16:09,090
Saying didn't help.

332
00:16:09,090 --> 00:16:11,708
The ball flying over there, okay so,

333
00:16:11,708 --> 00:16:12,541
So,

334
00:16:12,541 --> 00:16:13,374
So right, left.

335
00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,753
Think about keeping your elbows relatively stationary.

336
00:16:19,820 --> 00:16:21,283
Oh, okay, that's good information.

337
00:16:22,460 --> 00:16:24,580
So the tough thing now is to get that third ball

338
00:16:24,580 --> 00:16:27,070
out of your hand as the second ball is coming in.

339
00:16:27,070 --> 00:16:29,120
So that's the new movement that you're learning.

340
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,983
So you're gonna go right, left, right, left.

341
00:16:39,790 --> 00:16:40,820
Maybe a little lower than that.

342
00:16:40,820 --> 00:16:43,170
That looks like it's starting to get dangerous.

343
00:16:50,340 --> 00:16:52,760
We need to get you to six throws and six catches,

344
00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:54,170
which is a qualify.

345
00:16:54,170 --> 00:16:56,320
So I'm not juggling until I can catch six.

346
00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:57,467
That's right.

347
00:16:57,467 --> 00:16:58,300
Okay.

348
00:16:59,630 --> 00:17:03,373
Two, three, four, five, six, aw so close!

349
00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:06,340
I seem to be getting the hang of this.

350
00:17:06,340 --> 00:17:10,270
It's amazing what a little bit of practice can do.

351
00:17:10,270 --> 00:17:13,280
Half an hour ago, I would've thought that to be impossible.

352
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:15,800
It felt so unnatural and so uncomfortable.

353
00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,630
And with a little bit of practice,

354
00:17:17,630 --> 00:17:19,780
I reckon I could become quite good at this.

355
00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:24,660
Todd's technique improved actually quite quickly,

356
00:17:24,660 --> 00:17:27,250
and I think that's because he was quite patient.

357
00:17:27,250 --> 00:17:29,730
So he was quite happy to practice just two balls

358
00:17:29,730 --> 00:17:32,030
and then three balls and get that technique smooth

359
00:17:32,030 --> 00:17:33,733
before moving on to the next step.

360
00:17:34,980 --> 00:17:39,000
If he trains even five minutes a day for a few weeks,

361
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,070
he'll get much more smooth,

362
00:17:41,070 --> 00:17:43,230
and then he can start learning tricks.

363
00:17:43,230 --> 00:17:45,623
He can start maybe trying to juggle four balls.

364
00:17:46,750 --> 00:17:47,933
Practice is the key.

365
00:17:53,430 --> 00:17:56,433
Next on my training hit list, sharpen attention.

366
00:17:59,970 --> 00:18:04,290
Aiming your eyes at something is no guarantee of seeing it.

367
00:18:04,290 --> 00:18:06,890
Have you spotted what's wrong with this picture yet?

368
00:18:10,380 --> 00:18:14,110
Studies show that more than half of us don't.

369
00:18:14,110 --> 00:18:16,310
We're all pretty bad at paying attention,

370
00:18:16,310 --> 00:18:17,623
but we can improve it.

371
00:18:19,810 --> 00:18:21,900
Now we're gonna do a relatively direct test

372
00:18:21,900 --> 00:18:23,620
of the baseline level of your attention.

373
00:18:23,620 --> 00:18:26,290
You can think of it as an evaluation of your alertness.

374
00:18:26,290 --> 00:18:27,123
And we're gonna measure

375
00:18:27,123 --> 00:18:28,920
something that's called attentional blink.

376
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,540
So you're gonna see a series of letters flash by.

377
00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:35,100
And in the middle of those letters are gonna numbers.

378
00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:37,920
And your simple task is to remember those numbers

379
00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:39,730
and report back what you saw.

380
00:18:39,730 --> 00:18:41,330
So what does blinking have to do with it?

381
00:18:41,330 --> 00:18:43,650
Well because your mind is blinking.

382
00:18:43,650 --> 00:18:46,400
Once you see something that captures your attention,

383
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,200
there will be a period of time in which you see nothing.

384
00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,248
You're making me nervous about driving home.

385
00:18:53,248 --> 00:18:54,081
(laughing)

386
00:18:54,081 --> 00:18:55,961
So let's go, let's see how you do in this.

387
00:18:55,961 --> 00:18:56,794
Alright, let's do it.

388
00:19:01,370 --> 00:19:02,930
Five.

389
00:19:02,930 --> 00:19:04,630
You saw one, what was the other?

390
00:19:07,230 --> 00:19:09,726
Well, didn't see it?

391
00:19:09,726 --> 00:19:10,760
Didn't see it.

392
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:12,943
Okay, that means it was in the window of your blink.

393
00:19:16,090 --> 00:19:18,053
Five and, I think that was four.

394
00:19:21,980 --> 00:19:22,863
Two and five.

395
00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:27,173
Okay, your turn.

396
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,420
Okay, when things occurred relatively slowly

397
00:19:50,420 --> 00:19:53,410
or deliberately, you got about 71%.

398
00:19:53,410 --> 00:19:55,360
I would say that that's about average,

399
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,420
a little above average.

400
00:19:57,420 --> 00:20:01,310
When things came fast, you got almost 60%,

401
00:20:01,310 --> 00:20:02,830
and that's really good.

402
00:20:02,830 --> 00:20:04,720
But still, there's room for improvement there,

403
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,543
significant room for improvement.

404
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:14,990
So it's clear I've got some work to do

405
00:20:14,990 --> 00:20:17,590
on my attention, no surprises there.

406
00:20:17,590 --> 00:20:20,003
But I want to explore the science more deeply.

407
00:20:23,950 --> 00:20:26,230
So with Michael heading home to San Francisco,

408
00:20:26,230 --> 00:20:28,313
I've decided to hit the US as well.

409
00:20:33,100 --> 00:20:35,683
(guitar music)

410
00:20:48,290 --> 00:20:50,640
I've come to Phoenix, Arizona, to meet three people

411
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,470
who specialize in the field of attention.

412
00:20:53,470 --> 00:20:57,040
Two of them are scientists, the other a magician.

413
00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:58,990
No prizes for guessing which one he is.

414
00:21:02,230 --> 00:21:05,200
Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik

415
00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,293
are visual neuroscientists at the Barrow Institute.

416
00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,393
And Magic Tony, well, he does magic.

417
00:21:13,330 --> 00:21:16,420
So we have actually been working with Tony

418
00:21:16,420 --> 00:21:19,620
to figure out what magic can bring to neuroscience

419
00:21:19,620 --> 00:21:22,750
and how we can go to the lab and see

420
00:21:22,750 --> 00:21:25,280
how magicians manipulate your attentional processes,

421
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,130
your cognitive processes, your emotions even.

422
00:21:28,130 --> 00:21:30,470
Magicians manipulate attention and awareness

423
00:21:30,470 --> 00:21:31,860
better than anybody else in the world,

424
00:21:31,860 --> 00:21:34,450
including cognitive scientists.

425
00:21:34,450 --> 00:21:36,190
So we realize, we needed to study

426
00:21:36,190 --> 00:21:38,520
what magicians are doing to your brain

427
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,530
that if we could learn their tricks, we could discover

428
00:21:40,530 --> 00:21:42,630
how those mechanisms work in the brain better.

429
00:21:42,630 --> 00:21:44,510
So scientists are learning from magicians.

430
00:21:44,510 --> 00:21:45,403
Absolutely.

431
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:50,110
That looks interesting.

432
00:21:50,110 --> 00:21:52,173
It's been years since we lost anybody.

433
00:21:53,390 --> 00:21:55,516
Stephen and Susana are fitting me

434
00:21:55,516 --> 00:21:57,120
with an eye-tracking device, which will record

435
00:21:57,120 --> 00:21:59,670
precisely what I'm watching during the magic trick.

436
00:22:01,570 --> 00:22:05,400
So what we're doing here is we're going to position these

437
00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,443
infrared video cameras pointing at your eyes.

438
00:22:09,340 --> 00:22:11,580
As you look at this video,

439
00:22:11,580 --> 00:22:14,510
the eye-tracker is finding your pupil,

440
00:22:14,510 --> 00:22:17,010
which we can see there in blue in the other screen,

441
00:22:17,010 --> 00:22:20,290
and that's how we can tell what you're looking at.

442
00:22:20,290 --> 00:22:23,050
And your only task is to watch the trick and to enjoy it.

443
00:22:23,050 --> 00:22:24,593
Okay, I can do that.

444
00:22:26,060 --> 00:22:30,210
Hi Susana, we're going to try a little mind reading today.

445
00:22:30,210 --> 00:22:32,290
Would you shuffle up that deck for me?

446
00:22:32,290 --> 00:22:35,030
Some people think crystals hold a lot of power

447
00:22:35,030 --> 00:22:36,590
for transmitting thoughts.

448
00:22:36,590 --> 00:22:38,370
So I thought we could really amp that up

449
00:22:38,370 --> 00:22:42,000
by getting 10000 crystals, I spared no expense.

450
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,790
There we have it, 10000 crystals of salt.

451
00:22:44,790 --> 00:22:47,260
So, I'm gonna spread out the cards on the table here.

452
00:22:47,260 --> 00:22:49,493
I want you to remove any card you like.

453
00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,490
Great, memorize that card, show it to the camera.

454
00:22:53,490 --> 00:22:55,023
I don't wanna see what it is.

455
00:22:57,530 --> 00:22:59,870
And please, stick it into the center of the deck

456
00:22:59,870 --> 00:23:02,900
anywhere you like, shove it on in there, alright.

457
00:23:02,900 --> 00:23:04,530
So what I'd like you to do

458
00:23:04,530 --> 00:23:07,050
is begin concentrating on your card.

459
00:23:07,050 --> 00:23:09,770
Send the thought of the card to the base of the salt shaker.

460
00:23:09,770 --> 00:23:11,290
It'll shoot up through those crystals.

461
00:23:11,290 --> 00:23:13,130
It'll be magnified, it'll shoot out the holes

462
00:23:13,130 --> 00:23:14,630
and hit my right in the brain.

463
00:23:15,810 --> 00:23:17,810
We could wish for a bigger target, sure.

464
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:21,163
Alright, begin sending the card.

465
00:23:22,380 --> 00:23:24,240
It's a 10, is that correct?

466
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:25,073
Yes.

467
00:23:25,930 --> 00:23:28,772
In fact, your card is the 10 of clubs, is that correct?

468
00:23:28,772 --> 00:23:30,700
Ah, that's amazing.

469
00:23:30,700 --> 00:23:32,630
But what's even more amazing is that

470
00:23:32,630 --> 00:23:34,250
you selected a card from this deck,

471
00:23:34,250 --> 00:23:36,090
you shuffled up that deck.

472
00:23:36,090 --> 00:23:39,290
And in fact, there is no 10 of clubs in the deck.

473
00:23:39,290 --> 00:23:42,350
Have a look, not a single 10 of clubs

474
00:23:42,350 --> 00:23:44,960
because the 10 of clubs is the card that I keep

475
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:46,383
underneath my salt shaker.

476
00:23:52,530 --> 00:23:54,480
Taking data from the tracking device,

477
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,340
my every eye movement has now been

478
00:23:56,340 --> 00:23:59,070
superimposed over the video.

479
00:23:59,070 --> 00:24:02,020
So now, we can see where you're looking when

480
00:24:02,020 --> 00:24:04,420
during the magic trick and understand

481
00:24:04,420 --> 00:24:06,270
how you perceive things.

482
00:24:06,270 --> 00:24:08,900
So let's go ahead and start.

483
00:24:08,900 --> 00:24:10,693
Hi Susana, we're going to try a little mind reading,

484
00:24:10,693 --> 00:24:13,870
Wow, my eyes are moving around a lot, aren't they?

485
00:24:13,870 --> 00:24:16,090
Sure, magicians are experts

486
00:24:16,090 --> 00:24:19,840
at creating a set of cues that can choreograph

487
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:21,980
how you deploy your attention.

488
00:24:21,980 --> 00:24:23,360
And in fact, if you remember,

489
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:26,180
there were two magic tricks in this video.

490
00:24:26,180 --> 00:24:28,890
The first was me divining the card

491
00:24:28,890 --> 00:24:31,610
that Susana selected from that deck of playing cards.

492
00:24:31,610 --> 00:24:33,210
And she freely selected a playing card.

493
00:24:33,210 --> 00:24:35,820
I had no idea what the card was initially.

494
00:24:35,820 --> 00:24:37,810
And I have to peek at that card,

495
00:24:37,810 --> 00:24:40,280
which I have controlled to the top of the deck.

496
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,380
And so I find a time to do that

497
00:24:42,380 --> 00:24:44,990
that is accompanied by the perception of humor.

498
00:24:44,990 --> 00:24:47,420
I make a silly little joke there saying,

499
00:24:47,420 --> 00:24:49,110
it'll be magnified, it'll shoot out the holes,

500
00:24:49,110 --> 00:24:50,610
and hit me right in the brain.

501
00:24:51,780 --> 00:24:53,780
We could wish for a bigger target, sure.

502
00:24:54,627 --> 00:24:56,040
And it's at that precise moment,

503
00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,487
the moment that you're perceiving humor,

504
00:24:58,487 --> 00:25:00,587
"We could wish for a bigger target, sure,"

505
00:25:02,210 --> 00:25:04,640
that I overtly peeked at the top card of the deck,

506
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,250
but you probably didn't notice.

507
00:25:07,250 --> 00:25:09,750
That's amazing that you did that.

508
00:25:09,750 --> 00:25:12,650
I still can't see you having that peek.

509
00:25:12,650 --> 00:25:14,703
We could wish for a bigger target, sure.

510
00:25:15,770 --> 00:25:18,500
What's happening with humor is that

511
00:25:18,500 --> 00:25:20,560
your attention is suppressed.

512
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,300
Magicians put in jokes very specifically

513
00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:26,510
so that the audience is feeling mirth at very specific times

514
00:25:26,510 --> 00:25:28,670
and it's another way that they control

515
00:25:28,670 --> 00:25:31,364
what you're paying attention to and what you aren't.

516
00:25:31,364 --> 00:25:33,360
Some of the magicians that we've worked with,

517
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:35,030
they've put it this way,

518
00:25:35,030 --> 00:25:37,680
when the public laughs, time stops,

519
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:39,580
and then the magician can do anything.

520
00:25:39,580 --> 00:25:41,683
They can get away with magic and murder.

521
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:45,100
And the second part of the trick

522
00:25:45,100 --> 00:25:46,700
was when the card vanished from the deck

523
00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:48,980
and reappeared underneath the salt shaker.

524
00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:51,160
So the moment that I divine

525
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:52,840
Susana's thought of playing card,

526
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,680
In fact your card is the 10 of clubs, is that correct?

527
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,590
is the same moment that I'm palming that card

528
00:25:58,590 --> 00:26:00,740
so that I place it beneath the salt shaker.

529
00:26:03,730 --> 00:26:05,010
There's a type of eye moment

530
00:26:05,010 --> 00:26:07,913
called smooth pursuit where the eye follows motion.

531
00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,630
And Tony uses it to divert my eyes

532
00:26:11,630 --> 00:26:13,033
away from the salt shaker.

533
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,590
So notice how he spreads the cards,

534
00:26:16,590 --> 00:26:21,000
and your gaze is going to follow the motion of the hand

535
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,880
dragged along this trajectory while at the same time,

536
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,723
he's inserting the card under the salt shaker.

537
00:26:30,370 --> 00:26:32,610
Now that is visual information that is

538
00:26:32,610 --> 00:26:34,520
completely available to you,

539
00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:36,470
but it never reaches your awareness.

540
00:26:36,470 --> 00:26:38,080
So you mean, I actually saw the trick,

541
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,170
but I didn't know that I saw it.

542
00:26:40,170 --> 00:26:43,720
Your vision here saw it, you were not aware of it.

543
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:45,850
So really, what our research is showing

544
00:26:45,850 --> 00:26:47,840
is that attention is far more about

545
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:49,870
suppressing distractions than it is about

546
00:26:49,870 --> 00:26:51,757
enhancing what you're paying attention to.

547
00:26:51,757 --> 00:26:53,840
And what that means is that magicians

548
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,680
are really kinda using a mental jujitsu against you.

549
00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:59,500
They're getting you to use your own

550
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:01,820
attentional system against yourself.

551
00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:03,634
Sneaky magicians.

552
00:27:03,634 --> 00:27:05,884
(laughing)

553
00:27:08,077 --> 00:27:10,660
(lively music)

554
00:27:12,008 --> 00:27:13,120
So it's clear the brain needs

555
00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:15,270
dedicated focus to be attentive.

556
00:27:15,270 --> 00:27:17,493
And multi-tasking is a fallacy.

557
00:27:18,830 --> 00:27:20,490
So using a phone behind the wheel

558
00:27:20,490 --> 00:27:23,033
reduces your driving ability by a third.

559
00:27:24,270 --> 00:27:26,490
But there's another reason why we fail to notice

560
00:27:26,490 --> 00:27:28,220
what's happening around us.

561
00:27:28,220 --> 00:27:29,900
And that's why I've come to San Francisco

562
00:27:29,900 --> 00:27:31,650
to catch up with Michael Merzenich.

563
00:27:32,910 --> 00:27:35,040
He wants to work on my peripheral vision,

564
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,003
an important part of alertness.

565
00:27:38,209 --> 00:27:40,792
(upbeat music)

566
00:27:45,500 --> 00:27:46,333
Hi, Michael.

567
00:27:46,333 --> 00:27:47,166
How're you doing, Todd?

568
00:27:47,166 --> 00:27:48,284
Nice to see you, man.

569
00:27:48,284 --> 00:27:49,880
Nice to see you, is this your car?

570
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,570
Oh, man, yeah, we're gonna go for a ride in this car

571
00:27:52,570 --> 00:27:55,590
because it's probably one of the easiest ways

572
00:27:55,590 --> 00:27:56,790
to show you about peripheral vision,

573
00:27:56,790 --> 00:27:58,720
is to take your for a drive because

574
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:00,970
there you use it in rich abundance.

575
00:28:00,970 --> 00:28:02,460
So you get to drive.

576
00:28:02,460 --> 00:28:03,293
I'm driving.

577
00:28:03,293 --> 00:28:04,470
You're driving.

578
00:28:04,470 --> 00:28:06,540
Remember, we drive in the,

579
00:28:06,540 --> 00:28:08,360
what is it, the left of the right here?

580
00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:09,193
Ah, we'll find out.

581
00:28:09,193 --> 00:28:10,520
He needs memory training.

582
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,970
Okay, two middle-aged man in a red Mustang.

583
00:28:15,970 --> 00:28:17,820
This is not gonna seem tragic at all.

584
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:23,273
Easy tiger.

585
00:28:31,450 --> 00:28:33,050
You don't realize how complicated

586
00:28:33,050 --> 00:28:35,030
and challenging driving is

587
00:28:35,030 --> 00:28:36,930
until you think about it a little bit.

588
00:28:37,950 --> 00:28:40,410
You have to divide your attention between

589
00:28:40,410 --> 00:28:42,690
the things that are in the immediate center of

590
00:28:42,690 --> 00:28:43,870
where you're looking but also

591
00:28:43,870 --> 00:28:47,073
you have to be drinking all these things from side to side.

592
00:28:49,020 --> 00:28:51,740
So peripheral vision is a pretty important asset

593
00:28:51,740 --> 00:28:54,570
and something we often take for granted.

594
00:28:54,570 --> 00:28:56,670
But the scary part is, as we age,

595
00:28:56,670 --> 00:28:59,600
it starts to degrade at an alarming rate,

596
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:01,150
and we're not even aware of it.

597
00:29:02,370 --> 00:29:04,180
We're really good at taking an information

598
00:29:04,180 --> 00:29:06,700
all across the horizon when we're young.

599
00:29:06,700 --> 00:29:08,500
And we probably reach a peak,

600
00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:10,203
maybe around our 30th birthday.

601
00:29:12,210 --> 00:29:14,240
On your 60th birthday, you've lost about

602
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,370
a quarter of the world in front of you.

603
00:29:16,370 --> 00:29:18,030
By the time you reach your 80th birthday,

604
00:29:18,030 --> 00:29:19,213
you've lost half of it.

605
00:29:20,530 --> 00:29:22,410
Just like you have a TV screen

606
00:29:22,410 --> 00:29:26,850
that shrunk in size in front of you by about 50%.

607
00:29:26,850 --> 00:29:29,070
That's a tremendous loss.

608
00:29:29,070 --> 00:29:31,553
You're walking through the world with blinders on.

609
00:29:33,513 --> 00:29:34,690
Oh, check that guy out.

610
00:29:34,690 --> 00:29:35,647
Right?

611
00:29:35,647 --> 00:29:38,354
Right, he needs peripheral vision testing.

612
00:29:38,354 --> 00:29:40,760
Yeah.

613
00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:42,350
You're making me paranoid now.

614
00:29:42,350 --> 00:29:43,183
Well, you know,

615
00:29:43,183 --> 00:29:44,673
You're pointing everything out to me.

616
00:29:44,673 --> 00:29:45,510
You know, you don't think of it.

617
00:29:45,510 --> 00:29:48,520
It's really about opening up your eyes and your brain

618
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,210
so that you see the whole world.

619
00:29:50,210 --> 00:29:51,420
I know, you're interesting,

620
00:29:51,420 --> 00:29:53,480
but you're not very encouraging in the driving.

621
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:54,995
You're like, "Things are jumping up!

622
00:29:54,995 --> 00:29:57,330
"They're on your left, they're on your right."

623
00:29:57,330 --> 00:29:58,870
Backseat driving aside,

624
00:29:58,870 --> 00:30:01,690
Michael's point is that we don't just see with our eyes.

625
00:30:01,690 --> 00:30:03,143
We see with our brains.

626
00:30:04,730 --> 00:30:06,910
And that's good news because it means

627
00:30:06,910 --> 00:30:10,280
peripheral vision can be radically improved.

628
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,050
So this is a task, basically, that's designed

629
00:30:13,050 --> 00:30:14,830
to improve your peripheral vision.

630
00:30:14,830 --> 00:30:15,810
It turns out that this is

631
00:30:15,810 --> 00:30:18,420
a remarkably recoverable ability.

632
00:30:18,420 --> 00:30:21,490
At any age, everybody's improvable.

633
00:30:21,490 --> 00:30:23,380
And you're improvable not just in the fact

634
00:30:23,380 --> 00:30:25,820
that you'll see more and respond to it

635
00:30:25,820 --> 00:30:28,040
more effectively with your eyes,

636
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:29,840
but you'll also become better and better

637
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:31,603
at interpreting what it is you see.

638
00:30:32,730 --> 00:30:35,540
So in this training exercise called Double Decision,

639
00:30:35,540 --> 00:30:39,253
a car and a series of signs are shown for just two seconds.

640
00:30:40,190 --> 00:30:43,380
You have to identify which of the two cars you just saw

641
00:30:43,380 --> 00:30:45,723
and where the Route 66 sign was.

642
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,940
Because your central vision has to stay focused on the cars,

643
00:30:51,940 --> 00:30:54,213
there's not enough time to scan the signs.

644
00:30:55,910 --> 00:30:58,620
So you're forced to spot the Route 66 sign

645
00:30:58,620 --> 00:31:00,163
with your peripheral vision.

646
00:31:01,402 --> 00:31:03,593
Oh, it's getting much, much harder now.

647
00:31:05,620 --> 00:31:06,620
You try it.

648
00:31:11,540 --> 00:31:13,350
The most exciting thing about this training

649
00:31:13,350 --> 00:31:15,733
is how fast it actually gets results.

650
00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:20,160
We see very strong effects in retraining

651
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:22,810
peripheral visual ability, occurring within

652
00:31:22,810 --> 00:31:26,950
an hour of two of training and in six or seven hours.

653
00:31:26,950 --> 00:31:30,543
It's as if you're back in your ability 20 years in life.

654
00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,930
To gain back 20 years ability in less than a day

655
00:31:36,930 --> 00:31:39,080
is a real testament to brain plasticity

656
00:31:40,056 --> 00:31:42,106
and just how fast changes can take place.

657
00:31:43,500 --> 00:31:46,493
You're good, but you can be better.

658
00:32:04,283 --> 00:32:05,116
You'd think Michael

659
00:32:05,116 --> 00:32:06,890
has given me enough training to do,

660
00:32:06,890 --> 00:32:08,970
but as well as thinking speed and attention,

661
00:32:08,970 --> 00:32:11,313
he wants to improve another mental skill.

662
00:32:12,740 --> 00:32:15,453
He's asked to meet me at a restaurant across town.

663
00:32:16,630 --> 00:32:18,030
But this ain't no for lunch.

664
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:21,540
So Todd, we're here in this nice restaurant

665
00:32:21,540 --> 00:32:23,740
because we've set up a memory test for you.

666
00:32:23,740 --> 00:32:25,860
And you're gonna go upstairs,

667
00:32:25,860 --> 00:32:27,710
and you're gonna meet a really nice group of people.

668
00:32:27,710 --> 00:32:29,330
They're gonna be seven people.

669
00:32:29,330 --> 00:32:30,490
Each one of them will be wearing

670
00:32:30,490 --> 00:32:32,910
a name tag and a colored scarf.

671
00:32:32,910 --> 00:32:34,700
And then each one will also have

672
00:32:34,700 --> 00:32:37,210
a signature dish sitting in front of them.

673
00:32:37,210 --> 00:32:39,700
And your task is really simple.

674
00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:41,430
You have 21 things to remember.

675
00:32:41,430 --> 00:32:42,810
And how long do I have to do that?

676
00:32:42,810 --> 00:32:44,653
Oh, you have 42 seconds.

677
00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,960
So this is another form of torture.

678
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:49,653
Oh, Todd, you can do it.

679
00:32:55,110 --> 00:32:56,943
Okay, you can open your eyes now.

680
00:32:59,170 --> 00:33:01,233
Your job is to remember names,

681
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,470
remember the color of the scarf they wear,

682
00:33:04,470 --> 00:33:06,813
and remember the food in front of them.

683
00:33:06,813 --> 00:33:07,646
Are you ready?

684
00:33:07,646 --> 00:33:08,479
I'm ready.

685
00:33:08,479 --> 00:33:09,493
Starting now.

686
00:33:10,780 --> 00:33:13,480
Okay, here's your chance to test your memory.

687
00:33:52,770 --> 00:33:53,670
Time's up, Todd.

688
00:33:54,890 --> 00:33:56,980
That was 42 seconds, you're kidding me.

689
00:33:56,980 --> 00:33:59,670
No, no, no, that was 42 seconds, Todd.

690
00:33:59,670 --> 00:34:01,910
And you drank it all in, so you're in good shape.

691
00:34:01,910 --> 00:34:03,970
I drank, that's impossible!

692
00:34:03,970 --> 00:34:04,843
Be optimistic.

693
00:34:07,460 --> 00:34:10,493
Okay, Todd, we're back for the second part of this test.

694
00:34:10,493 --> 00:34:12,960
I don't even recognize these people.

695
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:14,557
I don't even know that look.

696
00:34:16,030 --> 00:34:18,553
So, you remember who this is?

697
00:34:21,930 --> 00:34:26,713
It's Felicity, and she was wearing, uh,

698
00:34:28,890 --> 00:34:30,680
yellow scarf.

699
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:31,513
Yup.

700
00:34:31,513 --> 00:34:32,346
Yes.

701
00:34:33,330 --> 00:34:35,050
And she was eating a pie.

702
00:34:35,050 --> 00:34:36,640
See, I just thought that was so unlike you

703
00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:39,357
to be carrying that, it stuck in my mind.

704
00:34:39,357 --> 00:34:40,357
Thank you.

705
00:34:41,521 --> 00:34:42,688
Uh, Gabriel?

706
00:34:45,667 --> 00:34:47,093
And you were wearing,

707
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:51,420
orange?

708
00:34:51,420 --> 00:34:55,323
And, spaghetti.

709
00:35:00,371 --> 00:35:02,673
Anastasia,

710
00:35:04,830 --> 00:35:06,282
okay.

711
00:35:06,282 --> 00:35:09,977
I remember yellow, but it's not yellow, is it?

712
00:35:12,070 --> 00:35:15,273
Okay, you were eating a salad.

713
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:24,033
Ben.

714
00:35:27,707 --> 00:35:30,047
What kinda name is that?

715
00:35:30,047 --> 00:35:35,047
But I do seem to recall you wearing blue-ish, blue?

716
00:35:37,340 --> 00:35:41,343
That's close, uh, I do remember a burger.

717
00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:43,513
Okay.

718
00:35:48,318 --> 00:35:50,580
This is awkward, isn't it?

719
00:35:50,580 --> 00:35:51,413
Marina?

720
00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:53,833
Oh, okay.

721
00:35:58,219 --> 00:35:59,052
Red.

722
00:36:05,180 --> 00:36:06,424
Another salad?

723
00:36:06,424 --> 00:36:07,257
No.

724
00:36:08,370 --> 00:36:09,520
It's kind of a salad.

725
00:36:11,340 --> 00:36:12,743
I got no idea who this bloke is.

726
00:36:12,743 --> 00:36:14,360
Have you been here the whole time?

727
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:15,193
Yup.

728
00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:20,463
I remember blue with you.

729
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:29,810
Copper, Cooper.

730
00:36:29,810 --> 00:36:30,643
Very good.

731
00:36:34,830 --> 00:36:38,983
I have no idea what you were eating, fish.

732
00:36:41,330 --> 00:36:42,773
It's a fish pizza.

733
00:36:42,773 --> 00:36:44,360
(laughing)

734
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:45,193
Okay.

735
00:36:49,060 --> 00:36:50,173
Lucinda.

736
00:36:50,173 --> 00:36:51,006
Yeah.

737
00:36:53,269 --> 00:36:54,389
Sushi.

738
00:36:54,389 --> 00:36:55,560
Yeah.

739
00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:56,633
And the color,

740
00:37:00,130 --> 00:37:03,460
is that kinda pink, red thing?

741
00:37:03,460 --> 00:37:04,293
Yeah.

742
00:37:04,293 --> 00:37:06,523
Yeah, I can't believe I remembered that much.

743
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:08,730
I still think you're Ben.

744
00:37:11,820 --> 00:37:13,760
Well, the brain training must be kicking in

745
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:17,330
because my working memory could handle 16 items.

746
00:37:17,330 --> 00:37:19,653
A typical score is more like seven.

747
00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:25,570
Michael's got some more computer training for me.

748
00:37:25,570 --> 00:37:26,900
But he also wants me to learn

749
00:37:26,900 --> 00:37:29,463
some pneumonic techniques for memory retention.

750
00:37:31,140 --> 00:37:34,113
And for that, I'm headed back home to Sydney.

751
00:37:45,860 --> 00:37:49,490
To help train my memory, I've called in the cavalry.

752
00:37:49,490 --> 00:37:51,810
Tansel Ali is not only a memory coach.

753
00:37:51,810 --> 00:37:54,633
He's also a two-time Australian Memory Champion.

754
00:37:58,630 --> 00:37:59,463
Hello.

755
00:38:00,330 --> 00:38:01,430
Hi, Tansel.

756
00:38:01,430 --> 00:38:02,290
Todd.

757
00:38:02,290 --> 00:38:03,190
Welcome to my home.

758
00:38:03,190 --> 00:38:04,023
Thank you.

759
00:38:04,023 --> 00:38:05,450
Tansel has asked to meet me at home

760
00:38:05,450 --> 00:38:07,580
because he says the training is going to involve

761
00:38:07,580 --> 00:38:09,280
the rooms in my house.

762
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:10,837
Say hello to Tansel.

763
00:38:10,837 --> 00:38:11,856
Hello.

764
00:38:11,856 --> 00:38:12,689
Hello, Tansel.

765
00:38:12,689 --> 00:38:13,522
Hello.

766
00:38:13,522 --> 00:38:14,355
I'm pretty curious to know

767
00:38:14,355 --> 00:38:16,861
what he's got in store, and so are my kids.

768
00:38:16,861 --> 00:38:18,476
My name's Coco.
My name's Jet.

769
00:38:18,476 --> 00:38:20,100
Ah, Coco and Jet, lovely names.

770
00:38:20,100 --> 00:38:21,120
So today, what we're gonna do

771
00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:22,620
is memorize a deck of cards.

772
00:38:22,620 --> 00:38:24,340
And I'll show you how to do that.

773
00:38:24,340 --> 00:38:25,670
And the reason why we're doing it

774
00:38:25,670 --> 00:38:27,090
is so I can help you improve your memory

775
00:38:27,090 --> 00:38:28,710
and use both sides of your brain.

776
00:38:28,710 --> 00:38:31,010
And we'll look at the location method.

777
00:38:31,010 --> 00:38:32,940
We'll look at coming up with images for the cards.

778
00:38:32,940 --> 00:38:35,340
And finally, we'll recall those cards as well.

779
00:38:35,340 --> 00:38:37,970
Now, rumor has it that you actually memorized

780
00:38:37,970 --> 00:38:39,510
two complete Yellow Pages.

781
00:38:39,510 --> 00:38:41,300
Yeah, that says I have, yup.

782
00:38:41,300 --> 00:38:43,340
Do you mind if I put you through the test?

783
00:38:43,340 --> 00:38:44,893
No, not at all, go for it.

784
00:38:46,836 --> 00:38:49,080
Okay, Tansel, I'm gonna give you the name,

785
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:50,600
and you're gonna give me the phone number.

786
00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:51,890
Okay.

787
00:38:51,890 --> 00:38:55,940
GF James Plumbing Services.

788
00:38:55,940 --> 00:38:59,037
Okay, that is 964, uh, 910, 99.

789
00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:06,840
That's amazing, that's the number.

790
00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:08,023
Am I right?

791
00:39:08,023 --> 00:39:08,856
Yes.
Okay.

792
00:39:08,856 --> 00:39:09,890
Coco, do you wanna test Tansel?

793
00:39:10,990 --> 00:39:14,183
Okay, you pick one, just point to one.

794
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,060
Alright, Play Space.

795
00:39:18,060 --> 00:39:20,237
Okay, 1-800-287-634.

796
00:39:24,770 --> 00:39:26,344
That's amazing!

797
00:39:26,344 --> 00:39:27,210
Daddy.

798
00:39:27,210 --> 00:39:28,306
Do you think dada could do that?

799
00:39:28,306 --> 00:39:30,829
No, you can't do it.

800
00:39:30,829 --> 00:39:31,930
Thanks.

801
00:39:31,930 --> 00:39:34,410
Yep, Jet's probably right.

802
00:39:34,410 --> 00:39:37,870
But a full deck of playing cards, just let me at it.

803
00:39:37,870 --> 00:39:42,260
So it's a technique called Person, Action, Object System.

804
00:39:42,260 --> 00:39:46,690
So how that works is that each card has an image,

805
00:39:46,690 --> 00:39:49,070
and the first image here is a person.

806
00:39:49,070 --> 00:39:52,841
So for example, the six kinda looks like a B here.

807
00:39:52,841 --> 00:39:54,560
And diamond starts with a D.

808
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,430
So I'm using the initials B and D.

809
00:39:56,430 --> 00:39:59,239
So the first thing that comes to my mind,

810
00:39:59,239 --> 00:40:01,720
if I think of B and D is Bob Dylan.

811
00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:03,540
So I create a person from that.

812
00:40:03,540 --> 00:40:07,750
And Bob Dylan is, I can picture him performing on stage,

813
00:40:07,750 --> 00:40:08,960
playing the harmonica.

814
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:10,370
Because they're familiar in your mind,

815
00:40:10,370 --> 00:40:12,197
it's easier to use that.

816
00:40:12,197 --> 00:40:13,030
Nearly one-third of our brain

817
00:40:13,030 --> 00:40:15,440
is dedicated to vision, so it's much easier to recall

818
00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:19,060
a strong visual scene than numbers and suits.

819
00:40:19,060 --> 00:40:20,550
So, let's look at this card as well.

820
00:40:20,550 --> 00:40:23,950
I've got ace of spades, so I can have A for Adam,

821
00:40:23,950 --> 00:40:25,740
S, spades, for Sandler.

822
00:40:25,740 --> 00:40:28,760
Adam Sandler is a person and one of my favorite movie's

823
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:33,320
Happy Gilmore, so he's Adam Sandler swinging a golf club.

824
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:37,840
So swinging is his action and golf club is the object.

825
00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:39,590
And finally, we've got jack of hearts.

826
00:40:39,590 --> 00:40:41,940
Now, I use a lot of my family members as hearts

827
00:40:41,940 --> 00:40:44,340
because I love them, so what family member

828
00:40:44,340 --> 00:40:47,880
would you have for jack of hearts?

829
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:49,180
My sister, Dionne.

830
00:40:49,180 --> 00:40:51,330
So what could your sister's action be?

831
00:40:51,330 --> 00:40:52,982
Soccer, she likes playing soccer.

832
00:40:52,982 --> 00:40:53,815
Nice, so,

833
00:40:53,815 --> 00:40:55,220
The reason you have to assign

834
00:40:55,220 --> 00:40:57,950
person, action, and object for every card

835
00:40:57,950 --> 00:40:59,850
is to do with keeping the right order.

836
00:41:01,420 --> 00:41:03,640
So you make up a story that links them together,

837
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:06,343
taking only one attribute from each card image.

838
00:41:08,330 --> 00:41:10,890
So in this case, card one takes the person.

839
00:41:10,890 --> 00:41:12,940
So Bob Dylan doesn't change.

840
00:41:12,940 --> 00:41:15,210
Card two takes the action which is

841
00:41:15,210 --> 00:41:17,740
Adam Sandler swinging a golf club.

842
00:41:17,740 --> 00:41:20,740
And card three takes the object,

843
00:41:20,740 --> 00:41:22,670
which is my sister's soccer ball.

844
00:41:22,670 --> 00:41:25,440
So the imaginary story that I make up is

845
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:29,033
Bob Dylan swinging a golf club at a soccer ball.

846
00:41:31,030 --> 00:41:35,140
So what we've done is we've memorized three cards,

847
00:41:35,140 --> 00:41:39,660
but there are still all these cards to remember.

848
00:41:39,660 --> 00:41:42,802
So how do we do it, how do we memorize all these?

849
00:41:42,802 --> 00:41:45,180
Before you brain explodes,

850
00:41:45,180 --> 00:41:46,670
the answer is simpler than you think.

851
00:41:46,670 --> 00:41:47,503
Let's go.

852
00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:50,160
The trick is to memorize the cards

853
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,010
in groups of three, and then starting at the front,

854
00:41:53,010 --> 00:41:56,030
place them in a sequence of locations throughout your home

855
00:41:56,030 --> 00:41:57,630
to give you the full deck order.

856
00:42:01,678 --> 00:42:03,940
Okay, this looks like a great place to start.

857
00:42:03,940 --> 00:42:05,823
Okay, so let your mind go wild now.

858
00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:09,410
So I started coming up

859
00:42:09,410 --> 00:42:11,940
with characters for my cards.

860
00:42:11,940 --> 00:42:14,660
In this case, Britney Spears, Santa Clause,

861
00:42:14,660 --> 00:42:16,853
and Donald Duck to create my story.

862
00:42:17,870 --> 00:42:22,050
I would have Britney spears being pulled by a red sleigh

863
00:42:22,050 --> 00:42:24,660
by a big yellow duck on top of my piano.

864
00:42:24,660 --> 00:42:26,150
So they're a queen of hearts,

865
00:42:26,150 --> 00:42:29,860
And so it goes over another 16 locations.

866
00:42:29,860 --> 00:42:32,260
So it's my mother fighting off aliens

867
00:42:32,260 --> 00:42:34,490
that are coming out of the sink.

868
00:42:34,490 --> 00:42:36,620
And it's not just about the cards.

869
00:42:36,620 --> 00:42:38,450
This location or journey method

870
00:42:38,450 --> 00:42:40,593
can be used to memorize anything.

871
00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:45,270
Now because we did 17 locations, that's 51 cards.

872
00:42:45,270 --> 00:42:46,773
There's one card left over.

873
00:42:48,008 --> 00:42:50,675
So we're done, leave it there.

874
00:42:51,530 --> 00:42:53,730
So the technique is all well and good in theory.

875
00:42:53,730 --> 00:42:56,270
But now, it's time for the asset test.

876
00:42:56,270 --> 00:42:59,170
I have to try and drag all 52 cards

877
00:42:59,170 --> 00:43:01,723
back out of my memory in the right order.

878
00:43:04,010 --> 00:43:08,373
So first room, the location is my piano.

879
00:43:10,914 --> 00:43:15,914
It's Britney Spears riding Santa's sled

880
00:43:17,300 --> 00:43:19,183
hold by a big yellow duck.

881
00:43:20,230 --> 00:43:24,083
So it's eight of spades, two of clubs,

882
00:43:25,050 --> 00:43:29,193
and so it's the four, D is diamond, so four of diamonds.

883
00:43:30,290 --> 00:43:33,150
The next room is Coco's room, and the location,

884
00:43:33,150 --> 00:43:35,743
Tom Hanks, the eight of diamonds, Paul Daley,

885
00:43:39,286 --> 00:43:42,750
wrestling a crocodile on top of the crib.

886
00:43:42,750 --> 00:43:46,060
My mother fighting off green aliens

887
00:43:46,060 --> 00:43:48,227
that are coming out of the sink.

888
00:43:49,413 --> 00:43:51,313
and Churchill is the C so it's a club.

889
00:43:53,605 --> 00:43:55,205
This is really doing my head in.

890
00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:00,670
Okay, Todd, what you're left to do now

891
00:44:00,670 --> 00:44:02,210
is you have to speed that up

892
00:44:02,210 --> 00:44:04,140
obviously for the World Memory Championships,

893
00:44:04,140 --> 00:44:05,610
which is not too far away.

894
00:44:05,610 --> 00:44:07,833
So, you just have to practice, practice, and practice

895
00:44:07,833 --> 00:44:09,163
as fast as you can.

896
00:44:11,130 --> 00:44:12,850
Yup, you heard right.

897
00:44:12,850 --> 00:44:14,310
Tansel wants me to compete

898
00:44:14,310 --> 00:44:16,750
in the World Memory Championships in London

899
00:44:16,750 --> 00:44:18,263
in just three weeks' time.

900
00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:21,850
He wants to prove that the technique works

901
00:44:21,850 --> 00:44:24,280
and that my memory can radically improve

902
00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:25,903
in a short space of time.

903
00:44:27,690 --> 00:44:30,430
Now I better get moving and step up all my training

904
00:44:30,430 --> 00:44:35,430
because I'm going to be representing Australia, no pressure.

905
00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:45,920
But the good news is at least

906
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:48,013
my juggling is coming along nicely.

907
00:44:52,260 --> 00:44:53,550
There's been a real improvement

908
00:44:53,550 --> 00:44:57,413
in my hand-eye coordination, balance, and peripheral vision.

909
00:44:59,091 --> 00:45:00,697
Well, that's a lot.

910
00:45:00,697 --> 00:45:03,173
But as for my hand-fire coordination,

911
00:45:04,436 --> 00:45:05,269
Hey, that's hot.

912
00:45:05,269 --> 00:45:06,493
Well, not so much.

913
00:45:08,500 --> 00:45:11,960
But it's time for the official, scientific reassessment.

914
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:13,630
Michael Merzenich wants me to take

915
00:45:13,630 --> 00:45:16,590
the What's This? Test again to see if my thinking speed

916
00:45:16,590 --> 00:45:18,553
has changed over the four weeks.

917
00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:40,050
Wow, that was completely different

918
00:45:40,050 --> 00:45:41,400
than the first time I did it.

919
00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:43,220
The first time around, it was frustrating.

920
00:45:43,220 --> 00:45:45,150
I was making so many mistakes.

921
00:45:45,150 --> 00:45:47,833
But this time around, I didn't even make an error.

922
00:45:49,240 --> 00:45:51,320
In fact, my initial thinking speed

923
00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:54,913
was nine-tenths of a second with an accuracy of 62%.

924
00:45:56,320 --> 00:45:59,200
Now, my thinking speed is twice as fast,

925
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:03,790
less than half a second, scoring me 98.3%.

926
00:46:03,790 --> 00:46:05,983
To be honest, I'm slightly stunned.

927
00:46:07,420 --> 00:46:09,313
But I have one more assessment to do,

928
00:46:10,340 --> 00:46:11,983
The Attentional Blink Test.

929
00:46:13,490 --> 00:46:16,393
Last time, I failed to see half the numbers.

930
00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:21,450
This is the test I hated the most.

931
00:46:21,450 --> 00:46:23,950
It was incredibly difficult the first time around.

932
00:46:25,510 --> 00:46:28,450
But this time, I felt like I was processing it so fast,

933
00:46:28,450 --> 00:46:30,023
I made very, very few errors.

934
00:46:31,460 --> 00:46:33,750
I'm completely shocked, I never expected

935
00:46:33,750 --> 00:46:35,600
to be able to do that test that well.

936
00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:40,720
Once again, I blitzed my original results,

937
00:46:40,720 --> 00:46:44,277
upping my overall accuracy from 64.4 to 95.6%,

938
00:46:46,540 --> 00:46:49,830
achieving near perfect scores for attention.

939
00:46:49,830 --> 00:46:52,730
I mean it's terrific, your brain is operating now

940
00:46:52,730 --> 00:46:55,350
at a state of high alert continuously.

941
00:46:55,350 --> 00:46:57,490
You're responding about as fast as

942
00:46:57,490 --> 00:47:00,000
it is humanly possible to respond.

943
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:01,810
I mean this is a really beautiful,

944
00:47:01,810 --> 00:47:05,315
almost an incredible positive change.

945
00:47:05,315 --> 00:47:06,530
The thing I'm most amazed about

946
00:47:06,530 --> 00:47:08,760
is how quickly this all happened.

947
00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:11,100
Like my scores have almost doubled

948
00:47:11,100 --> 00:47:12,560
in only a four-week period.

949
00:47:12,560 --> 00:47:14,640
Now, I must say, I was skeptical

950
00:47:14,640 --> 00:47:16,770
when you said that was possible the first time.

951
00:47:16,770 --> 00:47:19,983
But I mean, they are what they are.

952
00:47:20,827 --> 00:47:22,620
Yeah, and you worked really hard at this

953
00:47:22,620 --> 00:47:25,680
to get as far as you've gotten, to make these advances.

954
00:47:25,680 --> 00:47:28,200
But you've made really nice gains.

955
00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:30,793
And you'll be better for it for many years to come.

956
00:47:31,790 --> 00:47:33,950
I'm really optimistic about how well you're gonna do

957
00:47:33,950 --> 00:47:35,403
at the Memory Championships.

958
00:47:37,077 --> 00:47:39,660
(lively music)

959
00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:55,410
The Annual World Memory Championships

960
00:47:55,410 --> 00:47:57,250
is a decathlon of mental sports

961
00:47:57,250 --> 00:47:59,340
where they memorize not just playing cards

962
00:47:59,340 --> 00:48:01,970
but abstract images, binary digits, names and faces,

963
00:48:01,970 --> 00:48:04,120
historic dates, random words.

964
00:48:04,120 --> 00:48:06,223
You name it, this bunch will memorize it.

965
00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:14,240
It's a three-day event, drawing over 70 mental athletes

966
00:48:14,240 --> 00:48:17,223
from all walks of life in more than 20 countries.

967
00:48:18,562 --> 00:48:19,594
Tansel.
Hey, Todd!

968
00:48:19,594 --> 00:48:20,427
How are you?

969
00:48:20,427 --> 00:48:21,260
Good, how are you, man?

970
00:48:21,260 --> 00:48:25,156
I'm feeling so anxious, but look at this place.

971
00:48:25,156 --> 00:48:27,480
We're gonna compete against all of these people.

972
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:29,410
We haven't got the Australia jacket, so,

973
00:48:29,410 --> 00:48:32,437
I know, I got my tag, and it says,

974
00:48:32,437 --> 00:48:35,460
"Todd Sampson, representing Australia."

975
00:48:35,460 --> 00:48:38,740
Australia is in trouble if I'm representing them.

976
00:48:41,222 --> 00:48:42,640
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

977
00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:46,480
This is the 21s anniversary

978
00:48:46,480 --> 00:48:49,200
of the World Memory Championships.

979
00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:52,373
So once again, warriors of the mind,

980
00:48:52,373 --> 00:48:56,300
you are important for the future

981
00:48:56,300 --> 00:48:59,713
of the human brain and the human mind.

982
00:49:01,054 --> 00:49:03,520
(upbeat music)

983
00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:06,110
This is a collection of some of the most

984
00:49:06,110 --> 00:49:08,873
interesting people I've ever seen in my life.

985
00:49:10,433 --> 00:49:12,600
"I am from space," that's fantastic!

986
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:15,243
I think there are probably a few people from space here.

987
00:49:20,350 --> 00:49:23,260
Why do you wear this, how does it help?

988
00:49:23,260 --> 00:49:26,010
Well, it takes away all the,

989
00:49:26,010 --> 00:49:28,330
keep me focused on what I'm doing.

990
00:49:28,330 --> 00:49:30,523
It's worth looking like that.

991
00:49:30,523 --> 00:49:31,370
I think you look great.

992
00:49:31,370 --> 00:49:34,710
So you memorized 3000 numbers in one hour.

993
00:49:34,710 --> 00:49:37,300
Almost 3000 in half an hour.

994
00:49:37,300 --> 00:49:39,160
How many decks of cards can you memorize?

995
00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:43,990
I can memorize about 25 decks in an hour.

996
00:49:45,704 --> 00:49:47,000
Is that illegal in the casinos?

997
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,143
I didn't ask them so I just do it.

998
00:49:51,914 --> 00:49:53,280
But of all the brainiacs here,

999
00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:55,640
the most famous and my personal favorite

1000
00:49:55,640 --> 00:49:58,293
is the man in the cool T-shirt, Ben Pridmore.

1001
00:49:59,130 --> 00:50:00,470
The thing about memory competitions

1002
00:50:00,470 --> 00:50:02,480
is the standard keeps getting higher and higher every year.

1003
00:50:02,480 --> 00:50:04,730
The skills get much higher with every competition.

1004
00:50:04,730 --> 00:50:07,420
So, the skills that won within 2004,

1005
00:50:07,420 --> 00:50:09,200
I doubt at finishing the top 10 this year.

1006
00:50:09,200 --> 00:50:10,490
It's that big a change.

1007
00:50:10,490 --> 00:50:11,950
But do you think the people

1008
00:50:11,950 --> 00:50:14,370
that are doing these memory competitions are smart?

1009
00:50:14,370 --> 00:50:16,300
I don't think I'm particularly clever.

1010
00:50:16,300 --> 00:50:19,410
But people always tend to think of me as a sort

1011
00:50:19,410 --> 00:50:22,020
world expert in anything related to intelligence.

1012
00:50:22,020 --> 00:50:23,740
I had someone, the other day, calling me

1013
00:50:23,740 --> 00:50:25,350
and started talking to me about string theory.

1014
00:50:25,350 --> 00:50:26,797
And all I could think was, "I must find out

1015
00:50:26,797 --> 00:50:28,447
"what that is one of these days."

1016
00:50:29,620 --> 00:50:31,460
You can memorize it.

1017
00:50:31,460 --> 00:50:32,910
You think I could, but you know,

1018
00:50:32,910 --> 00:50:33,900
Why would you?

1019
00:50:33,900 --> 00:50:34,733
Exactly.

1020
00:50:40,670 --> 00:50:43,090
It's day two of the competition.

1021
00:50:43,090 --> 00:50:44,720
And having witnessed the mental toll

1022
00:50:44,720 --> 00:50:46,533
this seems to take on everyone else,

1023
00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:49,113
I hope I'm up to the task,

1024
00:50:52,290 --> 00:50:54,380
because the moment has finally arrived

1025
00:50:54,380 --> 00:50:57,083
to put my newly minted memory skills to the test.

1026
00:50:58,610 --> 00:51:00,610
It's time to smash the back out of it.

1027
00:51:03,220 --> 00:51:04,263
10 seconds.

1028
00:51:06,590 --> 00:51:08,410
So with just three weeks practice

1029
00:51:08,410 --> 00:51:12,460
and armed with my single deck of cards, here goes.

1030
00:51:12,460 --> 00:51:13,810
Neurons on the ready, go.

1031
00:51:30,704 --> 00:51:32,500
The ace of clubs is Alice Cooper.

1032
00:51:32,500 --> 00:51:35,943
His action is biting a head off a parrot.

1033
00:51:37,200 --> 00:51:42,200
Nine of clubs, nine for wine, W, C, Winston Churchill.

1034
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:48,200
James Packer sitting on a Harley Davidson.

1035
00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:50,150
Gina Rinehart is the queen of diamonds.

1036
00:51:51,815 --> 00:51:55,482
(random words being spoken)

1037
00:52:03,780 --> 00:52:05,380
You have one minute remaining.

1038
00:52:09,520 --> 00:52:12,420
Stop memorization, gather your cards up,

1039
00:52:12,420 --> 00:52:14,693
taking great care to preserve the order.

1040
00:52:19,111 --> 00:52:21,296
Whoo, that's stage one accomplished.

1041
00:52:21,296 --> 00:52:23,270
But I'm not off the hook yet.

1042
00:52:23,270 --> 00:52:26,033
Now I have to recall them on this page.

1043
00:52:27,580 --> 00:52:30,500
This page is more complicated than memorizing the cards.

1044
00:52:30,500 --> 00:52:31,623
I hope I get it right.

1045
00:52:35,470 --> 00:52:38,453
Neurons on the ready, go.

1046
00:52:41,190 --> 00:52:44,320
So Gina Rinehart reading a newspaper

1047
00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:46,763
with a big bell on top of my car.

1048
00:52:48,590 --> 00:52:51,540
James Packer, he is the jack of,

1049
00:52:51,540 --> 00:52:55,670
sitting on a Harley Davidson, which is the five of diamonds.

1050
00:52:55,670 --> 00:52:58,950
Playing the harmonica, Bob Dylan, the six of diamonds.

1051
00:52:58,950 --> 00:53:01,140
Barack Obama, Bob Hubbard,

1052
00:53:01,140 --> 00:53:03,062
so that would be the,

1053
00:53:03,062 --> 00:53:04,791
(random words being spoken)

1054
00:53:04,791 --> 00:53:06,903
Adam Sandler which is the ace of spades.

1055
00:53:07,740 --> 00:53:10,073
Stop recalling, it is vitally important

1056
00:53:10,073 --> 00:53:12,110
that you make sure that your name

1057
00:53:12,110 --> 00:53:16,343
and competitor ID number are on your sheets.

1058
00:53:21,930 --> 00:53:24,030
And here they are, the arbiters,

1059
00:53:24,030 --> 00:53:25,560
the number crunchers charged with

1060
00:53:25,560 --> 00:53:29,043
deciding my fate, or so I thought.

1061
00:53:30,640 --> 00:53:33,440
It's been two hours since you wrote it out on the sheet.

1062
00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:36,511
So we do have a result as well.

1063
00:53:36,511 --> 00:53:37,344
Okay.

1064
00:53:37,344 --> 00:53:40,280
So this is sort of a second level test for you.

1065
00:53:40,280 --> 00:53:41,930
So you've written them down, now we'll see

1066
00:53:41,930 --> 00:53:44,770
if you can just say them out loud one at a time.

1067
00:53:44,770 --> 00:53:45,603
You're kidding me, right?

1068
00:53:45,603 --> 00:53:47,270
No, you can do it.

1069
00:53:47,270 --> 00:53:49,040
Okay, I'll give it a try.

1070
00:53:49,040 --> 00:53:49,873
Okay.

1071
00:53:52,170 --> 00:53:53,600
Queen of diamonds

1072
00:53:53,600 --> 00:53:54,790
Uh-huh.

1073
00:53:54,790 --> 00:53:55,983
King of diamonds.

1074
00:53:57,440 --> 00:54:01,380
Eight of diamonds, jack of diamonds.

1075
00:54:01,380 --> 00:54:02,760
Yes.

1076
00:54:02,760 --> 00:54:03,940
Seven of clubs.

1077
00:54:03,940 --> 00:54:04,773
Yes.

1078
00:54:06,160 --> 00:54:07,440
10 of spades.

1079
00:54:07,440 --> 00:54:08,490
Yes.

1080
00:54:08,490 --> 00:54:10,873
Six of clubs.

1081
00:54:11,744 --> 00:54:12,600
Uh-huh.

1082
00:54:12,600 --> 00:54:14,170
And ace of clubs.

1083
00:54:14,170 --> 00:54:15,003
Absolutely.

1084
00:54:16,130 --> 00:54:17,827
10 of hearts.

1085
00:54:17,827 --> 00:54:18,660
Uh-huh.

1086
00:54:18,660 --> 00:54:19,493
Nine of hearts.

1087
00:54:19,493 --> 00:54:20,326
Yes.

1088
00:54:20,326 --> 00:54:21,190
Two of diamonds.

1089
00:54:23,300 --> 00:54:24,380
Yes.

1090
00:54:24,380 --> 00:54:26,193
(laughing)

1091
00:54:26,193 --> 00:54:27,606
Okay, [00:54:24]I thought I'm,

1092
00:54:27,606 --> 00:54:28,439
I'm mean.

1093
00:54:28,439 --> 00:54:29,810
Don't do that again,

1094
00:54:29,810 --> 00:54:31,340
my mind is panicking.

1095
00:54:31,340 --> 00:54:34,220
Okay, three of diamonds.

1096
00:54:34,220 --> 00:54:35,170
Yes.

1097
00:54:35,170 --> 00:54:36,003
Four of diamonds.

1098
00:54:36,003 --> 00:54:38,030
Well, despite the occasional heart palpitation,

1099
00:54:38,030 --> 00:54:40,240
it was surprising how quickly I could recall

1100
00:54:40,240 --> 00:54:43,180
and translate my stories back into cards.

1101
00:54:43,180 --> 00:54:44,760
And the queen of spades.

1102
00:54:44,760 --> 00:54:47,010
But with an expecting crowd,

1103
00:54:47,010 --> 00:54:50,310
one hell of a headache and eight cards still to go,

1104
00:54:50,310 --> 00:54:51,760
I'm not out of the woods yet.

1105
00:54:52,900 --> 00:54:55,381
10 of clubs.

1106
00:54:55,381 --> 00:54:56,810
Yes.

1107
00:54:56,810 --> 00:54:57,800
And queen of clubs.

1108
00:54:57,800 --> 00:54:58,633
Yes.

1109
00:54:58,633 --> 00:54:59,640
Four of spades.

1110
00:54:59,640 --> 00:55:00,710
Uh-huh.

1111
00:55:00,710 --> 00:55:02,070
Five of spades.

1112
00:55:02,070 --> 00:55:03,330
Yes.

1113
00:55:03,330 --> 00:55:05,620
Ace of spades.

1114
00:55:05,620 --> 00:55:06,780
Yes.

1115
00:55:06,780 --> 00:55:08,160
Jack of clubs.

1116
00:55:08,160 --> 00:55:09,223
Yes.

1117
00:55:10,630 --> 00:55:11,463
And,

1118
00:55:12,890 --> 00:55:13,723
Two to go.

1119
00:55:16,101 --> 00:55:17,851
Okay, nine of club.

1120
00:55:19,486 --> 00:55:20,319
Yes.

1121
00:55:20,319 --> 00:55:21,152
And three of spades.

1122
00:55:21,152 --> 00:55:22,151
Yay! Woohoo!

1123
00:55:22,151 --> 00:55:24,401
(clapping)

1124
00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:29,002
That's my student.

1125
00:55:29,002 --> 00:55:30,590
Yeah.

1126
00:55:30,590 --> 00:55:32,370
Wow, look at that, I'm not changing

1127
00:55:32,370 --> 00:55:33,930
the order of this deck ever.

1128
00:55:33,930 --> 00:55:35,530
I'm keeping the order of this deck.

1129
00:55:35,530 --> 00:55:37,710
And Dominic O'Brien, the eight-times

1130
00:55:37,710 --> 00:55:41,870
World Memory Champion actually checked your sheet for you.

1131
00:55:41,870 --> 00:55:43,763
I have now double checked it.

1132
00:55:44,820 --> 00:55:48,480
So you are officially have memorized

1133
00:55:49,340 --> 00:55:51,860
a full deck of playing cards, well done.

1134
00:55:54,480 --> 00:55:56,280
I never thought that was possible.

1135
00:55:56,280 --> 00:55:59,990
I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to do it.

1136
00:55:59,990 --> 00:56:01,940
It's been amazing to be in this environment

1137
00:56:01,940 --> 00:56:04,940
with all of these very clever, smart people working on this.

1138
00:56:04,940 --> 00:56:08,453
And this is now my favorite deck of cards.

1139
00:56:11,120 --> 00:56:12,090
And guess what?

1140
00:56:12,090 --> 00:56:13,780
Out of seven billion people,

1141
00:56:13,780 --> 00:56:17,443
I'm now ranked 57th in the world for card memorization.

1142
00:56:24,770 --> 00:56:26,520
I've now experienced, first-hand,

1143
00:56:26,520 --> 00:56:29,183
how quickly and powerfully the brain can change.

1144
00:56:32,050 --> 00:56:33,870
After only one month of training,

1145
00:56:33,870 --> 00:56:35,860
my speed of thinking has nearly doubled.

1146
00:56:35,860 --> 00:56:37,820
My attention is much more focused.

1147
00:56:37,820 --> 00:56:40,263
And my memory has radically improved.

1148
00:56:41,840 --> 00:56:45,383
I feel smarter, sharper, and more alive than ever before.

1149
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:48,860
I'm really surprised that I feel this way.

1150
00:56:48,860 --> 00:56:51,820
So energetic, my mind feels so much clear.

1151
00:56:51,820 --> 00:56:53,470
Even my sleep has gotten better.

1152
00:56:53,470 --> 00:56:57,000
And I've only been training for less than hour a day.

1153
00:56:57,000 --> 00:56:59,600
I'm really looking forward to the next phase

1154
00:56:59,600 --> 00:57:00,753
of my mental journey.

1155
00:57:05,040 --> 00:57:08,080
In the next episode of Redesign My Brain,

1156
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:11,063
I explored the science that can make us more creative.

1157
00:57:12,278 --> 00:57:13,220
Now what do we do?

1158
00:57:13,220 --> 00:57:14,600
I discovered the secret

1159
00:57:14,600 --> 00:57:16,780
of what makes something innovative.

1160
00:57:16,780 --> 00:57:20,660
He's just insulting me for the last 10 minutes.

1161
00:57:20,660 --> 00:57:23,820
And how to get your brain thinking laterally.

1162
00:57:23,820 --> 00:57:26,410
And my mind expanding adventure intensifies

1163
00:57:26,410 --> 00:57:28,113
with a creative art challenge.