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Out of the Ordinary

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How to memorise anything

Out of the Ordinary Series 8
[ ]

"Memory athletes" compete to see who can remember the most random
numbers. Everyone thought we were at the limits of the possible -
until some teenage North Korean girls turned up

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"Memory athletes" compete to see who can remember the most random
numbers in an hour. Or else to memorise decks of playing cards.
Memory training is big in China, where there are TV game shows for
memory contests, and where parents pay good money to get their
children trained in memorisation techniques.

Everyone thought the Chinese were invincible, and that we were at the
limits of what could be memorised - until 2019 when a group of North
Korean teenagers arrived at the world championships, smashed a bunch
of records, and returned to Pyonyang. Since then, nothing has been
heard of them. What's their secret? And why does North Korea want to
dominate the world in this obscure sport?

Presenter/Producer: Jolyon Jenkins

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28 minutes

Last on

[service-]
Mon 29 Mar 2021 20:00
BBC Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

 

Holy relics--Series 8

Next

 

The buy button--Series 8

See all episodes from Out of the Ordinary

Related topics

 1. Mental processes (56)
 2. Neuropsychological assessment (49)
 3. Sources of knowledge (36)
 4. Memory (32)

Broadcast

  * [service-]
    Mon 29 Mar 2021 20:00
    BBC Radio 4

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Seriously...

 

Discover more seriously interesting radio documentaries.

Podcast

  * 
    Out of the Ordinary

    Documentary series uncovering stories from the left field.
    Presented by Jolyon Jenkins

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