Originally Posted by
Dumb All Over
I can't go along with you on this one, smartcooky. There is nothing remarkable about memorizing a sequence of fifty-two cards.
I studied acting in college and during my younger days appeared in many plays, musicals and stage shows. I had to memorize page after page of dialogue and stave after stave of music, not to mention blocking and cues. Then I had to unlearn all of that so I could start to memorize new stuff for the next new show. And I'd say my memorization skills are rather average.
How many songs do you know? Hundreds? It doesn't take much to learn the lyrics of a song. The fact is, all of us use memory and memorization skills all the time, everyday. If I was a professional mentalist and I needed to memorize the sequence of a shuffled, 52-card deck, I betcha I could knock that out in about fifteen minutes, thirty at the most. It would not be an amazing feat by any means.
I'd disagree with you, and agree with you. Memory is a skill that can be improved with practice. You say you're not exceptional; you probably aren't, but you
have had a lot of practice, and your ability to remember things is probably better than most here (mentalists and actors excepted).