Memory competition: decks of cards, long numbers, and more
July 17, 2007 – 4:16 pmMemorizing three packs of cards in 10 minutes? It seems that it would be difficult to prevent the old memory images from conflicting with the next pack. These people must have extremely trained memories in order to go beyond one pack so seamlessly. Congratulations to their outstanding achievements.
FORGETFULNESS hit the headlines last week as Tasmanian Liberal candidate Vanessa Goodwin’s name eluded Prime Minister John Howard.
But, while Mr Howard struggled on live radio to raid his memory bank, Sydney IT analyst Simon Orton demonstrated how it should be done.
Mr Orton tackled 10 events and broke three Australian records to take the crown of Australian memory champion 2007 in Melbourne yesterday.
He pole-vaulted the mayhem of his mind to remember the order of shuffled playing cards (three packs in 10 minutes), random words (49 words in five minutes) and more playing cards (one shuffled pack in one minute, 21 seconds).
And the 34-year-old said he practised the mental gymnastics “just for fun. I want to challenge myself and … see what my limits are,” Mr Orton said. “I know I can go a lot further.”
Over the past month, Mr Orton spent about half an hour a day practising with playing cards, and brushing up on techniques.
He beat nine competitors from Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. The youngest competitor was Mahmut Aytekin, 15, a Broadmeadows student.
You can read the full article here: Pop-star gymnastics score highly in memory feat