What is eidetics
The word “eidetics” comes from the Greek “eidos” — image. The method of eidetics is closely related to imaginative thinking.
There are several definitions of eidetics:
- it is a methodology for developing imaginative thinking, imagination, memory
- it is a branch of psychology that studies the brain’s ability to clearly visualize images
- it is an imaginative or photographic memory.
We will talk about eidetics as a way to develop memory, thinking, and intelligence.
How eidetics helps in a career
Eidetics is best practiced in childhood. Until the age of seven, a person predominantly uses imaginative thinking, which is why children are very receptive to training. Their ability to absorb new information develops quickly; they easily memorize poems, texts, and rules. In some schools, the study of eidetics is a part of the curriculum.
With age, the channel of imaginative thinking narrows, and we transition to verbal-logical thinking. However, this does not mean we are hopeless. Eidetics for adults develops memory and imaginative thinking for people of any age. The process just goes slower than for children.
Eidetics is used both for brain training and for specific goals, such as learning a foreign language.
Engaging in eidetics develops not only memory but also several types of thinking that aid in a career:
- Imaginative — to clearly represent phenomena and objects, easily memorize them, see connections and changes.
- Creative — to make unconventional decisions, invent, find new ways to solve problems.
- Positive — to approach complex tasks, changes, and large volumes of new information with optimism.
Moreover, thinking becomes faster and more flexible.
I practiced eidetics and speed reading in my teenage years. Exercises like the Mind Palaces from the British series Sherlock and associative tasks for forming images instead of numbers helped a lot in psychoanalysis. I still check my associations with numbers every couple of years.
Kristina Lisovska,
Content Marketer at Worksection
Eidetics for managers
A good manager, a team leader — is a person who knows, can, and does more than others. And at the same time, is constantly developing.
Eidetics will help a leader:
- hold a large volume of information in their head
- see interconnections in the work process
- remember many names, positions, numbers
- make decisions quickly
- learn new things.
Application of eidetics in a team
Training eidetics can be done as a whole team. For example, by participating in a joint training. Engaging in eidetics will raise the intellectual level of all team members, and the productivity and effectiveness of working on projects will also increase.
Enhance your team just for the sake of it or with a specific goal: to enter a new market, master a new field, or pass certification.
Banal five-minute breaks during a meetup will be very useful. One exercise a day, a team game — will help focus the team on tasks and generally wake them up and engage their brains. You can hide one of 10 items on the table while everyone looks away, and the first person to name it wins.
Training eidetics
Eidetics: lessons
Eidetics can be developed in special schools, courses, training sessions, and webinars. In lessons, a trainer works with students, providing exercises based on visual materials: images, texts, objects. Look for such classes in your city.
There are now many training centers that use eidetics in combination with personal development or skills enhancement for officials.
Good tutors can also conduct sessions on an individual basis. That was the case for me, and my son will have it based at school.
Eidetics: exercises
How to practice on your own? You can use the same exercises as in the courses: memorize sequences of objects and numbers, retell texts. You can also practice without any materials.
Here are some exercises:
- Scatter five matches on the table, look at them for a few seconds and repeat the pattern from memory: draw it or rearrange with other matches. Gradually reduce the time and increase the number of matches.
- Carefully examine any object — a tree outside the window, a phone in your hands, a cat, you have five minutes. Then close your eyes and imagine it as detailed as possible.
- Perform routine tasks with your non-dominant hand: brush your teeth, hold a spoon, draw. Right-handed — with the left, left-handed — with the right.
You will be surprised how this will affect your attitude towards life!
Eidetics: programs
Search in the Play Market or App Store for mobile apps to develop memory and intelligence. Usually, they require a paid subscription, but some games are available for free. Here are some popular ones:
Lumosity
25 games for brain training adjust the difficulty to the player’s success. In English.
Elevate
30 games, performance analysis, gradual increase in difficulty.
NeuroNation
26 games for memory intelligence, and concentration.
Memorado
15 games with 450 levels for developing memory, reaction, and concentration. Available in Russian.
Verdict
Our brain needs training. When we go with the flow and perform routine actions, it relaxes. It constantly needs to be charged with new information, skills, abilities, and images. With age, this becomes harder.
Eidetics teaches us to learn more effectively and provides visible results in everyday and professional life.
To help the brain learn new things faster and easier, it needs training. Eidetics and other training methods for different types of memory and thinking work perfectly for this.