selfAdjoint said:
I don't believe it. There have been hyped programs with claims like these for decades, but results have been few and far between. I recall "Sylva Mid Control" which ensnared some of my workmates back in the seventies. If somebody says they can produce geniuses, let them produce the geniuses. Most people don't know what intelligence really implies and are snowed by simple meorization tricks.
I can certainly understand your skepticism. I would certainly not consider mnemonics the sole tool used to create genius. But it is the foundation by which all else is learned. Creativity and pattern recognition are then developed upon this, but first you must be able to memorize facts rapidly and then the formation of linkages between them can be instituted.
This is too large a topic to cover on a message board, so I'll give one micro example of pattern recognition: You may notice that people scratch their temple, or scratch their nose, or scratch behind their ear. This is a common human trait that we'd otherwise just think of as an itch. But there are reasons why we scratch an itch. As you read this right now, I guarantee you have at least spot on your body that itches, but until I mentioned this, the itch was relegated to your subconscious. You see, we start to scratch an itch at the beginning of a thought, or the end of one. Try this if you don't believe me. Sit down at a coffee shop and read a book. As a person walks by you, but before they are completely by you, look up at them suddenly. You will notice that they immediately or nearly immediately scratch an itch. Now, everytime you have an itch that you just realized you scratched, ask yourself, why did I scratch it all of a sudden? And what emotion/ train of thought caused me to scratch it? You may even notice that you scratch different areas of your body based on different emotions/ trains of thought. This is a simple example of how bringing to mind one's unconscious actions can allow you to recognize the same pattern of thought in another person that made them do an unconscious action.
There are tons of little tricks like this that you can use to read a person's mind. This is one of the most basic, but other allow you to detail their thoughts more precisely.
Another trick is the 50/50 stare where a person is interested in keeping tabs on you but is afraid to make eye contact with you. This person will look nearly straight forward, but will have you just inside of their peripheral vision. Even dogs do this!
Another trick is the fake ear scratch, where a person who wants to stealthy look at you on their left, pretends to scratch their right ear. Because scratching your right ear, naturally brings your head to a right tilt, its easier for them to look at you and makes it look like they are simply itchy.
Another is the false sniff. Someone without a cold sniffs for no reason as they think about you.
Another is the false grunt. A male is threatened by you and pretends his throat needs clearing when it does not. He is vocalizing his presence in some sort of vestigial primate sociology he is not aware of.
To practice learning these tricks and many others, take notice of what people do when they walk by you on a street. Especially eyemovements and how quickly they move over to their side of the sidewalk, how early they do, if they pretend to be interested in the houses until the last moment and then they look at you for 1 second, etc. There are dozens of mannerisms in this simple interaction that can tell you much about a person's fears, anxieties, confidence, etc.
There are dozens more... People think reading minds is some mystical psychic realm, but the fact is its a science and humans are hardwired with archetypal body languages that they are not usually consciously aware of.
