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How Big is a Chunk
Earlier we described the Chunking Technique for remembering small pieces of information. Since the average Short Term Memory can only hold about 7 things, chunking is a great way to increase the value of each of those 7 things. For example, if you were to remember seven 4 letter words instead of seven letters, you will have increased your letter storage by 400%.
Naturally, the bigger you make your chunks, the fewer chunks you are able to remember. The "7 pieces of information" statistic is based on remembering single characters. If you are remembering short words, you'll be limited to around 6 chunks. If you are remembering short sentences the chunk number drops to 2, however at that point you've managed to cram over 40 letters into your brain!
Naturally, the bigger you make your chunks, the fewer chunks you are able to remember. The "7 pieces of information" statistic is based on remembering single characters. If you are remembering short words, you'll be limited to around 6 chunks. If you are remembering short sentences the chunk number drops to 2, however at that point you've managed to cram over 40 letters into your brain!
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