FOREWORD: JERRY LUCAS

LORA YNE becomes AHRRY AELNORY! Once I've
alphabetized a word, I can remember it in that formwhen
you read the chapter on how to remember English
and foreign vocabulary, you'll understand how I
do this. I apply the same system, since an alphabetized
word is like a foreign word.
I soon followed this alphabetical spelling game with
various other kinds of mental games·. You might think
I was a bit crazy if I took the time to explain all of
them, so I won't, but they did require a lot of counting,
cataloging, and recall on the part of a very young
boy.
As I grew older, my mental games and activities
became more complex. I began to use simple memory
systems to help me with my studies in school. To me,
schoolwork always seemed to be at least 90 percent
memory work, and I wanted to make it easier and less
time-consuming for myself. These systems worked, and
I began to expand and sophisticate them. They worked
well for me throughout junior high school and high
school, where I was practically a straight-A student.
I would like to impress upon you that all of this
mental activity was of a private nature. No living human
being knew that I had the ability, for example,
to alphabetize any word faster than most people could
spell it normally, nor did anyone know how involved
I was with other mental activities.
An important change took place when I entered
college. I read one of Harry Lorayne's books and used
his systems or ideas in areas where I thought his were
better, or simpler, or easier to apply; others I adapted
to my own. He became something of an idol to me, and
I was soon to find out how his systems would help me
in my college studies.
My roommate at Ohio State University during my
freshman year was John Havlicek, a great professional
basketball star of the Boston Celtics. John became the
first person to know about all the things that went on
in my mind.
My first college class was traumatic. I entered the
classroom and sat in the back row, knowing other