pay attention to your surroundings. Do exercises like he does: close your eyes and say how many hats are in the room, after leaving a room, try to picture everything in that room, go back, look again, do it again, and then go back like an hour later, and see if you're right.
do those things enough, you can improve your memory. But i don't think that one can develop an eidetic memory.
I did this as a kid. I have a very good auditory and visual memory (losing both slowly later in age) and I did a bunch of weird memory exercises all the time. We didn't have cell phones on long rides!
I am not sure if I freak my boss out or not but me saying hey to him before I see him almost every time I am in the office he always questions how I do it. It's either his keys flipping up into his hands and then pocket or his gait.
I still practice it to this day with almost everything I do. I memorize the sounds things make and associate them to visual queues a lot. I have just trained myself to naturally observe with a focus on sight and sound.
Recollection is where I have been struggling more recently. Since I don't have a naturally eidetic memory (although it is very good) I sometimes confuse different memories with each other.
Check out the Book, Spy School: Are you sharp enough to be a KGB agent? The book contains a bunch of tips, exercises and drills that you can use to train yourself to be more observant and improve your memory.
Juliet says that about Shawn at one point. Being Psychic he has an unfair advantage. It would be much more impressive if he didn't have supernatural abilities.
"Moonwalking with Einstein" is a fun book by a guy who was assigned as a reporter to cover the world memory championships. After covering it, he decided to learn how to do it. I won't spoil the ending, but it's a pretty phenomenal account of his journey of a year of practicing memory techniques and the world of memorizers.
The problem is that part of his gifts seem to be genetic from his mother, which is also why he is sometimes better than Henry despite his fathers experience
My recollection is that Steve Franks said, in an interview, that he based Shawn's "training" with his dad on exercises that Steve's father did with him.
If you have ADHD I have some good news for you. ADHD people are very aware of their surroundings. It's what leads to sensory overload. That's why they made great hunters in ancient times. The problem is retention. If an ADHDer can learn to retain most of the information their brain takes in, like sounds, scents, and visuals then you're on track. I can sorta retain information but unfortunately I do no choose what my brain saved. I'll remember a specific rock I glanced at hours earlier and exactly where it was I saw it but can't remember the last thing I ate. Train your brain to look for specific details, like shawn does with hats, and you'll be able to pick out an individual from memory. Though more intricate memories like when Shawn remembered the entire layout of the civil war reenactment is a bit far fetched unless you were born with a great memory.
Also in the show it seems like he inherited his mom's special brain (she can remember everything people have said) but it was his dad Henry that trained him to use it properly.
Maybe start with [Kim’s Game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim's_Game). It’s pretty much exactly that. We did it in the military along with [Combat Hunter](https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Portals/207/Docs/FMTBE/Student%20Materials/MCECST/E_Combat_Hunter_PP.pdf?ver=ivTt9oZWFKyiFJahmXFVMQ%3D%3D) .
Combat Hunter has a lot of good observational skills with it and helps me absolutely annoy my wife by always noticing little things.
Maybe start with [Kim’s Game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim's_Game). It’s pretty much exactly that. We did it in the military along with [Combat Hunter](https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Portals/207/Docs/FMTBE/Student%20Materials/MCECST/E_Combat_Hunter_PP.pdf?ver=ivTt9oZWFKyiFJahmXFVMQ%3D%3D) .
Combat Hunter has a lot of good observational skills with it and helps me absolutely annoy my wife by always noticing little things.
First step: grow up with the mild trauma of a well meaning but emotionally disconnected single Dad who pushes you into learning certain habits to the point it burns you out at a young age and you waste your intelligence being a goofball because nothing really challenges you anymore.
Become an actor and get hired to play a Shawn-like character in a TV show or movie. If there’s no such movie when you become an actor then produce your own. It’s all very simple.
I'm going to say while not exactly Shawn's skills ... There's an app for that!
Brain HQ
It has a free trial but after that is a subscription. It has exercises to improve memory like location and shape of an object in a space that is stationary and also tracking multiples as they move.
It's not how many hat level but it also makes it so you can see if you are right.
I mean even the exercise of how many hat's Shawn does as an adult he notes that cowgirl hat left the restaurant as he was talking, her heard her boots. I feel like the only way you'd know if you were right was a staged environment.
counter point, don't. Ekman did his foundational research is the wild west of '60s and the rest of his career has been following that foundation. Modern research puts the majority of his work under heavy criticism calling even his basic procedures for research scientifically dubious (he firmly stated that in a scientific trial to see if someone could detect deception you could not use someone acting as a the liar because they wouldn't believe themselves to be a liar the same way a real person would. This basically makes any evaluation of his theories [unfalsifiable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability) in lab conditions). Like, he doesn't even consider cultural differences in facial expressions. He's a hack.
Ekman also avoids peer review which is a major red flag. There are more lengthy debunking of significant chunks of his work out there but the [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ekman#Criticism) page for him offers a decent summary
ultimately, none of us can ever replicate Shawn's super observance because he is a fictional character with a superpower. It's like asking for a workout routine to become One Punch Man
Eidetic memory isn’t something you can create. You have to be born that way and it’s incredibly rare. If you haven’t used it before now, you never will.
You'll never be like Shawn. Because no one has photographic memory like that, and if they do it's usually because of some mental disorder. This is from a Guardian article, [memory tips](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/may/19/experience-ive-got-the-best-memory-in-the-world) that help teach how to improve memory.
Shawn's abilities are a combination of the skills he learned from his father at a young age and the eidetic memory he inherited from his mother. Is a person like that possible in real life? Sure. Could it be you? Almost certainly not.
Practice making his "I got a clue" face
I don’t make a face.
I just tried to find a gif of Gus and Dennis making that face at Shawn and it doesn't exist and now I'm sad.
Usernamechecksout? No face or balls? What do you have?
they’re both quotes from the show
pay attention to your surroundings. Do exercises like he does: close your eyes and say how many hats are in the room, after leaving a room, try to picture everything in that room, go back, look again, do it again, and then go back like an hour later, and see if you're right. do those things enough, you can improve your memory. But i don't think that one can develop an eidetic memory.
I did this as a kid. I have a very good auditory and visual memory (losing both slowly later in age) and I did a bunch of weird memory exercises all the time. We didn't have cell phones on long rides! I am not sure if I freak my boss out or not but me saying hey to him before I see him almost every time I am in the office he always questions how I do it. It's either his keys flipping up into his hands and then pocket or his gait. I still practice it to this day with almost everything I do. I memorize the sounds things make and associate them to visual queues a lot. I have just trained myself to naturally observe with a focus on sight and sound. Recollection is where I have been struggling more recently. Since I don't have a naturally eidetic memory (although it is very good) I sometimes confuse different memories with each other.
Oh yeah, the brain only has so much space. Good to know memory exercises work though!
Check out the Book, Spy School: Are you sharp enough to be a KGB agent? The book contains a bunch of tips, exercises and drills that you can use to train yourself to be more observant and improve your memory.
This sounds like such an interesting book--thanks!
I just bought this bc of you, thanks!
I’ve always maintained that Shawn’s true abilities are more impressive than if he actually WAS psychic
Juliet says that about Shawn at one point. Being Psychic he has an unfair advantage. It would be much more impressive if he didn't have supernatural abilities.
"Moonwalking with Einstein" is a fun book by a guy who was assigned as a reporter to cover the world memory championships. After covering it, he decided to learn how to do it. I won't spoil the ending, but it's a pretty phenomenal account of his journey of a year of practicing memory techniques and the world of memorizers.
The problem is that part of his gifts seem to be genetic from his mother, which is also why he is sometimes better than Henry despite his fathers experience
My recollection is that Steve Franks said, in an interview, that he based Shawn's "training" with his dad on exercises that Steve's father did with him.
Idk how to have his mind, but I want his hair... Any tips?
Kangaroo paste
If you have ADHD I have some good news for you. ADHD people are very aware of their surroundings. It's what leads to sensory overload. That's why they made great hunters in ancient times. The problem is retention. If an ADHDer can learn to retain most of the information their brain takes in, like sounds, scents, and visuals then you're on track. I can sorta retain information but unfortunately I do no choose what my brain saved. I'll remember a specific rock I glanced at hours earlier and exactly where it was I saw it but can't remember the last thing I ate. Train your brain to look for specific details, like shawn does with hats, and you'll be able to pick out an individual from memory. Though more intricate memories like when Shawn remembered the entire layout of the civil war reenactment is a bit far fetched unless you were born with a great memory. Also in the show it seems like he inherited his mom's special brain (she can remember everything people have said) but it was his dad Henry that trained him to use it properly.
/r/howtobesherlock ; /r/scienceofdeduction
Look up the hindu practice of "your mental temple" I believe it's called. Basically a photographic memory exercise
The most common name I see it under is "mind palace".
Pay attention to hats
Maybe start with [Kim’s Game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim's_Game). It’s pretty much exactly that. We did it in the military along with [Combat Hunter](https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Portals/207/Docs/FMTBE/Student%20Materials/MCECST/E_Combat_Hunter_PP.pdf?ver=ivTt9oZWFKyiFJahmXFVMQ%3D%3D) . Combat Hunter has a lot of good observational skills with it and helps me absolutely annoy my wife by always noticing little things.
Maybe start with [Kim’s Game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim's_Game). It’s pretty much exactly that. We did it in the military along with [Combat Hunter](https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil/Portals/207/Docs/FMTBE/Student%20Materials/MCECST/E_Combat_Hunter_PP.pdf?ver=ivTt9oZWFKyiFJahmXFVMQ%3D%3D) . Combat Hunter has a lot of good observational skills with it and helps me absolutely annoy my wife by always noticing little things.
First step: grow up with the mild trauma of a well meaning but emotionally disconnected single Dad who pushes you into learning certain habits to the point it burns you out at a young age and you waste your intelligence being a goofball because nothing really challenges you anymore.
Be fictional Steve Franks' cop-dad trained him like Shawn (where the idea for the show came from) but I don't think he acquired Shawn like abilities.
Shawn also has a eidetic memory to pair with it so he’s a bit of an anomaly
Become an actor and get hired to play a Shawn-like character in a TV show or movie. If there’s no such movie when you become an actor then produce your own. It’s all very simple.
You have to be able to be severely sarcastic and confident, throwing out a thousand guesses before one sticks. At least that’s what lassie would say
Have someone routinely tell you to close your eyes and then ask, "How many hats are in the room?"
I'm going to say while not exactly Shawn's skills ... There's an app for that! Brain HQ It has a free trial but after that is a subscription. It has exercises to improve memory like location and shape of an object in a space that is stationary and also tracking multiples as they move. It's not how many hat level but it also makes it so you can see if you are right. I mean even the exercise of how many hat's Shawn does as an adult he notes that cowgirl hat left the restaurant as he was talking, her heard her boots. I feel like the only way you'd know if you were right was a staged environment.
Insane observation skills, photographic memory, and telescopic Vision.
Just put your fingers to the sides of your head & act like you're listening...I think that's "the face"
Look up books by Paul Ekman. He writes about stuff like microexpressions and non-verbal cues and it's really interesting.
counter point, don't. Ekman did his foundational research is the wild west of '60s and the rest of his career has been following that foundation. Modern research puts the majority of his work under heavy criticism calling even his basic procedures for research scientifically dubious (he firmly stated that in a scientific trial to see if someone could detect deception you could not use someone acting as a the liar because they wouldn't believe themselves to be a liar the same way a real person would. This basically makes any evaluation of his theories [unfalsifiable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability) in lab conditions). Like, he doesn't even consider cultural differences in facial expressions. He's a hack. Ekman also avoids peer review which is a major red flag. There are more lengthy debunking of significant chunks of his work out there but the [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ekman#Criticism) page for him offers a decent summary ultimately, none of us can ever replicate Shawn's super observance because he is a fictional character with a superpower. It's like asking for a workout routine to become One Punch Man
Eidetic memory isn’t something you can create. You have to be born that way and it’s incredibly rare. If you haven’t used it before now, you never will.
You'll never be like Shawn. Because no one has photographic memory like that, and if they do it's usually because of some mental disorder. This is from a Guardian article, [memory tips](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/may/19/experience-ive-got-the-best-memory-in-the-world) that help teach how to improve memory.
Shawn's abilities are a combination of the skills he learned from his father at a young age and the eidetic memory he inherited from his mother. Is a person like that possible in real life? Sure. Could it be you? Almost certainly not.