https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet

Basically, how do I unlock the potential of my mind?

I want to get to the point where I can read a 2,000 word speech once and then be able to recite it verbatim from memory.

I've been on Piracetam 1/2tsp (~2grams) taken once daily, for the past 3 months. I don't notice ANY difference. Nothing bad, nothing good. No side effects, no effects. Nothing.

Here's a list of all the racetams:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racetam

I'd like to try one that actually makes a significant (noticeable) difference in memory and other cognitive abilities. What is the CIA giving its super soldiers nowadays?

I believe transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied to a certain area of the brain reliably induces full-modality eidetic memory.

These days we have machines that do that sort of stuff, so that we won't have to. Seriously though, I don't think that being able to memorize large amounts of data equates unlocking the potential of the mind (or that drugs would enable you to do anything close to what autistic savants are capable of).

I admit to not knowing much about nootropics, so for those who do : has anyone tried noopept? It is available without a prescription,and supposedly 1000 times more powerful than piracetam. Somebody reported good results on a different forum.

I have noticed something interesting about my 25I experiences: My memory is much better than normal. I've experienced this only while on 25I and remembering experiences that occurred during that same trip. In other words, 25I makes it somewhat difficult to recall things that happened in the past before the trip. After the trip, I have trouble remembering things that happened during the trip. But, while I'm tripping, I remember more than normal about events that happened within the past few hours. I've never tried before, but it would be interesting to perform a memory test before and during a 25I experience.

Disclaimer: 25I is the particular drug that I was on when I notice this effect, but I find the experience to be subjectively very similar to the LSD experience, so I'm not trying to make a connection between memory and 25I in particular, but more so between memory and certain types of psychedelic experiences.

My understanding of why this might occur is that psychedelics increase neuroplasticity, thus allowing for new connections, and thus new memories, to be formed very easily at the expense of older memories that have to share the same neural space. After the trip is over, neuroplasticity decreases and the brain, in performing some neural housecleaning, throws out some of the new connections that were formed during the psychedelic experience in order to better organize and make sense of older, and thus more rooted, memories.

Another theory I have for why this happens is that the brain does not create new connections, but finds novel ways to use preexisting neural connection schemes to store information. For example, there is substructure of neurons in my brain that is trained to find a light switch in the dark. During a psychedelic experience, other parts of my brain can make use of this structure and use it to optimize other tasks, effectively mapping its functions to a different purpose. As a result, when I need to actually find a light switch in the dark, the task is performed very clumsily because that neural structure is being hijacked by another part of my brain.

Now we're talking!

And just for fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCxFGxqLsHE

Also, is there a thread on here specifically for the racetams? If not, I think a sticky should be started for all the racetams except piracetam, because it's too common.

Attention and focus greatly increase memory

The more one focuses on something the more of a mental impression it makes.

Stillness of the mind in general greatly increases memory and information recall.

I've been meaning to make a more in depth post on it but have you looked into memorization techniques? A particular method popular in World Championship Memorization Contests is the Method of Loci, or Memory Palace. It is an ancient technique that works off spatial memory to build an abstract Palace/house/room in your mind and fill it with items that remind you of the item to be remembered. Abstraction of items to be memorized is encouraged for better recall. Walk yourself through rooms of the palace, encountering items along the way.

The method for me seems reminiscent of the DMT experience. I would think that experience in hyperspace may help with visualization of such palaces. I haven't personally tried it, but in the past I have tried storing mental notes in a mental pouch for later retrieval with limited success. Storing visuals works much better than words. Make things abstract and also pointedly memorable. Wikipedia and elsewhere have better tips from a broader perspective.

There is a TED talk out there as well on the topic with a speaker who learned the method for the purpose of reporting results.

You can find a lot of Memory Palace talk on the web. Interesting stuff:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

I read an article in New Scientist with a young writer who had started learning this method and within a year was winning memory championships. But he makes clear that this does not necessarily translate to improved intelligence.

I've often wondered if there is a supplement or combination of supplements that, in the short term, greatly improves myelinization of newly forming neural pathways. Once this process begins, the pathways in question are reinforced and will be more likely to persist long term. If we could strengthen the new connections we build during peak experiences, it may be easier to recall key details later, and to retain these things long-term.

I think the best thing to do is to train your mind. Learn how to keep notes and markers in your head so you dont loose your flow of thought.

Any help is welcomed, but nothing beats a trained mind

Peace and love.