Memory sport meets neuroscience

Memory training for everyone.

I’m Bastian Wiederhold. Memory techniques helped me start a Statistics PhD at Oxford at 20; I later won the German Memory Championship and researched memory speed at LMU Munich. I co-created Unicorn Memo so anyone can learn through free tutorials, practise and eventually compete.

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The idea

From competition and research to affordable memory training anyone can try.

01German champion, 2022

02World top 30 all-time

03Neuroscience at LMU

A screenshot of the Unicorn Memo website, showing the names-and-faces training discipline

My flagship project

Unicorn Memo

Learn the techniques. Put them to the test.

Unicorn Memo turns memory training into something you can do today: follow tutorials, practise disciplines such as names and numbers, and challenge others when you’re ready. It grew from my experience in memory sport and a community of players who helped shape its features.

All tutorials and training disciplines are free. Full access, including online tournaments, costs €1/month.

Start practising on Unicorn Memo ↗

The approach

Bastian holding two trophies at a memory competition — Win at German Memory Championship, 2022

Tested in competition. Studied in research. Applied to learning.

I won the 2022 German Memory Championship and stand 25th in IAM’s all-time best-score ranking as of 2026. At LMU Munich, I have researched the speed limits of human memory and information processing. Remembering a list is not the same as learning a subject; I use both perspectives to help people adapt techniques to real material, deadlines and exams.

01 / Understand

Start with the structure and meaning of what matters.

02 / Encode

Turn difficult information into vivid, retrievable cues.

03 / Apply

Build a system that works under real conditions.

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The path so far

An unconventional education

Memory techniques helped me hack education—and start a Statistics PhD at Oxford at 20.

That path led from practising memory techniques to researching how quickly people can remember and process information. The work informs my talks, alongside the lessons of competition and teaching.

Bastian Wiederhold at Wadham College, Oxford — Oxford, Wadham College

01 2020

Oxford PhD

Aged 20, I started my doctorate in Statistics at Oxford.

02 2022

German champion

After years of training, I won the German Memory Championship.

03 2024

Neuroscience at LMU

I brought my mathematical training and memory-sport experience together in a neuroscience postdoc at LMU Munich, studying how quickly people can remember and process information.

Records from memory sport and mental calculation let me investigate two questions about us all:

Work together

Bastian speaking about memory to an audience — Speaking on memory

Learn with me, or bring the research to your audience.

Unicorn Memo is the place to practise independently. For a specific learning challenge or an event, we can work together directly.

Courses & personal advising

For students and professionals: apply memory techniques to exams, complex subjects or professional briefs, with guidance tailored to your material.

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Keynotes

For organisations and events: talks grounded in my research on memory speed and information processing, with a clear distinction between findings and practical ideas.

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Your next step

Your brain has limits.
Use them well.

Free tutorials and training on Unicorn Memo make it easy to begin today. Want to bring these ideas to a group? Explore courses and keynotes.

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