Memory sport meets neuroscience

Memory training for everyone.

I’m Bastian Wiederhold. Memory techniques helped me begin a Statistics PhD at Oxford at 20. I later won the German Memory Championship and studied memory speed at LMU Munich. I co-created Unicorn Memo so anyone can learn for free, practise and 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 offers tutorials, training in disciplines such as names and numbers, and competition when you’re ready. It grew from my memory-sport experience and a community of players who shaped 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 ranked 25th on IAM’s all-time best-score list as of 2026. At LMU Munich, I researched the speed limits of human memory and information processing. I use insights from competition and research to help people apply memory techniques to real study 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. My talks draw on that research, along with my experience in competition and teaching.

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

01 2020

Oxford PhD

At 20, I began a doctorate in Statistics.

02 2022

German Memory Champion

Years of training led to the national title.

03 2024

Neuroscience at LMU

In a postdoc, I combined mathematics and memory sport to study how quickly people 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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