Mental Math Visual Retention I have always been good at math but even I struggle with visualizing numbers in my head. I am seeking help on this forum to see if any mathematicians here have experienced the same issue I currently have and overcame this problem. If someone where to recite "794 times 869" I struggle to retain the numbers pitch perfect in my head as I perform the calculations. Are there any exercises one could perform to improve his/her visual retention of objects and numbers in their heads? Can you hold the number 7859385 in your head for an extended period without the image of the number becoming distorted at any point? Or is it that am I just plain stupid and there is no hope of improving visual retention??

If you want to begin solving real math problems in your head, I think you would enjoy reading Lewis Carroll's "The Mathematical Recreations of Lewis Carroll: Pillow Problems and a Tangled Tale (Dover Recreational Math)".

These are math problems that he thought up and solved while lying in bed. It has inspired me to do similar things. One thing it has inspired me to do is to never write down any of my solutions to problems herebefore entering them; instead, I work them out as I enter them.

You can find it here: