Reprinted from the May 1936 issue of Doc Savage Magazine

The Doc Savage Method
Of Self-development

as explained to KENNETH ROBESON

Because of thousands of requests for more definite knowledge of the exercises which are part of Doc Savage's daily routine, Kenneth Robeson has prepared this exposition of the means used by Doc Savage to reach his present state of mental and physical development. As explained here, they start from the very beginning of Doc Savage's career with the most elemental tests. They are numbered for convenient reference. It is only because of the faithful daily performance of even the smallest of these exercises that Doc Savage has developed his senses and perceptions to the present high degree.

Exercise LXI.

A great many times it has been remarked the tremendous strength of Doc Savage's fingers. He has time after time carried his entire weight by the strength of his fingers alone; and this requires considerable development.

Although in his laboratory Doc has a specially designed machine to aid him in the development of his finger muscles, there are occasions when it is not practicable for this machine to be used. Thus, when Doc is away from his laboratory, he often stands beneath a doorway and reaches up above his head and grasps with his finger tips only, the top part of the door jamb. Bracing his finger tips as well as possible on this narrow ledge, Doc lifts his entire weight off the floor, keeping his body perfectly rigid.

Making certain his body is not touching the floor. Doc then raises one finger of each hand and holds on with three fingers; then with just two, and finally with one finger of each hand.

Doc found that it was not well to overdo this exercise at the first, for the fingers are not used to such strenuous exerrise and might become stiff and sore. It is never Doc's aim to penalize weak muscles by overexercise, but to gradually build them up into strong, well-proportioned shape.

Exercise LXII.

Doc Savage never forgets a face, a name, or a voice. Often, even though the person had been disguised at first meeting, Doc spots the person by remembering some fact about him that he has not noticed himself.

In the matter of faces, names and voices, Doc usually attempts to remember them by association. When he meets some one, he does so whole-mindedly. In other words, when Doc meets a person that person comes under a kindly, but effective, analysis. When introduced, Doc listens to the correct pronunciation of the individual's name, then proceeds with this mental filing of the new person. Doc notes particularly any characteristics of the individual that will make him easy to place again. For instance, suppose that the man's name is Lyons and he is somewhat baldheaded. Doc then says to himself, in order to impress it on his mind, "A lion, but he has left his mane at home!"

Doc has found that the more ridiculous he can make his comparisons and statments to himself, the easier the person is to remember. The secret of a good memory is, in the last analysis, the art of impressing sufficiently deep on the mind that which is to be remembered.

Doc, as a final precaution, firmly impresses in his memory some bodily characteristic that cannot be easily disguised or changed. Does the individual have any fingers missing? Does he walk with a limp, long steps, or short ones? Is his speech easy and fluent, or does he stammer and talk hesitantly? What are the things he is interested in, and how does he make a living? When he has gotten the angwers to these questions, Doc has the person firmly fixed in his memory. That means that whenever he meets the man again, it will be a very easy matter to call him and all of his eccentricities to mind

Exercise LXIII.

Doc Savage has often been asked how he has developed his phenomenal memory for speeches and poems. He has trained himself to remember conversations that would not ordinarily register with the average person. At his present stage of development, Doc does not even have to make a conscious effort to retain the many things that come to him. This will be explained in a subsequent exercise at a later date.

To remember and memorize poetry, Doc has formed an infallible routine. Take as an example Henry Van Dyke's poem, "My Work." Doc first reads the poem over aloud, to get the music and rhythm from its lines. He does not, on this first reading, pay as much attention to the intricate meanings of the words as to their harmony. By reading the poem aloud he impresses it, first upon his optic sense, then upon his auditory sense. Then comes the second reading.

With this reading, Doc does not read aloud but, instead, studies the meanings of the lines which he reads. In the poem mentioned we find Mr. Van Dyke attempting to show in musical words the truth that, if every one were to apply himself and be interested in his own work, then that work would he done well.

Often, when the poem is long or particularly difficult, Doc writes his own version of the poem in prose, thus bringing into play his own mental interpretation of the words he wishes to memorize. Now, the final reading.

Doc again reads the poem aloud; this time, however, already having the rhythm of the theme established, he pays no attention to this phase of the work, but, as he reads, forms in his mind a moving picture of the poem. Thus, the minute the first word is uttered, Doc has the beginning of the first reel of the movie in his mental picture house, and as one picture follows another logically, Doc has the entire scenario of the poem.

Now he has the mental picture, the meaning of the poem and its rhythm planted in his mental processes; in other words, he has made the poem as much his as it was the man's who wrote it. This has proven an infallible and successful method of procedure in memorization.

Of course, at this present period of his development, Doc can accomplish these three steps simultaneously, and so can read a poem or speech but once and forever remember it thereafter.

More of these explanaIions of Doc Savage's exercises will be given
in the next issue of Doc Savage Magazine.

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