Derren Brown: Archive
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From: ganetauk
Date: Sun Apr 13, 2003 7:35pm
Subject: memory from my od site....regards terry
from my od site....regards terry
CONTENTS
Introduction to mnemonics
Association, Imagination and Location
Using Mnemonics to Learn More Effectively
Hints On Memory Techniques
The Link Method
The Number/Rhyme System
The Number/Shape System
The Alphabet Technique
The Journey System
The Roman Room Mnemonic
The Major System
Learning Foreign Languages
The 100 basic words
Remembering Names
Remembering Lists of Information
Remembering Words, Lines and Speeches
Remembering Numbers
Remembering Telephone Numbers
Remembering Dates
Remembering Playing Cards
__________________________________________________________
Introduction to mnemonics back to top
Mnemonics are methods for remembering information that is otherwise
quite difficult to recall. A very simple example of a mnemonic is
the '30 days hath September' rhyme.
The basic principle of mnemonics, is to use as many of the best
functions of the human brain as possible to code information.
The human brain evolved to code and interpret complex stimuli -
images, colour, structure, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, spatial
awareness, emotion, and language - using them to make sophisticated
interpretations of the environment. Human memory is made up of all
these features.
Mnemonics seek to use all of these resources. By coding language and
numbers in sophisticated, striking images which flow into other
strong images, we can accurately and reliably code both information
and the structure of information to be easily recalled later.
This section seeks to show you the techniques that enable you to use
all of your mind to remember information.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
Association, Imagination and Location back to top
The three fundamental principles underlying the use of mnemonics are:
Association
Imagination
Location
Working together, these principles can be used to generate powerful
mnemonic systems.
Association
Association is the method by which you link a thing to be remembered
to a method of remembering it. Although we can and will suggest
associations to you, your own associations are much better as they
reflect the way in which your mind works.
Things can be associated by:
being placed on top of the associated object
crashing or penetrating into each other
mergeing together
wrapping around each other
rotating around each other or dancing together
being the same colour, smell, shape, or feeling
etc.
Whatever can be used to link the thing being remembered with the
image used to recall it is the association image.
As an example: Linking the number 1 with a goldfish might be done by
visualising a 1-shaped spear being used to spear a goldfish to feed a
starving family.
Imagination
Imagination is used to create the links and associations needed to
create effective memory techniques - put simple, imagination is the
way in which you use your mind to create the links that have the most
meaning for you. Images that I create will have less power and impact
for you, because they reflect the way in which we think.
The more strongly you imagine and visualise a situation, the more
effectively it will stick in your mind for later recall. Mnemonic
imagination can be as violent, vivid, or sensual as you like, as long
as it helps you to remember what needs to be remembered.
Location
Location provides you with two things: a coherent context into which
information can be placed so that it hangs together, and a way of
separating one mnemonic from another: e.g. by setting one mnemonic in
one village, I can separate it from a similar mnemonic located in
another place.
Location provides context and texture to your mnemonics, and prevents
them from being confused with similar mnemonics. For example, by
setting one mnemonic with visualisations in the town of Horsham in
the UK and another similar mnemonic with images of Manhattan allows
us to separate them with no danger of confusion.
So using the three fundamentals of Association, Imagination and
Location you can design images that strongly link things with the
links between themselves and other things, in a context that allows
you to recall those images in a way that does not conflict with other
images and associations.
Memory works by making links between information, fitting facts into
mental structures and frameworks. The more you are actively
remembering, the more facts and frameworks you hold, the more
additional facts and ideas will slot easily into long term memory.
The way in which people learn affects the sort of mnemonics they
should consider using to store information.
The three main learning styles are:
visual
auditory
kinaesthetic
No-one uses one of the styles exclusively, and there is usually
significant overlap in learning styles.
Visual Learners
Visual learners relate most effectively to written information,
notes, diagrams and pictures. Typically they will be unhappy with a
presentation where they are unable to take detailed notes - to an
extent information does not exist for a visual learner unless it has
been seen written down. This is why some visual learners will take
notes even when they have printed course notes on the desk in front
of them. Visual learners will tend to be most effective in written
communication, symbol manipulation etc.
Visual learners make up around 65% of the population.
Auditory Learners
Auditory learners relate most effectively to the spoken word. They
will tend to listen to a lecture, and then take notes afterwards, or
rely on printed notes. Often information written down will have
little meaning until it has been heard - it may help auditory
learners to read written information out loud. Auditory learners may
be sophisticated speakers, and may specialise effectively in subjects
like law or politics.
Auditory learners make up about 30% of the population.
Kinaesthetic Learners
Kinaesthetic Learners learn effectively through touch and movement
and space, and learn skills by imitation and practice. Predominantly
kinaesthetic learners can appear slow, in that information is
normally not presented in a style that suits their learning methods.
Kinaesthetic learners make up around 5% of the population.
Most literature on mnemonics assumes the visual approach to learning
styles - mnemonics are recommended to be as visually appealing and
memorable as possible. If you are an auditory or kinaesthetic learner
you may find that this emphasis on imagery leads to ineffective
recall. In this case, try adjusting the mnemonics to suit your
learning style: if you are an auditory learner, use auditory cues to
create your mnemonics. If you are a kinaesthetic learner, imagine
performing actions or using tools as the basis of memory techniques.
If you are an auditory or kinaesthetic learner, adjust these
techniques appropriately to suit your personal approach to learning.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
Using Mnemonics to Learn More Effectively back to top
When you are creating a mnemonic, e.g. an image or story to remember
a telephone number, the following things can be used to make the
mnemonic more memorable:
Use positive, pleasant images. The brain often blocks out unpleasant
ones.
Exaggerate the size of important parts of the image
Use humour (perhaps linked with point 2)! Funny or peculiar things
are easier to remember than normal ones.
Similarly rude or sexual rhymes are very difficult to forget!
Symbols (e.g. red traffic lights, pointing fingers, etc.) can be used
in mnemonics.
Vivid, colourful images are easier to remember than drab ones.
Use all the senses to code information or dress up an image. Remember
that your mnemonic can contain sounds, smells, tastes, touch,
movements and feelings as well as pictures.
Bringing three dimensions and movement to an image makes it more
vivid. Movement can be used either to maintain the flow of
association, or can help to remember actions.
Locate similar mnemonics in different places with backgrounds of
those places. This will help to keep similar images distinct and
unconfused.
The important thing is that the mnemonic should clearly relate to the
thing being remembered, and that it should be vivid enough to be
clearly remembered whenever you think about it.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
Hints On Memory Techniques back to top
This section covers a few general hints on the use of memory systems:
1. One-Way or Two-Way links
Bear in mind that in some cases you may want the link to work both
ways - for example if you are using a peg system (e.g. number/rhyme)
to link 2 to Henry VIII, you may not want to always link Henry VIII
with the number 2 (i.e. the opposite way across the link).
If, however, you are linking the word the French word 'chien' with
the English word 'dog', you will want to ensure that the link runs in
the opposite direction - i.e. that the English word 'dog' links with
the French word 'chien'.
2. Remember to use location to separate similar mnemonics
By setting an application of a memory system in one location and
clearly using that location as a background, you can easily separate
it from a different application of the same memory system set in a
different place.
3. Why mnemonics might fail
Typically you may forget things that you have coded with mnemonics if
the images are not vivid enough, or if the images you are using do
not have enough meaning or strength for you to feel comfortable with.
Try changing the images used to more potent ones, and read the
section on Using Mnemonics more Effectively.
4. Retrieving lost information
You may find that you need to remember information that has either
been lost because part of a mnemonic was not properly coded, or that
simply was not placed into a mnemonic. To try to recall the
information, try the following approaches:
In your mind run through the period when you coded the information,
carried out the action, or viewed the thing to be remembered.
Reconstructing events like this might trigger associations that help
you to retrieve the information.
If the lost information was part of a list, review the other items in
the list. These may be linked in some way to the forgotten item, or
even if unlinked their positions in the list may offer a different
cue to retrieve the information.
If you have any information such as general shape or purpose, try to
reconstruct the information from this.
If all the above have failed, take your mind off the subject and
concentrate on something else completely. Often the answer will
just 'pop into your mind', as your subconscious has worked away on
retrieving the information, or something you have been working on
sparks an association.
The memory systems explained in this section are used for different
purposes, require different investments of time to learn and effort
to use, and have different levels of effectiveness.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
The Link Method back to top
The Link Method is one of the easiest mnemonic techniques available,
but is still quite powerful. It is not quite as reliable as a peg
technique, as images are not tied to specific, inviolable sequences.
It functions quite simply by making associations between things in a
list, often as a story. The flow of the story and the strength of the
visualisations of the images provide the cues for retrieval.
Ease of Use - Very simple
Effectiveness - Moderate
Power - Low
Learning investment - Very low
Who should use - Anyone
How to use
Taking the first image, imagine associations between items in a list.
Although it is possible to remember lists of words where each word is
just associated with the next, it is often best to fit the
associations into a story: otherwise by forgetting just one
association, the whole of the rest of the list can be lost.
As an example, you may want to remember a list of counties in the
South of England:
Avon, Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall, Wiltshire, Devon, Gloucestershire,
Hampshire, Surrey
This could be done with two approaches, the pure link method, and the
story method:
The Link Method
This would rely on a series of images coding information:
An AVON (Avon) lady knocking on a heavy oak DOoR (Dorset).
The DOoR opens to show a beautiful SuMmER landscape with a SETting
sun (Somerset).
The setting sun shines down onto a field of CORN (Cornwall).
The CORN is so dry it is beginning to WILT (Wiltshire).
The WILTing stalks slowly fall onto the tail of the sleeping DEVil
(Devon).
On the DEVil's horn a woman has impailed a GLOSsy (Gloucestershire)
HAM (Hampshire) when she hit him over the head with it.
Now the Devil feels SoRRY (Surrey) he bothered her.
Note that there need not be any reason or underlying plot to the
sequence of images: all that is important are the images and the
links between images.
The Story Method
Alternatively this information may be coded by vividly imaging the
following scene:
An AVON lady is walking up a path towards a strange house. She is hot
and sweating slightly in the heat of high SUMMER (Somerset). Beside
the path someone has planted giant CORN in a WALL (Cornwall), but
it's beginning to WILT (Wiltshire) in the heat. She knocks on the
DOoR (Dorset), which is opened by the DEVil (Devon). In the
background she can see a kitchen in which a servant is smearing honey
on a HAM (Hampshire), making in GLOSsy (Gloucestershire) and gleam in
bright sunlight streaming in through a window. Panicked by seeing the
Devil, the Avon lady panics, screams 'SoRRY' (Surrey), and dashes
back down the path.
Given the fluid structure of this mnemonic, it is important that the
images stored in your mind are as vivid as possible, and that
significant, coding images are much stronger that ones that merely
support the flow of the story. See the section on using mnemonics
more effectively for further information on making images as strong
as possible.
This technique is expanded by adding images to the story. After a
number of images, however, the system may start to break down.
Summary
The Link Method is probably the most basic memory technique, and is
very easy to understand and use. It is, however, one of the most
unreliable systems, given that it relies on the user remembering the
sequences of events in a story, or a sequence of images.
It is not always immediately obvious if an image is missing from the
sequence, and if an element is forgotten, then all following images
may be lost as well.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
The Number/Rhyme System back to top
The Number/Rhyme technique is a very simple way of remembering lists
of items in a specific order. It is an example of a peg system - i.e.
a system whereby facts are 'pegged' to known sequences of cues (here
the numbers 1 - 10). This ensures that no facts are forgotten
(because gaps in information are immediately obvious), and that the
starting images of the mnemonic visualisations are well know.
At a simple level it can be used to remember things such as a list of
English Kings or of American Presidents in their precise order. At a
more advanced level it can be used to code lists of experiments to be
recalled in a science exam.
Ease of Use - very easy
Effectiveness - effective
Power - only codes 1-10 items without use of enhancement
Learning investment - low
Who should use - everyone
How to use the Number/Rhyme Technique
This technique works by helping you to build up pictures in your
mind, in which the numbers are represented by things that rhyme with
the number, and are linked to images that represent the things to be
remembered.
The usual rhyming scheme is shown below:
1 - Bun
2 - Shoe
3 - Tree
4 - Door
5 - Hive
6 - Bricks
7 - Heaven
8 - Skate
9 - Line
10 - Hen
If you find that these images do not attract you or stick in your
mind, then change them for something more meaningful to you.
These images should be linked to images representing the things to be
remembered, for example a list of ten Greek philosophers could be
remembered as:
1 - Parmenides - a BUN topped with melting yellow PARMEsan cheese
2 - Heraclitus - a SHOE worn by HERACLes (Greek Hercules) glowing
with a bright LIghT
3 - Empedocles - A TREE from which the M-shaped McDonalds arches hang
hooking up a bicycle PEDal
4 - Democritus - think of going through a DOOR to vote in a
DEMOCRaTic election.
5 - Protagoras - A bee HIVE being positively punched through (GORed?)
by an atomic PROTon
6 - Socrates - BRICKS falling onto a SOCk (with a foot inside!) from
a CRATe.
7 - Plato - A plate with angel's wings flapping around a white cloud
8 - Aristotle - a friend called hARRY clutching a bOTtLE of wine
possessively slipping on a SKATE (sorry Harry!)
9 - Zeno - A LINE of ZEN buddhists meditating
10 - Epicurus - a HEN's egg being mixed into an EPIleptics's CURe.
Try either visualising these images as suggested, or if you do not
like them, come up with images of your own.
Once you have done this, try writing down the names of the
philosophers on a piece of paper. You should be able to do this by
thinking of the number, then the part of the image associated with
the number, then the whole image, and finally then decode the image
to give you the name of the philosopher. If the mnemonic has worked,
you should not only recall the names of all the philosophers in the
correct order, but should also be able to spot where you have left
philosophers out of the sequence. Try it - it's easier than it
sounds.
Applying the Number/Rhyme Technique
You can use a peg system like this as a basis for knowledge in an
entire area: the example above could be a basis for a knowledge of
ancient philosophy, as images representing the projects, systems and
theories of each philosopher can now be associated with the images
representing the philosophers names.
Summary
The Number/Rhyme technique is a very effective method of remembering
lists. By driving the associations with numbers you can ensure
complete recall of all items on a list as you will know if some have
been missed (because there will be holes in the number sequence).
back to top
__________________________________________________________
The Number/Shape System back to top
The Number/Shape system is very similar to the Number/Rhyme system.
As with the Number/Rhyme system it is a very simple and effective way
of remembering lists of items in a specific order. It is another
example of a peg system.
Ease of Use - very easy
Effectiveness - effective
Power - only codes 1-10 items without use of enhancement
Learning investment - low
Who should use - everyone
How to use the Number/Shape Technique
This technique works by helping you to build up pictures in your
mind, in which the numbers are represented by images shaped like the
number, and are part of a compound image that also codes the thing to
be remembered.
One image scheme is shown below:
1 - Candle, spear, stick
2 - Swan (beak, curved neck, body)
3 - (rotate shape though 90 degrees!)
4 - Sail of a yacht
5 - A meat hook, a sea-horse facing right
6 - A golf club
7 - A cliff edge
8 - An egg timer
9 - A balloon with a string attached, flying freely
0 - A hole
If you find that these images do not attract you or stick in your
mind, then change them for something more meaningful to you.
As with the Number/Rhyme scheme, these images should be linked to
images representing the things to be remembered. We will use a list
of more modern thinkers to illustrate the number/shape system:
1 - Spinoza - a large CANDLE wrapped around with someone's SPINe.
2 - Locke - a SWAN trying to pick a LOCK with its wings
3 - Hume - A HUMan child BREAST feeding.
4 - Berkeley - A SAIL on top of a large hooked and spiked BURR in the
LEE of a cliff
5 - Kant - a CAN of spam hanging from a meat HOOK.
6 - Rousseau - a kangaROO SEWing with a GOLF CLUB
7 - Hegel - a crooked trader about to be pushed over a CLIFF,
HaGgLing to try to avoid being hurt.
8 - Kierkegaard - a large EGG TIMER containing captain KIRK and a
GuARD from the starship enterprise, as time runs out.
9 - Darwin - a BALLOON floating upwards, being blown fAR by the
WINd.
10 - Marx - a HOLE with white chalk MARks around it's edge
Try either visualising these images as suggested, or if you do not
like them, come up with images of your own.
In some cases these images may be more vivid than those in the
number/rhyme scheme, and in other cases you may find the number/rhyme
scheme more memorable. There is no reason why you could not mix the
most vivid images of each scheme together into your own compound
scheme.
Summary
The Number/Shape technique is a very effective method of remembering
lists. Used in conjunction with the Number/Rhyme system it can be
used to generate potent images that can help to make well-coded
mnemonics extremely effective.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
The Alphabet Technique back to top
The Alphabet system is a peg memory technique similar to, but more
sophisticated than, the Number/Rhyme system. At its most basic level
(i.e. without the use of mnemonic multipliers) it is a good method
for remembering long lists of items in a specific order in such a way
that missing items can be detected. It is slightly more difficult to
learn than the Number based techniques.
Ease of Use - moderate
Effectiveness - quite good
Power - moderate - codes 1- 26 items without use of enhancement
Learning investment - moderate
Who should use - brighter individuals
How to use the Alphabet Technique
This technique works by associating images representing and cued by
letters of the alphabet with images representing the items to be
remembered.
The selection of images representing letters is not based on the
starting character of the letter name. Images are selected
phonetically - i.e. so that the sound of the first syllablle of the
image word is the name of the letter, eg. we would represent the
letter 'k' with the word 'cake'.
I suggest using a system of using the first pictorially vivid image
suggested by taking the letter name root, and then coming up with
words based by advancing the next consonant in alphabetic order (e.g.
for the letter 'S' - root 'Es', we would first see if any strong
images presented themselves when we tried to create a word starting
with 'EsA', 'EsB', 'EsC', 'EsD', 'EsE', etc.) This has the advantage
of producing a mnemonic image that can be reconstructed if forgotten,
however you may judge that it is an unnecessary complication of a
relatively simple system, and that it is best to select the strongest
image that comes to mind and stick with it.
One image scheme is shown below:
A - Ace of spades
B - Bee
C - Sea
D - Diesel engine
E - Eagle
F - Effluent
G - Jeans
H - H-Bomb
I - Eye
J - Jade
K - Cake
L - Elbow
M - Empty
N - Entrance
O - Oboe
P - Pea
Q - Queue
R - Ark
S - Eskimo
T - Tea pot
U - Unicycle
V - Vehicle
W - WC
X - XRay
Y - Wire
Z - Zulu
If you find that these images do not attract you or stick in your
mind, then change them for something more meaningful to you.
Once firmly visualised and linked to their root letters, these images
can then be linked to the things to be remembered. Continuing our
mnemonic example of the names of philosophers, we will use the
example of remembering a list of contemporary thinkers:
A - Ace - Freud - a crisp ACE being pulled out of a FRying pan (FRiED)
B - Bee - Chomsky - a BEE stinging a CHiMp and flying off into the SKY
C - Sea - Genette - a GENerator being lifted in a NET out of the SEA
D - Diesel - Derrida - a DaRing RIDer surfing on top of a DIESEL train
E - Eagle - Foucault - bruce lee fighting off an attacking EAGLE with
kung FU
F - Effluent- Joyce - environmentalists JOYfully finding a plant by an
EFFLUENT pipe
G - Jeans - Nietzche - a holey pair of JEANS with a kNEe showing
through
H - H-Bomb - Kafka - a grey civil service CAFe being blown up by an H-
Bomb
etc.
Try either visualising these images as suggested, or if you do not
like them, come up with images of your own. Although the images are
quite laboured, they are good enough to give the cues for the names
being coded.
Summary
The Alphabet System is the most complex and difficult of the peg
systems, requires a longer preparation period and is more difficult
to code than either the Number/Rhyme System or the Number/Shape
system. It is, however, more powerful in that it allows you to code
and remember a list of up to 26 items before you have to start using
Mnemonic Multipliers. You may, however, judge that it is more
effective to use a simpler peg system with multipliers than to use
the Alphabet System without them: this is your choice.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
The Journey System back to top
The journey method is a powerful, flexible and effective mnemonic
based around the idea of remembering landmarks on a well-known
journey. In many ways it combines the narrative flow of the Link
Method and the structure and order of the Peg Systems into one highly
effective mnemonic.
Because the journey method uses routes that you know well, you can
code information to be remembered to a large number of easily
visualised or remembered landmarks along the routes. Because you know
what these landmarks look like, you need not work out visualisations
for them!
Ease of Use - moderate
Effectiveness - good
Power - powerful
Learning investment - moderate
Who should use - everyone
How to Use the Journey Method
The journey method is based on using landmarks on a journey that you
know well.
This journey could, for example, be your journey to work in the
morning, the route you use to get to the front door when you get up
in the morning, the route to visit your parents, or a tour around a
holiday destination. It could even be a journey around the levels of
a computer game. Once you are familiar with the technique you may be
able to create imaginary journeys that fix in your mind, and apply
these.
Preparing the Route
To use this technique most effectively, it is often best to prepare
the journey beforehand so that the landmarks are clear in your mind
before you try to commit information to them. One way of doing this
is to write down all the landmarks that you can recall in order on a
piece of paper. This allows you to fix these landmarks as the
significant ones to be used in your mnemonic, separating them from
others that you may notice as you get to know the route even better.
You can consider these landmarks as stops on the route. To remember a
list of items, whether these are people, experiments, events or
objects, all you need do is associate these things or representations
of these things with the stops on your journey.
Example
For example, I may want to remember something mundane like a shopping
list:
Coffee, salad, vegetables, bread, kitchen paper, fish, chicken
breasts, pork chops, soup, fruit, bath cleaner.
I may choose to associate this with my journey to the supermarket. My
mnemonic images therefore appear as:
1. Front door: spilt coffee grains on the doormat
2. Rose bush in front garden: growing lettuce leaves and tomatoes
around the roses.
3. Car: with potatoes, onions and cauliflower on the driver's seat.
4. End of the road: an arch of French bread over the road
5. Past garage: with sign wrapped in kitchen roll
6. Under railway bridge: from which haddock and cod are dangling by
their tails.
7. Traffic lights: chickens squawking and flapping on top of lights
8. Past church: in front of which a pig is doing karate, breaking
boards.
9. Under office block: with a soup slick underneath: my car tyres
send up
jets of tomato soup as I drive through it.
10. Past car park: with apples and oranges tumbling from the top
level.
11. Supermarket car park: a filthy bath is parked in the space next
to my
car!
Extending the Technique
This is an extremely effective method of remembering long lists of
information: with a sufficiently long journey you could, for example,
remember elements on the periodic table, lists of Kings and
Presidents, geographical information, or the order of cards in a
shuffled pack of cards.
The system is extremely flexible also: all you need do to remember
many items is to remember a longer journey with more landmarks. To
remember a short list, only use part of the route!
Long and Short Term Memory
You can use the journey technique to remember information both in the
short term memory and long term memory. Where you need to use
information only for a short time, keep a specific route (or routes)
in your mind specifically for this purpose. When you use the route,
overwrite the previous images with the new images that you want to
remember. To symbolise that the list is complete, imagine that the
route is blocked with cones, a 'road closed/road out' sign, or some
such.
To retain information in long term memory, reserve a journey for that
specific information only. Occasionally travel don it in your mind,
refreshing the images of the items on it.
One advantage of this technique is that you can use it to work both
backwards and forwards, and start anywhere within the route to
retrieve information.
Using the Journey System with other Mnemonics
This technique can be used in conjunction with other mnemonics,
either by building complex coding images at the stops on a journey,
linking to other mnemonics at the stops, moving onto other journeys
where they may cross over. Alternatively, you may use a peg system to
organise lists of journeys, etc.
Summary
The journey method is a powerful, effective method of remembering
lists of information, whether short or long, by imagining images and
events at stops on a journey.
As the journeys used are distinct in location and form, one list
remembered using this technique is easy to distinguish from other
lists.
Some investment in preparing journeys clearly in your mind is needed
to use this technique. This investment is, however, paid off many
times over by the application of the technique.
back to top
__________________________________________________________
The Roman Room Mnemonic back to top
The Roman Room technique is an ancient and effective way of
remembering unstructured information where the relationship of items
of information to other items of information is not important. It
functions by imagining a room (e.g. your sitting room or bedroom).
Within that room are objects. The technique works by associating
images with those objects. To recall information, simply take a tour
around the room in your mind, visualising the known objects and their
associated images.
Ease of Use - easy
Effectiveness - effective
Power - quite powerful
Learning investment - moderate
Who should use - people needing to store unstructured information
on a topic.
How to use the Roman Room System
Imagine a room that you know well: perhaps this is your sitting room,
a bedroom, an office, or a classroom. Within this room there are
features and objects in known positions. The basis of the Roman Room
system is that things to be remembered are associated with these
objects, so that by recalling the objects within the room all the
associated objects can also be remembered.
For example, I can imagine my sitting room as a basis for the
technique. In my sitting room I can visualise the following objects:
table, lamp, sofa, large bookcase, small bookcase, CD rack, tape
racks, stereo system, telephone, television, video, chair, mirror,
black & white photographs, etc.
I may want to remember a list of World War I war poets:
Rupert Brooke, G.K. Chesterton, Walter de la Mare, Robert Graves,
Rudyard Kipling, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, W.B. Yates
I could visualise walking through my front door, which has a picture
on it of a scene from the Battle of the Somme, with an image of a man
sitting in a trench writing in a dirty exercise book.
I walk into the sitting room, and look at the table. On the top is
RUPERT the Bear sitting in a small BROOK (we do not need to worry
about where the water goes in our imagination!) This codes for Rupert
Brooke.
Someone seems to have done some moving: a CHEST has been left on the
sofa. Some jeans (Alphabet System: G=Jeans) are hanging out of one
draw, and some cake has been left on the top (K=Cake). This codes for
G K Chesterton.
The lamp has a small statuette of a brick WALl over which a female
horse (MARE) is about to jumping. This codes for Walter de la Mare.
etc.
Expanding the Roman Room System
The technique can be expanded in one way, by going into more detail,
and keying images to smaller objects. Alternatively you can open
doors from the room you are using into other rooms, and use their
objects to expand the volume of information stored. When you have
more experience you may find that you can build extensions to your
rooms in your imagination, and populate them with objects that would
logically be there.
Other rooms can be used to store other categories of information.
Moreover, there is no need to restrict this information to rooms: you
could use a view or a town you know well, and populate it with memory
images.
Summary
The Roman Room technique is similar to the Journey method, in that it
works by pegging images coding for information to known images, in
this case to objects in a room or several rooms.
The Roman Room technique is most effective for storing lists of
unlinked information, whereas the journey method is most effective
for storing lists of related items.
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The Major System back to top
The Major Memory System is one of the two most powerful memory
systems currently available. It requires a significant investment of
time to learn and master, however once it is learned it is extremely
powerful. It is the application of mainly this system that forms the
basis of some of the extraordinary, almost magical, memory feats
performed by magicians and memory technicians.
Ease of Use - Difficult
Effectiveness - Very Effective
Power - Very Powerful
Learning investment - Significant
Who should use - People prepared to invest significant time in
learning the system.
How to use
The system works by converting number sequences into nouns, nouns
into images, and linking images into sequences. These sequences can
be very complex and detailed.
The building blocks of the system are the association of the numbers
below with the following consonant sounds:
0 - s, z, soft-c - remember as 'z is first letter of zero'
1 - d, t, th - remember as letters with 1 downstroke
2 - n - remember as having 2 downstrokes
3 - m - has three downstrokes
4 - r - imagine a 4 and an R glued together back-to-back
5 - L - imagine the 5 propped up against a book end (L)
6 - j, sh, soft-ch, dg, soft-g - g is 6 rotated 180 degrees.
7 - k, hard-ch, hard-c, hard-g, ng - imagine K as two 7s rotated and
glued
together
8 - f, v - imagine the bottom loop of the 8 as an eFfluent pipe
discharging
waste
(letter image of F in alphabet system)
9 - p, b - b as 9 rotated 180 degrees.
These associations really must be learned before proceeding.
The system operates on a number of levels, depending on the amount of
time a user is prepared to devote to learning the system. The first
level, the coding of single digit numbers into consonants and small
words, functions almost as a poor relation of the number/rhyme
system. It is at higher levels that the power of the system is
unleashed, however this level must be assimilated first.
The trick with the conversion into words is to use only the
consonants that code information within the word, while using vowels
to pad the consonants out with meaning. By choosing letters for your
word in the preferential order AEIOU you stand a better chance of
being able to reconstruct the image word if you forget it.
If consonants have to be used to make a word, use only those that are
not already used - i.e. h, q, w, x, and y
1. Single number words:
The first level codes single numbers into a short noun made up of the
number consonant sound and some vowels. On a sheet of paper, write
the numbers 1 to 9, and apply these rules to create your own memory
words. An example is shown below:
1 - toe
2 - neigh
3 - ma
4 - ray
5 - law
6 - jaw
7 - key
8 - fee
9 - pay
These words can be used in association much like the other peg
technique memory words.
2. Double number words:
Similar rules apply to creating a standard word from two numbers. It
is best not to try to use single number word as a root, as this can
confuse the image.
Add to your list of numbers 1 to 9 the numbers 10 to 99, and apply
the rules to create memory words for yourself. A few examples are
shown below:
17 - t, ch - tech
23 - n, m - name
36 - m, sh - mesh
41 - r,s - rose
52 - l, n - line
64 - ch, r - chair
75 - k, l - keel
89 - f, p - fop
98 - b, f - beef
3. Triple number words
Just using double number words may be enough to make this a
sufficiently powerful mnemonic for you. Alternatively you may decide
to use triple number words, using the same construction rules as
double number words.
Examples are:
182 - d, v, n - Devon
304 - m, s, r - miser
400 - r, c, s - races
651 - j, l, d - jailed
801 - f, z, d - fazed
Even though words can be constructed from first principles it may be
worth writing them down at this level of complexity, and running
through them many times to strengthen the link in your mind between
the numbers and the associated words. This will enable you to recall
the number word faster.
Applying these images
Once you have devised words and images to link to your numbers, you
can start to apply the technique to remember long numbers, etc. At as
simple level you might decide just to remember a long telephone
number. To do this you might just associate a few images together
using the link or story technique. Alternatively, to remember a
really long number, you might associate words made up of the
components of these numbers with stops on a journey (see the journey
technique).
Summary
The major memory system works by linking numbers to consonant sound
groups, and then by linking these into words. By using the images
these words create, and linking them together with another memory
system, large amounts of information can be accurately memorised if
properly coded.
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Learning Foreign Languages back to top
Foreign languages are the ideal subject area for the use of memory
techniques: the process of learning words is essentially a matter of
association - associating what is initially a meaningless collection
of syllables with a word in a language that we understand.
Traditionally this association has been carried out by repetition -
saying the word in ones own language and the foreign language time
and time and time and time again.
Systems Needed
Before we explain how to remember vocabulary, you will need to
understand the principles of:
1. The Roman Room memory system
2. The link memory method
Explanation of Language Mnemonics
1. The LinkWord Technique
The LinkWord technique uses an image to link a word in one language
with a word in another language. The following are examples of use of
the LinkWord technique:
English:French vocabulary
rug/carpet - tapis - image of an ornate oriental carpet with a tap as
the
central design woven in chrome thread
grumpy - grognon - a grumpy man groaning with irritation
to tease - taquiner - a wife teasing her husband as she takes in the
washing.
The technique was formalised by Dr. Michael Gruneborg. LinkWord
language books have been produced in many language pairs to help
students acquire the basic vocabulary needed to get by in a language
(usually about 1000 words). It is claimed that using this technique
this basic vocabulary can be acquired in just 10 hours.
2. The Town Language Mnemonic (Editor's Choice)
This is a very elegant, effective mnemonic designed by Dominic
O'Brien that fuses a sophisticated variant of the Roman Room system
with the LinkWord system described above.
The fundamental principle rests on the fact that the basic vocabulary
of a language relates to everyday things: things that are typically
found in a small town, city, or village. The basis of the technique
is that the student should choose a town that he or she is very
familiar with, and should use objects within that place as the cues
to recall the images that link to foreign words.
Nouns in the town
Nouns should be associated to the most relevant locations: the image
coding the foreign word for book should be associated with a book on
a shelf in the library. The word for bread should be associated with
an image of a loaf in a baker's shop. Words for vegetables should be
associated with parts of a display outside a greengrocer's shop.
Perhaps there is a farm just outside the town that allows all the
animal name associations to be made.
Adjectives in the park
Adjectives should be associated with a garden or park within the
town: words such as green, smelly, bright, small, cold, etc. can be
easily related to objects in a park. Perhaps there is a pond there, a
small wood, perhaps people with different characteristics are walking
around.
Verbs in the sports centre
Verbs can most easily be associated with a sports centre or playing
field. This allows us all the associations of lifting, running,
walking, hitting, eating, swimming, driving, etc.
Remembering Genders
In a language where gender is important, a very elegant method of
remembering this is to divide your town into two main zones where the
gender is only masculine and feminine, or three where there is a
neutral gender. This division can be by busy roads, rivers, etc. To
fix the gender of a noun, simply associate its image with a place in
the correct part of town. This makes remembering genders so easy!
Many Languages, many towns
Another elegant spin-off of the technique comes when learning several
languages: normally this can cause confusion. With the town mnemonic,
all you need do is choose a different city, town or village for each
language to be learned. Ideally this might be in the relevant
country, however practically it might just be a local town with a
slight flavour of the relevant country, or twinned with it.
3. The hundred most common words
Tony Buzan, in his book 'Using your Memory', points out that just 100
words comprise 50% of all words used in conversation in a language.
Learning this core 100 words gets you a long way towards learning to
speak in that language, albeit at a basic level.
Click here to see the 100 basic words.
Summary
The three approaches to learning language shown here can be extremely
effective in helping to learn a foreign language, in terms of
pointing out the most important words to learn, showing how to link
words in your own language to words in a foreign language, and
showing how to structure recall of the language through use of the
town mnemonic.
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The 100 basic words back to top
The 100 basic words used in conversation are shown below. These
typically comprise around 50% of all words used:
1. a, an 2. after 3. again 4. all 5. almost
6. also 7. always 8. and 9. because 10. before
11. big 12. but 13. (I) can 14. (I) come 15. either/or
16. (I) find 17. first 18. for 19. friend 20. from
21. (I) go 22. good 23. goodbye 24. happy 25. (I) have
26. he 27. hello 28. here 29. how 30. I
31. (I) am 32. if 33. in 34. (I) know 35. last
36. (I) like 37. little 38. (I) love 39. (I) make 40. many
41. one 42. more 43. most 44. much 45. my
46. new 47. no 48. not 49. now 50. of
51. often 52. on 53. one 54. only 55. or
56. other 57. our 58. out 59. over 60. people
61. place 62. please 63. same 64. (I) see 65. she
66. so 67. some 68. sometimes 69. still 70. such
71. (I) tell 72. thank you 73. that 74. the 75. their
76. them 77. then 78. there is 79. they 80. thing
81. (I) think 82. this 83. time 84. to 85. under
86. up 87. us 88. (I) use 89. very 90. we
91. what 92. when 93. where 94. which 95. who
96. why 97. with 98. yes 99. you 100. your
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Remembering Names back to top
Remembering names requires a slightly different approach to all the
others explained so far in this section, however is relatively simple
when approached in a positive frame of mind.
The following techniques can be used:
1. Face association
Examine a person's face discretely when you are introduced. Try to
find an unusual feature, whether ears, hairline, forehead, eyebrows,
eyes, nose, mouth, chin, complexion, etc.
Create an association between that characteristic, the face, and the
name in your mind. The association may be to associate the person
with someone you know with the same name, or may be to associate a
rhyme or image from the name with the person's face or defining
feature.
2. Repetition
When you are introduced, ask for the name to be repeated. Use the
name yourself as often as possible (without overdoing it!). If it is
unusual, ask how it is spelled, or where it is comes from, and if
appropriate, exchange cards - the more often you hear and see the
name, the more likely it is to sink in.
Also, after you have left that person's company, review the name in
your mind several times. If you are particularly keen you might
decide to make notes.
Summary
The methods suggested for remembering names are fairly simple and
obvious, but are quite powerful. Association either with images of a
name or with other people can really help recall of names. Repetition
and review help it to sink in.
An important thing to stress is practice, patience, and progressive
improvement in remembering names.
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Remembering Lists of Information back to top
Remembering lists of information are what many of the mnemonics
described in this section are all about. Almost any information can
be coded into these mnemonic lists - all that is needed is the
imagination to come up with the relevant associations.
The following section explains the best techniques that can be used
to remember particular lists:
Short Lists:
The Link Method
The Number/Rhyme System
The Number/Shape Method
Intermediate Lists
Simple Journey Method
The Number/Rhyme Method
Extended Number/Shape Method
Alphabet System
Longer Lists
Journey Method
Extended Number/Rhyme Method
Extended Number/Shape Method
Extended Alphabet System
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Remembering Words, Lines and Speeches back to top
There are two main techniques for remember quotations and lines:
1. Repetition
Professional actors are said to learn lines most effectively by
rereading a play or parts in a play many times over a short period.
As an example, they may read something to be remembered 5 to 10 times
a day over 4 days.
2. Keyword/Journey System
An alternative approach using mnemonics is to use the journey system,
with a stop for each line.
At each stop you can either code the key images or words, or can
adopt a technique where you associate each word in the line.
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Remembering Numbers back to top
Using mnemonic systems, remembering numbers becomes extremely simple.
There are a number of approaches, depending on the types of numbers
being remembered:
1. Short numbers
These can be stored in a number of ways:
The easiest, but least reliable, is to use simple Number/Rhyme images
associated in a story.
A simple peg system can be used, associating numbers from e.g. the
Number/Rhyme System, organised with, eg. the Alphabet system.
More accurately, they can be remembered as one or a few images using
the Major system
2. Long numbers (e.g. Pi)
This can be remembered using the Journey System. At a simple level,
numbers can be stored at each stop on the journey using e.g. the
Number/Shape system. The amount of digits stored at each stop can be
increased initially by using the Major System, and enhanced still
further by using simple techniques to Expand Memory Systems.
Using all the simple techniques in concert, there is no reason why
you should not be able to store a 100 digit number with relatively
little effort. Using the more powerful systems, holding it to 1000
digits might not be too much of a challenge.
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Remembering Telephone Numbers back to top
These can be remembered simply by associating numbers from e.g. the
Number/Rhyme system with positions in a peg system such as the
Alphabet System, or the Journey System, and by further associating
these with the face or name of the person whose number is being
remembered.
For example, to remember that Kathryn's phone number is 735345, I can
imagine myself travelling to her flat: with my destination firmly in
mind, I envisage the following stops on my journey:
Front door: the door has sprouted angels wings, and is flying up to
heaven! (7)
Rose bush: a small sapling (tree, 3) is growing its way through the
middle of the bush.
Car: some bees have started to build a hive (5) under the wheel of my
car. I have to move it very carefully to avoid damaging it.
End of road: a tree (3) has fallen into the road. I have to drive
around it.
Past garage: Someone has nailed a door (4) to the sign. Strange!
Under railway bridge: the bees are building another hive (5) between
the girders here!
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Remembering Dates back to top
Dates can be remembered as short number sequences as described in the
article on Remembering Numbers, associated with the event to which
they relate. The number of the millennium is often not needed.
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Remembering Playing Cards back to top
Once you are familiar with the Journey system, remembering the order
of a pack of playing cards becomes relatively simple.
Before you try to do this, you should prepare a journey in your mind
that has 54 stops. Ensure that the stops are fresh and firm in your
mind.
The next step is fairly simple - what you need to do is have an image
in your mind representing each of the cards. Counting an ace as 1,
and the 10 as zero, you can create a picture in your mind of an image
from the Number/Shape system for the numbers Ace - 10. For the jack,
queen and king, the images on the playing card are ready-made
mnemonic images. The suits similarly can be represented by the suit
symbols.
For example, the two of hearts can be represented by a white swan
with a red heart painted on its side. The ten of spades could be a
hole with the handle of a spade sticking out.
It is a good idea to prepare all the images to be used beforehand, as
remembering cards during a card game will have to be done quite
rapidly.
As cards come up, associate the card images with the stops on your
journey.
| Replies | Author | Yahoo! ID | Date | Size |
| 4470: Re: memory from my od site....regards terry | ganetauk | ganetauk | Sun 13/04/2003 | 56 KB |
| 4479: Re: memory from my od site....regards terry | sublunarangel | sublunarangel | Mon 14/04/2003 | 60 KB |
| 4516: Re: memory from my od site....regards terry | novembertuesday | novembertuesday | Mon 14/04/2003 | 3 KB |
| 4517: Re: memory from my od site....regards terry | ganetauk | ganetauk | Tue 15/04/2003 | 3 KB |
| 4531: Re: memory from my od site....regards terry | novembertuesday | novembertuesday | Tue 15/04/2003 | 2 KB |
