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| •The Number/Rhyme Mnemonic -
Remembering Simple Ordered Lists |
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| • How to Use Tool |
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The Number/Rhyme technique is a very simple way of remembering lists in order. It is an example of a peg system using - a system where information is 'pegged' to a known sequence (here the numbers one to ten) to create pegwords. By doing this you ensure that you do not forget any facts, as gaps in information are immediately obvious. It also makes remembering images easier as you always know part of the mnemonic images.
At a simple level you can use it to remember things such as a list of English Kings or American Presidents in their precise order. At a more advanced level it can be used, for example, to code lists of experiments to be recalled in a science exam. The technique works by helping you to build up pictures in your mind, in which you represent numbers by things that rhyme with the number. You can then link these pictures to images of the things to be remembered.
The usual rhyming scheme is:
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Bun |
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Shoe |
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Tree |
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Paw |
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Hive |
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Bricks |
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Heaven |
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Gate |
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Line |
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Hen |
If you find that these images do not attract you or stick in your mind, then change them for something more meaningful.
Link these images to ones representing the things to be remembered. Often, the sillier the compound image, the more effectively you will remember it - see the introduction to this chapter to see how you can improve the image to help it stay clearly in your mind. |
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| • Example |
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For example, you could remember a chronological list of ten Greek philosophers as:
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Parmenides - a BUN topped with grated yellow PARMEsan cheese. |
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Heraclitus - a SHOE worn by HERACLes (Greek Hercules) glowing with a
bright LIghT. |
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Empedocles - A TREE from which the M-shaped McDonalds arches hang
hooking up a bicycle PEDal. |
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Democritus - think of a PAW print on the voting form of a DEMOCRaTic
election. |
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Protagoras - A bee HIVE being positively punched through (GORed?) by
an atomic PROTon. |
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Socrates - BRICKS falling onto a SOCk (with a foot inside!) from a
CRATe. |
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Plato - A plate with angel's wings flapping around a white cloud. |
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Aristotle - a friend called hARRY clutching a bOTtLE of wine vaulting over
a gate. |
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Zeno - A LINE of ZEN Buddhists meditating. |
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Epicurus - a HEN's egg being mixed into an EPIleptics's CURe. |
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Try either visualizing 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, and then the whole image. Finally you can 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 them out of the sequence. Try it - it's easier than it sounds.
You can use a peg system like this as a basis for knowledge in an entire area. The example above could form the basis for knowledge of ancient philosophy. You could now associate images representing the projects, systems and theories of each philosopher with the images coding the philosophers' names. |
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| • Key points |
The Number/Rhyme technique is a very effective method of remembering lists. It works by 'pegging' the things to be remembered to images rhyming with the numbers 0 - 9. By driving the associations with numbers you have a good starting point in reconstructing the images, you are aware if information is missing, and you can pick up and continue the sequence from anywhere within the list. In the next article, we look at the Number/Shape mnemonic, another useful peg system. To read this, click "Next article" below. Other relevant destinations are shown in the "Where to go from here" list underneath. |
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| • The Number/Shape Mnemonic - Remembering Simple Ordered Lists |
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| • How to Use Tool |
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The Number/Shape system is very similar to the Number/Rhyme system. It is a very simple and effective way of remembering a list in a specific order. It is another example of a peg system based on oegword images.
The technique works by helping you to build up pictures in your mind, in which the numbers are represented by images shaped like the number. You can then associate these with the things you want to remember using striking images.
One image scheme is shown below
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Candle, spear, stick |
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Swan (beak, curved neck, body) |
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Bifocal glasses, or part of a "love heart" |
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Sail of a yacht |
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A meat hook, a sea-horse facing right |
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A golf club |
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A cliff edge |
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An egg timer |
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A balloon with a string attached, flying freely |
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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, link these images to ones representing the things to be remembered.
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 cannot mix the most vivid images of each scheme together into your own compound scheme. |
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| • Example |
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We can use a list of more modern thinkers to illustrate the number/shape system:
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Spinoza - a large CANDLE wrapped around with someone's SPINe. |
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Locke - a SWAN trying to pick a LOCK with its wing. |
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Hume - A HUMan child BREAST feeding. |
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Berkeley - A SAIL on top of a large hooked and spiked BURR in the LEE of a cliff. |
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Kant - a CAN of spam hanging from a meat HOOK. |
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Rousseau - a kangaROO SEWing with a GOLF CLUB. |
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Hegel - a crooked trader about to be pushed over a CLIFF, HaGgLing to
try to avoid being hurt. |
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Kierkegaard - a large EGG TIMER containing captain KIRK and a GuARD from the starship enterprise, as time runs out. |
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Darwin - a BALLOON floating upwards, being blown fAR by the WINd. |
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Marx - a HOLE with white chalk MARks around it's edge. |
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| • Key points |
The Number/Shape technique is a very effective method of remembering lists. It works by linking things to be remembered with the images representing the numbers 0 - 9. By using it in conjunction with the Number/Rhyme system, you can build potent images that can make very effective mnemonics.
The next technique we look at, the Alphabet Technique, extends this approach, helping you remember longer lists. To read this, click "Next article" below. Other relevant destinations are shown in the "Where to go from here" list underneath. |
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| • The Alphabet Technique - Remembering Middle Length Lists |
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| • How to Use Tool |
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The Alphabet system is a peg memory technique similar to, but more sophisticated than, the Number/Rhyme system. It is a good method for remembering longer lists of items in a specific order, in such a way that you can tell if items are missing. It works by associating images representing letters of the alphabet with images you create for the things to be remembered. When you are creating images for the letters of the alphabet, create images phonetically, so that the sound of the first syllable of the word is the name of the letter. For example, you might represent the letter 'k' with the word 'cake'.
Tony Buzan in his book 'Use Your Perfect Memory' suggests using a system for creating vivid images that you can reconstruct if you forget them. He suggests taking the phonetic letter sound as the first consonant, and then, for the rest of the consonants in the word, using the first letters in alphabetical order that make a memorable word. For example 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 approach has the advantage of producing an image that you can reconstruct if you forget it. You might, however, judge that this is an unnecessary complication of a relatively simple system. In any case it is best to select the strongest image that comes to mind and stick with it. One image scheme is shown below:
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| A - Ace of spades |
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B - Bee |
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C - Sea |
| D - Diesel engine |
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E - Eel |
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F - Effluent |
| G - Jeans |
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H - H-Bomb, itch |
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I - Eye |
| J - Jade |
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K - Cake |
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L - Elephant |
| M - Empty |
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N - Entrance |
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O - Oboe |
| P - Pea |
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Q - Queue |
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R - Ark |
| S - Eskimo |
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T - Teapot |
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U - Unicycle |
| V - Vehicle |
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W - WC |
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X - X-Ray |
| Y - Wire |
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Z - Zulu |
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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 you have firmly visualized these images and have linked them to their root letters, you can associate them with information to be remembered.
See the introduction to this chapter to see how you can improve these pictures to help them stay clearly in your mind. Once you have mastered this technique you can multiply it using the images described in the article on Expanding Memory Systems. |
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| • Example |
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Continuing our mnemonic example of the names of philosophers, we will use the example of remembering a list of modern thinkers:
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A - Ace - Freud - a crisp ACE being pulled out of a FRying pan (FRiED). |
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B - Bee - Chomsky - a BEE stinging a CHiMp and flying off into the SKY. |
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C - Sea - Genette - a GENerator being lifted in a NET out of the SEA. |
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D - Diesel - Derrida - a DaRing RIDer surfing on top of a DIESEL train. |
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E - Eagle - Foucault - Bruce Lee fighting off an attacking EAGLE with kungFU. |
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F - Effluent- Joyce - environmentalists JOYfully finding a plant by an
EFFLUENT pipe. |
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G - Jeans - Nietzche - a holey pair of JEANS with a kNEe showing through. |
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H - H-Bomb - Kafka - a grey civil service CAFe being blown up by an H-
Bomb
etc. |
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| • Key points |
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| The Alphabet Technique links the items to be remembered with images of the letters A - Z. This allows you to remember a medium length list in the correct order. By pegging the items to be remembered to letters of the alphabet you know if you have forgotten items, and know the cues to use to trigger their recall. The Journey System is the next tool we look at. This is a powerful technique for quickly remembering long lists. |
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