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Concluding Part 1 |
It takes a long time to learn any of these systems.
For the 100 syllables where 00 is represented by BA, 01 represented by BE, etc., I took months to learn it!
Initially, I was very motivated but then my motivation dropped off. When I returned to the topic, it felt like I had forgotten a lot of what I had thought I knew.
Knowledge does seem to be familiar for some facts and not for others. Each time I come back to the subject after a few weeks' break, revision is slightly easier than the previous time.
By knowing my syllables and their numbers very well, I have a great start to learning the 100 numbered people very well. eg. I know that BE is 01. So I know that person 01 has a name which begins BE.... : Ben D.
Similarly, the 100 numbered syllables help me with my system of 1000 images of people. A person named BEP must be person 000 because the BE is the leading 01 (and the P is for the 0 tagged on the end to make 010).
I have distinguished between images which are used as place markers and images which are used to represent values. So a particular bath tub might be chosen as a location where the image of a revision fact is going to be imagined to be.
A location such as that bath tub is known by us professionals as a 'peg' - I guess because you are hanging a fact on a peg.
The way to make this studying productive is to try to recall facts without looking and reading the lesson; then you go back to the lesson and see how well you recalled.
If you are wondering why you might want to spend so much time learning these systems of images, you have to see how powerful this idea of a location 'peg' is and an image of a fact to hook onto it. Exam revision becomes easier, reference number memorisation becomes easier, remembering names becomes easier. And, like any hobby where investment of time only gradually yields benefits, it is a very satisfying discipline to pursue.
Some impressive memory stunts can be done as well. eg. Memorising a pack of cards quite quickly. One way to do this is to have one specific image for each of the 52 cards in a normal game of cards; you store at place 1 (eg. the bath tub) the relevant image for the first card of the shuffled pack of cards; you store at place 2 (eh. the area of bathroom wall tiles) the image for the second card of the pack.
Rather than use a random collection of 52 images to represent the cards, a spelling system might be used. eg. Person BA (Barry) might represent the 2 of Spades playing card if the 'B' of BA means card 2 and the 'A' of BA means 'Spades'. Person DA might be an Ace of Spades if 'D' means Ace and the 'A' means Spades.
After memorisng 52 images at 52 places, you might find that you recall the pack not perfectly but well enough to impress friends!
D 1 [1 is the Ace]
B 2
M 3
L 4
N 5
R 6
S 7
G 8
F 9
T 10
J [J is the Jack]
P [P is the Queen]
K [K is the King]
Spades = A, Hearts = E, Diamonds = I, Clubs = U (actually, I use O !!)
Yes, the letters representing 0 to 9 mainly fit the system taught in an earlier lesson - but M = 3 is an exception!
I made a cards flash card tool for showing free card images. Note that keys B and N may control 'Back' and 'Next'!
Here is a test for translating a syllable into a card.
You saw a peg system where images (your data) are stored in sequence at well known imaginary places such as a specific bath tub. eg. Each image of data might symbolise a single digit; so 5 images at 5 places effectively represent a 5 digit number.
If you learn the image system where a 2 digit number is symbolised by a person (eg from the lessons: Ben D is 01) then instead of storing 5 single digits at 5 places, you could be storing 5 2-digit numbers at 5 places and thus storing even more data. If Ben D is in the bath tub then 01 is the first part of the long number which you want to recall.
You saw an acrostic number system where the first letter(s) of words in a phrase indicate a number.
In general, I like number acrostics a lot. They seem to me to be more efficient than using a peg location system (bath tub, etc.) to store a long number.
The 'actions and adjectives' article demonstrated that a simple story or sentence can hold encrypted within it a ten digit number. I can even remember a 4 digit telephone extension (1841) by thinking of the person whose number it is and describing him as dizzy (18) and tacky (41).
The bath tub, if it is memorised with a doctor's prescription in it and then, tomorrow, I want Ben D to be in the bath tub instead (because I want to memorise something else there), then how can they co-exist? Surely I am overwriting the old memory storage when i replace the prescription with Ben D?!
Yes, a weakness of peg systems such as the BLOKES system is that they fill up with your particular facts and then they are no longer useful unless you forget the original use and memorise a new use.
However, that is a strength as well. For today's exam, I can use the BLOKES system for facts relevant to today; for next week's exam. I can use the same bath tub, etc. but to revise a different set of facts which are relevant to the new exam. But if the exams are just one day apart then there is a higher chance of me mixing up my usages of the bath tub and remembering the wrong visual item inside it!
If the facts' images are significantly different then they might co-exist in the bath: the prescription could be there and so could Ben D. This might be considered as clutter.
However, what if you deliberately store 2 exam facts relevant to 1 exam in the bath tub? You would have more use of the memory location; there is a risk though that the facts might be recalled in the wrong order: are you supposed to mention the prescription first and then Ben D OR Ben D first and then the prescription?
Since 2 or more facts stored at the same mental place might be needed in an essay in a particular sequence of recall, it is wise to make a story which has a chronology which dictates in which sequence the items must occur.
eg. There is a prescription in the bath tub but Ben D jumps in and squashes it - that story puts the prescription as fact 1 and Ben D as the LATER fact 2.
eg. There is Ben D in the bath tub but a prescription flutters down into his hands - that story puts Ben D as fact 1 and the prescription as the LATER fact 2.
Here is a video where memoriser Ben Pridmore uses peg locations where short linked story sequences take place...
DJ Shadow "Scale It Back" from Ewan Jones Morris on Vimeo.
(a film concept of Ewan Jones Morris and Casey Raymond)