How to Memorize Anything (22 page)

Visualization:

Peg for number one is sun, To remember the first item in the list, i.e. apples, make an association of sun with apple. Similarly, rhyming peg for two is shoe, so associate shoe with item number 2, i.e. sugar.

Likewise, you can imagine all the items with their rhyming pegs as follows:

1. A big bright
   sun
   (one)
   is shining on a huge
   apple
   .
   
2. Imagine a shining blue coloured
   shoe
   (two)
   is full of
   sugar
   .
   
3. Visualize a big
   tree
   (three)
   is shedding
   flour
   on everybody who sits under it.
   
4. Imagine that you are closing a
   door
   (four)
   and the knob of the door is made up of butter and your hand is slipping on it.
   
5. Now imagine that all the bees are collecting
   essence
   in their
   hive
   (five).
   
6. For eggs you can visualize yourself breaking the
   eggs
   with a thick and lon
   g
   stic
   k
   (six).
   
7. Visualize lemon juice being squeezed from a big
   lemon
   (seven)
   .
   
8. And last you can imagine you are drinking
   milk
   from a
   plate
   (eight).
   

MEMORIZING APPOINTMENTS

As you can now
visuali
ze numbers through rhyme images, you can remember anything related to numbers as well. Earlier you learn to remember list of things to do using chain or hide and seek method, but using number rhyme method, we will now be able to remember the appointments along with time. Let’s say, on a particular Saturday, you have the following schedule:

To memorize the above appointments, we need some more rhyming images like for number 11. We can extend the number rhyme method chart for numbers from 11 to 20 as shown below:

Now you don’t want to get confused whether your appointment with the doctor is at 4 pm or 5 pm. You want to be sure that you do remember all the things on time. One way is to write it down, but after writing, if we can give just one more minute’s time to keep it in mind, then it would be an added advantage and we do not have to see the list again and again.

Visualization for Appointments:

1. 9 am:
   Visualize you are standing in
   line
   to call your
   boss
   .
   
2. 10 am:
   A
   hen
   is sitting in place of the teacher during
   PTM.
   
3. 11 am:
   You are going to
   heaven
   for
   shopping
   .
   
4. 1 pm:
   Visualize yourself having
   lunch with your friend
   under the
   sun
   .
   
5. 3 pm:
   Visualize yourself climbing a
   tree
   with your
   client to reach a café
   on top of the tree.
   
6. 5 pm:
   The dentist
   is taking honey from a
   hive
   into his clinic and putting it on your tooth.
   
7. 6 pm:
   Visualize
   kids are dancing
   on long
   sticks
   tied to their feet.
   
8. 7 pm:
   Your
   dress
   has
   lemons
   hanging all over it as it is a latest fashion trend.
   
9. 8 pm
   : You are
   watching a movie
   sitting on a big
   plate
   instead of a seat.
   

Visualize these associations clearly in your mind. Try to recall them without looking at the list.

What were you suppose to do at 3 o’clock?

We are sure 3 will remind you of a tree;
what can you see in your imagination, on a tree? …

If you had done the visualization as given above, you will surely recall yourself climbing on to a tree with your client to reach the café on the top of the tree. Or if we ask you the time of the kids’ dance class, then immediately the image of kids dancing on sticks will further remind you that it is at six.

Tip: The weirder the visualization, the better is the recall. So do not hesitate in thinking as weird as you can.

There is another pegging method for numbers known as ‘
Number Shape Method’
.

NUMBER SHAPE METHOD

In this method, instead of a rhyming word, we will associate an image with each number according to its shape which will remind us of that number.

Look at this table:

In the given chart, you can see that we have associated each number with a shape that reminds us of that number. For instance, candle reminds us of number 1. Number 2 is curved like the neck of a duck. Number 3 can be seen as the top of the heart and so on.

MEMORIZING NAME OF THE WORLD’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN PEAKS

Let’s use this method to learn 10 highest mountain peaks in the world in the decreasing order of their height:

So you can see that if in our imagination we use the shapes associated with the numbers, we can easily remember any given information in a sequence.

You can recall the information from any given point. For example, if we ask you that ‘Makalu’ is at which number in the list, you can easily remember that the ‘Mc aloo tikki burger’ was hanging on a
hook
and hook symbolizes number
5
or if we ask you what is the name of fourth highest mountain peak then ‘4’ reminds you of a
chair
that was very
hot
and it further reminds you of the mountain ‘Lhotse’.

In the same way, you can remember the list of Prime Ministers, Presidents, or any other information you are required to remember by number or hierarchical positions.

APPLICATIONS OF THE PEG SYSTEM

The peg system can be used for the same things as other mnemonic systems, including:

• Memorizing lists up 20 items in and out of sequence
  
• Remembering the item’s position on the list
  
• Memorizing speeches in points
  
• Remembering information when it is inconvenient to write it down
  
• Keeping track of repetitive activities such as laps of a track or swimming pool, or repetitions of scales when practicing a musical instrument.
  

C
HAPTER
A
T
A G
LANCE

• A ‘peg’ is like a mental hook that can help in holding information in our mind.
  
• It helps us in visualizing numbers which are intangible and difficult to visualize.
  
• In this method we associate an image to numbers according to their sound or shape.
  
• Once we decide on the images we can memorize any information given in numerical form by replacing numbers with respective images.
  
• Methods to create pegs for numbers:
  
  • Number rhyme method:
    In this, we represent numbers by images of things that rhyme with it. For example 1 with ‘sun’ and 2 with ‘shoe’.
    
  • Number shape method:
    I
    n this method, instead of a rhyming word, we associate an image with each number according to its shape which will remind us of that number.
    
• The peg system can be used for the same things as other mnemonic systems like:
  
  • Memorizing lists up 20 items in and out of sequence
    
  • Remembering the item’s position on the list
    
  • Memorizing speeches in points
    
  • Remembering information when it is inconvenient to write it down
    
  • Keeping track of repetitive activities such as laps of a track or swimming pool, or repetitions of scales when practicing a musical instrument etc.
    

13

MEMORIZING NUMERICAL FACTS AND DATA

N
umbers play a very important role in our everyday life. There is lot of information that comprises numbers in various combinations, like bank account numbers, passwords, product codes, addresses, anniversary dates, credit card numbers, insurance policy numbers, etc.

A common thought that comes to everybody’s mind is ‘Why do we need to memorize numbers? Nowadays we have smartphones on which we can store all the relevant data, so much so that we don’t even have to remember phone numbers.’ But won’t you agree with me that numbers always fascinate us? What if you have to give a sales presentation in your office? Wouldn’t you like to amaze everyone by remembering all the sales figures and statistics at the back of your hand instead of referring to the papers or notes again and again? When we talk about
students,
they need to memorize a lot of numerical data like history dates, values of constants, periodic table, formulae, etc.

In the previous chapter, we have talked about the
number peg system
, wherein we gave some images to numbers based on their sound (rhyme) and shape. To memorize longer numbers, we make use of
Advance peg system
or
Phonetic peg system
. It is one of the most important techniques in the field of mnemonics. Memory masters all over the world use this technique along with other techniques to create records.

PHONETIC PEG SYSTEM

We are now going to learn a new language for memorizing numbers. Generally, whenever we learn a new language, the first thing we learn is the alphabet of that language. Then we use the letters of that alphabet to form words, then phrases, and finally sentences. In this method also, we will assign each number a letter and using those letters, we will make words by which we can group many numbers in a few words.

How chunking or grouping of numbers will help?

Let’s understand it with a small example. If I ask you to memorize the 20 digit number:

‘738 4195 921 321 8421 734’

Are you comfortable doing it? Don’t you think it’s highly confusing and difficult to memorize?