How to Memorize Anything (25 page)

I
n the earlier chapters, we have repeatedly mentioned that the best way to remember things is through your own associations. You can follow whichever method you like or feel suitable but when you connect information on your own, it will stay with you for a longer period of time.

In the Peg system, you can form your own pegs for each number.

VALUE PEG SYSTEM

Like in the earlier chapters, we have associated numbers according to their rhyming sound or shapes. In the same way, numbers can be associated with something of the same value too. For example, number
‘1’
can be given an image of a
‘King’
as there can only be one king in a kingdom. Or number
‘2’
can be linked with
‘eyes’
or
‘ears’
. So, you can associate a particular number with something of the same value but the value of that should remain fixed. For example, you cannot link number ‘4’ with four Sundays in a month because it is not fixed. There may be a month where there are five Sundays.

This method can also be called as
‘Value Peg System’ or ‘Quantifying Method’.

ALPHABET PEG SYSTEM

The alphabet peg system works similar to the number peg system, the only difference being that instead of numbers, letters of alphabet are given images to be associated with the required information or data to be memorized.

While learning
ABC
in our childhood, we all learnt almost the same words starting with each letter. For example, almost everybody will have the same answer when asked ‘A’ for…?

The answer is:
Apple
.

So we will use the information that is etched in our mind for years as a link to memorize new information.

Another method is to associate the letter with a similar sounding word. Like
A
can be associated with
Hay
or
Way
,
B
can be imagined as a
Bee
, etc.

The following table presents two set of image words that can be used for the Alphabet Peg System. The first set of image words represent items that
start
with the corresponding letter and the second set represent items that
rhyme
with corresponding letter.

Application of Alphabet and Value Peg System is the same as the Rhyme and Shape Number Peg System.

MEMORIZING LIST OF PRIME MINISTERS

Using the alphabet peg system, try to memorize the list of Prime Ministers of India in a sequence.The first two associations are given for you; you can try to memorize the rest using your imagination:

C
HAPTER AT A GLANCE

• We can associate the numbers with images according to their value as well. This method can also be called
  ‘Value Peg System’ or ‘Quantifying Method’.
  
• For example, number 1 can be associated with King and number 2 can be associated with eyes or ears and so on.
  
• In the
  Alphabet Pegging System
  we assign images to letters of the English alphabet instead of numbers.
  
• The images can be given on the basis of the sound of the letter or the words which begin with the letter.
  
• Application of
  Value Peg System
  or
  Alphabet Peg System
  is the same as the Number Peg System.
  

15

MIND MAPS—CREATIVE NOTE TAKING

N
ow it is clear that having a good memory is not an innate human capability. Rather it is a skill that can be acquired and improved over time. The important thing is that it must be practiced like any other mental skill. In the previous chapters, we have learnt various methods of improving one’s memory through the principles of association and imagination.

Think of a HORSE. What is the first thing that comes to your mind? The spelling ‘H’, ‘O’, ‘R’, ‘S’, ‘E’ or a picture of the horse?

It most certainly will be the second. The reason this happens so naturally is because the brain ‘stores’ information more easily in the form of
pictures
.

Two components of improving memory have already been introduced to you: association and imagination. The third important component is representing the information
pictorially.
Indeed a picture is worth a thousand words. This is more so with respect to storing the information and recalling it with ease. Mind Map is one such tool that helps integrate these two very important aspects of the brain’s functioning: association and pictorial representation.

In this chapter, we are going to introduce you to
MIND MAP
®, which will not only help you improve your memory but also help you to be organized in your work. The act of Mind Mapping increases association, imagination, and creativity—
so it is the perfect tool to improve memory.

WHAT IS A MIND MAP?

Mind map is a creative and effective means of note taking invented by author and educational consultant
Tony Buzan
.

Mind map is a graphical technique whichoffers an overview of a topic and complex information in a visual form, where we start with a
central idea
and expand outward to morein-depth sub-topics on
branches
. Each branch holds a key image or
key word
printed on the line. Details are added to the main branches and radiate out.

Its structure is more of a radial type, like that of a tree seen from the top branching out in all directions from the trunk. Or it can be compared to a city map, where different main roads starting from a central point of a city radiatein all directions, further branching into sub roads and lanes spreading throughout the city like a web till the outskirts of the city.

Mind maps have many applications in
personal, family, educational, and business situations,
including:

• taking notes during a lecture or a business meeting,
  
• summarizing a topic or a chapter you are studying for your exams,
  
• making notes while reading,
  
• mapping out your thoughts while planning an event,
  
• setting career goals
  
• brainstorming various possibilities to work out a problem
  

But before going in to the details of its usage, first let’s learn how to create a mind map.

HOW TO MAKE MIND MAPS?

To draw a mind map, do the following:

1. Turn your page on its side
   (landscape),
   making sure that it is a blank paper.
   
2. Start at the centre with an image
   of the main subject (or main idea) using at least 3 colours (image speaks a thousand words). Starting in the centre gives your brain freedom to spread out in all directions and to express yourself more freely and naturally.
   
3. Add the main branches
   representing the subject’s main topics or themes using
   key words and images.
   
4. Add sub-branches
   to the main branches, having further detail with more key words and images.
   
5. Make your
   branches curved
   rather than straight-lined.
   
6. Use
   colours
   throughout and make your Mind Map as beautiful as possible.
   
7. Write your
   words clearly in print
   and use only
   one word per line
   .
   
8. Use arrows to connect linking ideas
   . Your brain works by association. It likes to link two or three things together. Linking the branches will help you make connections and understand and remember a lot more easily.
   

WHY MIND MAPS?

Mind maps can be more effective than other brainstorming and linear note-taking methods for a number of reasons:

• A mind map can at once give you an overview of a large subject while also holding large amounts of information on a single page.
  
• Instead of boring, linear note making, the combinations of words and images with colours makes it more memorable and enjoyable to create and review.
  
• It combines both left and right brain thinking, which means that you will remember the information better than if you just had lines of words.
  
• Itmimics the way our brains think—bouncing ideas off each other.
  
• You can generate ideas very quickly with this technique and are encouraged to explore different creative pathways.
  

In one survey, executives who started using mind mapping said they were able to work significantly faster than before and juggle more complex projects through mind mapping. And research suggests
mind mapping can improve learning and memory by 10 to 15 percent
versus conventional note-taking and studying techniques.

The whole concept of mind maps, what they are, why to use them, how mind maps can be made and their uses all have been summarized in the following mind map:

Mind Map about the concept of Mind Mapping