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thenumber/rhymetechnique
TheNumber/RhymeTechnique
TheNumber/Rhymetechniqueisaverysimplewayofrememberinglistsofitemsinaspecificorder.Itisan
exampleofapegsystemi.e.asystemwherebyfactsare'pegged'toknownsequencesofcues(herethe
numbers110).Thisensuresthatnofactsareforgotten(becausegapsininformationareimmediately
obvious),andthatthestartingimagesofthemnemonicvisualisationsarewellknow.
AtasimplelevelitcanbeusedtorememberthingssuchasalistofEnglishKingsorofAmericanPresidents
intheirpreciseorder.Atamoreadvancedlevelitcanbeusedtocodelistsofexperimentstoberecalledina
scienceexam.
MindToolsMnemonicGrades:
EaseofUseveryeasy
Effectivenesseffective
Poweronlycodes110itemswithoutuseofenhancement
Learninginvestmentlow
Whoshoulduseeveryone
HowtousetheNumber/RhymeTechnique
Thistechniqueworksbyhelpingyoutobuilduppicturesinyourmind,inwhichthenumbersarerepresented
bythingsthatrhymewiththenumber,andarelinkedtoimagesthatrepresentthethingstoberemembered.
Theusualrhymingschemeisshownbelow:
1Bun
2Shoe
3Tree
4Door
5Hive
6Bricks
7Heaven
8Skate
9Line
10Hen
Ifyoufindthattheseimagesdonotattractyouorstickinyourmind,thenchangethemforsomethingmore
meaningfultoyou.
Theseimagesshouldbelinkedtoimagesrepresentingthethingstoberemembered,forexamplealistoften
Greekphilosopherscouldberememberedas:
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01/12/2016 MemoryTechniquesTheNumber/RhymeTechnique|AcademicTips.org
1ParmenidesaBUNtoppedwithmeltingyellowPARMEsancheese
2HeraclitusaSHOEwornbyHERACLes(GreekHercules)glowing
withabrightLIghT
3EmpedoclesATREEfromwhichtheMshapedMcDonaldsarches
hanghookingupabicyclePEDal
4DemocritusthinkofgoingthroughaDOORtovoteina
DEMOCRaTicelection.
5ProtagorasAbeeHIVEbeingpositivelypunchedthrough
(GORed?)byanatomicPROTon
6SocratesBRICKSfallingontoaSOCk(withafootinside!)froma
CRATe.
7PlatoAplatewithangel'swingsflappingaroundawhitecloud
8AristotleafriendcalledhARRYclutchingabOTtLEofwine
possessivelyslippingonaSKATE(sorryHarry!)
9ZenoALINEofZENbuddhistsmeditating
10EpicurusaHEN'seggbeingmixedintoanEPIleptics'sCURe.
Tryeithervisualisingtheseimagesassuggested,orifyoudonotlikethem,comeupwithimagesofyour
own.
Onceyouhavedonethis,trywritingdownthenamesofthephilosophersonapieceofpaper.Youshouldbe
abletodothisbythinkingofthenumber,thenthepartoftheimageassociatedwiththenumber,thenthe
wholeimage,andfinallythendecodetheimagetogiveyouthenameofthephilosopher.Ifthemnemonic
hasworked,youshouldnotonlyrecallthenamesofallthephilosophersinthecorrectorder,butshouldalso
beabletospotwhereyouhaveleftphilosophersoutofthesequence.Tryitit'seasierthanitsounds.
ApplyingtheNumber/RhymeTechnique
Youcanuseapegsystemlikethisasabasisforknowledgeinanentirearea:theexampleabovecouldbea
basisforaknowledgeofancientphilosophy,asimagesrepresentingtheprojects,systemsandtheoriesof
eachphilosophercannowbeassociatedwiththeimagesrepresentingthephilosophersnames.
Thesilliertheimage,themoreeffectivelyyouwillrememberitseethearticleonUsingMnemonicsMore
Effectivelytoseehowyoucandressupthepicturetohelpitstayclearlyinyourmind.
Onceyouhavemasteredthistechniqueyoucanmultiplytheitusingtheimagesdescribedinthearticleon
ExpandingMemorySystems.
Summary
TheNumber/Rhymetechniqueisaveryeffectivemethodofrememberinglists.Bydrivingtheassociations
withnumbersyoucanensurecompleterecallofallitemsonalistasyouwillknowifsomehavebeen
missed(becausetherewillbeholesinthenumbersequence).
MainMemoryTechniquesPage
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