Don't
Forget to Remember...
By David Shamah,
The
I think I really stepped
into it this time, folks. The wife is not going to be happy.
You see, I just remembered
that I forgot the milk – again. No biggie, right? Well, it’s
Like everybody, I, too, am
getting older, but this is not an age thing -it’s been going on as long as I can
remember - which, admittedly, is not too far back. More likely it’s because I’m
so intelligent that my brain is working at full capacity and can’t absorb more
information (yeah, right), or maybe it’s because of some long-forgotten milk
phobia brought on by a scary looking baby bottle, but I’ve got a real block
when it comes to this milk thing.
Then again, I’m always
forgetting to pay bills (I hope they don’t turn off the electricity again
before I finish writing this!) and pick up the cleaning, not to mention the
kids. Just last week (I am not making this one up) I forgot the secret alarm
code for my car – and I couldn’t ask anyone for the number because it was, of course,
a secret! It took me a good half hour to remember that I had written it down on
a piece of paper in my wallet, which I almost forgot at home when I left that
day! Whatever the cause, this forgetfulness thing is sometimes expensive,
occasionally embarrassing, and always annoying.
That car code business was
the last straw! No more grumpy mornings and absolutely not one more cent for
rip-off fast food guilt! I am sick and tired of being stranded without money
because I forgot my ATM number (yes, I’ve done that too). I could write the
information I need, but my penmanship is atrocious and half the time I can’t
even read what I’ve written!
So I started looking into an
idea called Pseudonumerology, a system that claims to
drastically improve your ability to remember all sorts of information. Pseudonumerology is an outgrowth of mnemonics, which is the
science of memory improvement; the basic idea is to link strings of numbers
(which are hard to remember) with words (which are easier to remember). If you
can train your mind to automatically associate numbers with their corresponding
words, you might save yourself a lot of tzuris – or,
you might confuse yourself even more! Only one way to find
out, right?
I say this because when you
take a look at the Soundnumbers Web site (http://www.soundnumbers.com), your
first instinct might be to run as fast as you can in the other direction. The
theory of pseudonumerics looks a bit heavy, but if
you get over your initial fear and actually read the information on the site,
you may find yourself far more interested than you expected. The author of the
site shows one application of the theory, which entails using a set of phonetic
numbers that are associated with words and letters. There are 10 phonetic
numerals, which have funny looking symbols, and they represent sounds (of
vowels and consonants) and numbers (which are associated with those sounds
(what do you do if you have a
As you will notice, though,
there are many words associated with each symbol and number. The number nine
and the symbol that looks like a P with a line through it has all sorts of
words associated with it, from abbey to buoy to hippo to dozens of others that
have absolutely nothing to do with each other. It looks confusing, but it
really isn't; you're not learning a language, but a technique, so you only need
to figure out how to remember the stuff you really need. Once you look at it
from that perspective, you realize this system can be a powerful method you can
utilize to keep stuff from flying out of your head.
You can see a clearer
application of the principles involved at the Pocket Pseudonomer
site, http://www.eeweb.nl/memory/pp/.
This site is short on theory, but has a pocket-sized pseudonumeric
translator you can print out. The format makes the theory much more
understandable, and you get a much better idea of what the theory is all about.
The site also has an on-line numerator, which will take your word or phrase and
convert it to both Arabic and phonetic numbers. The numerator makes the
principles involved quite clear.
Now you're ready for the pseudonumeric big time! The granddaddy of pseudonumeric applications has got to be 2know (http://www.got2know.net/2Know/index.html),
a program that will have you making up numbers to memorize just for fun.
In 2know, you type in your
numerical string, and the program, based on the principles of pseudonumerology, will automatically generate a list of
words representing parts of the string. You select the words that make sense to
you associate them with the number, and that number is practically guaranteed
to etch itself into your head for good!
For example, I typed in
555-1212, that famous phony phone number that everybody on TV seems to have.
The program checked it's 66,000 word dictionary and
slit the number into different segments – for example, the 55 part corresponds
to Hillel, ally, and hello among many others. I finally chose "loyal ludington" as my phrase – it's got personality,
certainly a lot more than an anonymous set of numbers! Although a phone number
like 555-1212 is pretty simple to remember, learning the techniques involved
with this, or running the number through 2know, will have an impact on the way
you remember things – so that, when you're faced with a not so easy to remember
number, you'll able to get it to "stand out from the crowd: by assign it a
phrase that reflects its – or your – personality. And when a number has personality,
you can learn to like it and even become friends with it, and I'm sure you're
not the type to forget your friends!
So now I'm working on some
of these memory techniques. With any luck, I'll be able to stop the leak
through which all that stuff has been seeping out. Soon, we'll never need to
worry about grumpy mornings. We'll have all the milk we need, because I won't
forget to buy it. In fact, I just remembered we were a little low this morning.
I'd better run out and get some. If only I could remember where
I left my car keys. D'oh!
Download 2know from http://www.got2know.net/2Know/index.html.
Free, for all Windows systems.
Send questions or comments
to ds@newzgeek.com, or surf to http://www.newzgeek.com