Don't Forget to Remember...

 

By David Shamah, The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2004

 

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 midnight and the store is long closed, so I have to gear myself up for what’s coming tomorrow. Without the milk, we don’t have our morning coffee because we don’t like it black. And missing that morning coffee fix makes for a grumpy day. And when you have a grumpy day, there’s lots of screaming and hot tempers and then you feel guilty and you have take the family out to some rip-off fast food joint because you want to make it up to everybody and you end up spending some ridiculous amount of money. All because of some forgotten milk. Sigh.

 

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 Brooklyn accent?). According to the plan, you learn the phonetic numerals and apply them to the words (sounds) you want to remember, and then associate it with the number. The author has a very extensive list of examples, which will show you how the idea works in practice.

 

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.

 

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