12 June 2012

Mnemonic memory system

I'm posting this because it is the system I learned in the 1960s for memorizing lists of words.  I lost the book in the 1970s, but still knew the system and for a party trick could memorize lists of 50 words or so.  Just this week I found the name for the system - "Major System (also called the phonetic number system, phonetic mnemonic system, or Herigone's mnemonic system)" and was able to look up some information about it in Wikipedia.

The process involves substituting consonants for numbers and thereby creating words.  The first 25 key words are as follows: 1 tea,  2 Noah,  3 May,  4 ray,  5 law,  6 Shaw, (author)  7 key,  8 fee,  9 bay,  10 tease,  11 tot,  12 tan,  13 team,  14 tar,  15 tale,  16 touch,  17 tack,  18 taffy,  19 tap,  20 niece,  21 net,  22 noon, 23 name,  24 Nero,  25 nail...

The full list of words and the details of the system are available at Good Memory Secrets (linkrot), but I don't think that's the original source.

Posted because if I forget the words, I now can go to my blog and look them up.

:.)

5 comments:

  1. That sounds like Harry Lorayne's number system;
    1 = t or d (1 stroke of the pen)
    2 = n (2 strokes of the pen)
    3 = m (3 strikes)
    4 = r (fouR ends in 'r')
    5 = l (hold up five fingers and the thumb and finger make an 'L' shape
    6 = s ('S'ix)
    7 = k (two sevens touching can look like a 'k')
    8 = f (a curly f can get close to a figure '8')
    9 = b or p (a 9 rotated looks like a 'b')
    0 = z or sh ('z' as in zero)

    Once you memorise the list, a number like 314159 becomes 'madrid loop'

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  2. I'm glad it's a mnemonic memory system. Otherwise I would've kept forgetting it.

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  3. The full peg system linked to is a bit life-changing. I've got a list of 27 things to do memorized pretty effortlessly. Thanks!

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  4. "You can remember" a home study course in memory and concentration I bought this course in1960s by Dr Bruno furst

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  5. I remember this - did the same course!
    But those words are a little out, the main one which is wrong (for the “taught system”) is number 16 which should be “tissue”. Touch is wrong as it translates to number 17! The phonetic ‘ch’ ending is ch/k which is for number 7

    tea, 2 Noah, 3 May, 4 ray, 5 law, 6 Shaw, (author) 7 key, 8 fee, 9 bay, 10 tease, 11 tot, 12 tan, 13 team, 14 tar, 15 tale, 16 touch, 17 tack, 18 taffy, 19 tap, 20 niece, 21 net, 22 noon, 23 name, 24 Nero, 25 nail...

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