Memory Class #2

This was the second of six classes taught by caller_dayle. This session was about memorizing numbered lists as opposed to last week's linked list.

How do we do this? For the in-class example, we memorized a list of 25 items by linking each item to ordered items we already know.
1. Select a list of five items which you know well and know in a specific order (eg. birth order of siblings). Create five such memorable indices in a memorable order for a total of 25 items. These are the index lists.
2. For each index item, use some imaginative association to link the index to the item you need to memorize.
3. To recall a particular target item, all you need to do is select the index item within each index list, then use the association to recall the target.

For example, my five lists of five items are:
1. siblings: Wayne, me, Irene, Donna, Terri
2. Mom's siblings: Mom, Gail, Lee, Kathy, Craig
3. Square dance levels: Mainstream, Plus, Advanced-1, Advanced-2, Challenge-1
4. Office Applications: Remedy, Outlook, Internet Explorer, cmd window, SSH
5. rooms in my childhood house: kitchen, living room, bedrooms #1, #2 & #3
I could just as easily used lists of five Roman caesars, Tudor monarchs or Canadian prime ministers. It doesn't matter which list of five is used so long as it is memorable to you.

What's target item #17? It would be second item of the fourth list; in my case, it would be the item I associated with Outlook in my index list. What's target #3? I recall item 3 of my first list (Irene), then follow my association to the target.

The list of 25 target items, from memory:
clock, rubber band, pyramid, blouse, keyboard, finger nail, pole, macaroni, restaurant, beetle, fountain, lamp, outlet, spoon, mirror, night stand, hamster, baseball, business card, zipper, teacher, calendar, suitcase, grandma, pie.

Being a geek, I was wondering if I could come up with a list of 16 items so I could use hexadecimal instead of lists of five. Maybe I'll just write square dance choreo instead.

This week's homework assignment: devise a list of 10 items in specific order from 10 rooms we know well in a specific order for a total of 100 items.

Memory Class #2

This was the second of six classes taught by caller_dayle. This session was about memorizing numbered lists as opposed to last week's linked list.

How do we do this? For the in-class example, we memorized a list of 25 items by linking each item to ordered items we already know.
1. Select a list of five items which you know well and know in a specific order (eg. birth order of siblings). Create five such memorable indices in a memorable order for a total of 25 items. These are the index lists.
2. For each index item, use some imaginative association to link the index to the item you need to memorize.
3. To recall a particular target item, all you need to do is select the index item within each index list, then use the association to recall the target.

For example, my five lists of five items are:
1. siblings: Wayne, me, Irene, Donna, Terri
2. Mom's siblings: Mom, Gail, Lee, Kathy, Craig
3. Square dance levels: Mainstream, Plus, Advanced-1, Advanced-2, Challenge-1
4. Office Applications: Remedy, Outlook, Internet Explorer, cmd window, SSH
5. rooms in my childhood house: kitchen, living room, bedrooms #1, #2 & #3
I could just as easily used lists of five Roman caesars, Tudor monarchs or Canadian prime ministers. It doesn't matter which list of five is used so long as it is memorable to you.

What's target item #17? It would be second item of the fourth list; in my case, it would be the item I associated with Outlook in my index list. What's target #3? I recall item 3 of my first list (Irene), then follow my association to the target.

The list of 25 target items, from memory:
clock, rubber band, pyramid, blouse, keyboard, finger nail, pole, macaroni, restaurant, beetle, fountain, lamp, outlet, spoon, mirror, night stand, hamster, baseball, business card, zipper, teacher, calendar, suitcase, grandma, pie.

Being a geek, I was wondering if I could come up with a list of 16 items so I could use hexadecimal instead of lists of five. Maybe I'll just write square dance choreo instead.

This week's homework assignment: devise a list of 10 items in specific order from 10 rooms we know well in a specific order for a total of 100 items.