Remembering Numbers
Picture the scene, if you will. Last night, you met the man (or woman) of your dreams. Unfortunately neither of you had paper or pen to hand, so the person of your dreams told you their phone number across the crowded and noisy bar. You committed it to memory, and it's now the following morning.
Heart racing, you go to call the number. But there is what might be described as a 'slight problem' - you have forgotten the number. You remember it begins '07' but after that, things get a bit hazy. Faced with millions of combinations for the remaining digits you give up, crestfallen. If only you had learnt how to remember numbers!
How to Memorise Number Sequences
So you'll be wanting the method, then! One of the most popular ways is to associate each number with a particular object, usually one that bears a resemblance to that number. For instance, 1 might be a pencil, 2 might be a swan and so on.
Exercise One
This isn't homework, but it does have exercises. Exercise one is for you to write down zero to nine on a piece of paper, and next to each one, make an association that is natural to you. It has to be you that does this else the method won't work as well as it could. Once you have this, it is time to see how the system works.
Working the System
OK, so you have your system worked out. Now let's look at a number:
1452
Hmm... could be a pin number, and we all know how many of those we have to remember these days. Just as four numbers there is no easy way to remember it other than by rote, that is, stare at it and keep on trying to recall it until you remember it.
However, with the new system we give it meaning as part of a very simple little story. Now, I am using a pencil for one, a sailboat for four, a snake for five and a swan for two; you will be using whatever images you decided on for each image.
So to remember 1452, I think as follows:
I am at the edge of a lake, looking through binoculars for wildlife. To my surprise, as I look through them I clearly see an enormous, bright pink bendy pencil which is riding at the front of a sailboat. I see in my head the image of the pencil anthropomorphised with a big grin on its face as it zooms along on the boat.
I then look towards the back of the boat through the binoculars, and see a snake jump out of the water and land on the back of the boat, this really is crazy. As it lands, it coils into the exact shape of a swan, that very distinctive outline that a swan has with its long, bending neck.
And, as if by magic, I have now remember 1452.
Total Recall
OK that's great, I have a vivid imagination, but I'm standing at the cashpoint, the queue is building up, and I need to get my money. What next? Easy! Just recall the story...
I look through the binoculars and see the PENCIL (1) on the SAILBOAT (4), and then a SNAKE (5) jump out of the water and land in the shape of a SWAN (2).
And there you have it - I've recalled 1452 by reciting the easy to remember story, rather than trying to rack my brains for a rather abstract number.
Use this method whenever you have a series of numbers to recall, and you'll find it so much more effective than just trying to memorise the number.
What images did you come up with for each number? We would love to hear and print a selection hear to help other readers. So please do send them to us through our contact us page.
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