Master of Memory: Accelerated learning, education, memorization - MMem 0484: Should I use the first menmonic that pops into my head?

Episode Date: January 14, 2016

Gretchen asks if it’s best to use the first mnemonic idea that pops into your head. I present the benefits and drawbacks of this tactic. What do you want to learn? Leave your question at http://MasterOfMemory.com/. Music credit: Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet, 2nd movement, performed by the US Army Band.

Master of Memory 484. Welcome to Master of Memory. I'm Timothy and I'm here to answer your accelerated learning questions every day and to inspire and empower you to learn anything you want to learn faster than ever. Gretchen asked a question in an email about creating mnemonics. Is it best to use the first mnemonic idea that pops into your head or should you disregard that first idea and instead create an ideal mnemonic idea that pops into your head, or should you disregard that first idea and instead create an ideal mnemonic based on what you think is the best idea, not considering that first idea?

Before going into the answer, I'd like to illustrate this question a little bit with an example. Suppose you're memorizing a long string of digits for some odd reason, and you come across the string 881078, and you have to store that in a doorway. That's where that comes up. Now your character for 88 is a policeman named Feef and your action for 10 is throwing something and your object for 78 is a cup of coffee. So of course we'll have Feef throwing the cup of coffee. Now the first thing you might think of is if he's a policeman, he's walking into the room. So we have a doorway and he's barging into the room and he's going to throw a cup of coffee in there. That's just the first thing that would pop into your mind because, hey, he's a policeman.

He's coming in to raid the house or something like that. But then you might second guess yourself and say, wait, why is he going in the doorway instead of out? And why should he be the one throwing the cup of coffee instead of getting the cup of coffee thrown at him? Now, all of those questions have a place because it's possible that based on the other things around that and what type of doorway it is and things like that, it might make more sense for him to be going out the door to lead to your next image. Maybe he throws the cup of coffee and that lands on, say, the bird that represents your next number in the series. That can be useful. And there's also value in, of course, tweaking it based on what place you're in. But in my mind, if you just use the basic information that we started

with, 881078 in a doorway, then it kind of makes sense to go with that first thing that pops into your head. Possibly the reason that it's the first thing that popped into your head is related to the fact that it's the most memorable. It'll be the first thing that you think of because it was the first thing that you thought of. But again, you don't just want to go with that. I would toy with it a little bit if there are more nuances to work with, especially if this is going to be a permanent palace and you're wanting to store some things long-term in here and you're really wanting to refine it and make sure that everything is perfect just so that various aspects of it, not just that six-digit number, but maybe some aspects of his surroundings and environment and things like that are exactly the way that they should

be based on more information that you're storing there now and might store there later. And even if this was just a number palace, I might second guess my first thought and change the thought just to make sure that each aspect of it is stronger. So somebody walking in and throwing a cup of coffee, you know, that makes sense. I think that if the first thing you thought of was the person is standing in the doorway looking out and throws the cup of coffee might not actually be as memorable because you might go, OK, this is a policeman. Maybe he should be walking in. And that will help me remember that it is a policeman. It helps you to associate the location and the action and everything with that person. And then think of what that specific policeman would look like and act like if he's throwing a cup of coffee. Why might he be throwing that cup of coffee? He's walking in on, I don't know, somebody, you know, raiding his house or something.

And he's trying to find a way to detain them before he pulls out his gun or something. I don't know. You know, try to make it make sense. And you can use things like this, little tweaks to sharpen your mnemonics and to make every aspect of it more sharp, not just where it is, but also who it is. Because, you know, the fact that he's walking in rather than out does sharpen the fact that he's a policeman. Now, I do have a bit of an announcement to make. The format of the show is going to be changing very soon for the first time since we launched it. So up to now, I've always just answered whatever questions came in each day of

the week and sometimes tried to scatter things out. Let's say I get several questions about scripture memory. I try to spread them out a little bit and keep it varied. But starting in episode 491, we're going to have recurring topics so that you know what to expect throughout the week. I like to keep things varied and prevent us from doing a whole week on just one subject, like poetry or just a whole week on geography. I want to keep it moving. And it's also more fun for me because I get to make sure we give plenty of focus to topics that are really exciting me and many members of the audience right now, such as history and geography, and making sure we cover something on those subjects every single week. So here's the schedule that we'll be following starting in episode 491. On Mondays,

we'll be working on history facts for any history questions that came in, or even if there were no questions about history. On Tuesdays, we'll be discussing language learning topics, and so I'd really like more questions about that, whether that be more languages or some details on the techniques that we use like exclusivity and mnemonics. On Wednesdays we'll be working on some sort of passage memorization, such as poetry or scripture memorization, and so that's reserved for Wednesdays. On Thursdays I'll be going over geography facts, such as locations of cities or populations of countries, and I'll hopefully be starting with what I find to be the most essential information, such as the largest cities and the

oldest countries, but it's whatever people happen to ask about that week. On Fridays, I'm open to other topics, such as science, math, music, using mnemonics to improve conversation and social skills, general questions about mnemonics, and things like that. So it's just basically the open mic, you know, Q&A that we've been doing since the inception of the show until now. So basically, you can ask whatever questions you want, and I'll address them on the show, or I'll get back to you on them one way or another. But if you ask on these specific topics, history, you know, language learning, passage memorization, geography facts, you're very likely to have your question featured on one of these particular days since I do have a day reserved to those prioritized topics. So just make sure you leave your learning request as soon as possible

so that I can make sure to fit it into one of those slots, and you're very likely to be featured if you choose one of these subjects. And if you want to know more so that you can be prepared to leave a meaningful question for the show, just go to masterofmemory.com slash start for a free, no-opt-in-required starter guide on how to use mnemonics and all the basics of accelerated learning that we talk about in this show. Meanwhile, what do you want to learn? The world's knowledge can be yours. Leave your learning request at masterofmemory.com slash question, and I'll talk to you again soon.