Mnemonics - 4: Train Your Memory

Method of Loci (Memory Palace):

Transform familiar places into powerful memory tools. Picture our daily route from the train station to our office, noting specific landmarks: the bookstall, vending machine, snack bar, traffic signal etc. When creating a shopping list, mentally place each item at these locations. Visualize milk cartons stacked at the bookstall, bread loaves tumbling from the vending machine, and eggs balanced on the traffic signal. This ancient technique turns spatial memory into your retrieval system.

Chunking Numbers:

Break long numbers into memorable segments. Our credit card number 3767850214254007 becomes manageable as 3767-850-214-254-007. Notice patterns: 3767 has rhythm, 214 and 254 share similar digits, while 007 connects to popular paperback series. Our brains naturally handle 3-4 chunks better than 16 individual digits, making recall effortless.

Peg-Word System:

Create numbered hooks for information storage. Use rhyming words: One-Bun, Two-Shoe, Three-Tree, Four-Door, Five-Dive, Six-Fix, Seven-Heaven, Eight-Wait, Nine-Wine, Ten-Pen. To remember a grocery list, visualize hamburger buns filled with the first item, your second item stuffed in shoes, and so forth. These pegs provide instant retrieval cues.

PQ4R Reading Method:

Master textbook material through six steps: 

• Review the chapter
• Re-form questions about key concepts
• Read actively seeking answers, 
• Reflect on connections and meanings, 
• Recite main points aloud
• Recap everything systematically. 

This method slows initial reading but dramatically improves retention and comprehension.

Conclusion:

Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel wisely observed:

"Memory is what makes our lives. Life without memory is no life at all. Our memory is our coherence, our feeling, even our action."

Your mnemonic journey begins now.  Practise these techniques daily, and watch your memory transform from liability to superpower.

Click below to read:

Part - 1 (Absent Minded Professor)

Part - 2 (Why Do You Forget?)

Part - 3 (Mnemonics - It Is All Yours)

Mnemonics -3: It is All Ours!

The word "Mnemonic" comes from Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of memory.

Mnemonics employ unique coding techniques to strengthen memory - far more efficient than repeated rehearsals. There's no "right" or "wrong" approach. Grab the concept and adapt it to our needs, because learning styles vary. Be creative!

Core Principles:

Mnemonics work when we:

- Feel a real need to memorize

- Understand the information's meaning

- Process information correctly

- Invest extra effort upfront to improve memory

Popular Mnemonic Tools:

Rhymes & Music - Information set to rhythm sticks. Remember this verse for days in months?

"Thirty days of September,  

April, June, and November  

All the rest have thirty-one,  

Leaving just February alone."

Acronyms - New words from first letters:

- TIE (Take It Easy)

- ASAP (As Soon As Possible) 

- VIRUS (Vital Information Under Siege)

Acrostics - Sentences from first letters, perfect for ordered lists.

Traditional rote learning struggles with the eight planets in order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Using first letters (M-V-E-M-J-S-U-N), create this acrostic:

"My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos"

How many rehearsals did that take? Will it fade from memory?

Key Success Steps:

1. Convert information into mental images

2. Focus on meaning and relevance  

3. Associate new information with existing knowledge

4. Space out learning sessions

5. Split, Shorten, Substitute, Sing, Group, Combine

The beauty of mnemonics lies in flexibility—use any tool; adapt it to our taste and preference.

Continue to Part 4 →

Click below to read:

Part - 1 (Absent Minded Professor)

Part - 2 (Why Do You Forget?)

Part - 4 (Train Your Memory)

The Surprise Visitor

I finished installing a site meter in my blog, and went over to check the statistics.

The meter had recorded just one visitor, Gates Foundation.org. Not thinking too much about it, I hopped back to the meter to make some changes in its configuration, and returned quickly to take a second look at the statistics. Lo! Gates Foundation had dropped by again!

What I felt initially was euphoria. I am a guy, leading an almost invisible and unobtrusive life. My immediate neighbors would not know if I am dead or alive. My circle of friends (an inch and a half in diameter!) with an exception of one or two generally takes it for granted that whatever happens to me is for the good. I have an absolutely transparent family that I myself am unable to detect. On my morning walk, not even a street dog bothers to bark at me (A bite or two would have at least convinced me, Hey, you seem to be alive and kicking!)

So, to someone who is in a state of perpetual implosion, can you imagine what these visits from a meritorious entity mean?

The Gates Foundation has a mission to bring 'innovation in health and learning to the global industry'. Supporting this noble initiative are its universally pervasive reach and penetrative vision. Tell me, am I not fortunate? Infinitesimally inconsequential I may be, but the world's mighty come calling and consoling 'don't you worry, bloke. We are here to watch you'.

Mnemonics -2: Why Do We Forget?

The Three Stages of Memory

Science reveals memory works through three stages:

• Encoding: arranging information in easy-to-remember form
• Storing: filing this encoded information away
• Retrieving: recalling it when needed

Successful remembering means completing all these stages.

Types of Memory

Sensory Memory - information retained long-term, through our senses. Nursery rhymes from childhood or grandma's kitchen aromas triggering warm memories.

Working Memory - information we actively process, like mental calculations while shopping. Think of repeating a phone number until we dial it.

Long-Term Memory - 3 types:

• Episodic - specific events tied to time and place (your wedding day, a family member's passing)
• Semantic - facts and figures (countries and capitals, word meanings, math equations)
• Procedural - acquired skills (driving, swimming, yoga) that surface naturally through performance, not narration

Implicit vs. Explicit Memory:

Implicit Memory - unconscious retrieval. We hear a joke, make no effort to memorize, yet days later share it naturally.

Explicit Memory - conscious, intentional retrieval. Describing an accident scene from years ago requires explicit effort.

How Big Is Memory?:

We're bombarded with information daily. Most of it gets encoded and stored automatically without conscious effort. Ever felt having seen someone before, when meeting him "for the first time"? 

Visiting childhood neighborhoods triggers floods of forgotten memories. They were always there - we just needed the right stimulus to retrieve them.

The key insight: We don't forget—we fail to retrieve.

Why We Fail to Recall:

Memory lapses occur due to:

- Inactive memories

- Physiological changes  

- Interference from newer experiences

- Overlapping memories

- Emotional disturbances

- Lack of motivation

Continue to Part 3 →

Click below to read:

Part - 1 (Absent Minded Professor)

Part - 3 (Mnemonic - It Is All Yours)

Mnemonics -1: Absent Minded Professor!

My grandma was fond of tying knots—neat, tiny ones in a corner of her scarf. As a child, I found it amusing and puzzling. One day, she agreed to unravel the mystery if I promised to learn like a big boy.

"When guests are expected, I tie one knot—that reminds me to buy extra milk," she explained. "The day I pick you up from school instead of your mom, I tie a bigger knot. Big, because I can't afford to forget." With a smile, she continued, "Different knots for different things. See how easy it is to remember?"

Decades later, I realized why grandma never forgot anything!

Inability to remember when needed is common, but avoidable. I'll show you how to not just retain what you learn, but recall it whenever you want.  Now, read on...

Three Patterns of Recall

You've likely heard these statements:

- "It's as if it happened yesterday. I'll never forget it."

- "Wait. It's at the tip of my tongue. Let me recollect."

- "I know for sure, but I can't remember."

These represent "Free, Forced, and Faded" recall patterns. The question is: can we control them?

Three Core Principles:

1. Practice makes perfect - even in memory-building

2. Memory tools are guides - devise own techniques

3. Physiological memory issues need professional expertise

What Is Memory?

Simply put, it's the mind's ability to remember the past. We encounter countless bits of information daily. 

• Free Recall: Sometimes we retrieve them automatically.
• Forced Recall: Conscious retrieval shows sharp memory. 
• Faded Recall: Failure to recall suggests memory lapses.

Memory is like oxygen to life. Without it, we have no identity, relevance, or orientation. We wouldn't learn, acquire skills, or recognize faces and places. Life would be meaningless, unfamiliar events.

This four-part series will transform how you remember—forever.

Continue to Part 2 

To check out the next part, click here.

All The Monkeys Know ...

It was a big house. From where he sat, it seemed even bigger.  To his left was the entrance.  A long passage led to the living room on his right.  In front were the dining area and the bedrooms.

Biju was here just a week ago, for Su aunt's wedding. It was a busy day, running around and playing with friends. Now he felt bored, with no one to talk, nothing to do, and having to spend the whole night alone.

He was having food with dad and mom, when the phone call came. Someone in the family had died. They would have to rush. 'Biju', his dad said, 'you are not coming.  We will drop you at Su aunt's place'. Dad sounded so stern that Biju thought it best not to protest. Soon, he was at Su aunt's place.

A hug from Su aunt, a kiss on the cheek from Lux aunt, and a cold stare from granny greeted Biju.  Lux aunt had her hands around him.  'Biju, what did you have for dinner?  Would you like something to munch?' 

Before he could react, Granny said, 'Biju will sleep here on the sofa. Get him a pillow and sheet'.  'Oh! No mama' Lux aunt pleaded. 'Let him sleep with me'.  'No. Lux', Granny said.  'You have lots to study.  Moreover, he is a big boy now. He isn't frightened to sleep alone'.

Biju sat, swinging his legs, wondering what to do.   He was not sleepy.  Climbing on the sofa, he opened the window.  A whiff of cold breeze rushed in.  'Wow. It's raining'.  The tree in front of the house blocked his view.  He could only see a patch of the road ahead.  The dripping street lamps barely lit up the ground.   Biju stretched, almost half out of the window to gather raindrops.

Then he saw... a shadow beneath the tree.  A streak of lightning lit up the dark sky.  Suddenly, the form emerged from under the tree and started running towards the house.  Biju first saw the hands, pulling the shirt up to cover the head, and then the face.   It was scary.

Trembling, he slid down the sofa and rushed to the bedroom, frantically knocking the door.  'Lux,' Su aunt called out, 'Take this kid away.  He won't sleep; won't let others also sleep'.

The other bedroom door opened.  Biju ran crying into the hands of Lux aunt.  'What happened, Biju?  Got scared or what?  Don't cry.  Lux aunt is with you, no?'

Biju felt safe.  He climbed on to the bed, and stretched out to Lux aunt.  'Ok. Give me a minute.  I'll change and come'.  Biju liked her a lot. She was pretty, always smiling, and nice to him.

'Biju, I am switching off the light'.  Biju turned to look at her.  She was wearing a nightie.  As she lay down, she kissed him, 'Now, be a good boy and go to sleep'.  Biju inched closer.  He could feel the warmth of her body.  She hugged him tight, pressing his face into her bosom.  For a moment, Biju felt breathless.  He pulled back.  The nightie had fallen wide open.  In the dim light he saw her breasts.  Hesitatingly he touched them.  They were big, and soft.  Biju felt a strange sensation.  His eyes slowly slid down, to take in a world he has never seen.  Looking at her, he sang: 'Shame shame puppy shame, all the monkeys know your name...'

Destiny and Gravity

Destiny and Gravity are like the two sides of a coin. Both are dynamic, and exert forces equal and in opposite directions. Caught in the middle are the unsuspecting ones like you and I. The duel finally comes to an end, with Destiny tearing away the soul, and Gravity holding on to the physical body (not knowing what to do with it!)

Any force as long as it is incomprehensible, impresses us. To us, what cannot be seen or sensed is extra-ordinarily powerful. One difference between the two is that Destiny is virgin, while Gravity carries the mark of a human hand! How did that happen?

On a hot and humid afternoon, Newton was sitting under a tree, legs stretched out and dozing. It was his word that an apple fell on his head rudely awakening him to the world of gravity. I suspect it. For one, why should an apple be the only fruit to get credit for a host of confounding theories including the first couple painting the Eden garden red? Why could it not be a coconut or a mango? Maybe, had it been a coconut, Newton would not have even realized what hit him! A mango on the other hand, would have only tickled his taste buds! Whatever be it, I believe, the fruit which landed on Newton’s head with a thud was thrown by an urchin irritated at seeing the elderly guy snoring away to gravity (!) on a sunny day. The tale adds some significance to Newton's theory.

Whenever anyone bows to Gravity and settles down in life, there appears Destiny, the spoilsport without parallel. Mellow hearted amongst us would justify how man proposes and God keeps disposing it off! In the melee, the fallen apple escapes all confusion! As though possessed, it springs back to re-attach itself to the tree! To us God’s most intelligent creation, that is salvation at its best!