Do you have Memory tricks that work for you?

Thread Starter

killivolt

Joined Jan 10, 2010
835
I tend to snap onto numbers or combination of letters and numbers but they have to begin or end with them, acronyms seems to stick pretty well but I don't always remember their meaning in the long term. For instance SCCM is a tool Microsoft created to manage computers in a network, updates, reload images etc. in a push from a server.

People use to tell me about resistor color code memory technique, sally ran bla bla bla, which I didn't care for since the resistor has a color code already. Matching them by their color was always easier than some script. But for other things I tried the Palace trick which the ancient Greeks and Roman used, you can make as complex or as simple as you want. I sort of like that method, but it's the long term vs short term memory that is a problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

Many effective memorisers today use the "method of loci" to some degree. Contemporary memory competition, in particular the World Memory Championship, was initiated in 1991 and the first United States championship was held in 1997.[4] Part of the competition requires committing to memory and recalling a sequence of digits, two-digit numbers, alphabetic letters, or playing cards. In a simple method of doing this, contestants, using various strategies well before competing, commit to long-term memory a unique vivid image associated with each item. They have also committed to long-term memory a familiar route with firmly established stop-points or loci. Then in the competition they need only deposit the image that they have associated with each item at the loci. To recall, they retrace the route, "stop" at each locus, and "observe" the image. They then translate this back to the associated item. For example, Ed Cooke, a World Memory Champion Competitor, describes to Josh Foer in his book Moonwalking with Einstein how he uses the method of loci. First, he describes a very familiar location where he can clearly remember many different smaller locations like his sink in his childhood home or his dog's bed. Cooke also advises that the more outlandish and vulgar the symbol used to memorize the material, the more likely it will stick.
I can use the palace method and remember maybe about a week pretty well with a 98% recall without effort. I surprised myself, but when you begin to get things like matching a place with a year and a event or begin the process of linking things together such as categories, like my new job which Dept to transfer when we in" Tech Support" do not cover that duty, scripting the "canned responses" and such is no trouble, but I don't want to take the time finding a resource in the company directory if I already know the Dept and number on a note pad or just remember that Dept phone number.

After that it's easy to memories devices, their common issues and troubleshooting methods. But, it doesn't stop their, I want to learn a new Language as well, but mind has to compete with my new job, at my age I can still learn new things, I'm am and your not such an old dog that we can't learn new tricks, I refuse to believe that old adage.

Who ever is interested can reply to this "Thread" I want everyone here to benefit, lastly I want to learn programming languages, I have spent time learning about electronics but now days electronic development vs programming is something I've thought about and programming wins my time spent learning new things. So, programmers if you have some tricks up your sleeve please leave a comment. I enjoy math as well, and remembering a method vs another becomes difficult in the long term if I don't do it every day.

Thank you,

kv
 
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SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
One of the most disheartening things that I learned in college was the relationship between knowledge and memory retention. In a nutshell, it is terrible. Learning and understanding a subject without frequent use of that knowledge only has a retention span of at most 2 years. With the frequency of use that timespan increases. As a corollary, once you have learned a subject (and forget it) relearning it is easier than the initial task. That can also be applied to mnemonics and acronyms. Mnemonics may help you initially but if you don't continue using them...
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
And sadly it gets far worse after age 60... My analogy of college is that it provides you with broad knowledge in a field by learning to jump through hoops. When employed there will be another set of hoops to jump through that hopefully that broad knowledge gained in college will help you to learn how to.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,708
I try not to make lists. I like to give my memory a workout.

Try to remember the names of all your classmates as far back as you can go.
It helped that our teacher in junior high would walk into the classroom and rattle off the class roster off the top of his head before even opening the register. It has stuck.

You lose it if you don't use it.
 

402DF855

Joined Feb 9, 2013
271
In college a friend of mine was studying a memorization book popular at the time (late 80s). He had me shuffle a deck of cards and then slowly reveal each card down to 3 or 4 left. He was then able to tell me the remaining cards. Impressive really. I suppose he had practiced and was able to maintain a 4x13 matrix mentally.
 

Thread Starter

killivolt

Joined Jan 10, 2010
835
I try not to make lists. I like to give my memory a workout.

Try to remember the names of all your classmates as far back as you can go.
It helped that our teacher in junior high would walk into the classroom and rattle off the class roster off the top of his head before even opening the register. It has stuck.

You lose it if you don't use it.
I tend to agree, once I worked a parts counter, Whirlpool part numbers always began with a prefix of letters and numbers by category of the part, then comes the number which will define which is which for instance WB44X5044 a common bake element, I have retained it for well over 35 years.

Using does make it easier to remember, I can still remember our first phone number & street address since childhood.

kv
 

OBW0549

Joined Mar 2, 2015
3,566
At 70 and suffering from advanced CRS, I'm pretty much beyond the help of any tricks; like @djsfantasi, I'd just forget them.

I write notes to help me remember to do things but that doesn't help with the worst memory problem: being unable to recall names of people, places and things.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,708
I know most of the 7400 series ICs off the top of my head.
I have not used 4000 series often enough to commit to memory.
I used to toggle in the binary loaders from memory on DEC PDP-8 and DG Nova minicomputers.
I was able to program both machines in binary without having to look up the opcodes.
 

Thread Starter

killivolt

Joined Jan 10, 2010
835
At 70 and suffering from advanced CRS, I'm pretty much beyond the help of any tricks; like @djsfantasi, I'd just forget them.

I write notes to help me remember to do things but that doesn't help with the worst memory problem: being unable to recall names of people, places and things.
I suffer from traumatic brain injuries built up over the years, so I try to learn new things in order to make my brain more plastic.

Brain plasticity, also known as neuro - plasticity, is a term that refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.
The experience of learning after brain injury happens to be how we can expand synapse, creating the necessary form or function of dendrites and neuron function transfer from neuron transporter to neuron receptors. So, using the new neurons which science has found even adults can make. Learning creates reinforcements, eating well, moderate exercise, social activity, such as conversations, mind mapping things over and over as suggested in the above comments.

I had a women once tell me, she was then 100 years old on the day of her birthday, I was shocked at how lucid she was, well spoken, amazingly present, I thought at best she was in her 60's. But to my surprise she was 100, I took the opportunity to tell her how I was taken back when she said it was her birthday celebrating her 100th. I asked may I ask how to make my mind strong and health as yours? she told me, don't just sit and watch TV, be active with both your mind and your hands, walk as much as you can just remain active, learn new things, which my motto is ( Learn, Grow, and Adapt ) For me personally in all areas of my life I follow her suggestion, which is why I'm asking my fellow AAC members for tips and tricks.

kv
 
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atferrari

Joined Jan 6, 2004
4,764
I've always forced my memory to work for me: names+surnames, figures, quantities of cargo, ship's data. It worked OK for decades. At 73 in few days, short term memory, is failing often.
To retain surnames or geographic names I read them carefully and repeat them once or twice. It helps.

Politeness requires that you actually read any business card that is given to you before dropping it in your wallet. I do it very carefully, letter by letter independently of the way it is pronounced by the person in question. It works.

To retain concepts related to this hobby, I write (actually by hand) the full thing in complete words in an orderly list, whatever the subject is. I then read them in loud voice.

In high school I created acronyms to trigger lists of names or expressions but not anymore.

Now that I think of it, writing and then reading what I wrote had been the most consistent trick since I was a kid in school.
 

Thread Starter

killivolt

Joined Jan 10, 2010
835
Memory tricks...lol...it's more like my memory is always playing tricks on me.

No, really my memory is so bad I learned to write things down a very long time ago.
Stress also plays a role, it can confuse the brain chemicals from either blocking or permitting neuron junction connections, stress can alter them, either a fast or slow response of the neuron transfer. To say I didn't learn tools to manage stress is not true, does anyone remember the Franklin Daytimers?

When I had my business, a book held my daily schedule, to meet deadlines, projects or personal things which I stored in the daily schedule and reduced my stress by magnitudes, I didn't believe it until I practiced the Teaching, Ben Franklin had his own Technique.

In the age of smart phones I can schedule things but, items of least importance I could reschedule in a daytimer carrying it over to the next day. A smart phone I can't roll over to another day to complete, I probably need to see if they have an App for that, (Wink) they probably do. My life has reduced in stress when my business ended and I became a regular blue collar working joe, so I didn't think I needed one. But with my Journey to learn new things I need a schedule to take time to commit to those activities that will increase my retention as well as continue my education.


kv
 
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