First Day of Class
Today was the first day of my spring classes. I woke up at 8:00AM, and then thankfully got to go back to sleep. My 9:30AM professor couldn't make it to class due to the flu.
Topics in Modern Physics
I was well rested by the time I entered my next class, Topics in Modern Physics, at 2:00PM. The professor is highly thought of. He teaches well, and he makes the subject engaging. So I remember his lesson on reference frames well.
My other classes were much more boring. So I barely remember them.
Mnemonics as a Stress Reliever
There are so many things to remember just to go about one's week. It can be stressful, especially since it's easy to forget any one item. Memorizing information in general is thought of as an unpleasant and stressful task that is at best neutral.
One reason I like mnemonic techniques is that they can make the memorization process more efficient and enjoyable. That memorization can be made fun gives me hope that other tasks commonly thought to be inherently unpleasant can be made enjoyable too.
Dew's Mnemonics
After my last class of the day I talked with my friend Dew about memory and learning. Dew once tried to memorize the Book of James verbatim. He got about halfway through before stopping. His method involved reciting the book while gesturing with his hands and paying attention to the inflection of his voice. The hand gestures and voice inflections acted as cues to help him remember the next line. He supplemented these cues with rhyme and visual imagery.
Dew said his process was like playing music. From what I understand, the gestures and voice inflections were like notes that provided a progression from one idea to the next.
Don't Like Studying
Studying is commonly perceived as an unpleasant necessity for school. But like memorization, studying too can be made enjoyable. Perhaps there's a way to mix creative expression, mental imagery, and efficient scientifically proven learning practices into my studying.
Make the Unpleasant Pleasurable
Instead of thinking "I must do these unpleasant tasks to have time for the things I enjoy." I can think "I will make these unpleasant into things I enjoy." This way of thinking gives me more control of my happiness.
I am retaking a class this semester. The professor of that class is notorious for being a poor teacher. I'm fairly confident I can pass by slogging through his mind numbing lectures and boring course material. But I don't want to do that. I believe it is possible to pass his class, and enjoy doing so. If it's possible with mnemonic techniques, to imbue the most mundane day with enough emotional significance to last a life time - surely it's possible to make almost any unpleasant task enjoyable.
Phonetic Code
Today I had to remember room numbers for some of my classes. Either that, or reference a sheet or image with the room numbers for each class. The process of creating a reference for the room numbers is a very minor stressor. But the cumulative weight of many minor stressors can weigh heavy over time.
Employing a mnemonic technique to remember the room numbers is slightly enjoyable. If I can figure out a way to make the many minor stressors of my life enjoyable - the cumulative relief can be uplifting over time.
So I used a mnemonic technique called the major system to convert room numbers to images. I then associated the image with the class. Now when I think of the class, the associated room number comes to mind.
Major System
The major system assigns consonant sounds to numbers 0-9. To remember a number, replace the digits with the consonant sounds, then fill in the gaps between consonants with vowels. The consonants and filled in vowels will form a word one can visualize and associate with the information to be remembered.
Here is the phonetic code of the major system with corresponding mnemonics to remember the system:
- 0 (s, z) - the pronunciation of 'zero' has the sound 'z' in it. 's' sounds like 'z'.
- 1 (t,d) - 't' has one stroke in it. 'd' sounds like 't'.
- 2 (n) - 'n' has two strokes in it
- 3 (m) - 'm' has three strokes in it
- 4 (r) - four ends with the letter 'r'
- 5 (l) - the pronunciation of the sound "El-Lah has five letters in it
- 6 (ch, sh, zh) - "Cheese" has six letters in it, 'sh' and 'zh' sound like 'ch'
- 7 (k) - the number '7' looks like the right part of the cursive letter 'k'
- 8 (f, v) - a cursive 'f looks kind of like an '8', 'v' sounds like 'f'
- 9 (p, b) - the number '9' looks like a rotated or mirrored 'p' or 'b'
Images for Room Numbers
Here are the room numbers and corresponding images I used for each class (I didn't need a mnemonic for the buildings because they were easy to remember):
- Topics in Modern Physics 104 - Taser. I imagine an arc of electricity between the two prongs of a taser. The electricity reminds me of physics.
- Manufacturing Methods 126 - Tanichi. I imagine my old high school friend, Chi, as a Tanuki.
- Design I 101 - Test. I imagine someone testing a material for an aircraft design.
Table Tennis
After classes I went to Table Tennis practice. A Table Tennis buddy (his name will be Chips this time) told me about how his workplace is next to his house now, so he can just walk over. He can go for a run during lunchbreak, shower at his house, and go back to run. It's really nice.
Kimuron's Modded Minecraft Server
After Table Tennis I played on Kimuron's Modded Minecraft server. I flew and exploded an airplane. Then a friend gave me a new plane, which I flew to a traveling caravan in the middle of a plains biome. I parked the plane near the caravan, met the villagers inside, and made the caravan my new home.
Mnemonic Image
The most memorable moments from today were hanging out in the student learning center in between classes, talking with my friend Dew after Design I, and playing on Kimuron's Modded Minecraft server at night.
My image will be of me drinking coffee filled with brain juice on a desk in the form of a minecraft block.
Each image element corresponds to the following memory:
- Brain-Juice - I talked with Dew about memory. He is very big brain, hence the brain juice.
- Coffee - I went to the student learning center to get free coffee in between classes.
- Minecraft Block - I played on Kimuron's Modded Minecraft server at night.
