Recognition of faces / Memory training

What are mnemonics?

Mnemonics are a group of memory systems and techniques that together allow the quick and easy assimilation of facts, figures, names, faces and information of all kinds. Mnemonics are therefore a group of methods for improving memory.

Facts, figures, names, faces and events, all can be learned and recalled far easier by using mnemonics, than by using the conventional methods of rote learning by repetition.

Mnemonics use the imagination in conjunction with all of the individual senses (sight, sound, touch and smell), in order to transform a dull, dry piece of text into a firm and vibrant memory that is not just easy to remember, but difficult to forget!
Mnemonics gain their power by making use of the way that our minds absorb information. For memories to be formed the following events must occur:

1. Observation. For an event to be committed to memory, it must first be observed. This might seem self-evident to you, but you must understand that seeing is entirely different from observing.
   
2. Association - The core of mnemonics. All memory is based upon association. To remember one piece of information, we invariably associate it with another already committed memory. This is usually done without our conscious awareness. Mnemonics can be used extremely effectively to creat memory assciations that are not immediately obvious and therefore to aid in memory.
3. Visualisation - The key to mnemonics. Strong memories are memories that are visual in nature. A quotation that you read is not as easily recalled as an event that you witness. Text is dry, but images are vibrant.
   Mnemonics gain much of there strength from transforming the dull and mundane, into the visual and thus the memorable.
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The process of remembering

The process of memorising information can be split into four distinct stages. These are:

1. The registering of information by the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch and/or taste.
2. The interpretation by the brain of the impulses that are generated by the five senses. This is what is termed understanding.
3. The temporary storage of the information in the so-called short-term memory.
4. Finally, the transfer of the information from the short-term, to the long-term memory. This is where a (theoretically) permanent record of the memory is stored.

All of the above stages are important and all of them can be used by most people far more efficiently than they generally are. This efficiency may be accomplished with the aid of the many mnemonic techniques.

The system of pegging is one of the most important techniques that has so far been developed in the field of Mnemonics, since the discipline was first practised during the time of the ancient Greeks. Second only to the system of linking in its overall usefulness.

A version of pegging was first put forward by Stanislaus Mink von Wennsshein (Johann Just Winkelmann (1620 - 1699), around 1648. Since then the technique has been modified extensively by a number of researchers in the field.

Basically what pegging does is to turn a number (any number), into a set of phonetic sounds or letters. These sounds are then joined together to form words, and these words may then be linked together to form a series of images. Finally these images may then be committed to memory. This enables an individual to recall numbers of up to (and above) 100 digits, with relative ease.

By combining the peg system with the system of linking (outlined in chapter four) you will find that you will be able to memorise huge lists of information, in an ordered and structured way.

The method

The first thing that you need to do in order to learn how to peg, is to memorise the basic phonetic sounds that will be used to represent the numbers 0-9. To speed up your mastery of this number/letter code, I have offered a few memory aids. With these aids, the code should not take you more than around about 20 minutes or so to commit to your long-term memory.

The number/letter code

In the number/letter code, the number 1 is represented by the letters t or d. This is made easy to remember if you observe that both of these letters have only one downstroke.

The number 2 is represented in this code, by the letter n. This has two downstroke's.

The number 3 is represented by the letter m. Again this is easily remembered if you make a note of the fact that the letter m possesses three solid downstroke’s.

Number 4 is represented by the last letter of that number, that is four = r.

The number 5 is represented by the Roman numeral for the number 50 – L.

Six is represented by its own mirror image – the letter j. It can also be represented by the sounds ch or sh.

The number 7 is represented by the letter k, which when broken apart is found to contain three number sevens. It may also be represented by the letters c or g.

The number 8 is represented by the letters f or v. You may notice that when written by hand, the number 8 and the letter “f” both contain two loops.

The number 9 is represented by the letters p or b. By turning either of these letters around, you will find that you are able to produce a number 9.

Finally the letters that are used to represent O are z or s. The first sound of the word zero.

So to summarise. The letters used to represent the numbers 0-9 are:

If you have taken a few minutes to go over the above code, then you should find that you are now able to translate any number into its respective letters (or sounds), and then into an image that may easily be recalled.

For example, if you want to transform the number 74 into a memorable image, then all that you need to do, is to remember that the number 7 and the number 4 are represented in the above code, by the letters c and r. These letters may be used as the first and the last sounds of a word, the middle of which may be filled in with a vowel, or any other letter that is not a part of the number/letter code. If you use the letter a, then you have the letters c, a and r ‘car.’

A simple image to visualise.

The number 22 consists of two N’s. In order for you to form a memorable word from these letters, you just need to insert a vowel between the two letters. If you use the letter U, then you have the letters n, u and n ‘nun.’ Again a relatively simple image to recollect!
The number 27 is made up of the letters n (2) and k (7). By the simple act of inserting the vowel – e, between these two letters, you are able to form the word ‘neck.’

So using the above three examples, if you wanted to remember the six digit number 742227, you would simply form a mental image that links together the words car, nun and neck. For example you might try imagining a car being driven by a nun, whose neck is so incredibly long that it protrudes from the sunroof.

As was explained previously on this site, comic images are far easier to commit to memory, than are dry facts or pieces of text.

Providing that you are totally familiar with the number/letter code, then you should have absolutely no difficulty at all in remembering the above image, and as a result the six-digit number that the image represents.

This system may be used to memorise dates, addresses, measurements, or even calculations. And the amazing thing about it, is that you are not only able to use the system to remember vast amounts of information, you can also organise that information however you like. This is due to the fact that all of the peg images are numbered.

The most common complaint made by people who consider themselves to be in possession of a poor memory, is that they are continually forgetting peoples names. They remember the faces (images are easy to recall), but the names fail to stick. The problem of forgetting names can be a big one. Particularly if you work in an environment which involves meeting a large number of new clients, who may well take offence if you are continually getting their names wrong. In fact they may even be so insulted, that they decide to take their business elsewhere. A terrible calamity indeed! The problem of forgetting names is an extremely common one, which is experienced by most people throughout their lives. But fortunately it is a problem that can be easily rectified by using mnemonics.

Two basic mnemonic methods, which when used in conjunction with one another, will enable you to remember a large number of individual names associated with their respective faces, after hearing them only once. This is an incredibly useful skill to have and is particularly useful on such occasions as parties, business meetings and various other kinds of work-related or social gatherings. The mnemonic methods are as follows:

1. The Observational system
2. The Association system

The Observational system of mnemonics

The first thing that you need to do upon meeting someone new whose name you want to commit to memory, is to somehow give their name meaning, so that it may be easily visualised.

For example the name ‘Johnson’ can easily be broken down into the two words John and Son. These words possess meaning, and anything that contains meaning is far more memorable than something that does not.
The name ‘Rosenberg’ can also be broken down to form the three mnemonic images Rose, Hen and Berg (iceberg). These words also possess meaning and are thus far more memorable than the abstract name ‘Rosenberg.’
The name ‘Greensmith’ could be separated into the mnemonic images of Green and Smith. The colour green is obviously fairly easy to visualise. Also smith (to me anyway) immediately conjures up the image of a blacksmith.
As a final example, the name ‘Standish’ may be split apart to form the two mnemonic images of Stand and Dish. Again these two words are simple to visualise.

Some of the names that you will come across are obviously far easier than others to visualise. For example the names Green, White, Brown and Black (being colours), already possess meaning and thus require no further processing in order for you to visualise them. So to do the names Peacock, York, Smiley and Forester.

Other names may however, require a little more effort to transform into a meaningful phrase, or set of mnemonic images. But with a bit of practice, you will I’m sure be amazed at just how easy you will find it to turn any name at all - no matter how abstract, into an easily visualisable mnemonic form. However to help you on your way, I have listed at the end of this section, a large variety of different names, together with appropriate mental imagery.

The purpose of splitting an abstract name into a non-abstract collection of menmonics, is to allow your brain to categorise the information that is contained within the name. Something that the human brain has some difficulty doing with the name in its abstract form.
Also the act of transposing a name into a meaningful mnemonic form, forces an individual to observe that name.

The Associational system

After breaking down a name that you wish to recall into an easily visualisable image (or set of mnemonics), the next step is to link that image to the individual concerned.
To accomplish this, you simply need to pick out the features or characteristics of the individual that stand out the most to you. This could be a dimple on his chin, or a freckle on her nose, or even a limp in their left leg.

Other things that you could use are – big ears, a hooked nose, wide forehead, a large or a small mouth, full or thin lips, or even a pair of bushy eyebrows. You could also choose something less visual, such as a lisp, or a stutter as the feature of the person that stands out the most to you.

Whatever the feature that you choose is, using mnemonics to link it to a name should not present you with much of a problem. I have listed a few examples below to show you exactly what I mean.

Remembering names and faces - A few Mnemonic Examples

1. In order to remember that a woman whom you have just been introduced to – who happens to have long, red hair – goes by the name of Miss fields. All that you would need to do, would be to simply visualise an image of her, lying in a large, green field, with her long red hair spread out around her head.
   See it twisting around the long green grass. You might also try exaggerating the length of the hair, in order to emphasise the link between her hair and the field. This is so that when you see her (and her hair) again, you will immediately be reminded of her name ‘Fields.’
2. To remember that a man that you have just met at a party, is called Mr Taylor, first pick out his most outstanding feature (say thick eyebrows) and imagine him with eyebrows so long that they reach down to the floor.
   Imagine him in this amusing predicament, whilst he is in the process of being measured for a new suit by his tailor. Thus using mnemonics to powerfully link his most outstanding feature to his name.
   
3. In order to remember that the name of a tall, thin man, that you have just been introduced to is Mr Adamson, you might try the mnemonic of visualising the biblical first man ‘Adam’ (complete with fig leaf), holding a little boy in his arms. Adams son – ‘Adamson.’
4. To remember the name of a dimpled young lady named Miss Standwick, you could try picturing her face, with a number of large candle wicks standing in her exaggeratedly oversized dimples. Stand wicks – ‘Standwick.’
   If you really try hard to visualise the above image, then you should have absolutely no difficulty at all in recalling Miss Standwick's name.
5. Finally, in order for you to remember a Mr Hill (who happens to possess a wide forehead), you could imagine the mans forehead, with a miniature mountain stuck in its centre. You might even like to visualise a large, snowy peak on its top. This is in order to make the image that much more amusing and thus more easy to recollect. Overall a strong mnemonic.

http://www.buildyourmemory.com/

 A FEW TESTS:

 http://www.memorise.org/index.htm