What to do if your child can't remember the numbers?
Others remember, but yours doesn’t! It's a shame.
And, most importantly, why is this happening? Unclear.
After all, a child is no worse than the rest, right?
And, if we are to be extremely frank, then in some places - even better! Smart and talented...
Familiar story? And so it was with us as well 🙂.
What to do if your child can't remember numbers? How to help?
Masha is smart. Very smart and talented and… Well, you get the idea.
But remembering the numbers - it didn’t work out! No matter how much they repeated, or counted, stickers were pasted - no use.
All the figures for Masha were on the same face.
"On one face"
Here it is! This turned out to be main secret Masha and many other children.
It's all about perception! It is different for people. Not just for kids, by the way.
There are children for whom one is one, and two is two. Well, you know how a donkey is a donkey, and a lamb is a lamb. You would probably be surprised if your child couldn't tell a donkey from a ram, right?
And there are children for whom one, two, three and all-all-all (as well as letters!) -
JUST FOR - KO - RYU - CHKI!
And now imagine. They give you a piece of squiggles and say:
- This squiggle is called “one”, this “two”, and this is generally the letter “a”! Did you remember everything? Repeat!
Represented? Scary? So it is for children who do not remember numbers and letters in any way.
Well, okay, there’s nothing terrible about it now, because we have already come up with a solution that helped us learn letters first, and then numbers.
Quick memorization!
Yes, if our method suits you, let me remind you that you can learn the letters with with exactly the same method!
In March 2014, Arthur set a new record for reproducing the number Pi, naming 11,106 characters without hesitation. He got into the "Book of Records of Russia" as a student. In addition, Arthur, as an expert on memory development, advises a well-known service on memorization issues, and while preparing for the record, he wrote a whole book called Remember Everything.
Arthur shared with us a story about how good habits and self-training can achieve amazing results, and also dispelled some popular misconceptions about mnemonics and memory.
How to remember tens of thousands of digits?
I am often asked what it is like to have a phenomenal memory: can I learn languages in a matter of days, do I keep memories of every day I live, do I remember the books I read verbatim. At first it was nice to hear such questions, but now I immediately try to make it clear to new acquaintances that I have the most ordinary memory. The main thing is to understand how it works.
I was genuinely surprised to read about people who were able to memorize decks of cards, numbers, long lists of foreign words with amazing speed. Once I read about a person who can learn a language in two or three days, and I decided to seriously figure out how it works myself. At first, it seemed that training would allow me to someday learn to memorize languages in the blink of an eye. Now I can say that no one can learn a language in two or three days. The fact is that in the book that inspired me, the words “learn a language” meant memorizing 1.5 thousand words.
Then he actively memorized numbers with a stopwatch, wanting to learn how to learn foreign languages with amazing speed.
“Why spend a year learning a language when you can develop a memory in six months and learn a language in a few days?” I thought as I continued to train.
Having learned to memorize a hundred digits in three minutes, I found out that the real Russian record at that time in memorizing the number Pi was only 8,332 characters. Why not set a new record? A great opportunity to stay motivated and better understand how memory works.
I decided to memorize 22,528 digits of pi. This is slightly more than the European record. In order to memorize so many numbers, I walked around Moscow and laid out my pre-compiled images of numbers on the streets. For example, the image for the number 01 is Schumacher, because he comes first in the races, for 92 - the image of my brother, because he was born in 1992. All 22 thousand digits of Pi for me is big story that took place on the streets of Moscow.
Here - 3998 digits of Pi, arranged in a three-dimensional spiral. Source: flickr.com
Absolutely everyone can beat my record. The most difficult thing is not to remember the numbers, but to reproduce them, because the rules of the record book do not allow you to correct yourself if you make a mistake. If you say "Twenty-five... oh, no, thirty-five!", it will be counted as a mistake, even if you immediately corrected it. I made a mistake on 11,106 characters, and now this is a new Russian record. If someone wants to beat him, I suggest opening almost any book on mnemonics. Memorization is not the hardest part.
Where can I find time for training?
While preparing for the championship, I also wrote a book, studied English and studied for exams at the university. At the same time, there was no less free time: I still read fiction, met with friends and even played computer games. However, I tried to use my time more rationally: I listened to English podcasts in the metro, repeated the Pi number at breakfast (and in other free minutes), and tried to memorize new locations and places in Moscow while walking with friends. I read books, watched movies and played games only in the original language.
The main question is not time, but motivation - it should be enough to devote at least a few minutes every day to your goals. It is very easy to find a few minutes: in the morning at breakfast, on the subway, in line, waiting for a meeting, even in the toilet. It can take more than an hour a day. An hour a day for a month - already 30 hours! Add to this the ability to make better use of time (like watching movies in English, if your goal is to learn the language), as well as the hours that you devote entirely to achieving the goal.
How to memorize information quickly and for a long time?
To quickly memorize incoherent and illogical information, such as names, numbers, foreign words, it is best to use mnemonics. Mnemonics (or mnemonics) is the use of any associations that allow you to cling information to what is already in your memory. For example, in order to remember that the English "shriek" is translated as "screech", you can come up with some kind of consonant image: for example, screeching Shrek. There are no miracles, but this method will allow you to memorize 60 words per hour.
And here is the word "shriek". Source: thewire.com
When memorizing logical and structured information like concepts, laws, theorems, book plots, the main thing is understanding, identifying cause-and-effect relationships and any other patterns. As a rule, we have to memorize both logical and structured, and incoherent and abstract information within the same disciplines, so for effective learning both understanding and use of mnemonics are necessary. But no matter how you remember the information, it will still be forgotten.
According to the Ebbinghaus curve, most will be forgotten in the first hours after memorization, while the rate of forgetting will decrease exponentially. Although her curve was based on memorizing abstract information, these principles are also true for structured information, which, although not so quickly, will still be forgotten. The most rational way to solve the forgetting problem is to use the spaced repetition method. The essence of the method is to repeat the information not every day / week / month, but at increasing intervals. You can organize such a repetition through special programs. For example, through Anki, you can repeat any information by translating it into flashcards, and on LinguaLeo, spaced repetition is used to memorize foreign words.
When is the best time for memory?
According to the laws of retroactive and proactive inhibition, one stored information overlaps another. That is, the brain needs some time after memorization to process the received data. This requires changes in schools and universities. Based on these laws, the best time to memorize is immediately after waking up and immediately before bedtime. The latter is also supported by the fact that the consolidation of short-term memory into long-term memory occurs during sleep.
Also, the memory will work well after playing sports: here is the lack of proactive inhibition, and the consequence of physical activity. As for specific time periods, it cannot be reliably stated that, for example, from 8 to 12, memory works better. In my opinion, it all depends on the individual, his regimen and habits.
One of the most difficult types of information to remember is numbers.
An ordinary person who has not studied any memorization techniques can usually remember 7-10 digits, this is about 1 phone number.
In the video below, I told how anyone following the technique is able to memorize long sequences of numbers and numbers, for example, 5-10 phone numbers in a few minutes.
Technique for memorizing numbers
Memorization of numbers and numbers
First you need to create and remember locations - this is a set of items in your memory that you can highlight in your room, office, building, on any route. These should be different items and in a different sequence, for example, clockwise. We will attach any information in the form of images to them in our imagination.
Next, we need an Alphanumeric Code (BCC). This code will allow us to create certain pictures from numbers. So each number will be assigned to several letters. From these letters we make pictures, pictures encode numbers. Numbers can be converted back to words.
In order to memorize sequences of numbers faster, you must have figurative codes prepared in advance. Having images for numbers from 0 to 99 in your head (you can come up with it yourself or find ready-made ones), you can quickly operate with them and memorize information that you will meet in real life.
Earlier, I already posted a video on the YouTube channel about memorizing numbers, where I said that memorizing numbers from 0 to 9 is very easy to learn, you just need to pick up images-pictures visually similar to these numbers: 0 - bagel, 3 - mustache, 7 - braid.
Memorizing numbers differs from memorizing numbers in that simple memorization of numbers can be mastered quickly and easily, but memorizing by this method is always long enough. But if you master the memorization of numbers by the method from the video, using figurative codes for two-digit numbers, then in the future you will memorize any information related to numbers 2-3 times faster.
For example, it can be addresses, phone numbers, passwords.
Learn all this in practice - remembering pin codes, passwords, addresses, etc. you can sign up for the course
If you have questions about memorizing numbers - write.
If you need to remember some numbers for a long time, then for this you can use the following mnemonics:
Association with other familiar figures. Dale Carnegie advises memorizing dates by associating them with significant dates that you know. For example, it is easy to remember that the Battle of Kulikovo took place exactly 600 years before the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.
Shedd system (Shed system). Small numbers like historical dates or short telephone numbers, you can learn by composing a special phrase, each word in which is in a strictly defined order and has a number of letters corresponding to the remembered number. For example, if you want to remember the number 467, then you need to come up with a phrase in which the first word will consist of 4 letters, the second - of 6, and the third word - of 7 letters. So, the number 467 corresponds to the phrase "an elephant runs at a gallop" (4, 6 and 7 letters, respectively). Zero in this system often corresponds to a word of 10 or any more letters.
Rhymes. Often a large number of It is convenient to memorize numbers by creating rhymes or poems. This method is suitable if you need to remember certain numbers for a long time, having the opportunity to spend some time on this. So you can easily remember which characters come after the decimal point in the number "Pi".
Remembering names and faces
Very often we need to remember people we just met. We all tend to be nice to those who remember our name. In order to quickly and accurately remember the names and faces of people, there are the following mnemonics.
Show interest in the person, chat a little, addressing him by name. There are several memorization rules at work here. First, you show interest in a person, and also receive information about him, which can serve as the basis for building associations with him. Secondly, you repeat his name several times, which also improves memorization.
An association with another person well known to you with the same name. For example, many of us will easily remember the name of a person if he is your namesake. It is also easy to remember the names of people who match the names of your parents and good friends. But even if you do not know the name of the person you need to remember, try to remember famous people with the same names: actors, politicians, musicians.
Selection of other modifications of his name. For example, the name Alexander has several modifications Sasha, San, Shura. Once the person has introduced himself, silently try to name a few modifications of his name.
Name spelling. Think about how a person's name is spelled - imagine it visually. How many letters are in this name? What is the first letter? The answers to these questions will further fix the image of the person's name in your visual perception. If possible, you can even write the person's name on paper to enhance comprehension.
Remembering surnames. You can remember last names using mnemonic devices based on visual associations. You need to start with the search for a mental replacement or modification of the surname. For example, my surname Buyanov can be associated with Buyan Island from children's fairy tales, as well as with a violent temperament. Then some noticeable feature of a person is selected, for example, a facial feature or a character trait (which is more suitable for the surname Buyanov), which must be tied to the selected surname association.
Memorization of foreign languages
Language mnemonics will be useful for memorizing words, expressions, grammar rules, verb forms, etc.
Method of phonetic associations (MPA). This method appeared due to the fact that in all languages of the world there are words or parts of words that sound the same, but have different meaning. Moreover, in different languages there are words that have a common origin. For example, the word look (look) can be remembered by associating it with the similar-sounding Russian word "bow". And slicing the “onion”, we cannot “look” at it, as our eyes water.
Method of interaction of all sensations (MVVO). This mnemonic approach is useful for those who want to learn how to communicate fluently in foreign language. If the words don't automatically pop into your memory, you won't be able to speak the language fluently. Therefore, the main thing is not to memorize a foreign word as a translation of a native word, but to immediately associate a foreign word directly with the concept corresponding to it. To learn the word "cup" imagine a cup with a handle, and keeping the image in your mind, say "cup" several times, trying not to remember the word "cup".
Man by nature is not very good at remembering things that are not logically ordered. An example of this is a number. On average, a person can remember up to 7 numbers in a row. But there are situations when 7 digits are not enough. Psychologists have developed many interesting techniques to solve these problems.
I offer for consideration the system that I use personally. I can guarantee that it works. Personally, I managed to remember a sequence of 120 digits. It took an hour and a half to memorize, 30 minutes to recover. The period between storing and restoring information is 1 hour. And that's with very little exercise.
How to memorize numbers in large quantities?
We will proceed from the fact that a person does not remember numbers well, better words, even better images and quite good plots. I will not prove it - these are obvious facts from psychology. I can only say about myself - I can tell almost any plot of the film I watched as a child, but I don’t even remember my mobile number.
So, since the brain does not want to remember the numbers, then we will do what is routine for programmers - encrypt and decrypt data. Simply put, let's translate the numbers into a plot. More precisely, numbers into letters, letters into words, words into pictures, pictures into a plot. The plot is easy to remember.
To remember the numbers we need, we will do the same in reverse order.
Technique for memorizing numbers
1) Assign a specific letter to each number:
Remembering this is easier than you think. All letters, except for the corresponding 1 and 2, are the first letters in the verbal designation of a digit.
Remembering these correspondences is perhaps the most difficult thing in the entire system.
2) Convert numbers to letters.
It's easier to give an example here. Let's say we need to remember a sequence of numbers:
12587088571752
Using our cipher, we get the same stupid sequence of letters:
klpvsnvvpskspl
This operation took me about 3 seconds. Without practice, it will take a little longer.
3) We translate the letters into words and tie the plot.
The brighter, more colorful and weirder the plot, the easier it is to remember and the longer it will remain in memory.
We form the words themselves simply - each pair of numbers creates one word. Letters not included in our cipher are ignored. Each word has only 2 letters-numbers (with practice, you can increase to 3, but I do not advise).
The created plot SHOULD be scrolled in your head as emotionally as possible. If necessary, several times.
An example of how to memorize numbers
For example, let's take a sequence of numbers already familiar to us:
12587088571752
We encrypt in letters. Outcome:
klpvsnvvpskspl
We distill into words-images and form a plot:
To O l obok P O V pissed on With And n to her V here V ke P O With redi To ra With Noah pl spare
We run the plot as brightly as possible in the head. Ready!
To restore our sequence in memory, it is enough to do the operation in reverse order. We remember the plot and words. We look through them for the necessary letters. Let's convert them to numbers.
Using this technique, you can keep yourself busy for a couple of hours, surprise your friends, learn the number "pi" up to 200 decimal places, or something else. Personally, I remember several phone numbers of classmates that I memorized in this way almost 20 years ago. I have yet to come up with a more useful application for this skill.
