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thenumber/shapesystem

TheNumber/ShapeSystem

TheNumber/ShapesystemisverysimilartotheNumber/Rhymesystem.AswiththeNumber/Rhyme
systemitisaverysimpleandeffectivewayofrememberinglistsofitemsinaspecificorder.Itisanother
exampleofapegsystem.
MindToolsMnemonicGrades:
EaseofUseveryeasy
Effectivenesseffective
Poweronlycodes110itemswithoutuseofenhancement
Learninginvestmentlow
Whoshoulduseeveryone

HowtousetheNumber/ShapeTechnique

Thistechniqueworksbyhelpingyoutobuilduppicturesinyourmind,inwhichthenumbersarerepresented
byimagesshapedlikethenumber,andarepartofacompoundimagethatalsocodesthethingtobe
remembered.

Oneimageschemeisshownbelow:

1Candle,spear,stick
2Swan(beak,curvedneck,body)
3(rotateshapethough90degrees!)
4Sailofayacht
5Ameathook,aseahorsefacingright
6Agolfclub
7Acliffedge
8Aneggtimer
9Aballoonwithastringattached,flyingfreely
0Ahole

Ifyoufindthattheseimagesdonotattractyouorstickinyourmind,thenchangethemforsomethingmore
meaningfultoyou.

AswiththeNumber/Rhymescheme,theseimagesshouldbelinkedtoimagesrepresentingthethingstobe
remembered.Wewillusealistofmoremodernthinkerstoillustratethenumber/shapesystem:
1SpinozaalargeCANDLEwrappedaroundwithsomeone'sSPINe.
2LockeaSWANtryingtopickaLOCKwithitswings
3HumeAHUManchildBREASTfeeding.
4BerkeleyASAILontopofalargehookedandspikedBURRinthe
LEEofacliff
5KantaCANofspamhangingfromameatHOOK.
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01/12/2016 MemoryTechniquesTheNumber/ShapeSystem|AcademicTips.org

6RousseauakangaROOSEWingwithaGOLFCLUB
7HegelacrookedtraderabouttobepushedoveraCLIFF,
HaGgLingtotrytoavoidbeinghurt.
8KierkegaardalargeEGGTIMERcontainingcaptainKIRKanda
GuARDfromthestarshipenterprise,astimerunsout.
9DarwinaBALLOONfloatingupwards,beingblownfARbythe
WINd.
10MarxaHOLEwithwhitechalkMARksaroundit'sedge

Tryeithervisualisingtheseimagesassuggested,orifyoudonotlikethem,comeupwithimagesofyour
own.

Insomecasestheseimagesmaybemorevividthanthoseinthenumber/rhymescheme,andinothercases
youmayfindthenumber/rhymeschememorememorable.Thereisnoreasonwhyyoucouldnotmixthe
mostvividimagesofeachschemetogetherintoyourowncompoundscheme.

SeethearticleonUsingMnemonicsMoreEffectivelytoseehowyoucandressupthesepicturestohelp
themstayclearlyinyourmind.

Onceyouhavemasteredthistechniqueyoucanmultiplytheitusingtheimagesdescribedinthearticleon
ExpandingMemorySystems.

Summary

TheNumber/Shapetechniqueisaveryeffectivemethodofrememberinglists.Usedinconjunctionwiththe
Number/Rhymesystemitcanbeusedtogeneratepotentimagesthatcanhelptomakewellcoded
mnemonicsextremelyeffective.

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