Why mnemonics work

Related Content. Short Term Memory Test Interactively test your short term memory. Mentalrobics Public Forums Chat about these articles and other mind related topics. Sudoku Logic Puzzle This puzzle requires logic and a good memory. I have created 30 flashcards that you can download to truly learn information from this article. Memorize, among others, what working memory is, what are limitations of mnemonics, and much more!

Excuse me you said that mnemonics only help in recalling in 2 to 4 weeks. But the man memorized the Chinese dictionary after 6 months recall.

I am currently a high school student. I three years ago in geography memorized the five great lakes of North America by the acronym HOMES huron, ontario, michigan, erie and superior and the minerals of Canadian shield which I still remember. Please explain my doubt. You can hold a big amount of information in your mind for a long time simply by reviewing it multiple times per day. My personal anecdotical experience seems to back up your claims.

So, mnemonics on SRS software, yes, as long as you complement it with more active learning to actually use them. Yes, if somebody insists on using mnemonics then I would recommend doing them, for example, ANKI and making sure that vocab is used actively.

Thanks for your answer. It makes perfect sense.. Thanks for a great article. I do have a few questions: 1. When you say that mnemonics are less efficient than rote learning when it comes to storing things in your long term memory, how do you mean it?

To store something in the long term memory you need two steps: 1. From short term memory to long term memory. That makes me think of at least 3 possible comparisons: 1. Would be like remembering a route to remember another route to rember a subject! Rather tedious it seems. This one would seem to fail to explain why something being better stored through mnemonics in the short time memory would not also be best stored in the long term memory.

Is this due to a difference in the art of repetition — as in do i repeat the subject or the keywords etc.? I definitely think that mnemonics are better. There are literally dozens of other strategies mnemonics can be tested against. Generally, we have two kinds of rehearsals — passive and active. Passive rehearsal serves only to maintain the immediate availability of the information. Very much like repeating a phone number over and over again to not forget it.

If you want to transfer information to the long-term memory, you should focus on elaborative rehearsal processes and create the frame of reference for the information you are trying to learn,. Hope that helped! Great post and very informative! I am currently writing a dissertation on a similar subject. However, to research more thoroughly I was wondering whether you would be able to name the books, articles or journals to some of the authors that you are referring to?

I think that I have been able to find some of them already but as the titles are not mentioned at the end of the post it has been difficult to locate them. While reading your article i remembered my first use of mnemonic phonetical numeral alphabet. What about learning something and bypassing the short term memory and using long term memory?

Like, paul scheele course, photoreading? Or zox pro? Or there is Or there is pmemory? Have you looked at these courses? Bypassing the short-term memory in learning seems highly unlikely.

As for any course which promises you to read xx thousand words per minute — stay away from them. And as for pmemory — these are just ordinary memory techniques which you can find in any book, or my website, for a fraction of the price or for free.

Thanks a lot for this article! Leave a Reply Cancel reply. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Facebook official Twitter. Silly question. Many people use mnemonic techniques to help them improve their memory. In this article, we explain what mnemonic techniques are, different types of mnemonic techniques and how to use them.

Mnemonic techniques are ways to help you memorize a phrase or idea with patterns. Mnemonic techniques can include songs, poems, rhymes, outlines, images and acronyms. Mnemonics give meaning to something ordinary to make it more memorable when you try to recall it.

This technique is useful for storing information in both your short- and long-term memory. Here are eight types of mnemonic techniques you can use:. Spelling mnemonics help you remember how to spell a difficult word with patterns, phrases or rules.

A type of mnemonic memory training involves visually identifying a prominent feature of a person you are meeting for the first time. This technique helps you to associate their name and face better. For example, you might meet a new colleague named Daniela, who has large blue eyes. Another common mnemonic technique is using rhyme to memorize information. Some people learn best when they organize their thoughts into notes.

This is a great mnemonic technique to use in your job, whether you are getting ready for a presentation or need to memorize new data. Benefits Mnemonics are strategies that can be modified to fit a variety of learning content. Create and use the strategy Mnemonics may be introduced to students when a set of new information is presented. Discuss the topic to be learned and pre-select a mnemonic strategy such as those listed below or have students create their own: one is bun six is sticks two is shoe seven is heaven three is tree eight is gate four is door nine is vine five is hive ten is hen Pegwords are used to help students remember information in a particular order.

Keyword — A keyword is a familiar word that sounds similar to the word or idea being taught. Example: The scientific term for common frogs is ranidae. A helpful keyword for ranidae might be rain and a teacher could show a picture of frogs hopping in the rain.

Pegword — Pegwords refer to a set of rhyming words that are used to stand for numbers. Like 0.