COOL MEMORY TRICKS

Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #74 – December 4, 2010

I’ve been thinking about the various devices I have used at one time or another to remember things. One of the methods is mnemonics, which can include rhyme, acronyms and various other wordplay devices.

Mnemonics in Music
When I was learning to play the violin, we learned the names of the notes by these catch phrases:
The notes directly on the lines are GBDFA:
Good Boys Do Fine, Always.
The notes represented by the spaces between the lines are:
A, C, E, G:
All Cows Eat Grass.

Mnemonics in Astronomy
Another use of mnemonics was in memorizing the order of planets in average distance from the Sun:
(Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)
My Very Easy Method: Just Set Up Nine Planets.

Mnemonics in Spelling
In learning how to spell, most of us remember this helpful rhyme:
I before E, except after C, or when sounded "A" as in neighbor and weigh.
There are some exceptions to this rule, but it works most of the time.

More Mnemonics
The following mnemonic is used by pilots.
If temperature or pressure drops, you will be lower (in altitude) than the aircraft's instruments suggest if they are left uncorrected. On the other hand, a rise in temperature or pressure will result in the opposite effect.
High to Low; look out below.
Low to High; clear blue sky.

Here are a couple more tricks some students have used in art and biology classes:
Acronyms
Order of colors in the rainbow, or visual spectrum:
(Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)
Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain.

Order of taxonomy in biology:
(Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species)
Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach.

Do you know some more fun ways of remembering? If so, please share and I’ll include your contributions in next week’s posting.

What we learn with pleasure we never forget.
Alfred Mercier