Memory Aids

07/30/04

Once a while we must have some fun ! Something light. May be some humour. Some quiz. Something recreational. Well today we will consider a rather unusual topic: 'Memory Aids'. Helping to remember things worth and needed to remember. Could be facts, numbers, events, information for practical guidance, or just some data. In this connection, let us remember that the remembering people are of different kinds. Some remember anything after a single glance, or just listening once. ' Ayka Santhhaa graahi ' (one who remembers after a single comprehension). There is just no problem at all with them. Photographic memory ! Blessed are they. But the majority are not that fortunate and gifted; they remember after seeing or listening a few times. Then there is the third category of those who remember only after many repetitions. The tape has to be rewound many times! Now, especially for the middle category of persons, there are what are called 'memory aids', some devices or methods that would help their remembrance of what they wish to. Of course they may not be feasible in all situations, but in certain situations they are. Following are some illustrative examples:

One type is the arrangement of the first letter (alphabet) of all the words which are to be remembered. Examples are:  

1. An age-old memory-aid. To remember the colors in a spectrum (into which sunlight is broken while passing thru a prism) we remember ' VIBGYOR' which stands for 'Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green,Yellow,Orange Red'. A good example of a memory-aid.  

2. If we wish to remember the four cornerly directions: north-east, south-east, south-west and north-west (in cyclic order clockwise) in Telugu, which are called ' Eesaanya, Aagneya, Nyruthi and Vaayuvya', we can just easily remember the memory-aid 'Ee Aa Ny Va'. In earlier times and in India, many don't need this, but the younger generation here may not be conversant with these.  

3. To remember the six seasons (each of two months, into which the year is divided) called 'Rithu' in Telugu/Sanskrit, we can just easily remember 'Va Gree Va Sa Hay Si' or simply 'Vagreeva sahaysi' which are but the first letters of 'Vasantha, Greeshma, Varsha, Sarad, Hemantha and Sisir '. Good if we remember the seasons in Telugu also !  

4. To remember Sage Patanjali's Ashtaanga Yoga Soothras (the eight sequencial steps), it is easy to remember 'Y N A Psquare Dsquare S' the first letters of 'Yama, Niyama, Aasana, Praanaayaama, Prathyaahaara, Dhhaarana, Dhyaana, Samaadhhi'.  

5. The thirteen original colonies in American history which formed the United States, can be recounted by just remembering the memory aid: ' CCC NNN MM D P R V G ' the first letters of 'Connecticut, Carolina (north), Carolina(south), New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and Georgia'. To remember the sequence as CNM and not CMN, we can remembef the word ' Ci Ne Ma ', and for 'DPRVG' 'deprive G' !

 Now to some other types of helpful devices :  

1. In the Chemistry Lab or during Practicals test, one is likely to forget (especially in exam nervousness) whether an acid turns red litmus paper blue, or, blue litmus red (which is a standard test to identify an acid). I had a friend by name ' A Bhaskar Rao '. He solved my problem once for all ! 'ABR'. Acid Blue Red. (Also I thus never forget him. A bonus !)  

2. There are two kinds of Cholestrol in the blood: HDL and LDL among which one is good and the other bad. Very often one may get a doubt whether HDL is good or LDL. A memory-aid could be to remember either ' GH ' or ' LB' (pound). In the sequence of English alphabets, 'H' follows 'G' i.e., GH. Let 'G' stand for 'Good' and 'H' for 'HDL'. Alternately, we can remember the abbreviation for 'pound' i.e., LB. Let 'L' stand for 'LDL' and 'B' for 'Bad' !  

3. While driving Maruti car in India, in order to activate the side-light indicators, we have to push up or down a lever near the steering wheel. If we turn the lever wrongly, we can imagine the consequences! Hence we can just remember 'DR' the abbreviation for 'Doctor'. 'D' denotes 'Down' (pushing the lever), and 'R' denotes 'Right'. Problem solved !

Next, problems often arise in remembering numbers, especially phone numbers. If we are lucky, some of the numbers may be amenable to some type of memory-aid. For example if I had to remember ' 265-7992 ', it can be mentally stored as 'hundred less than days in an year' followed by 'eight less than eight thousand'. Take another number '75748'. It could be remembered in Telugu as 'muppaathika, okati thakkuva, ashtaantham' (three-quarter century, one less, and ending in eight) ! Of couse, one may argue about remembering memory-aid itself. Well, something has to be remembered; else nothing can be done. One has to just try.  

In above paras, various types of memory-aids have been dealt with. Sure, it is not always possible to have such facility. But to the extent one can, by stretching one's thought and imagination, one can earnestly explore the possibility, to help remembering something that one wishes to. Well, wish everyone a good memory, and, wish one would strike at good memory-aids to augment it !