How To Remember Numbers by Ken Weber

PDF

The techniques described in this booklet are based upon old and

established mnemonic systems. Mnemonics (the M is silent) is the

science of memory improvement. It began with the ancient Greeks and

in the intervening years has become highly sophisticated in both theory

and practice.

Of the many mnemonic systems, the "Number Alphabet" is among

the most difficult to learn and master. For many people, however, it is

the most useful, since remembering numbers can be very difficult.

Numbers, by themselves, are intangible. You can picture two apples,

but you cannot picture 539 apples. In terms of mental images, the

number 539 is no different than 538, 540, or for that matter, 639. If you

had to remember the number 539 you could do it by saying it to yourself

a few times. But if you had to remember a whole series of three-digit

numbers, you would be in trouble. The human mind is most efficient

when dealing with images, and numbers just don't fit into that

framework.

The "Number Alphabet" has been devised to overcome

that obstacle. It allows any number to be converted into a word or

series of words. Words are much easier to deal with than raw

numbers, and when the conversion process produces tangible words,

words that form images in the mind, the process becomes easier still.

For those people who must commit to memory a great many facts and

figures - students, businesspeople, scientists, etc., the time and effort

involved in learning this system will be clearly justified by the happy

results.