Mnemonics

Author: Bruno Fost et al. (USA), translated by Li Jun
Translator: Li Jun / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-09-01
Features: Generally, it is not difficult to distinguish between key points and detailed arguments. A careful listener will notice that when the speaker poses an important question, they slow down their pace and increase their volume, often specifically indicating that they are defining a term or explaining a principle. When high school, college, or university teachers or professors use the following opening phrases: "You should remember," "Be careful to understand the following definitions," "If you are not clear about the application of this formula," students must take detailed notes—not only because this material is very important for understanding the course content, but also because these emphasis words cleverly suggest that they may be answers to exam or quiz questions. At the end of the lecture, our notes are immediately useful. Just spend a minute looking at the notes, and we can immediately notice gaps everywhere. That is to say, we find that there is a continuous interruption between one item and the next. This is the best time to raise specific questions and also the time to supplement the notes with answers, providing solid evidence for the material that needs to be added. At this moment, since the entire lecture is still clearly in your mind, it is the time to go to the teacher, professor, or lecturer to fill in the gaps. Leave enough space between each note so that you can insert reference materials from other sources in the future. Many students complain that their notes are not very useful or even useless during exams. This is because they did not actively listen in class. Some people desperately took notes without digesting the material, while others were content with haphazardly jotting down a few points occasionally, resulting in disorganized notes that were not coherent when reviewing. All of this can be attributed to lack of concentration and a passive attitude during the lecture. Those who are proactive and constantly ask questions can simply glance at their notes. They can confidently recall the key content discussed in class and determine what is essential during exams. Notes on written materials are similar to lecture notes. Of course, it is very convenient to quickly refer back to verify if something is unclear, and otherwise, the process is the same as for lecture notes. It is best to make annotations in your own words in the margins of the book rather than underlining words or sentences. After each chapter, take the opportunity to write a few targeted comments so that you can recall the main content when reviewing later. This is a time-saving method that can make review more efficient. Anyone who hopes to master valuable note-taking skills should not forget to carefully study the chapters "Basic Principles of the Chain Method" and "Practical Application of the Chain Method" in this book. You must now understand that memory exercises are almost impossible to separate from observation, concentration, and imagination exercises. Whenever we try to remember new knowledge by connecting it to what we already know, we must use imagination to form associations. To remember them, we must focus our attention on them. Although memory exercises need to include other aspects, designing specific observation, concentration, and imagination exercises is still effective, and these exercises will greatly help those who are weak in these areas.
Observation (Eyes)
1. Choose a target, such as a telephone, radio, or simple machine, and look at it carefully for a few minutes. Then wait for about an hour, and draw a picture of it without looking at the original object. Compare your drawing with the original object and note the differences. Finally, draw another picture without looking at the original object again and correct the mistakes.
2. Randomly select a picture from a book or magazine and look at it for a few minutes, observing as many details as possible. Then draw it from memory. If you need help, you can answer your friend's questions about the picture details instead of drawing. The questions might be: How many people are there? What do they look like? What are they wearing? What color is their clothing? How many houses are there? How many windows? Is there a clock in the picture? What time is it on the clock? Etc.
3. Extend the exercise to a room. Start with a room you are familiar with, then a room you have seen a few times, and finally a room you have only seen once. However, always describe the details. Don't just know that there is a bookshelf in the northwest corner; instead, recall how many shelves it has, how many books are on each shelf, and what kind of books they are, etc.
4. Draw a map of the United States and mark the following places: the state border of the state you are in, the capital of your state, New York, the capital Washington, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, the Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the words on a pencil. All of this shows that your thoughts have drifted away from the pencil itself and have not focused on it as required.
2. Daydream and trace your thoughts. Suppose you are reading a book (not this one), looking at a magazine, or reading a newspaper, and you are not interested in it. Suddenly, you find yourself thinking about a bullfight you attended in Mexico about ten years ago. How did you get there? Looking at the book, you might notice that the last sentence you read mentioned a shipwreck sending out distress signals. By analyzing your thoughts, you might recall the following process: The shipwreck made you think of ships during World War II, some of which were saved while others sank. You thought of the famous four pastors who left their lifebuoys to the sailors. There was a stamp commemorating them, which made you think of other commemorative stamps and coins, a nickel with a buffalo on it, the buffalo reminded you of bulls, and the bull reminded you of bullfights in Mexico. This is just one of thousands of examples. Since almost everyone daydreams from time to time, this concentration exercise can actually be done anytime, anywhere.