Continuing the discussion from Some thoughts on creating a course:
I am working on writinng exercises and decided that the digit conversion posed a problem. The problem was that to keep it simple, you would want to learn a one-step system like rhyming or shape conversion as is commonly seen for children. I really liked the rhymes which kids find an affinity to. But then for long-term usefulness, it would have to be discarded to learn a two-step system like the Major or Ben systems. That’s confusing perhaps. It would be best to learn these one-step systems as an alternative to a foundational system later on.
So, I switched my initial training of the digits to body pegs to provide a mnemonic way to learn the Major system. The pegs are selected so that they become the order of a Major system consonant. You can then build on the list of consonants to extend to all of the Major consonants. And I couldn’t resist finishing up with one last peg that was obvious.
| # | Consonant | Body peg |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | S | eyes |
| 1 | T | temple |
| 2 | N | nose |
| 3 | M | mouth |
| 4 | R | heart |
| 5 | L | loins |
| 6 | Ch | “ouch” fall on your behind |
| 7 | K | ka-nee |
| 8 | F | foot |
| 9 | B | ball of foot |
| 10 | TS | toes |
The method of loci or the location pegs are in my opinion the best way to start learning. And it is necessary to have a generic system that everyone can learn the same associations for if it is to be trained. Let me know what you think of the values I selected or the possibilities to improve on this. I use this as an initial memory talk to learn the ten commandments for Bible studies. Thanks.
Doug
