Okay so hear me out…or skip to the end I wont be offended.
I was trying to create a PAO system and was having a really hard time coming up with people. I have a TERRIBLE time attaching names to faces so I dont know the names of many celebritys. (Ill create a bestiary for that later.) Anyway I got halfway through my list before I ran out of names. I tryed using cartoon characters but I also ran out of those. I REALY wanted to use historical figures because that sounds respectable but ran into the same problem.
I think the limiting factor in all this is that I want the list to be of the same group of people. I want to use different groups of people for different things, like cards would be royalty and chess peices would be famous warriors. I could learn new faces and names but I think it will work better if its something already well established in my mind.
So I took the names out entirely. I used the people in old memes and picked the first word that pops into my mind when I see it. Then its just a matter of picking the right keyword and using the major system. Its not done and I would like some advice or suggestions before I fall victim to the sunk cost falacy. I think its flexible and has the emotional and facial components.
TLDR bad with names and faces so I used meme people, the major system and a keyword. Am I going crazy or should I keep working on it? Suggestions on rules? PS Im 33 not 12
I was having a hard time completing my PAO for similar reasons I don’t know a lot of actors or sports figures names and faces. I mostly use the major system whenever I can but slowly strengthening my pao. I had a small breakthrough using people I know well and family for hearts. Spades for people I have or still work with and Diamond for famous or historical figures and clubs for music artists. I have to familiarize myself with the artists music videos and watch the movies that portray the famous people to strengthen my mental image of them but after working through them it’s helped a lot. Once you have more than a still shot of then and can imagine how their personalities act out it’s helped me created more vivid pictures.
i haven’t tried pao yet as i am pretty new and for now i only have used the major system, but i do not think that it’s essential to use lists of names coming from the same categories. In the end some obscure scientist that you have never heard about won’t be as memorable as a very high guy XD
Yes that’s true. I guess I’ll just have to find whoever will fit and take it from there. I wanted my mind to be more organized but I guess that’s unrealistic. So far it’s a mix of memes, actors or the name of the character they played. I’ll try to have more realistic expectations going forward.
I’m using the major system and thats part of the problem. The Dominic system is better for names but I don’t want to unlearn the major system to do it. When trying to learn the Dominic system things got confusing
I recommend using the Major system in conjunction with PAO to self reference your person to make them easier to recall.
So for example my first few are:
00 ZeuS — SieZe, SeeSaw
01 SiD (vicious) — SiT, SaTay
02 SieNNA (Miller) — SiGN, SuN
03 SaM (Celebrity) — SwiM, SiM
04 SaRah (sister) — SweaR, SaRi
05 SiL (Sopranos) — SeLL, SoiL
As they are self qualifying they become easier to recall, because they use the phonetic sounds of major (strict in my case, so no extra letters after first 2 consonant sounds) to nudge the sound of the persons name.
For example, sometimes I might forget who was at 78, but I would then just use the major sounds to find “CK + FV” sounds to help recall KeVin (my cousin who CuFFs CoFFee).
I also use the major system for names rather than Dominic. The only difference I have is my actions and objects don’t follow the system but rather are unique to the person.
02 Neo, slow-mo dodge backwards, source code
03 Sumo, side to side warmup, loin cloth
06 a Sage, levetating Indian sitting position, with rolled up burning sage
I also make exceptions for previous strong number associations like 23 for Michael Jordan.
I also really enjoy being able to fall back on the Major system during a lapse and fill in a different word in a pinch.
If you have trouble using different people, there is no rule that you MUST use the person category in your system. You could just build an AO system (Action-Object) and then when you memorize, imagine YOURSELF performing the indicated action to or with the object.
This has the potential to provide really strong links, especially if combined with a memory palace sequence, because instead of you trying to recall “ok, at the couch, who was doing what with what?” it becomes “ok when I was at the couch, what did I do?” It provides an opportunity to engage more senses in the encoding process, instead of just observing “michael jordan eating a safe” you would recall yourself trying to eat a safe, the weight of it as you held it, the metallic taste and the crunch of your teeth breaking as you tried to chew it…
Your SCENES would only encode 4 digits, but the important intentional elements that you’re using to encode data would still be encoding 2 digits per element. The same efficiency as a PAO where it really matters. (More on that here and here.) You would need a few more loci to accommodate the full sequences if they’re longer, but that is almost a non-issue for most and a trade off that could be absolutely worth it for scenes that are clearer, simpler, and easier to recall.
If you try that approach, I’d advise basing your elements on Major so that you can more easily develop independent associations for each element. Or at the very least, base your objects on them.
Thank you so much! Im new to this website and I love it. Its so nice to have people to talk to that take this as seriously as I do. No one in my life understands how improving memory will improve EVERY aspect of my life. The hardest part of memory training is that it is the most personal journy you can make and that no one can decide what you find intuitive. We can only make suggestions. I could go on but I need to get back to todays training. Thanks again
I have actualy made some progress recently with the suggestion that I modify the major system. Instead of using the first two usable letters of a name I instead counted only the first and last letter of the first name. Its also easyer for me to use names of tv characters and not the actors real names. However I will still consider Using myself as the person to add in my other senses through a story. Im still exploring