Hi everyone, was just curious if anyone has made this change and if they would like to offer their experiences of the negatives and positives.
Cheers
I know Olarisa did this change. I hope he will write something about it.
Cheers
Jimbo did, too, if memory serves.
Hi,
Memory does serve you Hype 
I used to use a Dominic/PAO hybrid system but converted in 2009 to a BEN system. The main advantages as I see them are cramming more information into less loci ( a deck of cards can be fit onto 9 locus), speed (2 cards into 1 image).
The main disadvantages are that the system is very heavy maintenance and takes a long while to become proficient in using it. Be prepared to take a major step back in results when starting to use a BEN system as opposed to your current system.
Jimbo
Jimbo, did You have problems with creating ~1000 images for numbers and ~2700 for cards? I was trying making 100-199 and had a lot of problems. Do-able but man, a lot of effort Jimbo did You beat your dominic/pao records with Ben sys?
Otengam wrote:
Hi everyone, was just curious if anyone has made this change and if they would like to offer their experiences of the negatives and positives.
I have looked at and dabbled in several different systems - major, major with pao, Domenic, a couple of Andi Bell’s systems and the Ben System.
I agree with Jimbo1’s summary of the advantages and disadvantages.
I don’t think it makes much difference which one of the 100 image systems you use and that learning how to use them well is the main thing. If you believe Wang Feng then he used this system without any PAO to become world champion, so this may be all you need. However I still think increasing this to a PAO system is a good idea.
About eight months ago I thought I would change to a 1,000 image system. Not having a lot of time it has taken me most off this time to work out and get used to and I am only starting to enjoy it now. I believe having the extra information coded does make this better but I’m not sure if the time spent is worthwhile for a part time mnemonist like myself who has no great competitive ambitions.
I think there is something to be said for sticking with your original system, getting to know it well and if need be elaborating on it.
It was interesting to read Nelsons description of how he did this, https://artofmemory.com/forums/nelson-dellis-1855.html
I suspect many people bail out of learning the 1,000 or 2,704 image system when confronted with the work involved.
I would also be interested in others experiences.
I converted to the Ben System in 2010. I’ve found that it was a little bit cumbersome at first, but the payoffs are great (i.e. much faster times, seems to be much more efficient by using both consonant and vowel sounds). Unless someone comes up with an even more efficient system, which I don’t see happening any time soon, I’ll likely always use it. I believe that becoming proficient in a more complex system and seeing immediate results have kept my interest in improving to higher levels.
Hi Slaveoth,
The 1,000 images that I created for numbers can be integrated into the 2,652 card combinations but still this is a huge amount of distinct images to find - it took me 6 months to come up with the images (about an hour per day, 5 days a week), the main difficulty I encountered was finding original images (ones that I hadn’t used before!) for the unusual sound combinations that my BEN system generated e.g. JS8D = STOWF ??
After I had come up with the images though (and weeded out duplicates!) it is a long process of becoming familiar with them but eventually progress was made.
To answer the second part of your question, I have improved on certain areas, speed cards and speed numbers but have yet to realise improvements on the longer events.
Hi Jimbo,
What are your best times with the Ben System (cards, binary, decimal) both in competition and out?
Thanks
Why on earth would ANYONE want to memorize 10,000 images for 10,000 numbers? I’ve seen this desire before and could never understand it. It seems to me that one of the main purposes of mnemonics is to REDUCE the information, to make it more efficient. For ANY number with 5 digits (10,000 to 99, 999) I would have to use only 3 images (4 at the most if I modify it slightly), using a method I made up for myself plus a peg number for the last 2 digits. Think of that. 3 or 4 images vs. 10,000.
If I use the Dominic system, I’d use only 3 images = 99 is one image, the second 99 creates the second image, the last digit makes the third image.
Is there anyone who really thinks that memorizing (and first coming up with!) 10,000 images is faster, more efficient than requiring only 3 or 4 images?
Don’t get me wrong. I think that whatever works is good. If you’ve got 10,000 images for 10,000 numbers and can accurately recall a certain number, then there’s no problem. (I go for accuracy, not speed, since my goal isn’t competition.) But spending all that time dealing with 10,000 images seems to go against the very essence of what memory systems are all about, what they were created for.
I’m not sure what you’re referring to. The Ben System uses 1,000 images for decimal, 1,024 for binary and 2,704 for cards (all overlapping). I don’t disagree with you though. 10,000 separate images, though impressive would be difficult to manage. I believe there have been discussions around a 4 digit system in the forum.
See my reply here:
Quite interesting indeed. If you have a PAO system of 1-100 then using the images for 001-100 would seem beneficial at the start but a hindrance later on