That would work too, just don’t be too sketchy about it if there are other people around, haha.
Nothing wrong with that, as long as the word triggers a solid image. I wouldn’t consider “CaM” that unusual as it could easily trigger the image of a camera. “FaR” as a standalone word is fairly abstract, its a descriptor, not a subject which you usually would prefer for the P’s and O’s… BUT if you make the association for it something solid like maybe a telescope or a pair of binoculars, then you have a great “Object” for your list that is easily triggered by reading 84 as the word “far.”
Its actually a great idea to try to make single syllable starting sounds as that will make things very speedy in the memorizing phase when you start applying it. Even if the syllable doesn’t cover the WHOLE word, as long as it consistently triggers an image you’ll get to the point of instant translation. So, something like FaSH for your 86 syllable could trigger an image of a “fashion show” model… Even though its only the first syllable, it can give you the whole image amd trigger the complete word “fashion.” In my 3-digit system I have many of these kinds of setups where the first three consonants are all that matter. So something like “L-K-F” (578) translates to “lee-kee-fa” which triggers the image of “leaky faucet” for me. The end consonants of “faucet” are disregarded. You could take this approach too if needed for your 2-digit list words.
Don’t be afraid of trying a few approaches and revising and changing words as you go if other, better words come along. It shouldn’t take very long to retrain your associations if you need to.
I think PAAO works really well if it makes sense to you. I love it for a 2-digit system. That being said, there is really no “ideal” system that applies to everyone. Its very much a process of “try it and see.” I am very in favor of using the Major System for all components of the list. It takes a lot of effort and time to come up with the full list and refine it so that they are all unique and vivid, but I think it pays off.
If you can embrace the list building process as a way to practice working with the phonetics and as a chance to get a mental workout, almost like people who do daily sudoku or crossword puzzles, then it makes it much less of a stressful and frustrating thing. Fluency takes time, but it will happen if you put that time in.
What Tim said. It takes time to fill up your list but it’s an effort well spent. I’ve found uses for my PAO (or rather PO since I don’t use actions) that I hadn’t planned for.
Also you can begin to use it even if it’s not “finished”. In fact it may be the best way of making fluency happen
How do you create scenes without an action? I’d really appreciate an example.
I know creating a PAO is an effort well spent. But the point is, I have no desire for competitions. What I need are long-term memories. I’ve often managed remembering digits just by using major system dictionaries to find words that match well with what the number is about. However, that takes some time to find the perfect words for the occasion. So, this led me to wonder if I could become more efficient by remembering a list of words for every number from 00 through 99.
When I said I don’t use action I meant that I have no fixed actions corresponding to numbers. I choose action freely.
I have People for 01-99 and Objects for 01-99 so I can encode chunks of max. 4 numbers (person+object which interact however they want to) per image. Given that I don’t do competition it’s enough for my needs.
I found it really difficult to find a list of 100 fixed actions. And it felt very limiting to have fixed actions, especially since I like to have my people interact with the loci itself when they’re in a memory palace.
Also I don’t limit myself to only one person/objects. Person and objects are not thematically linked (both based on a variation of the major system for my language). Especially for objects I often have several possibilities for the same number, anything that fits phonetically is ok to use. It helps reducing repetitive images.
Yes I’ll be sure not to go to Victoria’s Secret with my camera!
I like that idea. I’m going to use it.
That’s funny I was thinking about that example but did not want to use it because it sounded kind of dumb. That’s exactly what I do. Using just the “a” vowel sound makes the list much easier to recall.
This was for sure the hardest part, because I wanted them to follow the major system encoding just like the other elements. I really like having actions that encode info, but the tradeoff is the difficulty building the list and being locked into those actions when using it.
For my 3 digit list, I currently have only 1 element per number, either people or objects, no set actions. I feel it would be practically impossible to find 1000 unique actions that all map to the phonetics. Its kind of nice in a different way to be able to make the action connection however I want, but theres always the “efficiency finder” part of me that wishes I could get a 3x3x3 digit PAO completed so I could get 9 digits per scene in which the imagery would self-generate from the list.
I think a 3x2x3 is realistic, importing my 100 actions from the 2-digit list. I just need to someday finish the 1000 people and 1000 objects. Maybe after my shadow system project is done…
My general advice for the major system, especially to those who want to use a 3 digit system is to fill out terms that fit the phonetics as best you can, but don’t sacrifice the image for the phonetics. If a certain number pair has really odd phonetics that don’t lend themselves well to an image just put in a good image and then just learn that that number means that image. It’ll be tricky at first but I use a lot of exceptions in my system and after some trial and error I see those numbers and just know that it doesn’t follow the phonetics.
Also about the 3 digit actions, I think it would technically be doable if you were willing to have some really fantastic actions as opposed to normal actions only. For example, if you watch a lot of anime or know your pokemon, those really ridiculous attacks and actions that happen in fantasy worlds make great visuals for actions, but again learning 1000 of them is a really tall order. I’m in the small camp that thinks it is possible, I just don’t think the return on the investment is worth it compared to how good a solid 3 digit major system is.
Good advice. The end goal with any system is really just to build that recognition of number to image directly. The system provides the bridge to make it easier but ultimately that middle step should fall away. Once that happens, the system that was used doesn’t really matter anymore since it gets bypassed in the end. There really is nothing wrong with just basing every association on a random image or number, its just more difficult to build the fluency than if you have a built in way to encode/decode from whatever system rules you’ve picked. The goal in using a system I suppose is to eventually stop needing to use the system.