The power of adjectives in a Major System PAO list

General Memory Chat
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SHORT VERSION:

Create adjectives via major system and use them to add detail to your mental imagery while also packing more information into a single image. I used this to encode a 54-digit binary sequence in one image.

LONG VERSION:

Last night I was playing around with memorizing a binary sequence using the red-black order of a shuffled deck of cards and realized the power of adding encodable adjectives into mental mnemonic imagery.

I’ve been developing a 2-digit PAAO (person action adjective object) list based on the major system and using that I was able to encode an entire deck (including the jokers) of 54 card colors in a single image. I did it by using the format of (Adjective-Person) does (Action) to (Adjective-Person)'s (Adjective-Object) while (Person) does (Action). Sounds crazy, but hear me out.

For binary sequences, first I take 2 sets of 3 binary digits or card colors and convert them to a 2-digit base10 number.

There are only 8 digits (0 through 7) that can be conveyed by a series of 3 binary digits. With a little practice it’s pretty easy to get those locked in so that you can quicky recognize 000 = 0, 001 = 1, 010 = 2, 011 = 3, 100 = 4, 101 = 5, 110 = 6, and 111 = 7.

Once I have the base10 number, I then convert it to major system sound and then combine 2 digits to get a Person or Action or Adjective or Object on my PAAO list. (Sidenote: After a little practice, you can go directly from binary to major sound without the middle step of comverting to base10 first. 010 will just start to trigger N. 101= L. etc. It’s pretty cool.)

Example using card colors: Black-Red-Black = 010 = 2 = N sound. Black-Red-Red = 011 = 3 = M sound. So, 010/011 or B-R-B/B-R-R converts to 23, NM, which in my major system list is NeMo if it’s in a person position in the image sequence, NaMing if it’s in an action position, NuMb if its in an adjective position, or gNoMe if it’s in the object position.

Going through a 54 card deck and adding adjectives to people and objects gives me a ready-made vivid image like (SoRe ZeuS) (RaMMing) (huNKy LoKi)'s (MuSHy JeT) while (JeD KiSSes).

Zeus is holding his sore back as he rams his shoulder against a jet thats blocking his way. The jet is mushy and squashes and sloshes every time it gets rammed. Loki is all oiled up like a hunky body builder and is flexing in the pilot seat. It’s his jet. Standing under the jet Jed Clampett from the beverly hillbillies is blowing kisses at everyone.

Its a detailed image, but its contained in a single snapshot and is pretty easy to translate in the proper order to decode it correctly during recall.

The triple bonus of using adjectives in the encoding process is that it gives the mental images absurd and memorable life, reduces the effort needed to do so, and adds encoded info on top of it all.

I’ve found one of the hardest parts about working with the images generated from a standard PAO is vividly animating them to fill in details. This takes time and brainpower. If you have “ZeuS RaMMing a JeT,” thats only 6 base10 digits (18 binary digits) in one image that you then have to give life to so it sticks, but that extra flavor you add that makes the image memorable doesnt encode more information, and you have to spend time and effort to fill in the detail.

By contrast, “SoRe ZeuS RaMMing huNKy LoKi’s MuSHy JeT while JeD KiSSes” gives you a whopping 18 base10 digits (54 binary digits) in a single scene that’s more detailed and memorable and may actually be easier to construct and visualize than a standard PAO image!

A similar strategy could even be applied to memorizing actual full card values. Instead of the traditional 3 cards per image across 18 images via PAO for a full deck, AP/A/AP/AO+PA gives you 9 cards per image with only 6 images needed for a full deck!

Anybody have any thoughts on this? Do any of you use adjectives like this? Any downsides or negatives to consider with this approach?

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@TheHumanTim, I agree that adjectives can be in a class of their own for helping to create more detail in a mnemonic image. They are an essential part of a detailed image in what I call a visual sentence.

I’ve decided there are four major types of data for an image, and each one can have their own adjective/adverb. You can search for SEA-IT to get more detail. The E stands for elaboration or any adjective of a subject, item or terrain, or an adverb for an action.

Then you use a set of synced pegs anchored on its number order with a complex conversion rule like the PAO. While it’s possible to keep extending the number of synced peg lists from PO, to PAO, to PAOL, to aPAaPaOPA, the question is why don’t people do that? I crammed in lots of visual data into one image as a test and found that it took a lot of time.

Most people want a competition-style system which is fast to convert and recover the image. The PO and PAO fits that bill. So that’s what I see as a major shortcoming of overdesigning a synced list system. But it is a great way to convert long lists for permanent use.

I found that my adjectives needed to be reviewed often as they typically were the first to degrade. Psychology tells us that the image part that makes it the most sticky is the action. It’s not any bizarre type of elaboration or object we use in the image.

The key here is that you have a trade-off. A richer visual image with more compressed data vs. a lean image for faster conversion and recall. Long-term planning and multiple reviews vs. short-term recall and minimal review. Lean images work better if you have a good imagination.

Let me know how it progresses for you as you use your system. Do you use it for any practical purpose yet? You’ve got some good design skills so keep designing and putting your systems to the test!

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@TheHumanTim It’s humbling to see what you guys are doing with your minds! It’s all “Greek to me” but you really explained it well ! Your enthusiasm was also great. Packing 9 cards into one image is very “wow.” I’m not doing anything as elaborate as you are, but I’m going to start thinking more about adjectives for sure. Maybe I’ll learn the basics of remembering cards. Probably wouldn’t hurt my brain to try. Thanks for taking the time to post your system. Your clarity was excellent!

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@thinkaboutthebible Thanks Doug! So far, the biggest thing was memorizing digits of Pi, which using adjectives helped cut down the number of mental images needed. (I got to 4325 digits!) Periodic Table with atomic weights used this a bit. US state ranks by population, size, and order they entered the union. Not practical day to day stuff, but as a student some of this info would be very useful for history or science exams.

I just started memorizing all of the office phone numbers of all of the important contacts at work which is pretty handy if I need to get in touch with someone in a pinch. I’m really at the beginning of the application phase of this journey. Looking to see what other types of things I can tackle.

I have thought of a minor downside to using adjectives as part of the imaging system. When trying to initially commit the system to memory, I started taking each number and trying to picture all 4 attributes as a whole, for example: “TeD TooTing on a DeaD ToaD” all keyed to 11. But I just realized that the adjective kind of has to live on its own.

When I see 11 in the “object” place. I have to picture a “toad.” Not a “DeaD ToaD” or a “FaT ToaD”, just a “ToaD.” To lock in a visual for the adjective, I almost need to imagine “deadness” or “fatness” overlaid on a formless placeholder object so that it doesn’t trip up recall.

I should only picture a “dead toad” when i encounter “1111.”

Does that make sense? Not sure its a dealbreaker for the PAAO idea, just something to be careful of when building it?

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@Ella Thanks! You can do it! It seems daunting but take one step at a time. Try just 10 numbers or maybe one suit or value of cards to start and add the next set once those get comfortable. If you look at the whole project at once it can seem crazy but you’ll get there!

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It makes sense, @TheHumanTim. Adjectives should make the normal state of the subject change. Toads are usually alive. One with their feet up in the air is dead. Toads are usually fat. A thin toad (1211) is unique. But that only works if all the others aren’t thin also.

Maybe for thin (12), you could use tiny, tan or in a tin can. For 11 (extracting elaborations from my Toolkit listing) I had taut, tidy, tie-dye, wide-eyed as well as dead and a few others that aren’t that visual. I think a toad wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt is useful.

Certainly the more elements you create in proximity to each other, the more they can be confused so being careful when building is essential.

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@thinkaboutthebible I like Tie-Dye! So many options!

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