Hello Nightingale,
The Dominic System operates by assigning a person to every number. To start, map a letter to every number from 0-9. Dominic O’Brien uses the following system:
0 – O 5 – E
1 – A 6 – S
2 – B 7 - G
3 – C 8 - H
4 – D 9 – N
When combined, the two letters form initials for a person. For example, 14 would translate to the initials AD, which might remind you of Albus Dumbledore (a fictional character from the ubiquitous media franchise Harry Potter). Alone, this system allows you to memorize 2 digit numbers. However, Dominic increases the power of the system by turning it into a cluster system; that is to say that it assigns a Person and an Action to every number. So an appropriate action for Albus Dumbledore might be one where he casting a spell and waving his wand. Another example might be for 16; this maps to AS, which might remind you of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold used to be a huge bodybuilder, and so you might imagine him lifting weights.
Thus, to remember the number 1416, you can imagine Albus Dumbledore (Person) lifting weights (Action). To make it even more powerful, you can use a Person-Action-Object system. This would work by assigning an Object to every Person, and you could remember up to 6 digits by simply using one image.
As with every system, there are upsides and there are downsides. One of the downsides is that your creativity goes right out the window. It is much harder to have your image interact with the loci in a significant way. Using the major system, you are free to form associations using various subjects, verbs and objects. Using the Dominic system, there is little room for such improvisation, with may lead to weaker, more superficial images.
Additionally, I would highly advise against using this system to memorize large amounts of historical dates. If you want to memorize something in the year 1416, you would have Albus Dumbledore lifting weights and interacting with various objects in such a manner that it would remind you of a something that occurred that year. However, if you wanted to memorize a date of an event in the year 1418, you would have Albus Dumbledore performing a hail Hitler salute (18 = AH --> Adolf Hitler - Hail Hitler salute for Person-Action) and interacting with whatever reminded you of the event. My point is that after several events within a single century, you’ll have one Subject performing multiple actions. This may be difficult to keep track of. After all, if you want to memorize an event for every year from 1400-1499, you will have Albus Dumbledore performing 100 different actions, which may prove far too similar to be memorable.
If you would like to stick with the Major system, but are having trouble finding words, there are several programs out there that take numbers and convert them into words. 2Know is a very simple and easy-to-use software program that will do just that:
http://www.got2know.net/
Also, here is a list of the first 1000 numbers using the major system:
http://www.rememberg.com/Peg-list-1000/
However, I would advise either creating your own system (personal systems almost always work the best - after all, you built it!) or using a SEM cubed method. More information can be found on the SEM cubed method here:
http://memory-sports.com/2010/05/20/self_enhanced_memory_matrix/
I haven’t gotten around to building a system for memorizing dates yet (still focused on speed cards), but when I do, I’ll be sure to let you know some of my ideas!
-Paul
