Shorthand and the Major Memory System
So I ended up dredging up a couple of old pals today. In the past, I’ve learned a couple of forms of shorthand (Speed-Writing and Teeline) and I’d read about (and tried) a variety of memory systems. These have all been entertaining for a while and then been left by the roadside, but it has not been a waste.
I still remember Teeline just fine and occasionally use it to jot things that I’d rather not have others read or simply because I don’t have room in a margin to write things out longhand. I’m certainly not faster at Teeline than normal writing anymore. (pdf of the Teeline system)
The Major System (wiki) is an infinitely generalizable peg memory system. The idea is that you link whatever you want to remember with a particular image that represents an index. The neat thing about this system is that each digit is represented by a consonant sound. For example, a 1 is a d or t sound. So my index for 1 is ‘toe’ and my index for 11 is ‘dead.’ If I want remember a list of scientific discoveries, for example (Times top ten list), where #1 is a method for making skin cells behave like embryonic stem cells - I could picture some skin from a toe being scraped off and grown into various organs.
Now here’s my favorite part. Teeline uses only consonants. The Major system makes everything a consonant. I think they like each other. It certainly helps add an additional few elements of memory (I can remember writing out and seeing the Teeline symbol). More importantly, it got me excited. Time to relearn both. Maybe this time I’ll stick with the major system. It is conceptually incredibly powerful. If anyone wants to practice either at Olin, let me know.
