Does anyone employ memorization techniques?

[dashwater]

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Does anyone here actually put into practice different memory techniques such as mnemonics or the method of loci?

 

[Mithril]

Mnemonics, yes. Good luck getting through med school without the use of mnemonics.

 

[azerkail]

Mnemonics, yes. Good luck getting through med school without the use of mnemonics.

this, a thousand times this.

i use nicknames (like for the kinematic equations 'votat' and 'vo2halfat2' are for 'v(f)=v(o)t + at' and 'delta x = v(o)^2 + 1/2(a)(t^2)') and acronyms (cab = compressions, airway, breathing, for cpr).

and because i'm a klutz, i also put stuff i can't forget the next day on my shoes. i use the same hard to guess password with slight changes for each different site i use it at.

i practically live my life based on lifehacker now that i think of it lol...

 

[scarshapedstar]

I like using my fingers. For example... glucose, g6p, f6p, fbp, gap / dhap, bpg, 3pg, 2pg, pep, pyruvate. That test was two years ago but I can still remember it. Groups of 5 or 10 can be a very powerful technique. You can maybe even combine this with the method of loci if you're so inclined.

 

[docbrill]

I like using my fingers. For example... glucose, g6p, f6p, fbp, gap / dhap, bpg, 3pg, 2pg, pep, pyruvate. That test was two years ago but I can still remember it. Groups of 5 or 10 can be a very powerful technique. You can maybe even combine this with the method of loci if you're so inclined.

Never thought of that, I might try it. I have avoided memorization as much as possible in undergrad, and when I absolutely had to memorize stuff, I would just read it repeatedly - but that only works for small amounts of information. Frankly, my memorization skills suck and I better figure it out before starting med school. So, keep the ideas coming 😀

 

[azerkail]

I like using my fingers. For example... glucose, g6p, f6p, fbp, gap / dhap, bpg, 3pg, 2pg, pep, pyruvate. That test was two years ago but I can still remember it. Groups of 5 or 10 can be a very powerful technique. You can maybe even combine this with the method of loci if you're so inclined.

this i like. thanks for the tip.

 

[mdhopeful65]

use Anki software for anything involving rote memorization. It is similar to flash cards, but it uses mathematical algorithms to help form a strong memory of anything you would like.

Google, it is free. You will not be disappointed.

 

[ahens23]

I;m a big believer in the power of the note card. http://www.flashcardmachine.com/

This website allows you to quickly make flashcards, put pics on them and etc.
Its a lifesaver, and you can save them. Goodluck!🙂

 

[Ismet]

I;m a big believer in the power of the note card. http://www.flashcardmachine.com/

This website allows you to quickly make flashcards, put pics on them and etc.
Its a lifesaver, and you can save them. Goodluck!🙂

I LOVE this website. I just discovered it last month and started using it for a couple of my classes. No more sore wrist from writing out 100+ flash cards!

You can also put the flashcards on your ipod for mobile review 🙂 And you can "share" your flashcard decks.

 

[dashwater]

use Anki software for anything involving rote memorization. It is similar to flash cards, but it uses mathematical algorithms to help form a strong memory of anything you would like.

Google, it is free. You will not be disappointed.

This is pretty awesome, especially because it's open source. I'm an OpenBSD user so this is very cool

 

[CaveJohnsonHere]

use Anki software for anything involving rote memorization. It is similar to flash cards, but it uses mathematical algorithms to help form a strong memory of anything you would like.

Google, it is free. You will not be disappointed.

Just Googled it. Awesome.

 

[deleted357625]

no i just read multiple times. I sang my notes once and it really helped.
Singing your notes OUT LOUD is actually the best way to retain info.

Also, studying right before you go to bed is actually the best time, and getting a good night sleep helps memory consolidation.

 

[Morzh]

this, a thousand times this.

i use nicknames (like for the kinematic equations 'votat' and 'vo2halfat2' are for 'v(f)=v(o)t + at' and 'delta x = v(o)^2 + 1/2(a)(t^2)') and acronyms (cab = compressions, airway, breathing, for cpr).

and because i'm a klutz, i also put stuff i can't forget the next day on my shoes. i use the same hard to guess password with slight changes for each different site i use it at.

i practically live my life based on lifehacker now that i think of it lol...

Never heard of this site before... just spent over 1.5 hours on it 👍

In addition to mnemonics and method of loci (aka "taking a mental walk"), which are quite useful, for certain things it really helps to get a 2x2 whiteboard that you can hold and writing/drawing/diagramming stuff. Start by basically copying it out of a textbook or your notes. Then erase it and immediately do it again. Then try doing parts of it from memory. When you forget something, don't just look to the book, but strain yourself mentally for 10-15 seconds to see if you can come up with the next step/molecule/whatever. After doing that you can look it up. Write/erase/rewrite until you can do the whole thing from memory two or three times straight without looking.

I used this for glycolysis/citric acid cycle/fatty acid synthesis and breakdown/urea cycle. I can still draw out and name every molecule and mechanism, enzyme, cofactor, etc.

Also make sure to get a good sleep after a strenuous study session. Lots of studies have linked consolidation of short-term memory to long-term with slow-wave sleep (especially for declarative memories) and REM sleep (especially for non-declarative memories).

 

[IMSingular]

.... (like for the kinematic equations 'votat' and 'vo2halfat2' are for 'v(f)=v(o)t + at' and 'delta x = v(o)^2 + 1/2(a)(t^2)') ...

Well those equations are wrong! I hope you never used them!!

If you have to remember too much then you haven't learnt much.
If you don't remember anything then again you haven't learnt much.

 

[Porfirio]

Moonwalking With Einstein, you should buy that book.

As for me, I just remember. I am not sure why or how, but I just remember.

 

[Ismet]

this, a thousand times this.

i use nicknames (like for the kinematic equations 'votat' and 'vo2halfat2' are for 'v(f)=v(o)t + at' and 'delta x = v(o)^2 + 1/2(a)(t^2)') and acronyms (cab = compressions, airway, breathing, for cpr).

and because i'm a klutz, i also put stuff i can't forget the next day on my shoes. i use the same hard to guess password with slight changes for each different site i use it at.

i practically live my life based on lifehacker now that i think of it lol...

Well those equations are wrong! I hope you never used them!!

If you have to remember too much then you haven't learnt much.
If you don't remember anything then again you haven't learnt much.

Yeah...both of those equations are wrong.

This is why calc-based physics > algebra-based physics. You actually get an understanding of where the equations come from, so if you forget, you can very easily and quickly derive it.

IMO, if you shoot for understanding the material (aka being able to teach it to someone else), the memorization just comes naturally.

 

[azerkail]

xD i figured they were wrong, those were tricks from alg based physics in high school lol... then again they're right here... http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1dkin/u1l6a.cfm

to supplement those with flashcard sites, www.quizlet.com actually takes your inputted cards and makes games from them like drag-and-match and like a math blaster shoot'em up where you have to type out the answers to definitions and stuff. helped me out when i was working to take breaks to blast through 15 minutes sessions on there every 2 hours.

i dunno if anyone else does this, but i do those cornell notes and they're pretty killer. do it on blank pages and make good diagrams and copy them over and over so that when you test, you can just like mind dump all that info on your test and refer to it later. trick is to get it to where you can trust yourself that you remembered it right... sounds like that memento movie lol

 

[PantherPride]

Depends what I'm memorizing. I tried notecards and realized I learned more from making the note cards than I did using them. For some concepts, such as reactions, writing them down on a mini board with a marker until I could write them down by heart helped me memorize them to the point I could still do it today. I found that what I memorized from notecards did not stick in my memory for a long time.

 

[ManBroDude]

Study Blue and medicalmnemonics.com
Go forth, young ones, and learn all you can learn.

 

[kpcrew]

no i just read multiple times. I sang my notes once and it really helped.
Singing your notes OUT LOUD is actually the best way to retain info.

Also, studying right before you go to bed is actually the best time, and getting a good night sleep helps memory consolidation.

exactly this except i just say them
then i wake up an hour or two early and try to recall all of the most important things, then give the notes another look through just in case i forgot something.

 

[absolutdokta]

maybe its just me (although others in my study group agree), but the more sexual in nature the mnemonic the easier it is to remember. I've found this to be quite true and I've come up with some pretty dirty ones and lo and behold they are still kicking around in my head. So keep em dirty folks👍

 

[scarshapedstar]

maybe its just me (although others in my study group agree), but the more sexual in nature the mnemonic the easier it is to remember. I've found this to be quite true and I've come up with some pretty dirty ones and lo and behold they are still kicking around in my head. So keep em dirty folks👍

I'm not even going to say how I remember SOHCAHTOA.

 

[IMSingular]

Yeah...both of those equations are wrong.

This is why calc-based physics > algebra-based physics.....

Calc based or Algebra based is not that important. Faraday never wrote an equation in mathematical form. You have to understand equations in english. First thing you should understand is units of quantities on left and right side should be the same! In those equation it is not true. Next you understand that velocity at any time will depend on intial velocity and acceleration, that rate of change of velocity, and these two terms will be additive. This is not dissimilar to say you have $10 to begin with and sold 5 apples at $3/apple. How much money you are going to have?

Final Cash = Initial Cash + price(i.e.rate of $ incoming per apple)*number of apples.
Every term has same units, $.
Analog is,
Final Velocity = Intitial Velocity + acceleration(i.e.rate of change of velocity per seconds)*number of seconds.
Every term has same unit, velocity, say feet/sec or miles/hour.

My general rule is if you don't remember something after you thoroughly understand the material it is not worth remembering. One of the most important thing in physics you should understand is dimensional analysis. Once you understand that you can apply that principle in other fields such as finance.

 

[Mithril]

maybe its just me (although others in my study group agree), but the more sexual in nature the mnemonic the easier it is to remember. I've found this to be quite true and I've come up with some pretty dirty ones and lo and behold they are still kicking around in my head. So keep em dirty folks👍

Cranial nerve mnemonics. 👍

 

[absolutdokta]

Cranial nerve mnemonics. 👍

hell yeah......thats the one I had in mind as I wrote out that post

 

[FrkyBgStok]

If it is really complicated I write a song. Works wonders for me.

 

[MyBffPutin]

I play these really lame games with flash cards. Things like matching games and puzzle like things when you have a chart/graph/table/etc to memorize. They work wonders for me.

 

[scarshapedstar]

I play these really lame games with flash cards. Things like matching games and puzzle like things when you have a chart/graph/table/etc to memorize. They work wonders for me.

Go on... 😀 I have my own lame-o OCD flashcard rituals, chief among them splitting the deck into groups of 5-7 and going from there, but I'd love to hear some others.