by Tansel Ali
Passwords
We have so many logins these days it’s difficult to remember them all, but we do know that using the same password repeatedly is neither secure nor smart. Even so, many websites demand a minimum of eight alphanumeric characters, including capital letters, and some workplaces insist you change your login each month! Memory techniques take the guesswork out of remembering multiple passwords.
What needs to be memorised:
• the password itself
• username
• the website or service you are logging into.
These three items need images that are interconnected. It’s no use trying just to remember a password because you may not remember what to use the password for.
Let’s say I want to remember an email account login and have these details:
Username: [email protected]
Password: sMfxFgjq
Website: Yahoo mail
Damo and Craig are my cats’ names so I visualise them and connect them both to Yahoo via association. I visualise my cats in the morning after they’ve been fed with their victory cry, ‘Yahooooo! We have eaten.’ (Believe me, if they could speak that’s exactly what they’d say.) Next is the password, a jumble of letters in upper and lower case, currently abstract with no meaning to anyone. Using the Yellow Elephant Memory Model we can turn the abstract into images through storytelling:
A small snail (s) goes up a large mountain (M) and as he goes up hears some very strange faint sound effects (fx) coming from a huge fireplace (F) where someone has thrown tiny goji (gj) berries. As soon as the snail picks up the berries the queen (q), who happens to be three metres tall, walks in.
Notice how I visualised small and faint images for lowercase letters and large, bold things for upper-case? Remember this trick. Also, be sure you use SMASHIN SCOPE to make your visualisation stand out. All that is left to do is to connect Damo and Craig with the snail story and we have memorised our Yahoo email password. When recalling this information, the first thing we see is the site or service to enter our details so we begin our story from that point:
Damo and craig cry ‘Yahoooo!’ after breakfast when suddenly they realise they have eaten snails. One of the smaller snails escapes the food bowl and climbs up a large mountain (M) and hears some very strange faint sound effects (fx) coming from a huge fireplace (F) where someone has thrown tiny goji (gj) berries. As soon as the snail picks up the berries the queen (q), who happens to be three metres tall, walks in.
It may seem like a lot of mental work just to remember one password. But you should only need to do it once. Once you’ve reviewed your story a few times you should be set and locked in the password.
Here are some passwords to memorise.
K4nmqq5q
wBsUtpsr
j242PEPX
qybZJTnB
UcbXvfqD
Once you’ve got the hang of making up stories, converting from abstract to image, see if you can use something similar for your own passwords. You can generate random passwords by visiting http://www.random.org/passwords. You can create passwords this way, or you could play with a mixture of letters, words and numbers that make sense to you. You can even join two different passwords together in upper and lower case.
Just make sure you don’t use any of these, which are the twenty-five worst passwords: 123456; password; 12345; 12345678; qwerty; 1234567890; 1234; baseball; dragon; football; 1234567; monkey; letmein; abc123; 111111; mustang; access; shadow; master; michael; superman; 696969; 123123; batman; trustno1.
PINs
Since 2014 Australian credit cards no longer accept signatures for purchases and now require a PIN, which can be four or six digits long. The key elements to memorise here are:
• the service you are using for your PIN
• the PIN itself.
Say, for example, I want to remember my PIN for general ATM use.
Bank card: ANZ Bank
PIN: 677501
Create a visual for the ANZ Bank and the number 677501 using the Major system or Dominic system to encode the numbers into images.
The Australian and New Zealand cricket teams both greet you as you walk towards the ANZ ATM. You’re about to put your card into the machine and the Australian team gives you a piece of chocolate (67) while the New Zealand team takes your chocolate and glues (75) it to the ATM. As soon as it’s glued, both the teams tell you to sit (01).
Credit card numbers
Credit cards require more than just memorising numbers and the key elements to memorise are:
• the type of card
• the card number
• expiry date
• security code
• PIN
The type of card: VISA
The card number: 7833 2690 6563 1980 4323
Expiry date: 03/2019
Security code: 671
PIN: 1134
Create a visual for VISA, the card number, expiry date, security code and pin.
You arrive in a foreign country and unfortunately you do not have a VISA. You start coughing (78) to the mummy (33) next to you and receive a nudge (26) from the boss (90). You turn around to find that they have packed your luggage into a large shell (65) but they forgot the jam (63). You get annoyed so you gently tap (19) the face (80) of the ram (43) that was sitting quietly next to the garden gnome (23). The officer comes along and asks you when your card expires and you tell them your sumo (03) wrestler’s nose (20) is dripping like a tap (19). The officer gets confused then asks for your code. You tell him it’s in your jacket (671). He reaches into your jacket and finds a piece of paper with a PIN, and the following words written on it: ‘Teddy (11) is being held hostage by Mary (34)’.
Telephone numbers
Key elements to memorise:
• the person/business/place to remember
• the phone number
Let’s say you want to remember your friend Bob’s number.
Bob Norman
Ph: 0491779841
Create a visual for Bob Norman and the number 0491779841 using the Major system or Dominic system to encode the numbers into images.
A person is constantly bobbing up and down (Bob) in a Harvey Norman (Norman) shopping store among the electrical goods. Bob suddenly gets a baseball bat (91) and takes a swing at you, but he misses and whacks a cake (77) instead. You go to take a bite of it but it’s made of beef (98) and there are rats (41) running out of it.
You can, of course, use the Method of Loci for storing longer numbers if you like. It’s up to you how you memorise them, but as long as you create the story by encoding it will work.
Stress management
Stress can take away our ability to progress in life and keep us stuck in a hole that we feel we cannot escape from. Using visualisation, and especially through using SMASHIN SCOPE, we can create relaxing stories that make us breathe a whole lot better.
Imagine yourself on a beautiful island, the sun is up and the temperature is perfect. You get up from lying down on the soft sandy beach and make your way into the crystal clear water. You dip your right foot into the water and it gives you a tiny chill sensation, which rushes from your feet all the way to your brain. You slowly walk through the water, feeling how soft the sand is on the soles of your feet as the water moves between your toes.
You can either read the above paragraph, or feel it in your mind as an experience. Go back and reread it and this time visualise and feel what’s happening. Hear the sounds around you, feel the warmth and the chill, let your mind wander.
Was it different the second time? Did you feel you were there? Being in the moment is a powerful strategy when dealing with stress. Using vis
ualisation techniques like this help you take a break from the real world and go to a place that soothes the mind.
Continue the story and make it longer, or think of another relaxing story. Will it involve nature, your family, success? Whatever it is use SMASHIN SCOPE to bring your story to life. Close your eyes for even greater effect.
• The three-step process of remembering keys will also help you recall other daily things like taking the bins out, or whether you’ve fed the animals.
• Use the number systems for all number-based items or dates including phone numbers, PINs, credit cards—wedding anniversaries work well here too!
• Use your SMASHIN ScOPE skills to create amazing visual stories for stress relief.
CHAPTER 7
STUDY TECHNIQUES
‘The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.’—Sydney J. Harris
Most of us have spent our entire educational life learning through repetition. Indeed, most of the world still works this way, and probably will for some time yet. Many learners and educators might acknowledge other learning methods, but the safety and ease of rote learning ultimately triumphs. It’s a proven system, right? It’s produced so many academic champions and shaped learning culture around the world.
But there’s still a problem.
Repetition sucks. It takes a long time and we often forget and are forced to repeat things over and over again. Today’s students are given so much information that they don’t have time to review material so it’s no surprise they end up forgetting it. Then when it’s exam time they endure the ritual of overnight cramming—a bizarre practice that is also a widely accepted form of learning!
Personally, I was never a master of cramming. I couldn’t bear the long hours and I’d get super stressed. My eyes were truly opened for the first time when I learned about memory techniques when still a student. Before that I had always assumed I had a bad memory. Learning memory techniques engaged the creative side of my brain, which I loved. I’ve always been imaginative but had never used my imagination for studying before because I learned by rote. Whole brain learning, which incorporates memory techniques such as mind mapping, linking systems and speed reading, won me over in a big way. And I didn’t stop there. I knew that if it could help me it would be fantastic for other students too.
How to study faster and better
We often don’t think about why we study, it’s just something we do because we have to, usually as part of school or a university course. Becoming more conscious about how we learn, however, helps us understand ourselves better and makes us more self-aware. This self-awareness can spark a deeper interest around specific subjects, driving deeper engagement and bringing real meaning to our learning efforts.
What do you want to get out of your learning?
If you’re at school, is your motivation to get top grades or is it to satisfy your parents? If you’re already working, are you studying to get better at your job or to find a new one? This is all fine, but have you ever thought about what you really want to learn? You may be an accountant who wants to learn how to cook Asian food, or to play a musical instrument. Wanting to learn something helps your mind become more receptive to new information because you’re more engaged with the subject matter.
How will you motivate yourself to study?
It’s difficult to study something that’s boring and dry. The trick is to change boring to exciting by using the Yellow Elephant Memory Model. Just imagine that the topic is the abstract, then create an image. Here you can use your visual skills, mind mapping, drawing, singing, dancing, or whatever you feel connects with the content you’re reading. Try transforming multiple pages from a boring old textbook into a graphic representation on one page. With practice, you can turn something dry into something memorable.
Mathematics
I was never brilliant at maths. I just scraped through at secondary school, and at university I failed it three times, making my undergraduate degree take years longer than it should have! After getting into all things memory- and brain-related, though, I understood that my difficulties with maths came about because it really is another language, one that was not well communicated to me or well understood by me. What I have since found to be a real help with the building blocks of mathematics is to memorise formulas.
Memorising formulas
Shape areas
We need to substitute images for symbols and letters to make stories that connect the logical sequence of the formula. For the multiplication symbol × we can have the action: jump.
So now let’s apply the stories.
Triangle
area = ½ × b × h
b = base
h = height
You walk half-way up the triangle then realise you need to get down. You jump on its base and then immediately jump as high as you can to get to the top.
Rectangle
area = w × h
w = width
h = height
You roll across the width of the rectangle to find a huge spider millimetres away, which causes you to jump up to the height of the ceiling.
Ellipse
area = π × a × b
You are eating a pie, which looks like an ellipse. The sauce runs down your shirt and you jump up, yelling ‘Aay!’ Suddenly you jump up a second time after a bee lands on you.
Trapezium
area = ½(a+b) × h
h = height
You walk half-way up the trapezium and realise that you have to jump on top of both of your friends, ‘Amy + Ben’. Embarrassed and ashamed, you step back and jump extremely high.
Parallelogram
area = b × h
b = base
h = height
You see something on the base of the parallelogram and move closer to investigate. It’s a snake and you jump up as high as you can from fright!
Circle
area = π × r2
r = radius
After eating your circular pie you jump on the rollercoaster—twice!
Trigonometry
θ = theta, which can equal the action ‘dance/dancing’.
/ = separating
sin = sign
cos = cos lettuce
tan = tansel
csc = casket
sec = secretary
cot = baby cot
opposite = opposite
hypotenuse = hippopotamus
adjacent = agent
Formula: sin θ = opposite / hypotenuse
You’re holding a sign while dancing. Opposite you is a barrier separating you from the hippopotamus.
Formula: cos θ = adjacent / hypotenuse
You are eating cos lettuce while dancing. An agent pops out of nowhere and tells you to separate yourself from the hippopotamus.
Formula: tan θ = opposite / adjacent
Tansel is dancing. Directly opposite him is an agent who is disgusted. Luckily, there is a barrier separating them.
Formula: csc θ = hypotenuse / opposite
The casket is being danced on by rowdy hippopotamuses. They must be separated and report to the opposite end of the room to be disciplined. Naughty hippos.
Formula: sec θ = hypotenuse / adjacent
The secretary is dancing on her desk. The rowdy hippopotamus is about to join in when suddenly he is separated by animal safety agents.
Formula: cot θ = adjacent / opposite
The baby cot has dance music blaring out of it from a speaker. The parents call in the agents to separate the speaker and put it at the opposite end of the room’.
Algebra
Quadratic formula
= = extremely loud
x = xylophone
–b = blown away
± = clown
= heart
b2 (squared) = one of the Bananas in Pyjamas, B2
– = takes away
4ac = 4 apples with multiple cinnamon donuts
____________ = divided by
2a = 2 apples
The xylophone is being played extremely loudly and is eventually blown away by an angry clown. Your heart starts racing, then one of the Bananas in Pyjamas, B2, comes to help. He takes away your fear by giving you 4 apples with multiple cinnamon donuts. You are very kind and divide 2 of the apples to share with friends.
How to write a good essay
Studying is not just about gathering knowledge and making sense of it, though; it’s also about showing that you understand that knowledge, and the most common way we do this is through written essays, reports and exams. The real stumbling block to success in writing comes from not carefully organising our thoughts and approach, so planning is essential. Our sample essay comes from Monash University’s Language and Learning Online site.
1. Look closely at the essay topic
In the last twenty years, rates of divorce have risen significantly in Western countries. critically analyse some of the different explanations given for this phenomenon. In your discussion you should consider what implications these explanations might have for social policy.
2. Order the information
The first thing to do is identify the topic, which here is rates of divorce (in Western countries). Now we need to establish a structure for the essay. Most are pretty straightforward, requiring an introduction, three or four main points (or paragraphs) in the body of the essay using quotes or references to support your argument, then a conclusion with a final point or recapping on points already made.
