Major system

The major system (also called digit code after Aimée Paris , often incorrectly translated back as a master system ) is a memory technique based on the assignment of sounds to digits and words to numbers.

Assignment list

The most common assignment is:

Digit	Substitute consonants	Memory aids
0	s, z, ß, ss, c (soft)	see. English z er o
1	t, d, th	t could be confused with a 1, d is sound related, d and t have a smear (line down)
2	n	n has two legs
3	m	m has three legs
4th	r	vie r ends with r
5	l	L is reminiscent of the Roman numeral 50 L = hand with spread thumb = 5 fingers
6th	ch, j, sch, g (soft)	j like jungle g as rotated 6
7th	k, ck, g (hard), c (hard)	7 is a G lu ck szahl K consists of two 7 together
8th	f, v, w, ph	V8 engine at VW the handwritten f has two loops just like 8
9	p, b	9 is a mirrored p or rotated b (both are sound related)

If several sounds are assigned to a number, they are generated phonetically in a similar manner (exception "6").

Once you have memorized this assignment, it is easy to remember longer numbers as a word or as a sentence. Vowels do not appear in this system, so you can use them as you like as they are not meaningful. It should be noted that only the phonetic value applies, not the orthographic value:

A ff e has the numerical value 8
L a tt e has the numerical value 51

Example: Instead of memorizing the number 8,294,193, you just remember the word “A ff e nbr o tb au m ”.

The method is always useful in everyday life when you need certain longer numbers more often, for example ID numbers or telephone numbers. Notes can also be made in the form of numbers, which then represent a kind of cipher. The combination “6 59 16” could then mean “I love you”.

Translate into pictures

It is important that you translate the numbers into emotional, clear images that you can easily imagine. The more sensory impressions you associate with the picture, the better. In the following, all one and two-digit numbers are converted into images according to the major system:

number	word	Suggestion for better visualization
0	oasis	green oasis in the middle of the hot desert, camels, palm trees
1	tea	sipping hot, steaming mint tea
2	Noah	Animals go in pairs over a footbridge into Noah's great ark before the flood
3	granny	own grandma
4th	deer	small, large-eyed fawn with white spots on the fur; Bambi
5	avenue	road lined with large green deciduous trees in summer
6th	ski	Lift or drag lift go in winter; Ski races on TV
7th	cow	purple milk cow with bell on alpine pasture
8th	UFO	round flying plate with green men
9	boa	Strangler snake that has just eaten an elephant, as in "The Little Prince"
00	Zeus	Greek father of gods who hurls lightning from Olympus
01	CD	Audio CD that you insert into a hi-fi system and turn up
02	tooth	Visit to the dentist who pulls your wisdom tooth
03	Osama	one of the formerly most wanted people; white turban
04	Zorro	Hero who fights for justice with a mask, black cloak and sword
05	room	large gym; Circuit training, soccer, volleyball
06	Plague	Animals must be killed; Plague pit
07	sock	white tennis socks or filled piggy bank
08	sofa	soft, comfortable leather couch in front of the TV
09	Zippo	classically elegant petrol lighter that can be opened with a snap
10	Cup	red porcelain cup with black dots
11	death	Grim reaper with black cloak; Skeleton. (or: Teddy; your favorite teddy)
12	fir	Christmas tree decorated with lights, stars and candles; Gifts
13	dam	large, water-filled dam for generating electricity
14th	goal	a goal is scored in a soccer game and half cheers; Wave in the stadium
15th	duel	two men of honor stand back to back with colt in hand
16	bag	School bag with textbooks and a deliciously filled break box
17th	counter	tall counter stool with a view of bartenders and alcohol bottles
18th	baptism	little screaming child in her mother's arms, who is sprinkled with holy water
19th	Dove	Dove of peace with an olive branch in its beak; Carrier pigeon
20th	nose	Nose piercing
21st	dog	bark and bite; buries bones in the garden; shaggy fur
22nd	nun	Nun with black robe and rosary in hand
23	Nemo	Captain Nemo with a captain's hat who goes down honorably with the ship
24	Nero	Emperor in Rome, who likes to throw people in the arena at the wild animals
25th	Nile	Hippopotamus sticking its head out of the water
26th	niche	saint figure standing in wall niche
27	toad	a warty, colorful frog
28	Nivea	blue cream jar with white skin cream
29	New building	beautiful new building with exciting architecture
30th	moss	green damp moss on the forest floor
31	mat	next to trampoline when doing gymnastics; thick and soft yoga mat
32	Poppy	glowing red poppy field in the sunshine
33	mummy	wrapped, preserved king in the sarcophagus
34	sea	emerald green water and deserted beach; salty water; hot weather
35	Mill	in Holland, with rotating windmills
36	mesh	instead of a tie, with colored dots
37	Mac	Apple Macintosh; shining apple as a logo
38	mafia	evil, grim men in Sicily with pistols, black suits and sunglasses
39	mop	Dust broom with fringes soaked in oil
40	rose	single red, thorny rose with a sweet fragrance
41	radio	small portable transistor radio; Boom box
42	ruin	old, dilapidated castle ruins
43	army	Soldiers dressed in green march in lockstep
44	pipe	Pneumatic mail is sent
45	role	Toilet roll
46	smoke	grayish smoke rising when grilling; smoke sign
47	skirt	loud, wild music; Electric guitars are smashed
48	Ripe	Hula-hoops that you can circle around your stomach
49	Crow	black soft toy with an orange beak and claws
50	lasso	Cowboy casually swings the lasso and catches a calf
51	lotto	Lotto balls buzz around in balls and Lottofee draws the winning numbers
52	rope	Clothesline in the fresh summer wind with fragrant laundry
53	lama	Animal with long fur; can spit far
54	lyre	Organ grinder cranks and simple melodies sound; with monkey on shoulder
55	Lollipop	sweet orange lollipop with peach flavor
56	Corpse	in the dissecting room; pungent formal smell
57	Lego	colorful Lego bricks for building cars, houses and spaceships
58	lava	Volcano spits out red, liquid lava; runs down the volcano and freezes with steam
59	leaves	yellowed leaves in the autumn wind; are swept up in heaps
60	shot	the shot that comes off a gun
61	yeti	the never seen mountain man with shaggy hair all over his body
62	barn	stacked bales of straw; jump into the straw in the barn
63	foam	good smelling bubble bath
64	scissors	large secateurs to cut off dead flowers
65	scarf	self-knitted, warm scarf
66	sheikh	Oil sheik with white cloak on camel
67	jacket	super warm red snowboard jacket
68	sheep	white, crinkled wool; «Mähhh»
69	shovel	wide shovel for clearing snow
70	cashbox	old mechanical cash register; rings when opening the door
71	putty	Window putty; black talking car from Michael Knight
72	movie theater	large cinema with soft armchairs
73	Comb	Hair comb
74	Choir	Church choir; Singer in front of music stands
75	Club	Fred Feuerstein with a club and his great stone age car
76	cook	3-toque chef in a restaurant
77	violin	classical instrument that is played with a bow
78	coffee	Coffee beans in coarse 25-kilo sacks
79	cap	black, soft, warm woolen hat
80	barrel	Barrel of beer; Tapping at Oktoberfest
81	Fit	Pushups and sit-ups in gym
82	hairdryer	after washing your hair
83	WM	Sprinters run for gold medals
84	Fire	warming, crackling campfire
85	Cases	Mouse trap with cheese and bacon as bait
86	Laundry	a mountain full of laundry; Washing machine
87	Libra	Bathroom scales
88	weapon	Assault rifle
89	honeycomb	Hexagon, made of wax, full of honey
90	bus	Public bus
91	bed	soft, cozy bed
92	bee	yellow-black striped; Bee sting swells red
93	tree	single deciduous tree with a large treetop
94	bear	brown big bear with paws and claws
95	pool	Vacation; lying by the pool and sipping piña colada
96	Brook	quietly babbling mountain stream in beautiful surroundings
97	puck	black hockey puck; thickly wrapped up ice hockey team
98	Bifi	Sausage snack
99	infant	Baby in a stroller with a colorful rattle in hand

application

When the user has learned the 100 pictures, they are used instead of the digits to memorize numbers. The loci method is usually used for this, in which the images are stored on route points and can thus be easily recalled from memory. During playback, the learner first remembers the picture via the route and can translate it back into a number via the sound coding.

The system can also be used to memorize information of any kind. For this purpose, the image is linked by a number with the information to be remembered. Example: If you want to remember the countries of the world sorted by area in the correct order, you would proceed as follows with the major system:

I have a cup of TEA (number) on the red square in RUSSIA (info)
On the Ark of NOAH (number) the CANADIAN (info) moose run around freely
My grandma (number) climbs with me on the AMERICAN (info) Statue of Liberty
etc.

The content is then called up from memory by calling up the numbers and the corresponding images in front of the inner eye. You just go through the numbers from 1 to the last one you used.

This visual numbering of content enables the major system to organize information very precisely. You can always answer questions like: "What is the 53rd largest ... the 10th smallest .." etc. "The order in which you memorize it does not matter. You get the exact numbering of the contents without any additional work is a clear advantage over the Loci method.

Another advantage of the major system is the ability to get an overview of the amount of information stored. Anyone who remembers the content of a book and knows that he / she has saved exactly 153 information about it, for example, can check their knowledge for completeness at any time. This allows you to identify any gaps in knowledge and refresh them again.

Historical background

Aimé Paris (1798–1866)

In ancient Greek, numbers are represented by letters. The associated possibilities no longer existed when the Roman numerals were used. In contrast, in India in the Katapayadi system letters, first attested in 683 AD, were connected with digits, which meant that numbers could be replaced by words. It is not entirely clear how Pierre Hérigone felt about these models. In any case, in 1634 he was the first in Europe to publish a numeric code. In this context, the Hérigone numerical code is sometimes used . The numerical code was further developed and made popular by Johann Justus Winckelmann under the pseudonym Stannislaus Mink von Wennshein in the middle of the 17th century . Therefore one spoke of the Winckelmann numeric code .

As a result, several attempts were made to develop an optimal digit code. Richard Gray introduced a complicated system in 1730, in which consonants and vowels form the numbers. Certain letters have special functions. The 'R' denotes e.g. B. a break. In 1808 Gregor von Fainaigle published an improved assignment of numbers to vowel sounds. He switched the occupancy of the eight and nine. Even Johann Christoph von Aretin 1810 published its own approach. These systems could not prevail because of various shortcomings and even a lack of practicality.

The decisive advancement, however, comes from Aimé Paris , who presented his digit code in 1825 and developed it further in the following years. The decisive moments were the uniqueness of the assignment, which also makes the code usable as an organizing instrument, and the use of sounds instead of letters, which makes the system intuitive to use and independent of the sound-letter assignment of the languages used and thus the spelling. According to him, until the 1990s, German was usually referred to as the digit code according to Aimé Paris . To this day it has been used beyond certain purposes, such as B. the memory sport, experience no improvement.

As a result of the nationalism prevailing at the time, national schools emerged that produced their own versions of a digit code, which mostly had disadvantages compared to the digit code according to Aimé Paris . In German mnemonics, Carl Christian Otto should be mentioned under the pseudonym Carl Otto Reventlow , who went back from sounds to letters and also gave up the uniqueness of the system. Therefore, according to Reventlow , this numerical code hindered the development of German mnemonics for a long time. This code is still well known in Germany today. There have also been attempts to nationalize the code outside of Germany. Ernest E. Wood e.g. B. wanted to adapt the major code to the English language in 1936. However, this and other attempts did not prevail.

The Polish major Beniowski got to know the code in a course at Aimé Paris. As a memory trainer, he made him known in England, which is why the code there was called the major code or major system after his alleged military rank of major . Since the 1980s, this name has also caught on in the German language. The term master system is based on an incorrect interpretation of the term major as an expression of the superiority of the system over other numerical codes, i.e. it represents an incorrect back translation.

The major system presented here is used by most authors of mnemonic books today. Variants of this version are used in memory sports, for example the PVO system , in which not only a list of 100 images is created according to the major system, but three separate ones in order to have more variety and to be able to group the images without risk of confusion.

Web links

Footnotes

↑ On the historical background as a whole: Ulrich Voigt: Esels Welt - Mnemotechnik between Simonides and Harry Lorayne , Hamburg 2011, pp. 168–173.

[1] On the historical background as a whole: Ulrich Voigt: Esels Welt - Mnemotechnik between Simonides and Harry Lorayne , Hamburg 2011, pp. 168–173.