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Yes. In fact there's almost no "entropy" to remember in 1234 because it perfectly matches a 45 deg slope. I just have to remember it starts at ground and has le
by jvanderbot 5y ago
Yes. In fact there's almost no "entropy" to remember in 1234 because it perfectly matches a 45 deg slope. I just have to remember it starts at ground and has length 4.
A seq like 1244 has a bit more entropy with the "bump" where the 3 should be, so it's easier to see it as a slope of length 2 starting at 12, or some "busy-beaver" like sequence that starts gradual and curves rapidly up to 44. The bump at 3 seems most natural.
A long sequence of numbers looks like monotonically increasing groups or strings, and the curve is easy to remember. Is it a log-like plot, a hyperbolic curve, parabola, saw tooth, line, etc? I usually end up finding a curve that has fewer deviations and matches the numbers nicely. I just have to remember how long each sequence was.
Like this:
1234567788100
is
1/7, length 7. 77/99, length 3, except +1 where the 99 should be. It's kind of clumsy with text, easier with pictures and dots, like seeing wood grain or stars. All you need is the "origin" coordinate frame. There's still numbers, but the lines help keep the memory of the relationship more natural.
Words are the same. Sounds angle up and down and squiggle back sometimes. It's why my handwriting is so terrible I think. Probably this is how shorthand was developed, so I don't think it's all that unique to me.
From there, numbers->sounds is easy enough but never helped me remember things. What helps is the ridge-lines and parabolas.
- codezero 5y agoIt sounds like you've got some form of synesthesia! I can totally understand what you're saying but there's no way I could apply it to a series of numbers, maybe not even if I practiced. Did you always have this feeling with numbers, or was it practiced at all? It feels like what you're describing is a natural visualization you've developed and it also sounds a lot more powerful than something one might practice.