Weeknote for 3/24/2024

Learning

😎

Memory Techniques by Douglas Hoff is the book I’ll work through first when I’m designing my own system. I might not recommend it as a first book on memorizing, but it’s an intensive survey of the many techniques people have devised for various types of information. Just what I’ve been looking for. He has a second book that’s a dictionary of his own lists for these techniques, Memory Toolkit. His third book is a lengthy case study of using these techniques to memorize an outline of the New Testament, 7711 Bible Memorization by Chapter Themes. I might pick that up later.

Joe Reddington’s Advanced Memory Palaces covers mnemonic patterns he’s designed based on data structures in programming, an idea I was playing with as well. He discusses some practical details on implementing them and on their strengths and limitations that will give me a head start in creating my own versions. Here’s a complimentary review by Douglas Hoff that echoes my feelings on the book.

Remember, Remember by Ed Cooke showed me another style of mnemonic substitution. I’m not sure his style is for me, but I like to collect books on mnemonics, especially from high performing memory athletes, because they expand my understanding of the kinds of techniques that work for people. The more examples I study, the more helpful my own mnemonic dictionary will be if I ever get around to creating it.

Life maintenance

😌

I bought the suit I’ve been fretting over for the past few weeks. I needed one for my sister’s wedding coming up. I’d never shopped for a suit myself, but I had the vague sense it was a complicated process that would take a lot of time, and I was running out. I mainly relied on this article from Real Men Real Style for advice. Well, other than deciding on a color (I settled on navy), the main complication was finding one I liked without spending a lot. I was looking for something cheap, because I so rarely have a reason to wear one. I decided this one by Apt. 9 fit the bill. It only needed a little tailoring to shorten the sleeves.

Spirituality

😤

The book of Ruth gave me a new coping slogan: Shape what you endure. Even though my stress level has dropped since my health insurance crisis got resolved a few weeks ago, I’ve still had a couple of other stressors to deal with. Listening to Naomi handling her own troubles gave me a new perspective. After her husband and sons died, she did camp in sorrow for a while, asking people to call her “Bitter.” But then her daughter-in-law Ruth met Boaz, which would have gone nowhere if not for Naomi. Naomi kept her eyes and ears open, recognized opportunity when it struck, and leapt on it. You can’t always help your circumstances, but you don’t have to leave them as they are.