#mnemotechnics

[jamesgraybooksellerworld]

9 incunabula not in NYC Part TWO

This week’s blog is descriptions of a few more incunabula not represented in NYC libraries #1 Two Incunabula bound together. One Very Rare, printed at Vienne by Eberhard Frommolt. Both rubricated at the same time and both signed by the Rubricator!  https://data.cerl.org/istc/_search?query=+ig00654800&from=0 https://data.cerl.org/istc/it00553000 444J Guillermus…

[al-mayriti]

the 25th article of the spanish constitution is about imprisoned people and how they retain all their constitutional rights (except for freedom ofc) and the pokémon with the number 25 is pikachu so my mnemotechnic phrase to remember said article is yelling in my head 'pikachu a prisión'

[northsouthcollab]

Gift

Hand cut paper collage found image, and decorative paper, hand written note.

@stevelovettcutbacks +@mnemtochnicstoo

[zurich-snows]

From Memory by Bernadette Mayer, Siglio, 2020. Courtesy Bernadette Mayer Papers, Special Collections & Archives, University of California, San Diego.

Siglio’s Memory closes with July 31 (and with the line “you remember the past backwards & forget”), and this is the tidiest we’ve seen Bernadette: the earlier edition irreverently moved beyond its own constraint to a final section called “Dreaming,” because “memory creates an explosion of dream in August.” Here, Mayer is confined to July. About another documentary project, Studying Hunger, Mayer wrote that “a month gives you enough time to feel free to skip a day, but not so much time that you wind up fucking off completely.” This hardback edition does not fuck off at all, materially elevating Mayer’s “emotional science project” to something final, even if her messy mnemotechnics defy its glossiness (of the sort Mayer dismissed as “precious” in her 1982 defense of mimeo).

[erbiumspectrum]

Hi! Do you have any tips for studying chemistry? For some reason I cant seem to get all the formulas in my brain.

Hey!

My unhelpful but still favorite advice for shoving formulas into one's brain is to understand them 😅 A purely memorization-based approach is very bad for chemistry.

If the problem seems to be particularly understanding/ remembering formulas:

Ask yourself if this particular formula is just words turned into numbers and mathematical symbols. I think it may not work for everyone, but for example I found it easier to remember the literal definition of pH that is "the negative decimal logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration" rather than "pH = -log [H+]" bc otherwise I'd keep forgetting about the minus sign.

Check if you find deriving a formula from another formula easier than just memorizing it. Again, my personal example is I hate memorizing things so much I never really bothered to remember the equation that describes Ostwald's law of dilution - bc I knew I could easily, quickly, and painlessly derive it from the equilibrium constant for concentration + degree of dissociation (and I've done it so many times now it stuck in my brain anyway).

When all else fails, I turn to mnemotechnics. To this day I remember that Clapeyron's equation goes pV = nRT because many years ago someone on the internet shared a funny sentence whose words start with these 5 letters. The sillier the better.

If the issue is with chemistry in general:

Take it chapter by chapter. Chemistry, like most STEM subjects, is just blocks of knowledge upon blocks of knowledge. For example, if you want to learn electrolysis, you need to understand redox reactions first. Try to identify where the struggle begins and work from there.

Once you've picked a topic you want to work on, follow the reasoning in your textbook. If you get stuck, that might be a sign you're simply missing a piece of information from a previous chapter. If an example comes up, try to solve it along with the tips in the textbook.

If anything remains unclear, it's usually not the best idea to just leave it and move on. If the textbook becomes unhelpful, turn to the internet or maybe a friend. Otherwise, the next chapter may just turn out to be needlessly confusing.

Practice problems practice problems practice problems!! And not just the numerical ones. The theory-based ones where they ask you about reactions, orbitals, the properties of the elements etc. are important too.

Choose understanding over memorizing whenever possible.

Try to look at the big picture: the way certain concepts are intertwined, how one law may be a logical consequence of another law you learnt before, why some concepts are taught together, why you had to learn something else first to get to what you're studying now. Again, as an example, I think it's particularly fun to see towards the end of ochem, somewhere around the biomolecules: you need to integrate your knowledge of aromatic compounds, ketones and aldehydes, alcohols, carboxylic acids... Stack new information upon what you already know.

Study methods I'm a big fan of: spaced repetition, solving past papers (anything I can get my hands on tbh), flashcards for the things I absolutely have to memorize, exchanging questions and answers with a friend, watching related videos.

If by any chance you end up taking pchem, I have a post for that specifically.

I hope you can find something helpful here :) Good luck!

[anotheroceanid]

I'm learning greek these days, and my mnemotechnic way to remember how to say 'apple' is to think of your WTHB since it's pronunced Milo 🍎🥰

This is so cute 🥰🥹

[wise-reflections]

Cognitive psychology: a fascinating journey into the depths of our minds

Cognitive psychology as a science has the incredibly interesting goal of tapping into the mysterious depths of your brain. It deals with the perception and memorization of information, as well as the process of thinking, cognition and decision-making.

In other words, it is the science of how our "brain computer" works - our most complex and unique "computer" in the world, in the entire universe.

Therefore, this information is simply essential to know. After all, who would refuse to have a guide to themselves!

Knowledge of cognitive psychology helps you understand yourself better, learn and work more effectively, and find creative solutions to problems.

For me personally, getting to know this science was a real discovery. I began to notice how my thoughts and feelings influence my behavior, learned to manage my attention and memory.

Cognitive psychology is the key to unlocking the limitless potential of our minds! Feelings and perception: how we know the world around us.

Have you ever wondered how amazing the workings of our senses are? We perceive only a fraction of the information that is actually around us. Our brain, like a skillful magician, creates the illusion of a complete picture of the world, when in fact it is full of gaps and inaccuracies. Every phenomenon of our perception sometimes makes us doubt the reality of what is happening.

For example, the famous optical illusions in the form of impossible figures, distortion of perspective, and the play of light and shadow. These and many other such examples show that our perception is subjective and does not always reflect the truth. Indeed, numerous experiments show that knowledge, attitudes, expectations, and past experiences can influence how we perceive unfamiliar sensory information.

We see what we expect to see and sometimes overlook obvious things.

In one study, participants didn't notice a gorilla walking across a basketball court because they were focused on counting the passes of the ball. Amazing, isn't it? Attention and memory: the secrets to effective memorization and concentration. Our attention is a limited resource.

We cannot focus on many things at the same time, although sometimes we think otherwise. Scientists distinguish different types of attention: selective attention (when we single out the right stimulus among others), sustained attention (the ability to maintain focus for a long time), and distributed attention (the ability to do several things at once).

By developing each of these skills, we can greatly improve our performance. Memory is a huge library with many halls and repositories. We remember not only facts and events, but also motor skills, emotions, images and sensations. Short-term memory allows us to retain information briefly, while long-term memory allows us to retain it for many years.

Procedural memory is responsible for our habits and automatisms, while declarative memory is responsible for conscious memories.

So how can you improve your memory and attention? Cognitive psychology provides a lot of practical advice. To memorize information, it is important to create vivid images, link new knowledge with already known, use mnemotechnics.

To train attention useful exercises for switching between tasks, meditative practices, games and puzzles.

The main thing is regularity of exercises and gradual complication of the load. Thinking and decision making: how we cope with complex tasks.

Our thinking is an amazing tool that allows us to find non-standard solutions, make predictions, and grasp abstract ideas. However, it is not always rational and infallible. We are subject to cognitive distortions - systematic errors in reasoning that affect our judgments and decisions.

One such distortion is the confirmation effect. We tend to notice and remember information that is consistent with our beliefs and ignore facts that contradict them.

Another distortion is the availability heuristic: we overestimate the probability of events whose examples come readily to mind.

Being aware of these and other cognitive traps helps us make better decisions. Cognitive psychology offers different models and strategies for problem solving.

Some problems require a logical, step-by-step approach, while others require creative insight and bold guesswork. By developing flexibility and fluency of thinking, the ability to look at a situation from different angles, we become more effective in solving various life and professional problems. The prospects for the development of cognitive science are truly breathtaking. Scientists are already working on brain-computer interfaces that will allow us to control technology with our thoughts. Research on artificial intelligence is bringing us closer to creating machines that can not only process information, but also think like a human being.

Perhaps in the future we will learn to "read minds," record and transfer memories, and enhance our brain's capabilities with the help of technology.

This is only a small part of what cognitive science promises us. To summarize, cognitive psychology is a fascinating journey into the depths of the human mind. The more we learn about the workings of our minds, the better we understand ourselves and the world around us. I encourage you not to stop there, to continue to explore your inner cosmos, to push the boundaries of what is possible.

Use the knowledge you have gained for self-development, effective learning, fruitful work and harmonious relationships. Let cognitive psychology become your reliable compass on the way to success and personal growth!

I apply the principles of cognitive psychology to my life every day. Knowing how memory works helps me to memorize information faster, and understanding the mechanisms of attention helps me to focus on the main things and not get distracted by trifles. When I face difficult tasks, I try to look at them from a different angle and apply a non-standard approach. Most importantly, I have learned to better understand myself, my thoughts and emotions, and the motives behind my actions. This is a priceless gift that cognitive science gives to everyone who is ready to immerse himself in its study.

So feel free to embark on a fascinating journey through the labyrinths of your mind! Explore, experiment, ask questions and seek answers. I'm sure you will have many amazing discoveries and insights. And let cognitive psychology be your faithful companion and assistant on this path.

Bon voyage!

[tomorrowedblog]

First look at You Burn Me

A new trailer has been released for You Burn Me, which is set to release March 7, 2025.

An adaptation of a chapter in Cesare Pavese's Dialogues with Leucò, Matías Piñeiro's latest is an intimate and expansive meditation on death and desire and a thrilling exploration of the possibilities of adapting text to film. In "Sea Foam," Pavese imagines a dialogue between the ancient Greek poet Sappho and the nymph Britomartis, portrayed here by frequent Piñeiro collaborators Gabi Saidón and María Villar. Constantly shapeshifting in form, the film splinters out from Pavese's text to a myriad of footnotes, histories, and lively digressions, from the fragmentary poetry of Sappho, to the circumstances of Pavese’s death in a Turin hotel room, to the science of sea foam with its connections to disease and fertility. In this ebb and flow of death and desire, You Burn Me introduces “mnemotechnic games” that invite the audience, through a repetition of words and images, to memorize Sappho's lyrics, a game intrinsic to the moving image that may just save Sappho, Pavese, Piñeiro, and the audience from oblivion.

[pierreism]

You Burn Me - Official Trailer

An adaptation of a chapter in Cesare Pavese's Dialogues with Leucò, Matías Piñeiro's latest is an intimate and expansive meditation on death and desire and a thrilling exploration of the possibilities of adapting text to film. In "Sea Foam," Pavese imagines a dialogue between the ancient Greek poet Sappho and the nymph Britomartis, portrayed here by frequent Piñeiro collaborators Gabi Saidón and María Villar. Constantly shapeshifting in form, the film splinters out from Pavese's text to a myriad of footnotes, histories, and lively digressions, from the fragmentary poetry of Sappho, to the circumstances of Pavese’s death in a Turin hotel room, to the science of sea foam with its connections to disease and fertility. In this ebb and flow of death and desire, You Burn Me introduces “mnemotechnic games” that invite the audience, through a repetition of words and images, to memorize Sappho's lyrics, a game intrinsic to the moving image that may just save Sappho, Pavese, Piñeiro, and the audience from oblivion.

New Matías Piñeiro alert. Opening this March. via The Cinema Guild

[desperatefrenchwriter]

In french we don't have an acronym for that, but we did have an acronym for the tangent cosinus sinus bullshit, which was CAH SOH TOA. The mnemotechnic aspect comes from the fact that it sounds like "casse-toi", which means "fuck off"

Okay just saw a post where someone was talking about the correct order to do maths in an equation acronym and they said 'PEMDAS'??? I learned BEDMAS wtf is this shit

so

These are the only ones I've heard but idk there may be more

[jamesgraybooksellerworld]

Inc's not in NYC

This week’s blog is descriptions of six incunabula not represented in NYC libraries. 284JBurley 1500. https://data.cerl.org/istc/ib01301000 Boston Public,  Newberry Library, Library of Philadelphia, Uof Illinois, 4658J  Eusebius 1487https://data.cerl.org/istc/ih00257000 The Walters Library,  Huntington Library2305JPelbartus de Themeswar 1501. https://data.cerl.org/istc/ip002525000238J Peregrinus…

[articlesofnote]

SCoR - Section II, Ch. 1, Part C "Sedimentation and Tradition"

summary of “The Social Construction of Reality” by Berger and Luckmann, gotta repost because Tumblr fucked up the article slugs and I couldn’t link to individual posts correctly

I. Only a small part of experience is retained in consciousness, individual or collective. This 'sedimented' experience (internalized, embodied) can be re-exported through a sign system, and thus anonymized and available for future generations.

II. In principle, any sign system would work, but in practice, it's language.

III. Thus, an intense experience affecting few (or one) individual(s) in an isolated time and place can become part of a cultural body of knowledge inspiring those far distant in time, place, or condition from the initial event.

IV. This distancing means that original events are able to be recast/reinterpreted later on without upsetting the institutional order that is legitimized by those events. The meanings so cast are received as part of a whole, without needing to reconstruct the original process of formation.

V. This process underlies all objectivated/sedimented knowledge - not just those typifications that are directly and specifically relevant to given institutions. Because institutional meanings must be transmitted over time to fallible, forgetful humans, they tend to be streamlined and enforced by (often aversive and therefore more memorable) educational processes.

VI. "Knowledge" is thus "the objectivated meanings of social institutions" and since knowledge needs transmitting, there are always social roles and structures for the transmitter(s) and receiver(s) of knowledge.

VII. Additionally, physical objects and typified actions (icons and rituals) serve as 'mnemotechnic aids'. There is no a priori reason why institutional meanings must be consistent at first, but as these meanings butt up against each other there will be more and more pressure on the part of legitimators and socializers to reconcile and integrate the inconsistencies among various institutional meanings.

----

Notes:

re. IV - Mythologizing, in other words. The story of Christ comes to mind.

re. V, VII - These paragraphs really should be reorganized - each contains two concepts which are pretty distinct, and putting them together like this makes them harder to understand.

re. VII - Strongly reminded of Robert Graves' thesis RE. Greek myths ie. many/most refer to forcible cultural integration, stories of conquest highly abstracted from real events but still based in reality.

[ardor-mohr]

“Indeed there was nothing more fearful and uncanny in the whole prehistory of man than his mnemotechnics. ‘If something is to stay in the memory it must be burned in: only that which never ceases to hurt stays in the memory’—this is a main clause of the oldest (unhappily also the most enduring) psychology on earth. . . . Man could never do without blood, torture, and sacrifices when he felt the need to create a memory for himself.”

— Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals (1887)

[juliakwinto]

Cultural Memory and Western Civilization: Arts of Memory

ALEIDA ASSMANN

Notes & Quotes:

"Consciousness generally develops in terms of what has passed, and this process fits in logically with the retrospective nature of memory, since the latter only begins when the experience to which it refers has run its complete course."

(01)

"Living memory thus gives way to a cultural memory that is underpinned by media-- by material carriers such as memorials, monuments, museums, and archives. While individual recollections spontaneously fade and die with their former owners, new forms of memory are reconstructed within a transgenerational framework, and on an institutional level, within a deliberate policy of remembering and forgetting. There is no self-organizational and self-regulation of cultural memory-- it always depends on personal decisions and selections, on institutions and media."

(06)

"No one today would deny that these memories, based on individual experiences and transformed into collective claims, have become a vital and controversial element of modern culture."

(07)

Memory as a phenomenon transcends many disciplines

There are many approaches to memory

Virginia Woolf: "Memory is inexplicable" (Orlando)

Marcel Proust compares the presence of the past in human consciousness to photographic negative (you can't tell if it will be developed or not)

Second World War and Holocaust as a great shock; traumatic heritage of the mid 20th century

Traditions: potential of memory (mnemotechnics) and forms of identity

Perspectives: individual, collective and cultural memory

Media: texts, images and places

Discourses: literature, history, art, psychology etc

Storing vs remembering

Memory as art

Memory as power

Importance of memory for the formation of identity

Selection aspect of memory and forgetting

Storage vs functional memory

"Individuals and cultures construct their memories interactively through communication by speech, images, and rituals. Without such representations, it is impossible to build a memory that can transcend generations and historical epochs, but this also means that with the changing nature and development of the various media, the constitution of the memory will also be continually changing."

(11)

Media: provides the material for cultural memory

Media: frames and interacts with individual human memories

Images register impressions and experiences and they are independent of language

"After the extended dominance of the print age, the governing principle in the era of electronic writing is now the permanent overwriting and reconstruction of memory. Through information technology and new research into the structure of the brain, we are now experiencing a change of paradigm, by which the concept of a lasting written record is being replaced by the principle of continuous rewritings."

(11)

Body: trauma happens when the violence of experience is so overwhelming that its memory is disconnected from consciousness and is stored within the body with no access to it

Places may confirm and preserve memories. Forgotten traditions may revive when a place is rediscovered

Bodies and places are linked to the sensual quality of understanding

Archive: exists independently, remains abstract and general

Archive: a place where the past is constructed and produced

Construction of past in the archive depends partly on social, political and cultural interests as well as it is determined by media and technologies

Digital age: new forms of processing, transferring and accessing information; large capacity of storage

"(...) The current crisis facing cultural memory is not confined to the problems caused by the new media. This is evident from the work of artists born after World War II who work in the aftermath of a shattered cultural memory. The self-reflective art of these artists highlights the processes of remembering and forgetting".

(13)

Artistic memory: not storage but index; it acts as a reference to human experience; it is a form of communication

"Today the arts have developed new and emphatic ways of focusing on the memory crisis as their theme, and they are finding new forms to express the dynamic movement of cultural remembering and forgetting."

Consider: Poland as a place of post-communist memory crisis

Archive: outside archive waste accumulates

Waste: leftovers and remains of a civilisation that was not collected

Waste: what is dormant in memory

Waste can be utilised and take new meanings at a later time

Waste lies between presence and absence

Waste is structurally important to the archive as forgetting is to memory

Art archives whatever the current culture has rejected

Art brings waste back to our awareness

Memory boxes: spatial concretization of memory

Memory boxes: Middle Ages use of chests to store parchments that were called 'treasure chests'

Memory boxes: the Latin word for a box is arca form which is derived ark as in Noah's Ark

IMAGE

Consider the Written world as the main medium in the past enlightened Renaissance humanists; now images are more prominent

"Under the banner of an integral history of culture, some critics began to distrust the written tradition and to discover new forms of access to the past through pictures and monuments."

(208)

Images show up in memory, especially in the areas that cannot be accessed by verbal processing (precognitive and traumatic events)

Images are both metaphors and mediums (just like writing)

Photo as a lasting impression of a moment gone forever

Photography transcends every proceeding medium for memory

Photography acts as proof of particular past that once existed

Image must impact imagination to be imprinted effectively

"The miracle of photographic emulsion consists in the fact that it gives material form to light radiated from an object."

Consider what about painting? lasting impressions of feelings/emotions gone forever?

"Pictures fit into the landscape of the unconscious in a way that is different from texts: as the boundary between the picture and dream is blurred, the picture is transformed into an internal 'vision' that takes on a life of its own. Once this border is crossed, the status of the picture is changed from being an object of observation to an agent of haunting"

(217)

Assmann, A. (2013) Cultural Memory and Western Civilization: Functions, Media, Archives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

[walkinaroundtheuniverse]

It's so weird to learn with mnemotechnics(?)

Like you read something and you just focus on a phrase then imagine a lil animation that is connected in some way to it and BAM!

You remember

Just like that

It makes you crave sugar like crazy tho