Photo courtesy of Milica Sekulic
Until Wednesday, I didn’t know my daughter’s cell phone number. Yes, she’s had this number for a year. Yes, I’m lazy, choosing to depend on my own cell phone directory. And yes, memorization is not my best friend.
But I should know my daughter’s cell phone, right? If I needed to reach her using someone else’s phone, I’d be up a creek.
So I memorized it. And it was easy, and even a little fun. That’s because she and I both noticed a relationship between the last four digits in her cell phone number. Here, see if you notice it, too.
1628
See anything interesting in there? We did. First off, I noticed that 6 + 2 = 8. I crowed about that for a little bit, until my daughter asked how I was going to remember the 1. Suddenly, it hit me like a train. Duh.
16 = 2 • 8
Cool, huh? And you might even notice more interesting connections. (Share them in the comments section if you do.)
My point is this: Simple math can help you remember important details, like your phone number or license plate or even Social Security Number. Whenever you need to memorize a number, look at the math.
Here are a couple of additional examples. Do you notice any patterns?
491-625
1587
These connections can also be geometric — for the more visual of us. Consider this house number: 2684. Ring any bells? If not, picture the touch pad of a telephone? Now do you get it? (When you press the numbers in order, you create a diamond.)
Believe it or not, these little tricks are great ways to keep your budding Einstein’s math brain humming over the summer months. You can even play road-trip games just by noticing patterns.
So share your mathematical mnemonic tricks in the comments section. How has simple arithmetic or geometry helped you remember a number? I’ll bet every one of you has a story to tell.
What patterns do you notice in 491-625 and 1587? Share in the comments section.
My phone number begins with two perfect squares, ends with another perfect square, and the two numbers in between are one of the perfect squares times two.
My other phone number that’s almost all sixes and sevens was a bear to commit to memory – I had to make it into a song.
Years ago I used to joke with friends that my phone number was “triangle satan four”, as that’s how I memorized it – and it helped friends memorize it too. Triangle was the pattern on the keypad, satan was for 666, and 4. It’s the only phone number I still remember of all the numbers I had, and it’s been over 10 years since I moved from there.
As a teen I knew what each of my friends’ phone numbers sounded like – so if I wasn’t sure I was remembering right, I’d dial their number in the air and imagine the sounds, and see if it sounded right.