More about Names and Faces

Ruth was a sweet and lovely girl and had many boy friends, but here mother felt it was time she was married.

While reading a book on the meanings of names, Ruth said, “Mother, it says here that Philip means ‘lover of horses,’ and James  means ‘beloved.’ I wonder what George means?”

“I hope, my dear,” said mother, “that George means business!”

          Now that you know how to make any name have meaning, by using a substitute word or thought, you have to know how to associate the name to the face in such a way as to remember both of them. Many memory systems teach the student to make a jinglet with the name; something like, “Mr. Baker is a faker” or “Mr. Gold is old,” or “Mr. Radcliffe had a mad tiff,” or “Mr. Lillienkamp is a carnival tramp.”

      This is fine, until you meet a Mr. Nepomosimo or a Mr. Smolensky. Even if you could quite grasp is how this would  help you to remember the person’s face, or rather, how one would bring the other to mind. No, I don’t think that this jinglet system is of too great a help. In my opinion, the only way to remember a person’s name is to associate that name to the person’s face in some ridiculous way. And here’s how to go about it:-

         Whenever you meet someone new, look at his face and try to find one outstanding feature. This could be anything; small eyes, large eyes, thick lips, thin lips, high forehead, low forehead, lines or creases on the forehead, long nose, broad nose, wide nostrils, narrow nostrils, large dimples, clefts, warts, mustache, lines on the face, large mouth, large mouth, teeth-just about anything.

What's in a Name?

    This fellow was very proud of the way he could remember names by association, until he met Mrs. Hummock. Mrs. Hummock was quite heavy, and had a large stomach, so he decided to use “stomach,” as his association.

There weeks later, he met the some lady glanced at her stomach, and feeling very pleased with himself, said, “good day, Mrs. Kelly!”

        I had the pleasure one of performing for the executive club of a well-known department store in New York City. This was their annual dinner, and demonstration in my performance that probably hits home for more people than any other is the one in which I remember everyone’s name.

       The way I usually do it is to introduce myself to all the guests as  they arrive, or, meet them while they’re having dinner. I simply walk from table to table getting everyone’s name (and getting hungry). I’ll meet all the people at one table, then the next, and the next, and so on, until I’ve met everyone in the room. I work as quickly or as slowly as time suggests. Many’s the time that I’ve had to meet one hundred to two  hundred people in fifteen minutes or less, without forgetting a single name! I give credit and praise to  my methods and systems, of course, not to myself.

It Pays to Remember Foreign Language Vocabulary and Abstract Information

             The more intelligible a thing is, the more easily it is retained in the memory, and contrariwise, the less intelligible it is,  the more easily we forgot it.

            YOU MAY not think that the above quote shows any particular brilliance on the part of Mr. Spinoza. You may feel, “sure, anyone knows that if something is intelligible, or makes sense, it is easier to remember.” Well, that’s true it is an obvious thought, but it took Mr. Spinoza to say it, or put it down on paper just that way, as far back as the 17^th century.

             I’m making a fuss about this particular quote because it tells you in one sentence what this entire book is about. Almost all the systems in the book are basically that-they help make unintelligible things intelligible. One example, of course, is the peg system; number by them-tem makes them mean something to you. 

             Perhaps the best example is in trying to memorize foreign-language  vocabulary. A word in a foreign language is nothing but a conglomeration of sounds to anyone who is not familiar with the language. That’s why they’re so difficult to remember.

            To make them easier to remember you will use the system of SUBSTITUTE WORDS. Substitute words or thing that is abstract, intangible or unintelligible; something that makes no sense to you, can’t be pictured, yet must be remembered. be sure you read this chapter carefully, because substitute words will also help you to remember names.

            Making up a substitute word is simply this:-  Upon  coming across a word that means nothing to you; that is intangible and unintelligible, you merely find a word, phrase or thought that sound as close to it as  possible, and that is tangible and can be pictured in your mind.

It Pays to Remember Facts about People

.                        It is the common wonder of all men, how among so many millions of faces there should be none alike- Sir Thomas Browne

                    Yes, fortunately, there are no two faces exactly alike. If all faces did look alike, we couldn’t remember them, or the names, memory system or not. I have been challenged many times to remember the first names of a set of identical twins. So far, I have always been able to spot one difference, however minute, in their faces. It is to this difference that I would associate their names. So, as the French say, “Vive la difference”

                  If you have studied the previous chapters on how to remember names and faces; and if you have tried the methods, you should be greatly improved by now. A1-though in most cases it is the second, or family names, that most of us want to remember , some of you may be interested in remembering first, or given names, as well . This too, can be done with a conscious association. You can use a substitute word for the first name, as well. This too, can be done with a conscious association. You can use a substitute word for the first name, and get that into you know very well having the same first name, with the person you wish to remember.

                  Substitute words for first names are easy to find; Harry could be “hairy”; Clark could be “clock”; for William, I always picture a man with a bow arrow as William Tell, while money or “rich” always means Richard, to me Anne could be “ant”; Marion could be “marrying”; for Gloria, you might see the American Flag (old Glory), etc 

                  If you use the substitute word idea for remembering first names, after a while you will have one at your fingertips for any one that you meet.

It pays to Remember Names and Faces

                   Two men approached each other on the street with a look of recognition in their eyes. One said to the other, “Now wait a minute, don’t tell me, I know I know you, but I’m not sure of where we met. Let me see if I can think of your name. I‘ve got it! We met in Miami Beach two years ago’.

             ‘No, I’ve never been to Miami Beach.”

             “Hold it, don’t tell me-oh, yes, it was on the boardwalk of Atlantic City that we met.”

            “Sorry, I’ve never visited Atlantic City.”

            “I’ve got it now! Chicago in 1953!”

           “Nope, I was not in Chicago in 1953.”

           “Well, I know we’ve met, where do I know you from?”

           “Idiot! I’m your brother!!”

          “Oh, I know your face, but I just can’t remember your name!”

         Although I doubt if any of you are as bad as the fellow in the anecdote how often have you been embarrassed because you had to say this? I’m sure it has happened to you many times. If I were to take a poll as to why most people want to take my memory course , I think it would show that at least 80% want to because they can’t seem to be able to remember names and faces.

          Usually, of course, it is the name that has been forgotten, not the face; the reason for this is quite simple. You see, most of us are what we call “eye-minded.” in other words; things that we see register upon our brains with much more emphasis than what we hear. You always see the face, but usually only hear the person’s name. That’s why most of us, time after time, have to say, “I recognize your face, but I can’t remember your name.”

It Pays to Remember dates

“What day is today?”

                    “Gosh, you’ve got me, I don’t know what day it is.”

                    “Well, why don’t you look at that news paper you have  in your pocket-that should tell us.”

                                    “Oh, no, that won’t do us any good; it’s yesterday’s paper!”

                         ALTHOUGH all of us can tell what day today is by looking at yesterday’s   paper-how many of you can tell quickly, or slowly, for that matter, the day of the week that any date this year will fall on?  Not many,  different methods  for calculating  the day of  the week for any given date, not the least of which is counting on your fingers.

                         Some of the systems are  so involved that is seers rauces  simpler to take the time  to find a calendar, and get  you information there. On the  other hand, there are ways of   actually knowing the day of  actually knowing the day of the week for any date  in the twentieth century! This doesn’t seem to me to have any particular practical value; although it may have for some of you. Used as a memory stunt, however, it is    quite impressive.

                         I intend to teach you how to do that in this chapter, but first, for practical use, I have come across a very simple way to find the day of the week for any date of the current year. This idea is so easy, that most of you will wonder why you didn’t think of it yourselves. This is it:-

Some Pegs for Emergencies

                            The memory is always present; ready and anxious to help-if only                   
  we would ask it to do so more often.

                                                                                          -RogerBroille                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                             

                     Many Times when I’ve been challenged to prove that any-one can remember by using something similar to the peg system-I would use a method which taught the skeptic to memorize ten miscellaneous objects forwards and backwards, and in and out of order, in about five minutes. What I did was to put ten small items, in a row, on a table; items like a ring, a watch, a cigarette, a match book, a comb, etc. I then told the person that these ten objects were to represent the numbers from one to ten. 

                                  Now I taught him to associate the item I called to the object on the table which represented the number called In other words, if I called “typewriter” as #7, and the seventh  item on the table was the ring. Later on, when I asked if he remembered #7, he would count to the seventh object, the ring which would remind him of the typewriter.

                                  This usually convinced the skeptic that he could remember better than he thought he could, but he always wanted to know if he’d have to carry those ten items with  him. Of course, if had have to carry those ten items with have had a list of ten pegs to which to associate any other palely  unassociated items to use for a peg list; and, in this case, would hardly be worth the trouble.

                                However, as I mention elsewhere in the book, it was Simonies  who first used the rooms of his house, and the furniture in the rooms as a peg list. And this idea will also, there  is to mush sameness in pieces of furniture to make a useful list. There is the possibility of becoming confused, and it would take time to know which number each piece represented.