i before e

Mnemosyne, the ancient Greek Titaness, is the goddess of memory, sleep, and dreams. She was the daughter of Uranus and Gaea. Mnemosyne and Zeus were the parents of the nine Muses. Thus she became the mother of inspiration.

The word, mnemonics, is derived from her name; it is the study of methods to aid remembering. Samuel Johnson wrote, “The true art of memory is the art of attention,” and the Greek word for memory also means mindfulness. Paying attention is sine qua non to memory. But inattention may also be a factor in the process. Allowing the mind to unconsciously absorb bits and pieces that will become the fabric of memory is equally necessary. One also needs to include Mnemosyne’s other responsibilities—sleep and dreams. These are the states when “unlearning” and re-organization occur. Too often the work of sleep is overlooked when memory is considered. It is an important factor.

There are myriad methods and techniques to assist memory. These comprise the study of mnemonics. Various techniques can be employed. Rhyming is simple yet extremely effective. Some examples include:
> i before e, except before c or when sounded as “a” in neighbor or weigh (spelling, beware exceptions);
> Slander is said; Libel, pencil lead (law);
> Click it or Ticket (reminds us to fasten our seat belt);
> Thirty days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 except for February which has 28 and in leap year 29 (rhyme scheme deficient but a good way to recall the days in a month);
> Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning – red sky at night is sailor’s delight (weather); and
> Left is loose, right is tight (turning a screw).

Acronyms aid memory. >  KISS, stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid reminding a speaker to be clear, brief.
> To assess a stroke Think FAST: is Face drooping on one side; can victim lift both Arms; is victim’s Speech slurred, confused or stopped; Time is critical, call 9-1-1.
> HOMES reminds one of the names of the Great Lakes.
> Have you met Mr. Roy. G. Biv? He’ll help you with the colors of the rainbow from longest to shortest wave lengths.
> The order of operation in mathematics is learned by remembering PEMDAS—parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition and, finally, subtraction. One extremely clever junior high school teacher had the class act the order out, ala the Village People’s YMCA song, adding left to right where appropriate.

Singing a rhyme and physically acting out are useful techniques, especially with younger people. If you wish to remember what to do with your clocks at time change, act this out with body memory: Spring Forward, Fall Back. How many of us learned our ABCs singing the song? I still cannot spell the word “encyclopedia” without singing the accompanying melody. Have you ever hear the periodic table elements being sung in a patter song from The Pirates of Penzance!

Letter mapping, known as first letter mnemonics, is a frequently used technique that fosters memorization and help in spelling.
> To spell RHYTHM, think Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move; A Rat In The House Might Eat The Ice Cream spells arithmetic.
> My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nachos places the planets in our solar system in order from the sun.
> "Apple Pies are round" yields the formula for the area of a circle; whilst the number of feet in a mile can be expressed as 5 TOMATOES = 5280.
And while we’re on the topic of food, how about the taxonomic classification system:>  King Paul Cried Out For Garlic Soup reminds us of Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.
> The order of operations mentioned above can also be remembered with this phrase: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

Another form of letter mapping uses the number of letters in a word to aid memory.
> FEED a Cold; STARVE fevers—each have the same number of letters.
> When setting a table, on the LEFT (even number of letters) side place the FORK (4), NAPKIN (6), and bread DISH (4); on the RIGHT (odd number of letters) side place the KNIFE (5), SPOON (5), and GLASS (5).
> To recount the numbers of π remember this: May I have a large container of coffee ready for today. (The number of letters in each word gives you the answer 3.1415926535)
> Want to know the speed of light in meters per second using the same method? We guarantee certainty, clearly referring to this light mnemonic. (299,792,458)

Individual letters are sometimes used to prod one’s memory.
> Stalactites grow from the Ceiling; Stalagmites grow from the ground;
> To correctly spell dessert, remember the two “s” mean something sweet;
> When is it safe to eat oysters? In months with “r” in their name;
> The Tropic of Cancer is in the Northern Hemisphere;
> The harder the stem, the hotter the water.
> Use alphabetic proximity to learn which remedies work on bee and wasp stings: Ammonia for a Bee sting and Vinegar for Wasps.

I am certain the reader knows dozens of others, or variations on the above. Make up your own. I often use association to remember phone numbers. For example, the final four digits in this number, area code 537-543-1316 might remind me of the dates of someone’s birthday or of a year when something memorable happened. The middle three are simply one down in order and use simple subtraction as a reminder. The area code numbers are all prime numbers with first and middle number sets beginning with 5, both having a 3 in the second and third spot. To get the number "7" just add 4 + 3. It's not as complicated as it sounds.

Two areas of memory not often discussed are habit and use of the sense of smell. If you ALWAYS do something it helps the memory. For example, if you make a habit of ALWAYS unplugging the coffee maker when you pour your last morning cup you won’t need to remember whether or not you unplugged the pot while driving to work. If you ALWAYS put your keys in the same place, you won’t need to search the house for them. Habit has saved my bacon several times.

Some research points to the coupling of smells with memory. It would be interesting to try using this sensory mnemonic: When trying to memorize a passage or something for work or school, have an orange or spice nearby to smell while working on the passage. Use the same stimulus each time you rehearse your passage. Then use the memory of that smell to rehearse further. When you really need to recall the memory, its association with that certain smell might make the task easier. Give it a try. We have more than one sense. Why not try Smell and/or Touch? Sing and Move--whatever helps. Take your inspiration wherever you find it.