The Dominic System works by assigning a specific letter to each number from zero to nine and then grouping the number–letters in a sequence into pairs. The system is a refinement of the first technique I came up with (to memorize pi), because it simplifies the codes – there’s only one possible letter code per number. So:
| 1 = A | 6 = S |
| 2 = B | 7 = G |
| 3 = C | 8 = H |
| 4 = D | 9 = N |
| 5 = E | 0 = O |
One to five take the letters A to E – the first five letters of the alphabet. Originally, I decided to give all the numbers their corresponding letter of the alphabet – this seemed the most logical approach. However, it wasn’t actually the most natural formula for me, so I went with my instinct instead.
I coded six as the letter S, because of its sound. I gave seven the letter G because of the G7 configuration of world finance ministers. Eight takes H for its similar sound, and similarly nine takes N. Zero is coded with the letter O, because of its shape.
Using my new codes and following my realization that pairs of letters were more usable than longer strings of letters, the first 24 places of pi now looked like this:
| 14 | 15 | 92 | 65 | 35 | 89 |
| AD | AE | NB | SE | CE | HN |
| 79 | 32 | 38 | 46 | 26 | 43 |
| GN | CB | CH | DS | BS | DC |
I knew from my experiences with memorizing playing cards that people (compared with objects) gave me the most reliable images to work with. So, the pairs of letters gave me triggers for names – sometimes the letters represented initials, sometimes they reminded me of shortenings of people’s full names. Either way, I could easily translate each pair of numbers into a single person.
The people I chose to represent each pairing were people who had particular significance for me – sometimes because I knew them, sometimes because they were famous (or infamous!). When I scanned the pairs, certain names occurred to me in a flash.
For example, I knew a man at my golf club called Addie – AD (14) immediately makes me think of him. NB (92) makes me think of someone I know called Nobby. I think of my sister-in-law, Henny, when I see HN (89). Filling in a few letters I get Gene for GN (79), Desmond for DS (46) and Dick for DC (43).
For the rest of the numbers I have to use initials: AE (15) gives me Albert Einstein; SE (65) becomes the singer Sheena Easton; and CE (35) are the initials of the actor Clint Eastwood.
There are 100 combinations of number pairings (00, 01, 02 ... all the way up to 97, 98, 99). In order to be able to apply the Dominic System quickly to any sequence of numbers, I needed to have already banked people codes for every pairing. This meant that I needed to dedicate a bit of time to devise a list of 100 characters – one for each possible pair. I’ll use my own examples throughout this book, but to be confident about your own memorizations, you may need to write a list of your own number–people codes.
I find that my memorizations stick better when each assigned character has a prop, feature or action, too. This helps to cement the character in my mind. For example, I picture Addie (AD/14) swinging a golf club; my sister-in-law Henny (HN/89) is an artist, so I picture her holding a paint brush; and the singer Sheena Easton (SE/65) clutches a microphone.
Once you’re familiar with your cast of characters and are proficient at converting pairs of numbers into them, you can use the Journey Method to memorize long numerical sequences.
Using the layout of a home, this is how you can start to memorize the decimal places of pi. I’ve started you off below with the first ten decimal places, but how many you get to is limited really only by the length of your journey. If, like me, you can join several journeys together (I often use journeys of 50 stages, in a similar way to the way I memorize cards), then you can easily work into the thousands (remembering that each stop “holds” the codes for two numbers in the sequence). Here’s how it works:
| STAGE 1 Front door | AD | 14 |
| STAGE 2 Kitchen | AE | 15 |
| STAGE 3 Utility room | NB | 92 |
| STAGE 4 Living room | SE | 65 |
| STAGE 5 Stairs | CE | 35 |
At the front door of my house, I picture Addie (AD/14) standing in the doorway swinging his golf club. I shuffle past Addie, trying to avoid his swing, and enter the kitchen, where I see Albert Einstein (AE/15) scribbling a formula on my noticeboard. In the utility room is Nobby (NB/92), and he’s strumming the guitar he plays, but he’s getting agitated because there’s different music coming from the living room. I go in there to see Sheena Easton (SE/65) singing into her microphone. I leave the living room and move to go up the stairs, but on the bottom step is Clint Eastwood, chewing on a cigar and saying “Go ahead. Make my day!”
If I run through these scenes just once more, I know that I have memorized the first ten decimal places of pi. What’s more, I can repeat the number backwards as well as forwards by simply reversing the journey through my house and the initials of the person at each stage. (Note that for such a short sequence, it’s probably not necessary to apply the Rule of Five; see pp.76–80.)
Now that you know how the Dominic System works, try the exercise on the following pages.
In this exercise the characters and ten-stage journey are up to you. You have 5 minutes for the memorization itself (step 4). Use the questions in step 5 to test the efficacy of your own characters.
1 On a sheet of paper write the numbers 0 to 9. Next to each number designate a letter that makes a logical code for you.
2 Now, look at this 20-digit number:
5 6 6 4 9 2 8 8 2 7 5 3 1 2 2 0 1 5 3 5
Without altering the order of the numbers, split the digits up into pairs, then write each pair down the left-hand side of a sheet of paper.
3 Next to each pair of numbers, make a new column of corresponding letter codes. In a third column give each pair of letter codes its character (using the letters either as initials or because they remind you of a particular name). In a final column, write down each character’s action, feature or prop.
4 In your mind’s eye, walk yourself through your ten-stop journey. At the first stop, imagine the first character on your list. Don’t forget to use their prop, feature or action, too, and add in sensory detail and emotions. Continue to make the mini-movie in your mind, until you have been to all the stops and imagined all the characters. Once you’ve finished, do a single review of the characters on the journey – do this from memory, without referring back to the list of characters.
5 Now see how many of these questions you can answer (the more you get right, the more efficient your codes). Note your answers down on a sheet of paper and then refer back to the original sequence to see if you got them all right.
• What is the seventh number in the sequence?
• Which two numbers follow 2 7?
• What are the first six numbers?
• What are the last four numbers?
• How many numbers are there before the first number 3?
• Which two numbers come before the sequence 1 5?
• What is the 13th number in the sequence?
• What are the 11th, 17th and 19th numbers in the sequence?
• Can you note down every third number in the sequence?
• Can you note down the whole sequence in reverse? (Don’t worry if you can’t – it’s your first attempt, after all!)
If you didn’t manage to answer all the questions correctly, don’t worry. Try the journey again, but attempt to memorize only the first ten numbers in the sequence. Test yourself by writing down the sequence on a sheet of paper. Once you can recall the first ten accurately, try memorizing all 20 again, testing yourself with the questions.