# A call for universal mental images for memorizing the cube



## FrankLZ (Mar 17, 2009)

Hey everybody, I know that all of you probably have your own mental images for memorizing the cube and agree that personalized mental images have their benefits, but I think it is possible for us to create a _universal_ list of mental images that everyone can easily memorize. I've looked far and wide for such a thing and don't believe it exists.

What I propose is that we combine our heads to create such a list. 

I think there are a few guidelines needed to make this a successful venture:

We use the Pochmann memorization notation first (we can do other notations later)
It must be obvious which color is the main color and which is the lesser color (e.g. a pine tree with snow is a poor image because you don't know if it is GW or WG; a pine tree with melting snow is a better image because that would be GW)
Images should be recognizable to all. This may be more difficult than I think and thus we might want to nationalize/regionalize the lists. (My image for BR is a democrat and this might not be so good for places outside the US)

What do you guys think of creating a dummy page in the wiki site that would be collection of nice mental images for each sticker set (kind of like the PLL page)? Here we could give examples of all sorts of memorizations techniques including mnemonics (OG = original gangsta, BO = body odor), cube position memorization techniques (DL instead of WB), etc.


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## Kian (Mar 17, 2009)

Do you really think that this is a good idea?

I mean, it's fine to suggest a list of images to people just starting out but if they do intend on using images don't you think that creating their own would be better for their own memorization purposes?

That being said, there's obviously nothing wrong with putting together a standard list, but I would still be sure to suggest to people that creating unique images that work for them makes the a lot of sense.


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## FrankLZ (Mar 17, 2009)

I believe that the most useful mental image for memorizing the cube is simply the one that you identify best with and thus don't believe that one's own unique image (e.g. WB = a painting I made of a small blue circle on a white background that only a few people saw) is necessarily the most vivid and memorable. 

For example, for WB I use Donald Duck, just like Stefan Pochmann because it is a great image that can have sound, movement, personality, even smell (smells like a duck) over my painting. I think Donald Duck is a great example of a universal mental image that could be useful to lots of people.

I do agree however that this list would be most useful as a beginning point and that people should only pick mental images with which they identify strongly for their personal use.


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## PatrickJameson (Mar 17, 2009)

I would learn letter pairs instead of these. They can be more useful if you move onto bigger cubes BLD. 

Chris Hardwick has a nice complete page of all the pairs here http://speedcubing.com/chris/memo-images.html


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## Gparker (Mar 17, 2009)

PatrickJameson said:


> I would learn letter pairs instead of these. They can be more useful if you move onto bigger cubes BLD.
> 
> Chris Hardwick has a nice complete page of all the pairs here http://speedcubing.com/chris/memo-images.html



thats exactly what i use 

and who really uses this memo system anyway? i wonder if stefan still does because i dont really know people who use this


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## cookingfat (Mar 17, 2009)

I posted the list I used to use for the letters you are trying to memorise. 

http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showpost.php?p=138245&postcount=4

btw, this doesn't associate an image based on the colours, rather the first letters of the colours. 

You might find this easier.


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## tim (Mar 17, 2009)

Gparker said:


> and who really uses this memo system anyway? i wonder if stefan still does because i dont really know people who use this



I do.


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## VirKill (Mar 17, 2009)

tim said:


> Gparker said:
> 
> 
> > and who really uses this memo system anyway? i wonder if stefan still does because i dont really know people who use this
> ...



Me too...though I use 4-5 different images for each sticker combination but one image per sticker is a good start.

I think this is actually good Idea, since to create such list for newbie will takes so much time. To create a universal list as a suggestion for newbie will be helpful, and they can replace some image later if they find something better and suits them.


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## Gparker (Mar 17, 2009)

tim said:


> Gparker said:
> 
> 
> > and who really uses this memo system anyway? i wonder if stefan still does because i dont really know people who use this
> ...



well you use letter pair images. i do too then i guess


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## tim (Mar 17, 2009)

Gparker said:


> tim said:
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> > Gparker said:
> ...



I definitely know better than you which system i use. That was kinda stupid, wasn't it?


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## Gparker (Mar 18, 2009)

tim said:


> Gparker said:
> 
> 
> > tim said:
> ...



my bad tim....


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## royzabeast (Mar 18, 2009)

Is this for blindfold solving or what?


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## Gparker (Mar 18, 2009)

royzabeast said:


> Is this for blindfold solving or what?



naw this is speedcubing, memorizing as fast as you can during inspection...(obvious saracasm) but didnt you check the blind section and see this here?


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## FrankLZ (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies. I'm glad that some people still use the Pochmann memorization method, I really like it but had the toughest time coming up with images for it. Maybe others don't use this method because it takes a while to make your "Color Pair Images" and opt for the "Letter Pair Images" instead because there is already a standard list of them and also because they are really easy to generate on the fly (I think so at least). 

Therefore if we make a general list of color pair images then I think it will be quite helpful. I'd really like to get a few examples of the color pair images that other people use. The ones I use suck. For example I use:
GY = green traffic light
RY = red straffic light
But those are dumb because yellow is actually the main color of the object, but the non-yellow color is the business end of the object and is thus the 'main color' in my mind. 

VirKill, Tim and everybody else I'd love to know the color pair images that you use even if they aren't universal!

Also, I think I should add a fourth rule to my original list: 
4. Whenever it is possible to use a woman as a color pair image then it should be done.

This means that:
BY is clearly Smurfette





RW is definitely a girl dressed up as Santa's helper




YB is probably Marge Simpson (even though she isn't hot)
YR is Lisa Simpson for same reason as above


Actually, how cool would it be to have a completely Simpsons-based color pair image set??


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