My system for memorizing 1000 digits of Pi
My system is based on the Person-Action-Object (PAO) system, which allows associating a set of digits with a mental scene composed of a person, an action, and an object. Each person, action, and object is coded by a number ranging from 00 to 99, translating to two digits per mental object. Therefore, one scene corresponds to 6 digits. To memorize 1000 digits, I need to place 167 scenes in my mental palaces (universities, streets, virtual maps, etc.).
I applied several constraints on the characters, actions, and objects to accelerate the recall of mental objects. Firstly, the mental objects are organized into categories. For example, the objects from 70 to 79 are tools, and the characters from 50 to 59 are athletes. I also use the Dominic system, which associates numbers with letters: K/C = 0, L = 1, 2 = N, 3 = M, 4 = R, 5 = S, 6 = D, 7 = T, 8 = V, 9 = P/B.
I can quickly decode a mental object without learning its corresponding number. For example, consider a mental scene containing the character Daft Punk. Daft Punk is a singer (1), and the first letter is D (2), so the number corresponding to Daft Punk is 12. I decoded the mental object Daft Punk without knowing the association between Daft Punk and 12 beforehand. Thus, I place the scenes in my mental palaces to memorize Pi. Then, during recitation, I decode the scenes without needing to learn my PAO system, thanks to the categorization of mental objects and the Dominic system. Regular practice (15 minutes a day) makes memorizing 1000 decimal places in less than a month possible. This file contains my system and the 167 scenes corresponding to the 1000 digits of Pi. I also created Anki flashcards for learning persons, actions, and objects.