Sem Cubed

SEM Cubed

SEM cubed can be described as a filing system for the mind. It allows you to memorize over 10,000 pieces of information or rules on any subject, or range of subjects, perfectly. At the same time SEM cubed improves creativity imagination and other skills. Tony_Buzanis the creator of SEM cubed and MindMapping, these techniques being some of the only major advances in memory techniques since the mid-seventeenth century. The description of SEM cubed can be found in Master Your Memory by Tony_Buzan.

Basics

SEM cubed brings together two main principles, the MajorSystem which is a method of replacing numbers with images and a Greek discovery that memory is on the whole an associative process. The MajorSystem can be used to remember, with great efficiency, any multi-digit number. The rather abstract concept of number is replaced by an easy to remember image. This is very useful for memorizing phone numbers or PIN numbers. As a prerequisite to learning SEM cubed you should ensure you have learned and used the MajorSystem first.

By combining the 100 MajorSystem images with the 100 SEM cubed images a 10,000 unit PegSystem is created.

SEM cubed is a matrix of 10 rows by 10 columns giving 100 cells. The matrix is self enhancing since each row emphasizes a different subject including the senses which are important for successful memory. Each of the 100 SEM cubed images can be combined with each of the 100 Major System images to form a compound image which can be used as a memory hook. In this way 10,000 memory hooks can be formed providing the mental filing system which allows instant recall of at least 50,000 items or rules.

To understand the way in which SEM cubed works it is best to provide an example, in this case the memorization of the chemical elements. First of all a section of the matrix needs to be allocated to this set of data, say the locations 8001 to 8105 with 8001 being used to memorize facts about Hydrogen (atomic number 1) such as the atomic weight (1.008), the year of its discovery (1766) and its chemical symbol (H). Continuing in this way through to element Unnipentium with atomic number of 105 being placed in the matrix at location 8105.

The 8000 row of SEM cubed is the rainbow category and the range of 8000 to 8099 is the colour red so the hooks in this range should emphasize be combinations of the colour red with the the Major System images. In this way the hook for hydrogen at 8001 is 'Red Day'. Use your imagination here but I prefer to imagine the start of a new day with a huge red sun rising over the horizon, emphasize the 'redness' of the sun. I then realize that it is in fact a large hydrogen balloon not the sun. This provides my link to hydrogen.

Once you have the primary link you can then link in other data, in this case the atomic weight the year of its discovery and the chemical symbol. As you can see each of the 10,000 locations can hold more than one item or rule by using the link system so the capacity of SEM cubed can easily exceed 50,000 items.

Just imagine you have a list of more than 100 items to memorize. Since the MajorSystem and DominicSystem both provide only the numbers 00-99, how do you do it?

Tony Buzan's answer is SEM Cubed. You can think of this as a hotel with 10 floors (0-9), each of which has 10 suites. Each floor has a theme, such as Rainbow or Animals, and each suite on that floor is in some way related to the theme. For example, on the Rainbow Floor, the first suite is Red, which is the first colour of the rainbow; the second suite is Orange, and so on. On the Animals Floor, the first suite is Zebra (z=0 in the MajorSystem), the second suite is Dog (d=1), the third is Newt (n=2), and so on.

Each suite in the hotel contains 100 rooms corresponding to the 100 pegs of the MajorSystem. Here is why the "room" 8001 as given in the periodic table example corresponds to "Red Day": Floor 8 in Hotel Buzan is the Rainbow Floor. The first suite on that floor is 80, the Red Suite. Room 01 of that suite is represented by the word "Day" in Buzan's version of the MajorSystem (d=1). So combine 80 (Red) with 01 (Day) and you have a Red Day.

For more information on SEM Cubed, consult Tony_Buzan?'s books, or see the link below from the World Wide Brain Club, which contains a complete list of the SEM Cubed images. However, since you have already memorized the 100 people and action pegs of the DominicSystem, you have everything you need to memorize 10,000 items already -- Room 8001 in Hotel Dominic would be represented by whatever combination of person and action you have designated for HOOA. This will save you time learning another 200 memory pegs (100 MajorSystem pegs and 100 SEM Cubed pegs), which might be time well saved if you are cramming for exams.

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