Remembering Numbers
Digits
are amongst the most difficult things to learn are, as they seem to totally
lack any meaning and therefore do not lend themselves to be easily memorized.
However, an old mnemonic overcomes this obstacle by converting the digits to
letters, which can be easily converted back to the requested number when the
need arises. The first part of this article explains this conversion method,
while the second demonstrate one of the possible ways to put it into practice
in the technical writing world - memorizing port numbers.
To practice the conversion of digits to numbers, I strongly advise downloading and using the freeware 2know (http://www.got2know.net/2Know), whose site is also the source of the digits-to-letters conversion table shown below.
Converting Digits to Letters
The
following table details the letter equivalent for each of the digits, providing
you with efficient hints to remember the conversion:
|
Digit |
Sound |
Examples |
Remember |
|
0 |
z, s, soft c |
ace, size, use, yes |
Z for zero |
|
1 |
t, th, d |
tie, the, do, it |
T has one down stroke |
|
2 |
n |
noah, any, new, one |
N has two down strokes |
|
3 |
m |
ma, home, me, aim |
M has three down strokes |
|
4 |
r |
ray, our, here, your |
Last sound in four |
|
5 |
l |
oil, lay, whole, law |
Roman numeral for 50 is L |
|
6 |
j, sh, ch, soft g |
jay, wash, shoe, wage |
Reversed j looks like a 6 |
|
7 |
k, q, hard c, hard g |
key, guy, queue, cow |
K is made of two 7's |
|
8 |
f, v |
fee, wave, via, half |
Script f resembles an 8 |
|
9 |
p, b |
pie, bay, pay, abbey |
Reversed p is a 9 |
Rules
- Vowels + h are used only for linking the consonants (oil = 5, linkage = 5176)
- Two consonants in a row are counted as one only (gala = 71, gallows = 710)
- Silent letters are not counted (numb = 23 and not 239, dumb = 13 and not 139)
Examples:
|
Number |
Sound |
Examples |
Remember |
|
911 |
p/b + t/d+t/d |
Appetite, beheaded |
As part of a phone number |
|
476 |
r + k + sh, r +hard c+ ch |
rickshaw, ricochet |
The date of Rome's fall |
|
9526807 |
n |
Blanche aphasic |
A phone number |
|
7195261 |
|
Kate Blanchett |
Phone number |
|
5624 |
L+g+n+r |
legionnaire |
As part of a phone number |
|
9115624 |
p/b + t/d+t/d + l+g+n+r |
beheaded legionnaire |
Phone number |
Practical Example – Remembering Port Number by Converting Digits to Letters
The following table demonstrates how to remember port numbers by converting the number into digits.
|
No. |
Description |
Conversion to Letters |
|
7 |
Echo |
Hawk |
|
17 |
Quote of the day |
Attack, attic, decay, dick, diego, |
|
20 |
File Transfer Protocol, data FTP |
Knees, anis |
|
21 |
File Transfer Protocol, control FTP |
Hound, hunt, Hyundai, India |
|
22 |
SSH |
Nun, noun, none |
|
23 |
Telnet |
Name, numb, enemy, gnome |
|
25 |
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. |
Nile, annual, inhale |
|
37 |
Time, Time Protocol |
Make, mug, Maggie, |
|
42 |
Internet Name Server |
Ron, rain, reign |
|
49 |
TACACS |
Rope, rape, rap. |
|
50 |
Remote Mail Checking Protocol |
Lice, Alice, eels, alloys |
|
69 |
Trivial File Transfer Protocol |
Jeep, job, shape, sheep |
|
70 |
Gopher |
Case, Casio, cozy, giza, |
|
79 |
Finger. |
Cab, cape, cap, copy, cowboy |
|
80 |
HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) |
Face, fuss, fuzzy, hooves, oafs |
|
88 |
Kerberos |
Viva, Aviv |
|
109 |
Post Office Protocol (POP), version 2. |
Disobey, chutzpa |
|
110 |
Post Office Protocol (POP), version 3. |
Adidas, dates, Daihatsu, doubts |
|
115 |
Simple File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). |
Dudley, title, tidal |
|
137 |
Name Service (NETBIOS) |
Atomic. Tomahawk |
|
138 |
Datagram Service (NETBIOS) |
Hit movie, |
|
139 |
Session Service (NETBIOS) |
Dumbo. Tempo, Tampa |
|
161 |
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) |
Woodshed, digit, hotshot |
|
194 |
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) |
Diaper, tapir, tiber |
|
220 |
IMAP (Interactive Mail Access Protocol), version 3 |
Onions, unions |
|
366 |
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) (ODMR (On-Demand Mail Relay. |
My josh |
|
443 |
HTTPS (HTTP over SSL/TLS) |
Rear home, rearm |
|
444 |
SNPP (Simple Network Paging Protocol) |
Horror ear (van Gogh), rare hero |
|
601 |
Syslog |
Chest, jest, joist |
|
631 |
IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) |
Ashamed, Hashemite, jammed |
|
993 |
IMAP4 over SSL (encrypted transmission) |
Bye-bye home |
|
1433 |
Microsoft SQL database system |
Dear mama |
|
1494 |
Citrix ICA Protocol |
Dear beer, dear bear |
|
1521 |
Oracle SQL |
Atlanta, headland, outlined (Also: 39 squared) |
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