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
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)
