Here we will conclude our memory technique to remember numbers with the codes for the numbers 7, 8, 9, and 0.

First, “7” can be coded as a “g” or a “k”.  To remember the “g” code for 7, simply remember that “g” is the seventh letter of the alphabet.  The “k” code for 7 can be remembered like this.  Visualize uppercase “K” as two sevens back to back (one 7 being the mirror-image of the other) and turned 90 degrees anticlockwise.

Next, “8” is coded as an “f” or a “v”.  The “f” code can be remembering that a cursive lowercase “f” resembles the number 8.  For the “v” code, I like to remember the old vegetable drink commercial line, “”WOW! I could have had a V8!”

The number “9″, as we have seen before, can be coded as a “b” or a “p”.  Remember that lowercase “b” looks like an upside-down 9, and “p” looks like the mirror image of the number 9.

Finally, the number “0” is coded by the letter “z”.  Any guesses as to how to remember this one?  RIGHT!  The word “zero” begins with the letter “z”.

Once again, if you want more in-depth information on this memory technique and other math tricks, then I recommend the book “Secrets of Mental Math”.

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Let’s continue our math tricks mnemonics memory technique to remember numbers with the codes for the numbers 4, 5, and 6.  Again, these memory aides should be practiced so that your brain becomes “hard-wired” for coding and un-coding your words and phrases.

The number “4” is coded as “r”.  The memory technique to use here is to remember that the word “four” ends in an “r”.

The number “5” is coded as “l”.  I have seen several techniques that can be used to remember this code.  First, the Roman numeral “L” means “50”.  Also, you can remember that your thumb and index finger together looks like the letter “L” when you spread out all the digits on your hand to indicate “5”.

We will finish this part with the number “6”, which is a little more challenging in that it has several codes.  “6” can be represented by a “j”, or a “sh”, or a “ch”.  For the letter “j”, you can remember that a mirror-image cursive “j” kind of looks like a “6”.  For the “sh”, you can remember that “shix” sounds like “six”.  Also, “chix” rhymes with “6”.

If you have any other ideas or suggestions for other memory aides for these codes, please feel free to let us know by posting a message!

This technique and other math tricks are covered in detail in the book “Secrets of Mental Math“.

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Now that you have the code for our mnemonics memory technique to remember numbers, you will need a means of quickly remembering the code so that you can quickly create words and phrases for the numbers that you want to remember.

I’ll only cover a few at a time so that you will not be besieged with too much information at once. Also, it will give you a chance to practice this memory technique using just a few codes at a time; this will help you to commit to memory a few codes at a time very quickly.

First, “1” can be coded as a “t” or a “d”.  Some teach you that a “t” or a “d” has one downstroke.  This is fine, but so do other letters in the codes for other numbers.  I like to remember the game “Truth or Dare”, and in that game, you can only choose one.

Next, “2” can be coded as an “n”.  Lowercase “n” has two downstrokes.

Last, but not least, “3” can be coded as an “m”.  Lowercase “m” has three downstrokes.

That’s it for today – pretty easy, huh?!!  OK, so go out and practice these code letters for 1, 2, and 3.  Don’t worry – it’s as easy as “Tan Me”!

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Excel Rounding

In my line of work, we generate polynomial curves very often.  It is important for us to have software that will generate polynomial equations for the data that we generate – equations for the standard curves that we generate so that we can determine values for our unknown samples.

This is both an example of real life math and bad math.  To start, I’ll just say that we used to generate linear curves for our assays.  The data for these assays were analyzed in Microsoft Excel, and we were very satisfied with the linear curves generated by Excel.

Last year, we changed our assay such that the standard curve that was generated was no longer linear.  The new type of curve was a second-order polynomial (of the form AX² + BX + C).  So, OK, Excel can handle polynomial data, right?  Well, we discovered a problem with Excel – Excel rounding of the polynomial coefficients!  The problem seems to exist with only large coefficients, but we do deal with polynomials with large coefficients every day.

To illustrate the problem, I generated some data for the equation:

Y = 8386111X² + 24421000X + 0.058

Here is a table of data generated using this equation:

So far so good.  OK, so using Excel (Microsoft Office 2003), I generated this polynomial curve:

As you can see, the equation of the curve generated by Excel is not the same as the equation that we used to generate the data used in our example.  There was some Excel rounding of the coefficients A and B:

Y = 8386111X² + 24421000X + 0.058     equation used to generate data

Y = 8E+06X² + 2E+07X + 0.058    equation generated by Excel

Close, but no cigar!  In our line of work, we require precise and accurate data, ant this Excel rounding problem is unacceptable.  We just got in Office 2007, but the problem still exists there too.  We are now using GraphPad, which does not round.

Well, as it is getting close to Halloween, I thought it appropriate to write about this example of Microsoft math tricks – not treats.  Has anybody else discovered any limitations with Excel?  Please feel free to post!

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