Get A Head For Numbers These digital tricks will save time – and surprise everyone—says our memory expert, Jonathan Hancock
Over the years I’ve performed feats of recall in front of some big crowds— in person, and on radio and TV. But my most recent memory demonstration involved an audience of just one: the receptionist at my local health centre.
She’d asked me for my NHS number. I told her without having to look it up. And her jaw dropped. In all her years in the job, she told me, I was the first person who’d ever done that.
I learned the ten-digit sequence a few years ago, and I’ve had plenty of chances to use it since COVID hit. Knowing it off by heart spares hassle, smooths form filling, and provides valuable mental exercise. It’s also a nice conversation starter— and, I hope, a way to inspire others to master a few number tricks of their own.
So here’s how you can learn your NHS number—or passport number, phone number, car serial number… really any number sequence that’s useful to you—in just four simple steps. Step 1: Turn numbers into pictures. Start by spotting any quick wins: digits, or groups of digits, that already
52 suggest pictures. In my NHS number there’s 32, which is my childhood house number, so that’s something I can visualise straightaway. There’s also 99, so I picture an ice-cream with a stick of chocolate in it!
Step 2: Use your imagination. For any numbers that don’t suggest obvious images, invent them. For 14, I picture a newspaper, because I delivered papers when I was 14. Maybe 8 looks like a snowman, and 0 could be a ball. Patterns can be helpful, too. If you see 321, it could be a countdown timer. Be creative!
Step 3: Connect the images. Invent a simple but memorable story to link your pictures together, in the right order. Part of my story involves a
“99” ice-cream hitting the bullseye on a dartboard—50—outside my old home—32.
Step 4: Practise! A memory trick like this is meant to be challenging. Every time you stretch your brain to see the images and turn them back into digits, you’re strengthening the learning. You’re also exercising your memory as a whole, ready for all the other mental challenges you face.
So why not try it with a number of your own? You’ll thank yourself every time you don’t need to look it up. You’ll grow in confidence to remember anything—when you put your mind to it. And you’ll probably be surprised at just how impressive and inspiring it is when you perform memory magic!
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