Comment on Dear Kevin
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Do these mnemonics actually help?
Unequivocally yes.
I got a contest going with my plant systematics cohort (8 credit hours over an academic year, that’s a lot of plant id work). We would see who could come up with the filthiest mnemonics to remember plant families and such.
Our professor, a brilliant botanist with a filthy mind and tenure, was delighted beyond measure at how well the entire cohort did on the practical plant ID exams. But mostly he enjoyed watching our classroom discussions.
Well I still remember Roy G. Biv and Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally so maybe?
I literally couldn’t tell you a single biology fact from my year studying it in HS but I remember King Phillip Came Over From Germany Stoned.
My 9th grade Spanish teacher taught us how to remember how to say who/what/when/where/why in Spanish by putting it to the tune of Jingle Bells. To this day that’s the only thing I remember from Spanish class, so yes I can confidently confirm that they work:
🎵 Por qué, why,
Quando, when,
Qué, what; donde, where.
Cuantos, how much; cómo, how,
Quien está, who is there?
Cuál! 🎵
🎵 Por qué, why,
Quando, when,
Qué, what; donde, where.
Cuantos, how much; cómo, how,
Quien está, who is there?
Which! 🎵
I learned Kids Playing Catch On Freeways Get Splattered about 20 years ago and I still remember, despite never needing to use it. So, the mnemonic helps to remember, but remembering doesn’t really help me
It helps you understand the world you live in and be a well rounded individual instead of cog whose only purpose is to know the things they need to make their owner more money and nothing else.
Scott_of_the_Arctic@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
Depends on the mnemonic. It has to flow and you have to know the steps individually. Although there was one time I spent so long trying to come up with a good mnemonic for the citric acid cycle that I just learned it and gave up.