Like the Rhyming Peg System, the Shape Peg System is also based on associating a peg word with each of the digits 1 to 10. The difference is that peg words are chosen on the bases of resemblance in shape. Thus, a pencil might be a good peg word for 1, because it resembles the long and thin shape of a 1.

Below are possible peg shapes (2 min)

  1.       pencil, candle, spear

  2.       wan

  3.       ird rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise

  4.       sail sail of a sailboat

  5.       hook

  6.       club the end of golf club

  7.       cliff think of a little guy looking over the edge

  8.       hourglass

  9.       balloon flying through the air, on a little string

10.       knife and plate

If you find that these images do not attract you or stick in your mind, then change them for something more meaningful to you.

As with the Number/Rhyme scheme, link these images to ones representing the things to be remembered.

In some cases these images may be more vivid than those in the number/rhyme scheme, and in other cases you may find the number/rhyme scheme more memorable. There is no reason why you cannot mix the most vivid images of each scheme together into your own compound scheme.

We can use a list of more modern thinkers to illustrate the number/shape system:

  1.       Spinoza - a large CANDLE wrapped around with someone's SPINe

  2.       Locke - a SWAN trying to pick a LOCK with its wing

  3.       Hume - A HUMan child flying on a BIRD’s back

  4.       Berkeley - A SAIL on top of a large hooked and spiked BURR in the LEE of a cliff

  5.       Kant - a CAN of spam hanging from a meat HOOK

  6.       Rousseau - a kangaROO SEWing with a GOLF CLUB

  7.       Hegel - a crooked trader about to be pushed over a CLIFF, HaGgLing to try

            to avoid being hurt

  8.       Kierkegaard - a large HOUR GLASS containing captain KIRK and a GuARD

            from the starship  enterprise, as time runs out

  9.       Darwin - a BALLOON floating upwards, being blown fAR by the WINd

10.       Marx - a dinner PLATE with purple KNIFE MARks all over it

The Number/Shape technique is a very effective method of remembering lists. It works by linking things to be remembered with the images representing the numbers 0 - 9. By using it in conjunction with the Number/Rhyme system, you can build potent images that can make very effective mnemonics.