Tool #1: Turn Variables into Little Pictures

In order to memorize a complex formula, try converting some of the variable symbols into little pictures. For the y variable, for example, you could draw a little cat face with its tail hanging down. The x variable could be an x superimposed on a pair of lips, to represent a kiss. The delta sign (∆) could be drawn as a house with a triangular roof. For that matter, assign a colour to different operations (e.g., pink for multiplication, blue for division, etc.) and then always use those colours when writing out a formula you have to memorize. Pictures and colours will be easier to memorize.

Do you want another example? Let's pretend then you want to learn Japanese. One of the first things you would have to do is getting used to read hiragana, a Japanese syllabary in which every character corresponds to a syllable. The image below is just one of many different possible ways to memorize the character き (ki): in this case, turning it into a picture of a key, since both words sound exactly the same.

Here is another example of how to turn the Pi number (π) into a Py-thon.

Do you feel like you are ready to create your own "designs"? OK, let's get started then: just choose any symbol you use in Math or Science (eg. root square, y, Σ) and turn it into a picture. It doesn't matter if the picture makes no sense to other people--remember that this is a memorization trick that should work for you!