FurstSystem

Created by Dr. Bruno Furst and first published in the 1940s. The course, titled "You Can Remember", is still sold today.

Basics

Uses a PegSystem of 100 images, each of which is a word that converts into a two-digit number using the MajorSystem (40 = Rose, 52 = Lion.) Each image is also linked to a related image (2 = Noah, which is linked to Ark) to create two complimentary lists. Four-digit numbers are converted into one image from the main peg list and one from the alternate list.

Good Points

Only uses the MajorSystem, so no alternate NumberSystems need to be memorized.

Bad Points

There's no distinction between an image used as a peg and one used as a number, so there's potential for confusion.

Discussion

I remember seeing this advertised 30 years ago in science magazines and wanted to get it for a long time. About 15-20 years ago, I found a copy of just the main book in the library, read it, but didn't practice it thoroughly, because I got bogged down in changing the words to images I thought would work better.

There may have been a quirk in the way Furst used the MajorSystem. I think he applied a value of 8 to H, which would make Noah 28 instead of (0)2. I do remember Noah being on the list, though.

--- JohnLaviolette