Make Memorization Work for You

Memorizing test answers is not advisable, but memorization can be an important tool for learning

- CRAIG JENKINS

At TestOut we have an informal Pi Day competition every year in March. The competition takes place on March 14 at 1:59 in the afternoon (3.14159 — get it?) and consists of contestants reciting digits of pi (as many as they can remember) and then eating pie. There aren’t any significant prizes; it’s more for bragging rights. It’s also a fun way to enjoy Pi Day.

A few years ago, I decided to try participating in the competition, so I printed out several digits of pi on a sheet and started to memorize. At first, I memorized one line, then another, and then another. Before I knew it, I had memorized 64 digits of pi (all that was on my sheet).

When the competition began, each contestant began to recite pi. I was confident of a win with 64 digits under my belt. Then one of our software engineers stood and began to recite pi. He made it to 30, and then 40, and then 50 digits. I was nervous that my 64 digits was not going to be enough.

Then at 52 digits he stopped and said, “Well, that’s all I know.” Relieved, I then stood and recited my 64 digits of Pi for the win. I was awarded a small lemon snack pie.

One of the contest organizers boasted that he was going to recite one hundred digits of pi the next year, and the competition was on. I set the goal to memorize 200 digits of pi. Each year the competition gets more intense. This year, it took reciting 253 digits of pi for the win.