Wang Feng Memory SystemInvestigation

Created by Milan Ondrašovič (ID: 2124, a. k. a. Nightwalker), 2014/10/18.

Prologue

• I do not want to insult anyone by exploring the work ofsomeone I deeply respect. I am just curious and I would like toget some answers. The following analysis is purely based onmy current ideas which may change overtime as newinformation becomes available. Since it has been a long timeof last Wang Feng‘s appearance at some competition, thisshould not take away his competitive advantage even if I hitthe nail.

Prologue

• I wanted to know more about this system by exploring thevideos on youtube, which I hoped would shed more light intothis matter. The only thing I probably acquired is moreconfusion, but I think that sharing my results would not be awaste of time. After all, maybe there will be someone with theadequate knowledge to elaborate more.

Two main questions

Does he use only 100 unique images?

How does he associate the imagestogether to preserve the originalorder?

Generally known information

• The way Chinese mnemonists create their images is based onrhymes or shapes, and so on. It is not the basic phonetically-based major system when it comes to their powerful 2 digitsystem. Some people elaborated here:

• http://mt.artofmemory.com/forums/wang-feng-memory-system-900.html

• http://mt.artofmemory.com/forums/wang-feng-989.html

• http://mt.artofmemory.com/forums/wang-fengs-system-i-dont-need-a-pen-any-more-5688.html

Videos as a source

• The following links contain the videos I used as a source ofinformation, respectively, as a source of images.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL2h-qZC0es

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA7kN-QwWLw

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_K1M6E1E8E

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWpstFzUeqc

Images in the video

• At the beginning of one of the videos, the viewer is presentedwith „all“ the images which will appear in the video. But thatis not all.

The first question

• My belief was that he used pure 2 digit system. That is, oneobject represents 00-99 variations of numbers. But as thevideo went by, there was a shot of him flicking through hissmall „book“ of images, and I spotted this.

• There are two different numbers15, together with differentimages. The video with „all“ hisimages contains only the one onthe left.

The first question

• There was one discussion in a Facebook group regardingWorld Memory Championships, where Tsogbadrah Badrahshared few details concerning his system.

The first question

• The system of Tsogbadrah would explain the presence of twodifferent images for the same number 15.

• I do not understand Chinese language at all, but this anotherpicture from the video seems suspicious in regard of usingmore than one image.

The first question

• Later in the video, there is a demonstration of imagesplacement in the location, together with the adequate numbersequences.

The first question

• There are two intriguing 4 digit numbers. 6154 and 3354.Both of them contain number 54, but none of them containsthe same image.

The first question

• First 4 digit number containing 54 can be explained by imagesfrom the list. But the another number, 3354, cannot beexplained at all. There are no images in the list which wouldsatisfy 3354 in the way it is shown in the video. Even moredisturbing is, where is 54 from the first number sequence?

The first question

• Numbers 33, 54 and 61 are represented by the followingimages, which only partially correspond to the previous„group“ of images. 33 is not present there.

The first question

• Another video shows different scenes which demonstrate theimage associations. Some of them are explainable accordingto the previous information about his system. But some ofthem are a mistery.

The first question

• This first scene is fine:

The first question

• The second scene is all right as well:

The first question

• The third scene raises some question marks:

• The only picture whichwould satisfy number28 is:

• But no scissors couldbe found in the list.

The first question

• The fourth scene falls to the category of unsolved mysteries aswell:

• Nothing of triangularshape could be foundin the list.

The first question - hypothesis

• There is a chance of being the data invalid since Wang couldpossibly change some images during the video creation, orthere was simply a mistake. But so many times?

• As far as I am concerned, the testimony of Tsogbadrahtogether with somehow confusing scenes in the video leadme to the conclusion that there is more to this 2 digit systemthan meets the eye in the first place.

• I personally do not believe anymore that he uses only 100unique images for 00-99 variations.

The second question

• The order in which the images appear does not correspond tothe rules he probably uses for some images.That is, orderingfrom „left to the right“ or „from top to the bottom“.

The second question

• The greatest confusion raises the number 7827. The order ofthe images in the scene is in contradiction to the numbers6154 and 4029. The images are merged together, becauseaccording to the association, the original number should be2778.

The second question

• The majority of the scenes I could find adhere to the rules ofmaking images interact „form left to the right“ or „from top tothe bottom“.

The second question

• Since the images for the number 3354 cannot be obtainedfrom the list provided, there could be a small discussion aboutthe order, because it is not so distinct whether that personcame as first and then hearts.

The second question - hypothesis

• Since the rules for ordering of the images does not seem to bethe same every time, maybe there is a small correlationbetween the first and the second question.

• Some images are easier to interact with when they are theactive objects, rather than passive. So maybe there aredifferent images only for a certain occasions which he findsmore memorable.

Epilogue

• The purpose of this analysis was to gather more informationregarding something which has been here for a while, yet, it isnot completely known. Many people might disagree with thishypothesis just because the video creators wanted to useimages which would be the easiest to animate and manyother possible causes of inconsistency. Many theories mayraise based on my claims, so I hope there will be enoughcriticism to wipe the floor with me in order to reveal the truth.

The end...