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Chemical Haiku: Elements' Qualities in a Few Syllables

Posted by timothy on from the atomically-pithy dept.

Frr pointed out this interesting approach to the periodic table: Haiku. This might even help you remember the elements.

3 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. What a waste of mental effort by The+Tyro · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is anyone actually forced to memorize the periodic table these days? Talk about a pointless rote memorization task...

    I thought "learning" like this went the way of the dinosaurs in the 80's (of course, I teach on the university level, so I'm a bit removed from elementary education). Can any education types confirm that this kind of thing still goes on?

    I subscribe to the penguin theory of learning. After a certain point, your brain only holds so many recallable facts, just like an iceberg can hold only so many penguins. After that, for each new one you add, an old one must be shoved off (or at least relegated to subconscious long-term storage). I know memory is theoretically infinite, and that everything we learn is supposedly deep down in there somewhere, waiting for the right moment to be dredged up... but this kind of memorization is a waste of space on the iceberg.

    No way in sacrificing childhood memories for the periodic table... too easy to just go look up a copy.

    --
    Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
    1. Re:What a waste of mental effort by ramzak2k · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Your argument sounds like

      "why waste precious use of mental resources by making students multiply and divide instead of handing them over calculaters ?"

      There arent many who subscribe to the iceberg theory that you have mentioned. Memory is just like any other muscle - train it , keep it sharp and it will help you. Knowing to memorize something like the periodic table after all involves knowing what exactly helps your brain remember things - for some it might be a rhyme like the haiku and for others it could be pictures for association . Either way, it helps develop a skill!

      --

      Siggy Say, Siggy Do
  2. Memorizing the Periodic Table by Arrgh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In grade 8 we were asked to memorize the first twenty elements of the periodic table. Of course I put it off way too long and ended up cramming the night before the test. So I just made up a little mnemonic poem. Here it is in phonetic form:

    Hydrogen Helim Lithium Beryllium (that's as far as I got with the names)
    Bicknoffnee Namgal Sipsclarkca

    In symbolic form, that's H He Li Be B C N O F Ne Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar K Ca. Can't forget the damned thing after seventeen years.