I Before E (Except After C): Old-School Ways to Remember Stuff

I was given this fun, nostalgic and potentially very useful book for Christmas, and I've enjoyed dipping in and out of it.

The mnemonics and aide-memoires in ` I Before E (Except After C)', are divided into thematic sections such as `Animal, Vegetable, Mineral' and `Musical Interlude', and include everything from practical ways of remembering spellings and scientific formulae to old-fashioned rhymes to remind one of delightfully pointless information.

The factor that really limits the usefulness of the book as a reference work, is the absence of any sort of index. Let's say, for example, you're after an easy way to remember trigonometry. All you can do to locate the information is to identify the chapter it's likely to be listed in, and flick your way through that until you stumble upon it. Despite this minor frustration, the book is ideal for anyone wishing to find better, or more fun ways of recalling key facts - from fans of trivia to older people struggling with memories less reliable than they used to be. In fact, every household should have one - in the smallest room and on the book shelf.

30 days hath september, April June and November (6/8 people found this helpful)

Only one minor criticism of this book is that it does not have an index. With computers it is very easy to do an index and any serious book should have one.

I still use the rhyme for the days of the month the famous Thirty days hath September etc

To spell or not to spell taught me that the mnemonic for DIARRHOEA which is a very difficult word to remember and is Dash In a A Real Rush Hurry Or Else Accident.

A common mistake because people get confused with the American spelling is licence / license and practice/ practise

s is the verb and c is the noun, that's the rule that runs the town.

A great little book which deserves a lot of study. It is a must for fans of arcane trivia. There were things in there that I had never heard of such as the taxonomic classification and the Buddhist ten states of mind.

A great present for those who think they know it all. They will soon realise they do not.

If you take time to memorise the contents of this book you might achieve number ten being Buddha, the state of perfection.

Memorable (5/7 people found this helpful)

Recommended
excellent
work
about
remembering
data
in
neat
groups

I enjoyed reading this book as it was fun to browse through, with catchy memory titbits that stick with you after the book was completed. Also the simple yet fun cartoons add to the over quality of the book.

Memory, but Imagining is More (50/76 people found this helpful)

Great memory aids, but they need imaginative use. Try adding Peter Cave's CAN A ROBOT BE HUMAN? - to make the memory aids worthwhile. While I BEFORE E is great at what it does, using it to think imaginatively about lots of dilemmas adds another dimension. I'd not have thought of this, until I came across both Parkinson's book and Cave's - Parkinson reminds us all of stuff we may have forgotten, but Cave's helps us then to make use of our thinking powers over a whole range of mind-blowing dilemmas and paradoxes, from grammar to rationality to religion. Yes, make use of the past - but to be trite - look also to the imagination and future.

A combination of useless and useful information - great for Trivia buffs! (56/86 people found this helpful)

As a primary school teacher, I had to laugh when I got my hands on it! Many of the mnemonics, reminders and memory 'helpers' that I use on a regular basis are in here - along with many others - some of which could well be useful! My copy now sits in my classroom on the reference shelf, where it is often looked through by my class of Year 6 children. Many of us can now count to 10 in Japanese thanks to the handy mnemonics hidden within - and we can all spell diarrhoea! (Dash, in a real rush, hurry or else accident)

I'm sure we can all remember some of the mnemonics that are in this book - even those of us who are unsure of what 'mnemonics' are! Think back to your childhhood and remember such things as:
'Big Elephants Can Always Upset Small Elephants' (Because)
'Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain' for the colours of the rainbow
'My Very Easy Method Just Shows Us Names of Planets' (I never get them in the wrong order when I use this mnemonic!

There are also a great many more - far too many to even mention!

However, possibly more importantly, it also gave me the answer to the question "What are sine and cosine?" which a colleague and I were discussing only the other day! Neither of us could remember why they were important, but we had clear memories of log books (me!) and using the appropriate key on the scientific calculator (my younger colleague!)

This is another book that is great for the bathroom and a terrific gift for trivia buffs all over. You never know, the mnemonics in it may well help you to win the next quiz night (I'm hoping!)

Enjoy it! I certainly have, and also managed to get hold of more copies as Christmas presents for trivia buffs and fellow pedants that I know! At this price, it would make a terrific small 'thank you' gift or extra Birthday present.

I Before E (Except After C): Old-School Ways to Remember Stuff

Judy Parkinson

Reader Reviews:

Brimming with fun ways to remember useful and useless facts (1/1 people found this helpful)

30 days hath september, April June and November (6/8 people found this helpful)

Memorable (5/7 people found this helpful)

Memory, but Imagining is More (50/76 people found this helpful)

A combination of useless and useful information - great for Trivia buffs! (56/86 people found this helpful)

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