What this is: a beginner’s look at the two encoding systems serious memorizers use, the Major System and PAO, and how AI removes their setup cost
The Major System: turns numbers into sounds, then words, so an abstract figure becomes a picture you can actually remember
PAO: Person-Action-Object: packs six digits into a single vivid image. The pros’ tool for cards and long numbers
What AI changes: it can build your word lists and draw the images, the slow part that used to take weeks by hand
A memory palace gives you places to store things. Mnemonics give you a way to turn hard-to-remember things (especially numbers) into vivid images worth storing. The two systems below are what memory champions use, and they used to take weeks of setup. AI changes that math. Here is how they work and where AI helps.
What are mnemonics?
A mnemonic is any trick that turns information your brain finds slippery into something it finds sticky. “Thirty days hath September” is a mnemonic. So is turning a phone number into a little story. The systems below are just powerful, reusable versions of the same idea, built specifically to handle the hardest thing to memorize: long strings of numbers.
What is the Major System?
The Major System solves one problem: numbers are abstract, and your brain hates abstract. It assigns each digit a consonant sound (0 is s or z, 1 is t or d, 2 is n, and so on), then you add vowels freely to make words. The number 32 becomes the consonants “m” and “n,” which you can pad into “moon.” Now an abstract 32 is a glowing moon you can picture and place. Learn the ten digit-sounds once and any number becomes a word, and any word becomes an image.
What is the PAO system?
PAO, for Person-Action-Object, is the next level up, the one Joshua Foer found that nearly every competitive mnemonist uses. You assign every number from 00 to 99 a fixed person, a fixed action, and a fixed object. Then a six-digit number becomes a single scene: the person from the first pair, doing the action from the second pair, to the object from the third. So 10-23-50 might be Otis Redding (10) juggling (23) a guitar (50), one vivid image holding six digits. Place that scene in your palace and you have stored six numbers in one spot.
| System | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Major System | Each digit becomes a consonant sound, then a word | Turning any number into a picture |
| PAO | Each 00-99 pair becomes a Person, Action, or Object | Packing long numbers and card decks densely |
How does AI fit in?
The reason most people never build a PAO system is the setup: you need 100 memorable people, 100 actions, and 100 objects, all mapped to numbers. By hand that is realistically weeks of work. This is where AI shines. Ask an assistant like Claude to generate a full Major-System or PAO list for you, tuned to your own interests (movies you love, athletes you follow), and you have in minutes what used to take weeks. Then an AI image generator draws each scene, so your “Otis Redding juggling a guitar” is a real, vivid picture, not a vague idea.
How do you actually use this with AI?
- Ask an AI assistant to build your number-to-word list (Major System) or your full 00-99 Person-Action-Object set, themed to things you know well.
- For something you want to memorize, convert it with your system into people, actions, and objects.
- Have an AI image generator draw each scene, vivid and bizarre, following the usual image rules.
- Place each scene along a route in your memory palace.
- Walk the route to recall, and use spaced repetition to keep the system itself fresh.
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Is this worth the effort?
Be clear with yourself about the goal. For remembering a grocery list or a speech, you do not need PAO. A plain memory palace with vivid images is plenty. These systems earn their keep when you need to memorize lots of numbers: phone numbers, dates, cards, PINs, or if you want to compete. The good news is that AI has dropped the entry cost from weeks to an afternoon, so it is worth a look even if you are just curious. Start with the Major System, which is useful on its own, and only build a PAO if you catch the bug.
Common questions
What is the Major System?
A method that turns each digit into a consonant sound, so numbers become words and then images you can actually picture and remember.
What is the PAO system?
Person-Action-Object: every number 00 to 99 gets a person, action, and object, so six digits collapse into one vivid scene. It is the system most memory competitors use.
Do I need PAO to have a good memory?
No. For everyday remembering, a memory palace with vivid images is enough. PAO is for memorizing lots of numbers or for competition.
How does AI help with mnemonics?
It builds the number lists for you (the slow setup step) and draws each image, turning weeks of preparation into an afternoon.
Where should a beginner start?
With the Major System. It is simple, immediately useful for numbers, and a stepping stone to PAO if you want to go further.
Sources
- Art of Memory: the Person-Action-Object (PAO) system
- Magnetic Memory Method: full guide to PAO
- Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer (on how mnemonists use PAO).
Last reviewed: June 2026. These mnemonic systems are well established; the AI tools that build the lists and images change often.