Last week I went to see comedian Louis CK and he had a great bit about the fact that he no longer remembers his mother's phone number. I have to admit — I don't either. It seems memorizing phone numbers has become a thing of the past, but is this a good thing?
The majority of us now store our most precious contact information in our cell phones, and it's rare to encounter someone who still uses a physical address book. This new method is time-saving when you need to call up an old colleague for lunch, but what about those critical numbers? The ones you would have dialed up weekly if not for technology replacing brain space? Or the ones you would call in case of emergency?
Here are three numbers you should memorize, and three non-mobile places you should be storing a copy.
Everyone should memorize:
- Their emergency contact's number
- Their parents' number (this could be the same as your emergency contact)
- Their workplace phone number
You should keep a copy of these numbers:
- In your wallet or purse
- In your desk or in a prominent location on your computer
- With your emergency contact
In case of emergency, you should be able to spout your mother and emergency contact's phone number without any thought. When your phone battery dies and you need to make a call, you should be able to pick up a pay phone or borrow a cell and be able to refer to your handy slip of numbers in your wallet.
And if all else fails, come up with a catchy tune.
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Yes. And remember for those times your iPhone might *ahem* wind up in the laundry. I lost all my contacts but happily I have one of those odd phone number memories and I also had them written down. Goes for many important things. I never rely on electronics for vital info.
Humanity has been remembering phone numbers for only half of a century, and for the most part of this time, phone numbers were - very- short. And our brain is working now with all this pass-words and e-mail adresses, shortcuts and so on. So it's going to keep working.
But you're totally RIGHT about storing those numbers on hand.
My Tip : when in a crowd with the kids, i write my cell number in their hand or arm, if the get lost, it's very convenient. When abroad, i write it down on a card plastified with a message in english and the local language and of course, their name.
Good idea. I don't even know my wife's number.
I actually have a business card in my wallet behind my ID and a second in my phone case that lists my emergency contacts, allergies, and full name in English, French, and Spanish. It felt like overkill until one of my friends got hit by a car while riding her bike to work and no one could figure out who to contact once she got to the hospital because her phone is password locked.
I am the only 27 year old who knows all her friend's numbers by heart. This came in handy in my early twenties when I went through a phase of landing in jail. I have less than 30 contacts in my phone and I keep up with about 5 of them.
I don't keep an address book, but just a notebook full of scribbles and numbers, some of which belong to people whose faces I can't remember. My memory is great, though. I can still remember my house phone number from childhood and my best friend's, too.
Mom's phone number, yes. It has been the same for 37 years. My wife's? Ummm, #2 on speed dial. (#1 is permanently set to voicemail by the phone maker.)
The only reason I know my parents' phone number is that it's the same one they've had my entire life! Similarly, I don't know any of my friends' numbers but *still* can easily recall at their parents' numbers from childhood.
mom, dad, their house, grandma, dad's office, the Mr., a few old friends who have had the same numbers for more than 10 years, one of my siblings, work... all memorized.
now: what's my best friend's number? I have to look it up every time. she's speed-dial ready on ye olde iphone.
I have an extremely good memory for phone numbers. I know most of my friends numbers, all of my family and their work numbers. I find it faster to type a number into my phone than to find their contact information.
I also have a google spreadsheet that I update, so it'll be accessible from any computer with the internet. I also store scanned copies of my credit cards, passport, license etc.. in a password protected PDF on my google docs, too. But I also know my bank card number, license number and credit card numbers/expiry dates by heart. I don't know why, but I can recite them easily.
My phone decided not to let me into the contacts for a while, so I certainly have a few more numbers memorized now than I used to!
I'd suggest if you're using Google Docs to set up 2-step validation on your account...or better yet use DropBox instead. Google's TOS dictate that they own all your content and they're notoriously bad at helping people get their access back if they get hacked or something goes wrong. I NEVER store any vital info in Google Docs.
I have my sister and mom's number memorized since they have been the same since their first phones. However I changed mine about 5 years ago, and my mom still texts the old one sometimes! I am writing down the important ones now... I had a phone for a while that asked me to save ICE (in case of emergency) numbers; I still have family at least in my phone with their full names & relation, plus ICE at the end. Just in case.
My sister always turns her phone number into a word or phrase using the letters with the numbers on the keypad, like companies do: dial 321- be happy, for example. So I've started doing that for other important numbers, because I'm rotten at remembering them.
However, I have been able to remember both of my 14 digit library card numbers with no trouble whatsoever from the first day of receiving them. I guess it's what's important to me.
One thing I know: She sure knows mine.
Telephone numbers have existed since the 1880s, so yes, more than 100 years. In the 1870s, companies utilized switchboards and directories so you could remember one number but by the 1880s, individual telephone numbers were given out.
My mom's number is the only one I do not have plugged into my phone for precisely this reason.
I have a really rotten number memory. A problem my whole life. My folks are gone now, but they had the same number since I was a pre-teen, so I can still remember it -- EXCEPT, about ten years ago the area code was reassigned! Which still throws me off! (My brother has moved into their house, so the number is now his... whatever the area code may be!)
Also, it's better for me to have all this in writing -- w hen stressed or sick I can't remember MY OWN number, which became quite relevant when I had to go to the emergency room for an inner ear infection a few months ago! Fortunately it was easy to look up.
The thing that throws me off is that my phone number, credit card number, and SSN all have similar strings of numbers in them. If I'm not paying attention, I'll start off telling you my phone number and end it with the last 4 digits of my social. Or if I'm supposed to fill in the last 4 of my social, sometimes I put down the last 4 of my credit card instead. Ugh.
Up through the 1950s-1960s, phone numbers were handled through exchanges (think BUtterfield 8), meaning you had to remember fewer arbitrary numbers to dial. And of course, now each person has far more phone numbers -- for one contact, I have his personal cell, business cell, office phone, and Google Voice numbers, for example.
For me the biggest difference is how long people maintain one number. My mom has had the same cell phone number since the '90s, so no problem remembering that. One friend manages to lose/destroy his cell every six months, so no idea what his newest number is.
My mom does the greatest thing with her outgoing voicemail message: she repeats her phone number. "Hi, you've reached Janet at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Please leave a message after the tone." I'll always remember her cell number. It seemed strange at first that she would do it, but now it makes a lot of sense. Thanks, Mom!
I wanted to reiterate what @happyleaf said; it's sort of the reverse point of this post, but on cell phones, it's always good to have a number listed as ICE. This means In Case of Emergency and it tells responders who to call in case you get hurt and are unresponsive.
The only issue is that some people put their phones as password protected, especially those of us with work phones that require it. In that case, no one can access your contact list, which is exactly why I still carry an emergency contact card, one in my wallet and the other in my phone case.
Of course I remember my mom's phone number. And she lives in Europe, so I have punch more buttons. Not only that, but since I call via a prepaid calling card (unbelievably cheap this way, I think I get 280 minutes on a $10 calling card), I also remember the local number for the calling card AND the 12 digit code (for the card) as well.
I have to admit I remember numbers quite easily. I work at a software company and my memory stores a large amount of bug numbers. It's just the way I am.
Study done in Sweden a few years ago (I heard it on NPR, so I can't cite refs) indicated that people who lose their cell phones function like people who've had strokes: memory & ability to communicate are just GONE.
I believe it.
I don't remember many phone numbers. I remember my mothers house and mobile, which have been the same since I was a child. I remember my Fiance's mobile number. I remember my grandparents and fathers home numbers from when I was a child, which are no longer current.
That's about it. There's not really much oportunity to remember a number these days when I open an address book on my phone and tap mobile to call them. I don't even know my own home number, although given I only have a landline for ADSL the only people who know the number are grandparents, parents and those damn telemarketers.
On that note, I actually remember my credit card number, expiry and CVV. Given I type my credit card number relatively frequently while barely ever typing a phone number, is this surprising?
I'd say most people who's mother has got a new number in the last 5 years of smartphones do not remember the new number.
This is where having a Google Voice number is the way to go. one phone number ever to reach me at home, at work, or on my cell or just about anywhere so long as I add it in to Google Voice.
I can only memorize about 5 phone numbers at a time though. Parents, partner, close friend, my own cell and home. Everything else I have to look up. Though, I do remember the phone number of my house when I was a kid, and my grandmothers phone, and the phone of my best friend when I was a kid. So i guess that's 8 number, three of which are completely useless.
For some reason I remember numbers from childhood friends, and pretty much any new number (after I dial it a few times), yet I can't seem to remember what I was doing 30 minutes ago!
Any way, I've long been an advocate for memorizing phone numbers. I think it's just one more way to exercise our brains (I'm a geek, I know). A tip that works for me: I put contacts in my phone and make it a point to never use my contact list. I always dial the number, but if for some reason I forget it, it's there for me. After you've dialed it enough times, without even trying, most people will be surprised that they know the number by heart! So, even if you have a contact list, give it a shot! Try dialing a number every time you text or make a call; it's pretty amazing how quickly you'll retain the number.
I am the same way! I have all three (cc number, expiration, cvv) memorized. It blows people away, but it's so simple for me. I just wish I was that good at things in life that really matter!
@3dogma I wonder if age had any influence. Where I grew up in New England before there were cell phones, some people didn't even have a home phone! Some of my luddite friends still dont' have cell phones even today.
My boyfriends best friend intentionally does not put important numbers in his phone for just this reason. He spent about a half hour drilling my boyfriend with my phone number at a barbecue not so long ago. It hasn't been useful yet, but I imagine it will be.
I have his and my mom's number memorized, plus the numbers for several friends. The thing is, if you punch it in enough times eventually it sticks. I've found that the "make a word" thing doesn't work for me as my number pad is now separate from the alphabet on my phone and it's annoying when businesses use only letters for their phone numbers.
I have my dad's cell and both my grandpa's number's memorized. Everyone else? Well... I guess I just use Facebook. :\ No cell phone here which makes it pretty depressing. Eventually I'll get one, but normally I keep a physical and digital address book at all times.