To all my gearhead friends: suck, squeeze, bang, blow; to all my math friends: Sohcahtoa and to all my musical friends, every good boy deserves fudge! For everybody else, don’t worry, I have not traded vital military secrets, told an inside joke, or offered rude, inappropriate greetings. The phrases I shared are mnemonics, or memory aids.
When mechanics (gearheads) are learning about the way gas engines work, they are assisted in their efforts by the phrase suck, squeeze, bang, blow. It’s not an exercise routine: it’s the way an engine takes in and uses gasoline. Similarly, math students learn the word Sochahtoa in order to be able to work with the angles and proportions of triangles. Finally, budding musicians use the sentence “every good boy deserves fudge” to help them figure out what notes each line of a music staff represents.
Human beings are immensely clever. We are amazingly capable learning machines that can store and process incredible quantities of information. Part of the ability is due to the fact that we are able to use memory tricks. These tricks help us sort and store the vast quantity of material we need to access, partly because they are brief, partly because they are memorable.
If I were to speak in teacher talk, an engine’s functions would be described as: intake, compression, ignition and exhaust. While technically correct and absolutely accurate, it’s not very memorable or easy. Hence the phrase: suck, squeeze, bang blow. It might not have the technical sophistication of the proper words, but it certainly gets its meaning across and is much easier and more fun to remember.
As followers of Jesus, we have some important lessons to remember. However, there aren’t that many fun phrases associated with our lessons. That’s not a shortcoming of our faith. It’s a reflection of the fact that most of the stuff we have to remember is actually pretty straightforward. Do we need to simplify Jesus loves you? Is it too hard to remember that God made everything? Could we make it any clearer that sin is bad?
OK, we do have some memory aids: the empty cross points to Jesus’ defeat of death. The Communion bread and wine represent Jesus’ body and blood, reminding us that he was as human as we are. But notice that those mnemonics aren’t words: they are real objects. They point to the reality of Jesus being alive and well and living within us. Beyond that, however, we don’t really need much to remember Him. It’s not that hard to remember you are loved. If you really want one quick aid, however, then sing along: “Jesus loves me this I know...”
When mechanics (gearheads) are learning about the way gas engines work, they are assisted in their efforts by the phrase suck, squeeze, bang, blow. It’s not an exercise routine: it’s the way an engine takes in and uses gasoline. Similarly, math students learn the word Sochahtoa in order to be able to work with the angles and proportions of triangles. Finally, budding musicians use the sentence “every good boy deserves fudge” to help them figure out what notes each line of a music staff represents.
Human beings are immensely clever. We are amazingly capable learning machines that can store and process incredible quantities of information. Part of the ability is due to the fact that we are able to use memory tricks. These tricks help us sort and store the vast quantity of material we need to access, partly because they are brief, partly because they are memorable.
If I were to speak in teacher talk, an engine’s functions would be described as: intake, compression, ignition and exhaust. While technically correct and absolutely accurate, it’s not very memorable or easy. Hence the phrase: suck, squeeze, bang blow. It might not have the technical sophistication of the proper words, but it certainly gets its meaning across and is much easier and more fun to remember.
As followers of Jesus, we have some important lessons to remember. However, there aren’t that many fun phrases associated with our lessons. That’s not a shortcoming of our faith. It’s a reflection of the fact that most of the stuff we have to remember is actually pretty straightforward. Do we need to simplify Jesus loves you? Is it too hard to remember that God made everything? Could we make it any clearer that sin is bad?
OK, we do have some memory aids: the empty cross points to Jesus’ defeat of death. The Communion bread and wine represent Jesus’ body and blood, reminding us that he was as human as we are. But notice that those mnemonics aren’t words: they are real objects. They point to the reality of Jesus being alive and well and living within us. Beyond that, however, we don’t really need much to remember Him. It’s not that hard to remember you are loved. If you really want one quick aid, however, then sing along: “Jesus loves me this I know...”
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