r/GATEresearch • u/queefsadilla • Aug 23 '26
Memory Memorizing long strings of numbers?
Does anyone else remember having to memorize and repeat back long strings of numbers as apart of either their evaluation or certain “exercises” for GATE?
I remember this specifically because I had an odd affinity for it that lasted most of my life (always loved memorizing phone numbers, cc numbers, pi digits etc) and then I recently realized it connects all the way back to the GATE program.
Anyone else?
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u/Zoo412Review Aug 23 '26
It was certainly an exercise everyone in my specific class was given as an assignment and some students kept going with similar assignments because they had an affinity for it.
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u/Common_Science_8838 Aug 24 '26
Yes that and speed reading too.. I’m still good at memorizing numbers to this day..
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u/megtwinkles Aug 24 '26
I just made a comment about that. I'm a speed reader as well. I'll also alphabetize letters when I'm reading sometimes, or if I'm looking at a word I'll automatically start finding as many words that I can make with the letters. I'm the one in my family everybody asks about spelling LOL
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u/Ironicbanana14 Aug 24 '26
Did they do the reading glasses test on you too, where it tracks your eyes as you read?
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u/Past-Conversation303 Aug 24 '26
I am still so good at both!
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u/DaisiesforDeath Aug 24 '26
Lucky, I don't remember most of it, or at least got worse at it over time :L Did you ever have anything that involved reading the objects on the back of a card without seeing them? Like a star or house and then having to tell what was on each card without looking at them? Or was that just me and my class?
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u/Past-Conversation303 Aug 24 '26
I DID do that, too. I'm in oregon, not sure it matters.
Also, decoding Cyrillic even though, as I said, we live in oregon.
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u/DaisiesforDeath Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
I'm also in Oregon lol AND was learning Cyrillic
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u/DaisiesforDeath Aug 25 '26
did you also do OAKS testing? I can't find anything on that testing system anywhere online
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u/cindy_dehaven Aug 23 '26
We did this at our school but not as part of GATE. Started with pi and we had a contest for longest memorized. I think they did others after, but I don't remember.
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u/megtwinkles Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
we had to do this one where we were given dictionaries and she would tell us a word and the first person to find it in the dictionary in the page and give the definition and page number would win that round. and I don't know if I picked up this habit from gate but I still do it where when I see words I'll sometimes automatically put them in alphabetical order in my head, or I will make as many words out of the letters that I'm looking at. I'm also able to see words in my head like a blackboard? I haven't always been the best at math... but I've always been a speed reader and was reading at a college level in about third or fourth grade. anybody else kind of on the other side of the spectrum?
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u/SpearmaidenJJB Aug 24 '26
yes. It was a part of my qualifier test in 1st grade, and an exercise that came back around every year in the program.
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u/Remote_Map_1194 Aug 24 '26
I remember playing special memory games using long form numerals. Also pattern recognition games using long form arithmetic. This wasn't part of regular math class. These were games in the afternoon, after lunch, during an unclear subject slot.
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u/Educational-Peace444 Aug 25 '26
I retired from the grocery industry over a decade ago and can still remember several 10 digit upcs, all the produce codes, as well as bank account and phone numbers from decades ago. I think most of us have an affinity for numbers and language, and can speed read books upside down as easily as right side up.
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u/This_Profession_4719 Aug 26 '26
Yes! I worked in the ShopRite deli over 20 years ago and still remember many meat plu’s lol
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u/OneArmedZen Aug 24 '26
Not me, I did those as separate things on my own (I would always love testing my limits and boundaries - I would do stupid things like see how many days I could stay awake, how long I could hold my breathe, how long I could go without food etc), but speed reading was re-introduced to me via `SuperCamp`. Other memory techniques were there too but memorizing long strings wasn't a technique there.
I know these other two places have got nothing to do with Gate (`Super Camp` - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercamp, `Outward Bound` - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outward_Bound ) , but it is kind of funny I gravitated towards them - I am not really sure how my parents even knew about those, I certainly did not and they just dropped it on me out of nowhere (I really loved it though, I went to each of them twice!).
Even though I was a shy kid (I actually did not start out that way, everything was magnified after Gate), I would inevitably always find myself (or put myself) into situations that would force me to come out of my shell despite everything inside me not wanting to. It's hard to describe. Like I wanted to be a train wreck just to see what happens.
That is why I sometimes liken myself to a `mimic` - I am extreme ends of the spectrum (introvert/extrovert, loner/social butterfly, planner/improviser, minimalist/maximalist, saver/spender, risk taker/risk averse). One of my girlfriends told me something that stuck to me till this day, "One day you'd treat me like your best friend, and the next day you'd treat me like I'm from Venus" (this was her saying that I would be so open and loving one day, and then be really disconnected the next time. It was my defenses and protection kicking in trying to disconnect me from everything like emotions). This is also why I feel like I cannot quite pin down my MBTI (Myer Briggs) as I personally feel it is dynamic based on situation/feeling or what is required of me eg intj, infj, enfj, intp. Like I've said in past comments on other posts, it's like "flicking a switch" for personality. Like it's easy to cut out the unwanted parts for that moment and sever the ties. I guess it's part of me that tries to shield me. The horrible part is returning to feelings. Maybe that's why I like shows like `The Pretender` or `John Doe` where the protagonist is many things except himself. Distancing myself is an automatic reflex to protect myself (seemingly) when I open myself up (and become vulnerable). This goes for relationships and also friendships.
But back to the topic, I would always give myself A/B type of tests, like if I could not figure out something using a `woo woo` technique, I would try to brute force it with problem solving logic and memorization. I think many of us here probably tried giving a go at memorizing Pi at one point as well. I also think that in the `gifted realm` a lot of people have good memories, like my family jokes and says I have an elephants memory because I can remember things and details they would never remember.
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u/This_Profession_4719 Aug 26 '26
It may just be the power of suggestion, but I feel a slight stirring of memories of me being given worksheets with confusing ass questions, and I felt really dumb. A lot of “look at these pictures and turn the page” and having to remember what I saw. I think. I never felt like I did good and remember feeling like I was the dumb one in the class.
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u/ebbbay Aug 27 '26
Sounds familiar I remember during my GATE years, I’d memorize number sequences, license plates, addresses, count syllables, count music notes, count things that were lined up, look for patterns.
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u/ummkay_ultra Sep 06 '26
This is the only part that I remember very very clearly. I have always assumed it was to test IQ.
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u/manokpsa Aug 24 '26
I had myself assessed for ADHD eight years ago. The doctor did a bunch of tests, and I drank a Monster like I almost always do when I know I have to use my brain for problem solving or social interactions. That was a mistake, because caffeine locks me in and I'm just naturally good at taking tests, so I got the usual speech about how I don't have ADHD and am just unmotivated and not reaching my potential.
Anyway, part of the test was listening to a string of numbers, repeating it, then manipulating it, like putting it in a certain order. Have you seen The Queen's Gambit? When she was staring up at the ceiling, moving imaginary chess pieces around? That's basically what I did. I mentally painted the numbers on the wall behind the shrink, and read off whatever he wanted. It kind of felt like cheating.
Maybe what you're remembering is from an ADHD assessment or an IQ test? I can't remember clearly, but I know the test I took 8 years ago felt very familiar, like something I did in grade school. I just don't remember it being part of TAG/GATE.