Different languages and cultures develop different parts of our brains and personality. For example, Asians are more introvert than Europeans etc. For me, it seems that Chinese is just the opposite of English. Since I do not know Chinese and do not have enough motivation to actually learn it, I rely on experience of other people such as
this, this and this resources.
Visual markers and Chinese
Since Chinese writing is hieroglyphic and highly visual, Chinese do not need additional markers. They can use the hieroglyphs instead. Most hieroglyphs represent complex ideas with simple objects. It is absolutely amazing for the unprepared mind to see a whole society explained by counting pigs, see e.g. here. The simplified visualizations of hieroglyphs are just as personal as more complex visual markers when you consider that calligraphy and different inks can be involved.
If the Chinese hieroglyphs are effective for visualizing objects, there should be a memory champion using it. And sure enough, the great Chinese memory champion Wang Feng was the world’s memory champion more than once. His method was later used and developed by other Chinese memory champions.
You do not need Chinese to use your own hieroglyphs. There are brand logos, computer icons, emoticons and other graphical objects you can use for your visualization.
Dual coding
Unlike European languages, Chinese pronunciation is very subtle. How do you generate mnemonics, when the meaning of what you say depends on your tone? In fact this study claims that dual coding in Chinese language works best not for simple objects, but for complex ideas. This means that Chinese should not generate mnemonics for a single word, but for whole ideas and phrases.
This is also something we can use. If we dual code whole ideas, our mnemonics become more creative and we remember them better…
Dyslexia
In Chinese, there is no dyslexia in the form we know it. Our dyslexia usually comes because we cannot perceive properly sequences of letters. Chinese use hieroglyphs. They do not need to address letter sequencing. They do need to decode hieroglyphs – something we do not really need to do. As a result, there is a similar number of children with dyslexia in China and US, but the mechanisms of dyslexia are different. If you have dyslexia in one language, you will probably be perfectly well adjusted in another and vice versa.
When we read visually, we read whole words and not vocalize specific syllables, we overcome the difficulty underlying dyslexia in European languages. Therefore our methods have been exceptionally successful treating dyslexia. Our Chinese students learn speedreading in English (not Chinese!), so again their dyslexia is miraculously cured.
Computer skills
With the invention of Synotype typing Chinese is not very different from how we type, accept the need to plan ahead several steps.
This need to pause for a moment and plan ahead is a great asset when programming, effectively reducing the burnout and improving planning. You do not need to be Chinese to do that. Before you write down a word pause to think for a split second if this is the right word and what it would look like when you finish typing it. Visualization when writing is similar to visualization when reading, yet it needs to be practiced separately.
There is an additional productive hack of short noon sleep which we find in many Chinese companies, and I suggest you to try for yourself.
Conclusion
Each great culture is different and is only natural to learn from the differences. Chinese use sophisticated visualizations in surprising and effective ways. You too can do that!
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