PIN-code

[czb]

Hi,
when I was in Denmark I have seen cool piece of paper. Because I have never seen it here in the Czech Republic, I have decided to create one by myself. I use all the time

How it works:
Let say you have 3 PIN-codes you want to remember:"0123" "4567" "8901". You type them in any fields you wish in the table and then fill all other fields in such a way that every number is in the table exactly 4 times.
Video Preview:
http://czb.dcmembers.com/temp/pincode.html
Download:
http://czb.dcmembers.com/temp/pincode.pdf

[mouser]

i don't get it 

[Veign]

i don't get it 

Did you watch the entire Flash video?

[mouser]

perhaps it's because i just woke up but i watched the video and felt like i was being subjected to a new form of torture.  20 minutes of watching numbers being slowly and randomly typed into a grid.  are you sure this isn't some new technique that the government is inventing to sneak by the geneva conventions?

[mhb]

Same to me, I have no idea how I can possibly recover my "lost" PIN code with this technique.

[Veign]

I only posted my response since I didn't want to be the only one who sat through the entire video and was still lost 

[edbro]

Recover lost pin? Heck, how do I recover the time I spent watching that video? That was painful and I have no idea what was going on.

[czb]

The point is that humans do not remember numbers. So let say you have those pin codes you do not remember. You type them in the empty table on places you are able to remember (no matter if you type them verticaly, horizontaly or in one color boxes => it is up to you) and then fill up the rest by numbers such a way that every number is in the table 4 times and print it out. So that when you want to get the pin code you do not remember you take a look at the table and easily recognize where you have hidden your password (finding location is much easier then remembering of number). But if the table gets stolen thief will not be able to get anything out of the table. He will just see 40 numbers. Got it? It is actualyr realy clever idea. Right now I have 5 pincodes hidden in one table, which I do not have to remember.

I understand then typing all the numbers in the table can be... well let say dificult  so maybe if there you like to I can write a simple js code which would do all the filling

[mouser]

ok i understand now -- very low tech and simple concept, but it makes sense.
it also makes sense in terms of the difference in cognitive difficulty of recognition (easy) vs. recall (hard) -- that is, its relatively easy to *recognize* your pin when you see it, even if its mixed in with a lot of noise, vs. trying to just recall it from memory without any cues.

maybe if there you like to I can write a simple js code which would do all the filling

i dont think thats necessary -- the pdf should be sufficient for everyone.

[Deozaan]

It's scientifically proven/accepted that humans remember a sequence of somewhere between 7-10 "things" (numbers, words, etc.) so a 4 digit PIN shouldn't be that hard.

[mouser]

It's scientifically proven/accepted that humans remember a sequence of somewhere between 7-10 "things"

Actually it's 7 plus or minus 2.

[tomos]

It's scientifically proven/accepted that humans remember a sequence of somewhere between 7-10 "things" (numbers, words, etc.) so a 4 digit PIN shouldn't be that hard.

maybe it depends how many you want to remember, & prob (- definitely ) how often you use them...
living away from home (abroad) I have quite a number of very long telephone numbers in my head,
but I know if I had to write them - as opposed to dialing them, I'd have problems with some where I'd have no problems dialing them ...

my partner remembers numbers very well but she actively associates the numbers with something (anything) which seems to help a lot

[f0dder]

There's at least a few banks here in .dk that offer those pin-reminder sheets, and some even include them in the envelope when they send you your debit cards. I always tend to forget the 'system' I pick for it, though, whereas even if I forget the PIN, it's hardcoded in my fingers.

[czb]

It's scientifically proven/accepted that humans remember a sequence of somewhere between 7-10 "things" (numbers, words, etc.) so a 4 digit PIN shouldn't be that hard.

Unless you have plenty of numbers. Now I have 5 different PIN-codes I have to remember. And recently I had to ask for new pin-code of my card because I have not used it for nearly 2 years and already have forgotten the PIN.

[cranioscopical]

recently I had to ask for new pin-code of my card because I have not used it for nearly 2 years and already have forgotten the PIN.

I decided to use my corporate direct debit card the other day and then realized that I'd have to enter a PIN, which of course I couldn't recall. Needless to say there was a line of people waiting for me to complete this transaction. After a minute I had the thought that the PIN might be on my PDA, which it was, in encrypted form. Then I realized that I'd forgotten the password to unlock the encryption!


I quite liked the old days when stores were happy to take a cheque.