Thread by @Rachel_Gutin

A few of the panels I attended at #Readercon were on Saturday, which means they were on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. Before I put up my recaps for those, I want to talk about how attending panels on Shabbat is a different experience for me than attending panels on other days.

I keep Shabbat in a way that might described as traditional, or Orthodox. (I identify as a Conservative Jew, not an Orthodox Jew, but my observances often look Orthodox.) This means that when I attend a con that includes Shabbat, that day of the con looks different for me.

(And "a con that includes Shabbat" basically means every con I ever attend, because cons tend to be on weekends.)

Observing Shabbat at a con means I have to bring challah rolls with me, and grape juice (juice boxes work well for this), but it also means there are things I can't do. I can't use my phone, and I try to avoid turning lights on and off.

And, most importantly for this thread, I can't take notes while attending panels, because I don't write on Shabbat. (And yes, typing also counts as writing.)

When I attend a panel that's not on Shabbat, I take detailed notes, sometimes basically word for word, but on Shabbat, I can't do that. So I had to come up with a different system.

I'm not sure whether there's a name for the technique I use, because I worked it out on my own (though it's possible I read about it somewhere and forgot.) But when I describe it, people often say it's a memory palace. (It isn't, but I think it's a similar idea.)

Basically, I form an image in my mind. Often, it's cartoony, because that will help it stand out for me and be memorable. I build the image over the course of the panel, and I try to start with something that matches the panel's theme.

Some starting images I've used:
- For a panel on engineering in fantasy: a bridge
- For this year's panel on compassionate AI: a robot
- For this year's panel on hospitable worlds: the front of a house (ready to welcome people in)

Then, as I listen to the panel, I add other images, or alter the original image as needed. Each addition or alteration represents an idea I want to remember.

For example:
On the compassionate AI panel, there was a comment about how humans and AI get to "intelligence" differently. So I added two paths in front of the robot, both leading to the same place, one for the robot, and one for a human.

Then, someone mentioned how we don't know how the AI got there (and that can be an issue). I think they actually used the term "black box," so I added a black box on the AI's side of the path, with a visible padlock on it.

Another comment was about how the language we use for programming can restrict things, and that the language used for programming is usually English, so I put the word "English" in bright red letters on the box.

Throughout the panel, continue to add to the mental image, and I also review all of the parts of the image in my mind - not in detail, just making sure all them are still there and that I still know what they mean. (I think I actually try *not* to put them back into words.)

Then, once Shabbat is over, I make a quick bullet point list of all the ideas I saved for myself in the image. (Just key words/phrases, trying to get it all down.) It's normal for me to have about twelve bullet points from one image. (Which is way more than I'd recall otherwise!)

I also make sure to not discuss the panel with anyone until I've written down those bullet points - because I'm worried that turning the ideas back into words will cause me to lose parts of the image. (I could be wrong, but I don't want to lose ideas by testing it out!)

Most of the time, I write down these bullet points on Saturday night, then go back to the bullet points later to turn the ideas into more complete thoughts. The sooner I can unpack the image, the less likely I am to lose parts of it.

But this year, Saturday night at Readercon was busy (so many parties to attend!), and Sunday was busy too, including a long ride back home. So I didn't convert my ideas back into words until Monday. And I still remembered them!

This method isn't perfect. There are definitely some downsides. I can't remember exact quotes, so if someone shared a wonderful turn of phrase, I'll probably lose it. It also works less well for more abstract topics, which are harder to attach images to.

I also won't be able to recall who said what, for the most part. (Sometimes, I can picture who said it, but usually not.) Maybe in the future, I'll try assigning different colors to different panelists, but I'm worried I'll lose other information along the way if I do.

I'm also not sure how many of these images (whole images, not the parts) I can hold in my head at once. I don't think I've ever tried to hold more than two. I could probably hold three. I'm not sure what would happen if I tried to do this for more than three panels in one day.

All of this means that I'm a lot more selective in terms of which panels I attend on Shabbat. I pick a few that I really care about, and then I look for interesting readings, kaffeeklatsches, etc. to occupy my time. I also spend more time socializing. (Which is probably a plus.)

But even with these constraints, I'm glad I found a way to remember what I learn when I can't write it down. I also like that it forces me to pick out which ideas are the most interesting or important.

Now that I know how to do this, observing Shabbat at a con has become less of an inconvenience, and more of a change of pace, and a chance to experience the con - especially the panels - in a slightly different way.

Post-Worldcon update: At Worldcon, I discovered that, using a slightly modified version of this method, I was able to recall about 25 different points from one panel.

What was the modification? As the panel shifted from one topic to the next, I added what I thought of as different sub-images to my broader image to keep things organized. I realized after the fact that what I'd really done was make more than one image for the same panel.

As I only took mental notes for one panel on Shabbat at Worldcon this year, I'm not sure how many panels I could do this for. But I was pretty amazed at how much I was able to remember.