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+--- Thread: Too much diversity? (/thread-10418.html)
Too much diversity? - blankkor - 2013-01-23
I'm nearing the end of the first book and it seems that a certain trend that was weak up until now drastically increased in strength. I'm referring of course to the naming diversity of primitive elements from stories on the site. Nearly every time a new primitive is introduced, I see AT LEAST 3 stories each saying "I didn't like Heisig's 'X', so I called it 'Y'" and what follows makes it difficult to pick out a new story if you stuck to one of the names or chose to go with Heisig's(as I normally do). I realize most of those stories were written years ago, but I was wondering if anyone can tell me why everyone feel(or felt) the need to rename every single primitive Heisig threw at them?
</rant>
Too much diversity? - Stian - 2013-01-23
Use whatever primitive name you find most helpful.
Also, look at other kanji using the same primitive, and see if the new primitive name(s) show up among the highest rated stories there as well.
I for instance, have no idea what a sheaf is, so I chose to use the "Wolverine" stories.
Too much diversity? - edkrak - 2013-01-23
Yeah, also don't forget that many people using RtK are not native English speakers. Learning new kanjis in your L3 using unknown words from your L2 is not really making it easier.
Too much diversity? - warrigal - 2013-01-23
It gets back to what works for the individual. Sometimes an immediate association suggests itself that's particularly vivid for the user, and sometimes people rename primitives a little further into the kanji as they realise that stories aren't sticking. Not everyone finishes, so there's a general trend to fewer public stories and fewer endorsements of individual primitive and story suggestions as the end approaches, which may make it seem harder to find a ready-made fit for your own mind if you're disinclined to come up with your own.
Too much diversity? - muteki99 - 2013-01-23
Remember that even in the text Heisig says to use different terms for the primitives if it helps you remember better. I recall when he was introducing the "person" primitive that he specifically states that using "person" as the primitive is risky, and to instead choose someone unique. Mr T fits this well, and using that as well as Spiderman/Venom, Wolverine, etc. has made things much easier on me.
Too much diversity? - Stansfield123 - 2013-01-23
A lot of the popular primitive names on this forum are better than the ones Heisig chose (not because we're all smarter than Heisig, but because they draw from current popular culture, instead of topics that were relevant when Heisig wrote the book).
There's a wiki page that tells you which primitives are good and popular, in each chapter: http://rtkwiki.koohii.com/wiki/Walkthrough
Read what it has to say about each chapter, before you start learning it. Problem solved.
Too much diversity? - Daikoru - 2013-01-23
To each their own way of viewing things. There are quite a few primitives that gave me problems: the word could either not fit well at all in stories, or the primitive itself was very unnatural for me to think of. There are also a few occasions where I found it easier to not view the primitive as having a different meaning than its original.
Just know that if you decide to use a new meaning different than what Heisig suggests, you may meet problems later on. I changed the Turkey primitive to Bird as stories worked far better with a regular Bird than with a Turkey, but I know there is a bird primitive later on which may cause me lots of problems.
Too much diversity? - undead_saif - 2013-01-24
edkrak Wrote:Yeah, also don't forget that many people using RtK are not native English speakers. Learning new kanjis in your L3 using unknown words from your L2 is not really making it easier.This brings back years-old memories, haha!
Decameron, vermillion, gallbladder? None the less, it didn't bother me that much. My RTK study toolkit included The Free Dictionary and Google Image search!
I agree with the original poster. I used the primitive name that made the most sense to me, and sometimes the primitive with better stories.
Too much diversity? - Rusty - 2013-01-24
I am not far enough through to be sure but my impression is that renaming stuff causes problems. On the advice of one or two people I dropped the meaning of 'computer' which is Heisig's primitive meaning for ri. Instead I used country house. Now I get that muddled with other house primitive. Computer may seem a bit lame but unlike Heisig I don't know how it all fits together so from now on I will just trust him. (Mind you I only ever use his stories very rarely - they don't often seem nearly as good as the ones on the site.)
Too much diversity? - Zgarbas - 2013-01-24
Because sometimes Heisig himself recommends using a personal primitive (e.g. with person or taskmaster), and quite a few people ended up setting for the same choice.
Too much diversity? - Norman - 2013-01-24
Personalizing the name of an element is best. Heisig offers one, but contributing members in the 'stories' section offer many more to choose from. Having more options is best. This is one of the most valuable features of this website IMO.
If you do attempt to rename an element, just peek ahead to see if this renaming improves or complicates things. You will have to be selective and use your best judgement.