I didn't want to use any suggested techniques to memorize the digits, because I felt like that was cheating. So I developed my own: I found a sequence of irregular rhythms in the numbers, like a succession of short, distinct cheerleading chants at a football game. I piled them on top of each other until they started collapsing under their own weight, which was right around a thousand digits.

I found that when I went through the sequence, each chant felt like a little landmark that I could feel but not see. Hence, the sensation of having blindsight (Google it). When I tried to recite the digits as fast as I possibly could, my head started hurting as if I were being struck my tree branches.