Excellent. However just as important is learning how to erase that which is outdated or wrong or classified and no longer needed or just in the way of more important things to recall.
Hallucinating giant, vivid brains or hearts or whatever with brilliant colors and traveling thru them is a technique many scientists of complex structures use. That is, create your own virtual realities and revisit them regularly.
2
My father had time-tested methodology for improving my memory. He claimed it had been passed down from generation to generation and traced its roots to a small Thracian village in about 750 BCE. The method was to punch me in my arm for each number, name, place and anything I wanted to memorize. Why just last week I got a new cell phone number and punched myself in the side of my head each time I repeated the number. I had it memorized in six minutes. The ancients sure knew what they were doing.
5
I can't remember anything in this article. However, I can Google for it if I need to know what was in it.
5
In the NYTimes version of the memory palace the Times chooses a visualization of each item. The reader may find these distracting because they are odd or startling like a crab clinging to toilet paper. As a psychologist I suggest: ignore the pictures created by the Times; that is their writer's memory palace. You will probably do better if you create your own. Walk through your house and put their items where you will remember them. It helps if you can tie them together in some way like fruit in a bowl or soup ingredients next to bread or any way that works for you.
6
This is interesting. When I was young I was known for my "photographic memory." Coworkers would marvel at how I had literally everything about everyone at the company memorized (birthdays, phone numbers, addresses)--they would test me to try to trip me up, but could not. In college I never went to class and never needed to study because I could memorize everything the night before and ace every test.
Sadly, that is no longer the case. However, I realize that from the earliest age I would employ these mnemonic devices intuitively, without conscious awareness that I was doing so. My mother also trained me in a way, without realizing she was doing so: any time she told me a long number or a date, she would relate the components of that number to people's birthdays, or someone's address, etc. So I learned to automatically make associations between new material and very familiar facts in my life. It's fascinating to see this technique laid out so plainly in this article; alas, the trick to my "photographic" memory. (Of course, I think much of the ability is innate, and my memory has deteriorated with age.)
Sadly, that is no longer the case. However, I realize that from the earliest age I would employ these mnemonic devices intuitively, without conscious awareness that I was doing so. My mother also trained me in a way, without realizing she was doing so: any time she told me a long number or a date, she would relate the components of that number to people's birthdays, or someone's address, etc. So I learned to automatically make associations between new material and very familiar facts in my life. It's fascinating to see this technique laid out so plainly in this article; alas, the trick to my "photographic" memory. (Of course, I think much of the ability is innate, and my memory has deteriorated with age.)
8
I still use a trick a nun taught me in grade school many years ago for memorizing lists of historical figures, but it could be any list--create a sentence, the sillier the better, with the first letter of each word in the sentence matching the first letter of each item in the list. It always works.
7
Yes, just like the several sentences I learned in medical school (one a bit obscene) to memorize the names of the 12 cranial nerves. This technique works like a charm. I still remember them after 40 years.
5
Memory through association is indeed effective. When I was seven years old my father taught me a list of 10 words that I had to commit to memory. The list included words like uncle and smoke (the equivalent of the house landmarks). Then, with a few rules, he expanded the list to 100 words, which I memorized as well. Then we would play a game in which he would tell me 100 random words at 5 second intervals, and then I'd repeat the list. I could do it forwards and backwards, or he could ask "what is word #37?" and I'd fire back the answer instantly. It was fun, and I put it to occasional use with things like the list of cranial nerves in my high school anatomy course. But in the end it proved tiresome, and I stopped trying to memorize lists. I never tried to teach this to my children, but I still remember the first 40 words or so.
4
I didn't remember this article until it got to the lobsters - then I realized I was reading an article I had read nearly a year ago. I wonder if it reappearing on the front page of the website was a memory test.
5
I don't want to memorize grocery lists. That's what the back of envelopes are for. I memorize poetry. Lots of it. I memorize one line by looking at the text, then look away and repeat it five times. If I get it correctly each time, I move on to the next line and repeat, reciting both lines, then the third line. Before going to bed and getting up, I mentally recite a couple of poems. Every day as I do my fitbit walk, I recite, usually out loud (softly). I treat memorizing poetry as playing a musical instrument--I practice every day. I've got about 2 1/2 hours of material, good poems, Shakespeare's sonnets, Keats's odes, etc. I do public performances of my poetry. What fun. Oh, BTW, I hated memorizing poetry in school. Having to recite it in front of peers was the absolute pits. Go figure.
13
Will this technique accommodate frequent changes? For instance, can people successfully memorize a new grocery list twice or three times per week this way?
In the other direction, is this technique successful for long-term memory? Students may use the technique to outperform others on an exam, but how do the groups' recall of the subject matter compare a year or two later?
In the other direction, is this technique successful for long-term memory? Students may use the technique to outperform others on an exam, but how do the groups' recall of the subject matter compare a year or two later?
1
For grocery lists or cards drawn in poker, practice erasing too! Make it vivid such as you can or subtle.
2
Grocery lists are probably a common denominator.
We are fussy cooks so my grocery shopping consists of stops at three stores. Before I head out I discuss what we need with my wife and compile a list. I’ve turned this task into a game.
When I get to the first store I shop quickly, relying on the conversation earlier in the. When I am done, I consult the list in my pocket. On a list of twenty items, I usually have 18 or 19 of them in the cart. Then I move onto to the next store. Etc.
When I took over shopping a couple of years ago, I found that I was only hitting about 60% of the list. Occasionally now it is 100%, even on complicated “Thanksgiving Day type” shopping lists. In part it was learning to be present in the original conversation. I also learned to associate items with future tasks and needs (cooking, eating, cleaning the toilet, etc).
Because of my own strange strugglewith remembering dates and names (anomic aphasia from childhood) I say with some confidence; if you are having issues with memory, try not to panic. Fear is the great fogger of the mind. Be present in all things that you do and recall of them will be easier later on in the day, week, etc. Focus on the person that you are meeting or the passage that you are reading or the discussion of what is needed for your pantry. In this attention-deficit inducing world of electronic media,be present and be calm and you can affect the outcome. I would do this before spending a lot of time on memory exercises.
We are fussy cooks so my grocery shopping consists of stops at three stores. Before I head out I discuss what we need with my wife and compile a list. I’ve turned this task into a game.
When I get to the first store I shop quickly, relying on the conversation earlier in the. When I am done, I consult the list in my pocket. On a list of twenty items, I usually have 18 or 19 of them in the cart. Then I move onto to the next store. Etc.
When I took over shopping a couple of years ago, I found that I was only hitting about 60% of the list. Occasionally now it is 100%, even on complicated “Thanksgiving Day type” shopping lists. In part it was learning to be present in the original conversation. I also learned to associate items with future tasks and needs (cooking, eating, cleaning the toilet, etc).
Because of my own strange strugglewith remembering dates and names (anomic aphasia from childhood) I say with some confidence; if you are having issues with memory, try not to panic. Fear is the great fogger of the mind. Be present in all things that you do and recall of them will be easier later on in the day, week, etc. Focus on the person that you are meeting or the passage that you are reading or the discussion of what is needed for your pantry. In this attention-deficit inducing world of electronic media,be present and be calm and you can affect the outcome. I would do this before spending a lot of time on memory exercises.
9
Excellent article. As an author, Joshua Foer's book "Moon Walking With Einstein", which you mention, came to me as a revelation. I had always had difficulty keeping track of the scenes in my novels as the work continued to grow in length and complexity. The memory palace was the perfect solution, although I related the scenes not to an excursion in a building but to the setting within the novel and the five plot-point structure I used to pace the novel. The power of the memory palace is behind imagining if you haven't tried it. http://www.story-alchemy.com/?page_id=211
5
This technique is good, but it fights the larger trend today of people relying on electronic devices to recall most of what they could be remembering. It's easier to ask dictionary.com or built-in spell check how to spell something than commit it to memory. Human memories will atrophy when the internet is in their pocket. Of course, the amount of information we use everyday has increased exponentially, and we've always relied on what Carl Sagan, in his book "The Dragons of Eden," called extra-somatic memory (books count too.) But today's recall-by-click is fundamentally changing how our minds work, and not necessarily for the better.
4
Another reader has mentioned "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci", an amazing book about a (Jesuit?) priest, who traveled to China ( in the 15th or 16th century ?) with the goal of being the first European to meet the Emperor. In order to do so, he had to learn chinese, and its thousands of characters, and stopped off in Goa (?) for several years to do so. He imagined a palace, and in each of the many many rooms, he placed cabinets and shelves and drawers into each of which he would store a character. I read it years ago. Had I applied its lessons, my memory of it would be more reliable. I don't think he met the Emperor ( succombed to illness along the way?) but he did conquer his language.
12
Is there an equivalent ancient and proven way to forget?
For example, what if I go back to the store and find myself repeating the list from my previous visit? Does the cow in the bedroom graze under an orange tree in a cranberry bog littered with water bottles? Do I kill the cow to get milk off my list, or do I merely have to tip it over? Or distract it with a bull that I somehow managed to reconstitute from a bouillion cube?
In a world with too much data and too little information, memory is a skill that can't stand alone.
For example, what if I go back to the store and find myself repeating the list from my previous visit? Does the cow in the bedroom graze under an orange tree in a cranberry bog littered with water bottles? Do I kill the cow to get milk off my list, or do I merely have to tip it over? Or distract it with a bull that I somehow managed to reconstitute from a bouillion cube?
In a world with too much data and too little information, memory is a skill that can't stand alone.
10
Play with erasing techniques such as painting over it, wiping it away, tearing or burning it up. Within a few days or weeks you will become very good at finding ways to forget. It is a key part of intelligence work—forgetting what you best not remember.
3
Is there scientific evidence of memory enhancement from a course of acting? In 2013 the New York Times summarized the work of Dr. H. Noice & A.Noice who
" ..have been conducting research on acting and its cognitive effects since the 1990s. In a study published in 2008 by the journal Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 122 older adults from four different residences in western Illinois took hourlong introductory acting classes taught by Tony Noice, meeting twice a week for four weeks.
Helga Noice did before-and-after testing of participants to gauge the effects of the mental effort involved in learning acting. Significant improvements were found in memory, comprehension, creativity and other cognitive skills. Subjects showed a 19 percent increase in immediate word recall (a test of memory), a 37 percent increase in delayed story recall (a comprehension test) and a 12 percent increase in word fluency (a measure of creativity). The Noices later replicated the study in five different retirement homes, using different instructors, with similar findings. The results of this study were published in July in the journal Experimental Aging Research.
Encouraged by theses findings, I signed up for Prof. Mansueto's THET 110 at Montgomery College. Beyond experiencing stage acting, I connected to community of acting, experiencing a palpable reactivation of memory plus joy, confidence and possibilities to accompany me through my 70s.
" ..have been conducting research on acting and its cognitive effects since the 1990s. In a study published in 2008 by the journal Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 122 older adults from four different residences in western Illinois took hourlong introductory acting classes taught by Tony Noice, meeting twice a week for four weeks.
Helga Noice did before-and-after testing of participants to gauge the effects of the mental effort involved in learning acting. Significant improvements were found in memory, comprehension, creativity and other cognitive skills. Subjects showed a 19 percent increase in immediate word recall (a test of memory), a 37 percent increase in delayed story recall (a comprehension test) and a 12 percent increase in word fluency (a measure of creativity). The Noices later replicated the study in five different retirement homes, using different instructors, with similar findings. The results of this study were published in July in the journal Experimental Aging Research.
Encouraged by theses findings, I signed up for Prof. Mansueto's THET 110 at Montgomery College. Beyond experiencing stage acting, I connected to community of acting, experiencing a palpable reactivation of memory plus joy, confidence and possibilities to accompany me through my 70s.
7
For an excellent summary recently experimentally validated benefits of acting, dance & ballet see:
Noice, Helga, and Tony Noice. "Artistic performance: Acting, ballet and contemporary dance." The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (2006): 489-503
at
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Helga_Noice/publication/232522405_A...
These professors of theatre and cognitive psychology provide a splendid example of interdisciplinary collaboration for the public good. All the more reason to treasure the humanities and tenure track which enables vital long term research. So essential given the hazards and opportunities of aging and turbulent times...
Noice, Helga, and Tony Noice. "Artistic performance: Acting, ballet and contemporary dance." The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (2006): 489-503
at
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Helga_Noice/publication/232522405_A...
These professors of theatre and cognitive psychology provide a splendid example of interdisciplinary collaboration for the public good. All the more reason to treasure the humanities and tenure track which enables vital long term research. So essential given the hazards and opportunities of aging and turbulent times...
3
A high accessible url summarizing of the Noices' blending the rigor of empirical cognitive science with the delights of acting for those who likely tomiss out is at
http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/5/741.abstract?ijkey=...
http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/5/741.abstract?ijkey=...
4
Thank you for the citation.
After reading Foer's book, I used the memory palace idea to learn the Supreme Court justices' names. Stephen Breyer is licking an ice cream cone, Elena Kagan has a keg of beer, etc.-all in the living room and kitchen of my childhood home. It is an odd phenomenon that everywhere we have spent substantial time is etched in our memory.
3
Well, yeah. But at 73 (and a half), living the last 34 of them in a now Collyer brothers-like studio apartment, I do not have any space to store "memories"
8
I learned a variation of this in the military, known as Kim's Game (after the Kipling novel). In this version, you associate items on the list with body parts, starting at your feet and working your way up. If the first item on your list is, say, a stapler, you could imagine stepping on a staple. If the second item is a bicycle, you could imagine the pedal spinning backward and hitting your shin. The third item could be something you could rest on your knee, etc. By creating a little personalized event for each item, it is easy to recall them. This technique works for up to about 25 items, and is useful when you can't carry a list with you (i.e., in case you're captured).
3
It certainly works and reminds me (pun intended) of the Silva Method's memory pegs, which expands the memorized list beyond the number of rooms and areas in your home to 25 for novices, many more for those willing to practice a bit. Jose Silvia, an electrical engineer by trade and developer of the memory pegs and other visualization techniques, must have been a fan of the memory palace. Very nice article.
3
Most people who are concerned about memory are not trying to win contests for amazing feats, but to continue on with their lives as the process of aging, sometimes abetted by disease, robs them of what others take for granted.
With all of the research over the last decades there is still no cure, or even any treatment that slows the course of this process. Yet, a quick internet search of "dementia" will bring thousands of claims to the contrary. Congress has carved out the "food supplement" loophole, so that a product can be packaged and advertised as a pharmaceutical, complete with featuring "research has shown effectiveness" and this one, "passed by FDA." It doesn't mean "approved" but "passed on evaluating."
Memory loss with aging is all but ubiquitous, and for many is profoundly disturbing. And for this expanding demographic, tricks that improve this are don't apply.
With all of the research over the last decades there is still no cure, or even any treatment that slows the course of this process. Yet, a quick internet search of "dementia" will bring thousands of claims to the contrary. Congress has carved out the "food supplement" loophole, so that a product can be packaged and advertised as a pharmaceutical, complete with featuring "research has shown effectiveness" and this one, "passed by FDA." It doesn't mean "approved" but "passed on evaluating."
Memory loss with aging is all but ubiquitous, and for many is profoundly disturbing. And for this expanding demographic, tricks that improve this are don't apply.
1
This method works well and it takes little practice to put in place. Jerry Lucas of NBA basketball fame published a book 50 years ago extolling this method. Try it, you will like it.
2
Yes, this is one way. And yet it is the exact opposite of mindful meditation which challenges us to be in the "here and now". Why clutter your mind with future or past events rather than enjoy the spring flowers or fresh breeze
on your way from home to the train?
on your way from home to the train?
7
As an Art Historian, I engage Memory Theatre daily in my classes, positing the principal ideas of each lecture in the images themselves (as is common practice in the field.) In this manner, one reads the image, not just for iconography or form, but rather, for the prompts that one has connected to the core ideas. And yes, we all much to Frances Yates, Art of Memory, for rekindling interest in this knowledge! Hurrah for an indexical approach to the world!
4
I went through the list just once after finishing my night shift and got 90%. For me that is really good, as I am not at my sharpest at the end of the graveyard shift. This is a great technique and I will use it in my everyday comings and goings---if I remember! Someone also mentioned in the comments a great way to remember names by associating them with a unique name tag. This just might work for me as I am terrible with names. I may have hit on something here. Thanks for publishing!
3
The author of the article talks about using the time he spends walking to his morning train to work on his memory palace. If that's the only time you have, and you have to remember those things in order to recall them when you need them, I suppose it's time well spent. But I wonder what he's missing by not being in the present, in the place he is. What is the palace that he is walking through, what is it offering his senses and mind, that he is missing out on?
7
Is there any method to train people to be truthful regarding their own lives?
There seems to be an epidemic of denials of personal history and behaviors.
There seems to be an epidemic of denials of personal history and behaviors.
11
It's called "integrity."
8
Harry Lorraine Lives again !!
1
Like many, as I've aged my memory has gotten much worse. I don't mind forgetting many things but I'm very embarrassed that I can't remember my new clients' names. I will definitely give this a try in that context.
2
Will try this about the last eight years so i can recall what a real president running responsible government in the best interests of the greater good was. As for the next four years, i plan to actively try not to remember anything if we are lucky enough to come out of it intact.
15
This explains why, when I walk across the kitchen and forget why I did so, I can only remember if I go back to where I started in the kitchen. :)
6
I read the book he refers to and i tried it with a list of ten or so things contained therein. It does work, but is very time consuming to get it inside your head and just not that practical on a daily basis....life moves too fast.
But what if I can't remember the loci?
So "route" memorization, not "rote." ;-)
6
I often memorize my grocery list and am quite good at remembering. The problem,when I hit the shop, is that I get distracted by so many other products, and events ( someone's screaming baby, spotting the long line at checkout, the lights, music etc )that I inevitably forget something on my list.
Thanks for reminding me about this technique. But the example of grocery items scattered about the house is odd. The natural place to hang those items is in the remembered layout of the grocery stores itself. That makes it much easier.
6
One book catches my eye on the shelf: "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci" by Jonathan D. Spence. One would be better served reading that volume and putting this mnemonic info into its proper context...
3
I'm proud to say that my mother taught me this "memory palace" method 25 years ago when I first went to college. Being from a Greek family, she told me it was a method the ancient orators used to memorize their long speeches and stories. For her, she used it while making psych evaluations at a mental hospital, where (at that time), taking notes during interviews was believed to be too disruptive to the patients. She would memorize a whole hour of discussion, and then write it down verbatim.
Later, when working as a museum guard to make money during college, I wasn't allowed to talk, or write, when I sorely needed time to write papers. After a couple months fretting, I realized that if I used the museum as a memory palace, I could write whole papers in my head, and transcribe them later. In grad school, I used her lessons to help me remember material for my ethnographic field notes. In my off time, I began reading Guy Talese, and realized that his artistically embellished notes were paper versions of the mental maps I had been taught.
Although I love reading about this topic in the news--it comes up every few years--I have a special place in my heart for how I learned this important life skill. I learned it orally, with practice, from someone I love. I felt part of a long line thinkers, orators, and philosophers. In this way, I received a gift, more than a technique.
Later, when working as a museum guard to make money during college, I wasn't allowed to talk, or write, when I sorely needed time to write papers. After a couple months fretting, I realized that if I used the museum as a memory palace, I could write whole papers in my head, and transcribe them later. In grad school, I used her lessons to help me remember material for my ethnographic field notes. In my off time, I began reading Guy Talese, and realized that his artistically embellished notes were paper versions of the mental maps I had been taught.
Although I love reading about this topic in the news--it comes up every few years--I have a special place in my heart for how I learned this important life skill. I learned it orally, with practice, from someone I love. I felt part of a long line thinkers, orators, and philosophers. In this way, I received a gift, more than a technique.
21
Only one problem: the examples (example: a stick of butter the size of a bathtub melting in my living room) would be the kinds of things I would go out of my way avoid contemplating! I'd rather forget a few things on my list then contemplate a truly bad dream.
One thing I have done is write down the list, and then put the items in alphabetical order. Then it's easier to remember a missing item.
One thing I have done is write down the list, and then put the items in alphabetical order. Then it's easier to remember a missing item.
1
1) I had an acquaintance who, every morning when she left the house, stared at a painting and looked over it, repeating to herself the the things she had to do that day. As the day went along she would visual the picture and remember the items or tasks she needed to attend to.
2) I have always hand written lists and notes. Whether it is a grocery list or a list of tasks for the day or the week. When it is hand written I am much more likely to recall the items on it, because my brain views it as one single image I can recall and I can see the elements - 'bread' written in all caps, 'basil' later that evening written with a different pen. If I go somewhere and forget this list I can pull it up. Do I remember every single thing? Not always, but frequently.
2) I have always hand written lists and notes. Whether it is a grocery list or a list of tasks for the day or the week. When it is hand written I am much more likely to recall the items on it, because my brain views it as one single image I can recall and I can see the elements - 'bread' written in all caps, 'basil' later that evening written with a different pen. If I go somewhere and forget this list I can pull it up. Do I remember every single thing? Not always, but frequently.
3
Same thing I do. Write a list, then put it in my pocket. rarely take it out again as I visualize it and complete the tasks on it.
1
I had the honor of taking 2 memory seminars with Chester Santos, World Champion Memory Expert. While these techniques are fun parlor tricks they really don't help you recall who assassinated Garfield or where the keys might be. I can still recall all the Best Picture winners in reverse order since 1927 - something that will make you the instant life of the party.
I think the best memory training is to keep active with puzzles, trivia tests, etc. Or, if you are eager for some exquisite torture that makes waterboarding look like a day at a luxury spa, try taking up German.
I think the best memory training is to keep active with puzzles, trivia tests, etc. Or, if you are eager for some exquisite torture that makes waterboarding look like a day at a luxury spa, try taking up German.
7
I know German, but French is indeed "exquisite torture"
1
I'm 23 years old, graduated from Yale, and am genuinely surprised that not everyone does this. From a very young age, when I had to recall something, I simply remembered where I was when I last remembered it, what I was listening to, who was around me, etc. This made test-taking for me extremely simple and minimized my need to study since I only had to remember what the teacher said in class (and I always remembered lectures as sequences of topics).
My question now, though, is: why me? Is this ability genetic or was it developed somehow (my hypothesis is from the extreme amounts of reading I did as an introverted kid and devoured any book I could get my hands on and not just Harry Potter).
My question now, though, is: why me? Is this ability genetic or was it developed somehow (my hypothesis is from the extreme amounts of reading I did as an introverted kid and devoured any book I could get my hands on and not just Harry Potter).
6
You're probably very smart.
1
Just wondering - what is the relevance of mentioning your university?
3
KB, it's hard to imagine that a method, which you describe, is "genetic". Conceivably, your aural processing is above normal. More likely you intuitively hit upon the method of creating a cueing environment (remembering when you last remembered it (and perhaps learned it)) similar to your encoding environment at the time of retrieval. See Tulving, among others. This location effect has been demonstrated empirically when that location is physical. I don't know if it has been validated when the spatial context has merely been visualized. Sounds like both an interesting method and potential experiment.
Presumably, any learner could use your method. That is, they could us the situational cues (visual, auditory, spatial, emotional) of the encoding context at the time of retrieval irrespective of any genetical proclivities. That is, the method would likely improve the recall of a learner with any genetic (and learned for that matter) profile.
Many people hit upon such methods of learning, retrieval, etc. assuming others are doing something similar, when in fact they are sui generis. The reasons (i.e. principles of learning) the methods are effective are not unique, but there are infinite methods. I make my living talking with people about how they learn and I've heard a remarkable variety, some not unlike yours. In fact, many people are unaware of approaches to learning they automatized years or even decades before.
Presumably, any learner could use your method. That is, they could us the situational cues (visual, auditory, spatial, emotional) of the encoding context at the time of retrieval irrespective of any genetical proclivities. That is, the method would likely improve the recall of a learner with any genetic (and learned for that matter) profile.
Many people hit upon such methods of learning, retrieval, etc. assuming others are doing something similar, when in fact they are sui generis. The reasons (i.e. principles of learning) the methods are effective are not unique, but there are infinite methods. I make my living talking with people about how they learn and I've heard a remarkable variety, some not unlike yours. In fact, many people are unaware of approaches to learning they automatized years or even decades before.
2
What's amazing about this technique and a lot of the ancient mnemonic devices is that the more you memorize, the more "places" and "hooks" you have to utilize. So instead of filling up, the more you memorize, the more your capacity for memorizing expands.
9
Frances Yates' The Art of Memory (1966) provides a history of this practice from its classical origin through the 16th century Western Europe. She was a scholar at the Warburg institute of the University of London. See her entry on Wikipedia.
10
Wow this is an amazing idea.
1
Thank you so much for that fantastic article. I'm a little saddened by the negativity of many of the commenters bellow. No, you don't need to remember your grocery list. It's just an example. And no you don't need to remember anything at all, you can just look everything on your phone if that's what you prefer. For those who do want to remember, this method works extremely well. And it's honestly very fun. The more you use it, the better it works, and you can do amazing things with it. If you want to learn more, that Joshua Foer book mentioned in the article is one of the most interesting books I've ever read. Also there's a decent video of former champion Nelson Dellis on the Oprah Winfrey Network you can find. For more detailed uses of the technique, just search for "Art of Memory". Just have fun with and have faith in your ability to improve and you'll be amazed at what you can do.
9
Was Matteo Ricci relying on this earlier text for his teaching on the palace of memory?
Mary Rakow
Mary Rakow
2
As I've aged I've learned to think more clearly about information that is worth remembering in order to attack the problem of a fading memory from both sides, a bit like training my mind to remember to forget. From my perspective, why would I take the time to think about associations that will help me remember a shopping list that I can write down and carry in my pocket with far less effort and time? I know that's how my wife sees it - because she gives me a list every time she is foolish enough to put her aisle wandering compulsion fevered mate to the task.
5
This method has been practised for a long time. Back in 1959, I attended "Dr Bruno Furst's Memory School" in NYC. It really works, but like anything else, you have to keep using it.
2
Does this method work for memorizing music?
5
The trick for memorizing music is to retain information at 4 different levels. Musicians learn using fingers (the body), by ear (aurally: the tune, the chords), by sight (notation), and finally recalling structural and formal knowledge (where the composer modulated, etc.). There are ways to test each of the four types independently, and it is in the training of these components that serves any musician (but esp. pianists and violinists, since those are the ones whose performances are expected to occur by heart) well.
5
Thank you! This is going to change the way I listen to and watch a musician play!
1
I utilized this method throughout medical school and in residency with considerable success. I can still nearly effortlessly recall many of the various "palaces" I used for information storage, including lectures/presentations I gave without the assistance of notes. I use a former house I lived in to "store" important phone numbers in case I am without my cell phone. I also have my credit card and banking information memorized. This technique also works well to retain intricate and secure online passwords. I only expend the effort to create a location/journey for what I deem to be valuable information. I use a modified form of the string of numbers memorization technique outlined by Arthur Benjamin in his book "The Secrets of Mental Math" and then place those numbers within a palace/journey. I try to occasionally "walk through" all of my various locations, however I have found that even with minimal practice the information is still there. I can still remember the first credit card number I memorized years ago prior to receiving new credit cards numerous times, this is despite purposefully not revisiting that number.
7
Wow, how lovely . Does it work for things less factual ?
3
About nine years ago I studied Buddhism and had to memorize detailed meditations involving narratives. The method in this article was suggested and I found it very helpful. I was surprised that I hadn't been taught to do this in med school.
4
As we age there are two major memory problems. One is remembering people's names. The other is short term recall of what you need to do in the next half hour or so. Maybe the loci method works for the latter.
5
This technique works well enough, but isn't of much practical value, for me at least. The hinges I "lose" memory-wise are not the ones I could take time to associate this way, they are the ones that are part of conversation or presentation, where pausing to use a mnemonic device distracts one from the chain of logic or purpose in the ideas you need to remember.
9
In order for something to be memorable, one must make it meaningful.
7
In saying that most people can remember about seven things, this article refers to George Miller's "the magic number seven article" which was published in the 50s. This article has been circularly quoted since then. It became a de facto rule in the 1980s. (Human factors was a new field after all) Since then however more research has shown that the number is much lower than seven, and is closer to four. But Miller's article simply will not go away.
4
Can memory palaces work for organizations? I went digging for research that shows that what Frakt demonstrated for individuals is also true for groups. Wrote it up on Medium if folks are interested: https://medium.com/@stephgioia/can-memory-palaces-work-for-organizations...
5
I would just remember a 10 item shopping list.
2
Paul Robinson, November 25, 1984, reviewing in The New York Times Book Review
https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/specials/spence-ricci.html
"The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci" by Jonathan D. Spence, the eminent Yale historian of China:
"It is ... symptomatic that the modern reader will absorb Ricci's [a 16th-century Jesuit missionary to China and author of the "Treatise on Mnemonic Arts"] mnemonic images in exactly the opposite fashion from the way they were intended. Our visual sense, as John Ruskin noted over a century ago, has become impoverished, and our attention to the inner world of the mind and the feelings correspondingly elaborate. Hence we have no trouble remembering the abstractions that are the subject of Ricci's images - war, belief, profit, goodness - but the images themselves quickly lose their specificity. To the extent that we retain them at all, it is because we have managed to associate them with their respective abstractions. Naturally, we pride ourselves on this shift from a mechanical to an organic conception of memory, but one of the benefits of Mr. Spence's book is to suggest that something has been lost in the process. Matteo Ricci's memory, as it is brought to life in these pages, boasts a sumptuousness and grandeur whose disappearance we have reason to regret. We may have too glibly abandoned his richly appointed and lavishly detailed palace for the sleek, efficient, but ultimately sterile world of conceptual condominiums."
https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/specials/spence-ricci.html
"The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci" by Jonathan D. Spence, the eminent Yale historian of China:
"It is ... symptomatic that the modern reader will absorb Ricci's [a 16th-century Jesuit missionary to China and author of the "Treatise on Mnemonic Arts"] mnemonic images in exactly the opposite fashion from the way they were intended. Our visual sense, as John Ruskin noted over a century ago, has become impoverished, and our attention to the inner world of the mind and the feelings correspondingly elaborate. Hence we have no trouble remembering the abstractions that are the subject of Ricci's images - war, belief, profit, goodness - but the images themselves quickly lose their specificity. To the extent that we retain them at all, it is because we have managed to associate them with their respective abstractions. Naturally, we pride ourselves on this shift from a mechanical to an organic conception of memory, but one of the benefits of Mr. Spence's book is to suggest that something has been lost in the process. Matteo Ricci's memory, as it is brought to life in these pages, boasts a sumptuousness and grandeur whose disappearance we have reason to regret. We may have too glibly abandoned his richly appointed and lavishly detailed palace for the sleek, efficient, but ultimately sterile world of conceptual condominiums."
8
Interesting, thanks . I was wondering about Ricci .
Mary Rakow
Mary Rakow
I have tried the memory palace quite a few times over the years, with zero results. I think it just is not workable for some people.
I can visualize well but making associations with the images does not work for me. However, rhyme works well and mnemonics work well. Pacing and speaking at the same time works well for remembering lines. Despite the disapproval that rote learning now receives, there is nothing like repetition out loud for memorizing the multiplication table, poetry, and lines of text in general.
I can visualize well but making associations with the images does not work for me. However, rhyme works well and mnemonics work well. Pacing and speaking at the same time works well for remembering lines. Despite the disapproval that rote learning now receives, there is nothing like repetition out loud for memorizing the multiplication table, poetry, and lines of text in general.
12
I used this in my fifth grade classroom. An example was the kids needed to remember the causes of the Civil War. I had them look at the ceiling and they linked that to slavery. The north wall was states rights. Etc. On test day the kids hit certain questions and eyes darted to various places in the classroom. For rote it was a helpful strategy. Now where are my glasses?
10
I've used this technique before, and it works. I did poorly on the quiz because I found many of the illustrations unintelligible.
1
I have found that meaning, not simply location, is the key to memorization. Putting a bunch of objects in places and contexts that make no sense, much like the shopping list house example in the article, isn't going to help a typical person very well - there needs to be a way to link the memory to that location. Corn growing out of the ceiling isn't going to stick as well as Refrigerator -> Vegetable drawer -> Vegetables that you need: Corn. This would also reinforce other things on the list like the mushrooms, tomato sauce, butter, milk, and grapes because your mind is already "in the refrigerator".
Of course, if creating short, absurd stories to remember things works for you, then by all means.
Of course, if creating short, absurd stories to remember things works for you, then by all means.
7
It's a shame France's A. Yates' "The Art of Memory" has been forgotten.
7
Anyone interested in experiencing a modern-day application of the medieval memory palace might want to check out the memory course offered by the Cambridge (UK)-based Linguisticator: http://courses.linguisticator.com/courses/memory
To supplement their online language courses, they also have developed a fascinating series of language “maps" for half a dozen languages that can be memorized using this technique, dramatically speeding up the learning process.
To supplement their online language courses, they also have developed a fascinating series of language “maps" for half a dozen languages that can be memorized using this technique, dramatically speeding up the learning process.
6
After reading Foer's book I was taken with the idea that our memories retain visual cues so well, and so I successfully set out to try it with my own memory. Using the loci method I learned 186 world countries and their capitals in about 4 days including the time needed to come up with the funny/absurd cues that would serve to enhance recall.
What's ridiculous is that this method is no longer taught in schools. One of the goals of education should be to teach us humans how to efficiently use our minds and bodies, and the fact that 'learning by rote' is essentially the only memory technique taught these days is a pity.
What's ridiculous is that this method is no longer taught in schools. One of the goals of education should be to teach us humans how to efficiently use our minds and bodies, and the fact that 'learning by rote' is essentially the only memory technique taught these days is a pity.
10
And what is the trick to remembering the ten places?
4
The 10 places are from somewhere you are intimately familiar with such as the rooms of your house, furniture in a given room, homes or buildings on your block, etc..
4
My greatest problem was recognizing a shopping item in the image. Rice on the floor?? I'll stick with my mental picture of the list.
This would be helpful in schools for very specific tasks - where content needs to be maintained without the help of digital access, but with the caveat that senseless testing go out the window. It isn't a substitute for solid critical thinking or problem solving -- but a respectable means of replacing the drab, grim rote process we've all struggled with in schools that is a time-suck and anxiety-producing exercise. The emphasis on practice is important - and many of us in this age don't want to take the time, sadly.
2
The problem is that this method is of limited value for promoting in depth understanding and long-term knowledge retention. Memory athletes are famous for the ability to acquire huge amounts of information in a brief amount of time and yet much less discussed is the fact that they need to clear our this 'memory palace' each time for future use. Comparing this technique to rote learning is not apt, given that learning by rote is one of the least effective known techniques for long-term memorization and is terrible for promoting useful understanding of concepts.
The method of loci, as detailed here, appears to be little more than a highly proficient method of cramming; the latter being an unfortunately popular practice that exists because our education system relies too heavily on tests for student evaluations. Beyond test performance, memorizing grocery lists and other mundane tasks, the utility of the method of loci in the modern world has been quite limited.
The method of loci, as detailed here, appears to be little more than a highly proficient method of cramming; the latter being an unfortunately popular practice that exists because our education system relies too heavily on tests for student evaluations. Beyond test performance, memorizing grocery lists and other mundane tasks, the utility of the method of loci in the modern world has been quite limited.
5
The Indian memory experts did remarkable things:
A South Indian memory expert was observed to simultaneously perform the following tasks and then correctly repeat them all:
1. Play a game of chess, without seeing the board;
2. Carry on a conversation on a variety of subjects;
3. Complete a Sanskrit verse for which he was given the first line;
4. Multiply a 5-figure number by a 4-figure number;
5. Add a sum of three columns, each of eight rows of figures;
6. Commit to memory a Sanskrit verse of sixteen words – the words being given to him out of order, and at the option of the tester;
7. Complete a ‘magic square’ in which the sum of each horizontal and vertical row adds up to the same specified number;
8. Without seeing the chess-board direct the movement of a knight so that it described the outline of a horse;
9. Complete a second ‘magic square’ with a different number from that in number 7;
10. Keep count of the strokes of a bell rung by a gentleman who was present;
11. Commit to memory two sentences of Spanish, given in the same manner as the Sanskrit verses in number 6.
And then there's "idiot savants" such as one who could recite from memory, among other things:
1. the population of every city and town in the United States with more than 5,000 people;
2. the names, number of rooms and location of the 2,000 leading hotels in the US;
From "Yoga Psychology and the Transformation of Consciousness: Seeing Through the Eyes of Infinity"
A South Indian memory expert was observed to simultaneously perform the following tasks and then correctly repeat them all:
1. Play a game of chess, without seeing the board;
2. Carry on a conversation on a variety of subjects;
3. Complete a Sanskrit verse for which he was given the first line;
4. Multiply a 5-figure number by a 4-figure number;
5. Add a sum of three columns, each of eight rows of figures;
6. Commit to memory a Sanskrit verse of sixteen words – the words being given to him out of order, and at the option of the tester;
7. Complete a ‘magic square’ in which the sum of each horizontal and vertical row adds up to the same specified number;
8. Without seeing the chess-board direct the movement of a knight so that it described the outline of a horse;
9. Complete a second ‘magic square’ with a different number from that in number 7;
10. Keep count of the strokes of a bell rung by a gentleman who was present;
11. Commit to memory two sentences of Spanish, given in the same manner as the Sanskrit verses in number 6.
And then there's "idiot savants" such as one who could recite from memory, among other things:
1. the population of every city and town in the United States with more than 5,000 people;
2. the names, number of rooms and location of the 2,000 leading hotels in the US;
From "Yoga Psychology and the Transformation of Consciousness: Seeing Through the Eyes of Infinity"
4
There is a difference between using parlor tricks and improving memory.
1
That was fun. I played the game and it associated beans with my alarm. I don't have an alarm. I remembered everything but the darn beans.
2
Mundane existence - but your score will increase? Dandy!
As noted by several of your readers, Fr. Matteo Ricci, SJ, the extraordinary 16th Century Jesuit missionary who, at his death, was mourned by the Chinese as a great man, and who was buried in Beijing, wrote an eminently useful book about this memorization device.
Jonathan Spence, in his excellent "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci," tells the story of Father Ricci and his still very useful mnemonic method.
Jonathan Spence, in his excellent "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci," tells the story of Father Ricci and his still very useful mnemonic method.
3
I learned this technique in 1972 at the University of Michigan during a memory class taught by Dr. Judith Reitman. I can still remember some of the 20 items from the list we memorized that I "placed" as images on the walk from my dorm room to the classroom (we were instructed if possible to do the walk the first time then do it in imagination later). I most vividly recall what I forgot (tobacco - I couldn't "see" loose tobacco sprinkled when I reimagined where it was) and why - images that are too small e.g. the beans and almonds in the test provided, are most likely to be forgotten. The students who remembered tobacco had used the image of a giant cigarette or pile of them. So in addition to adding other sensory cues (scent etc), it is very important, when using this primarily visual technique, to enlarge the images - e.g. a giant bag of beans or a huge almond.
4
There is a lot out there on the basic principles of memory as a skill – using space and image as a means of remembering text and numbers. The basic principles are, in my experience, quick to learn and easy to apply to simple structures like lists of information. The challenge – and the reason these techniques don't work for many the first time they try them – is that most of us don't care too much about shopping lists, but would rather remember information important to our professions or careers. This type of information tends to be more complex, and we need a way of spatially representing the connections and relationships between different pieces of information. This can be done, but it requires a fair bit of experience, unless someone who's already done it gives you a fitting structure. To determine the right structure for a memory palace, you can't start with the details, but rather need to start with the big picture of the material you're storing. Think, for example, of the periodic table. You wouldn't want to memorize it as a list because you could then lose sight of the shared properties in certain columns and rows. You would need to encode those properties into parallel 3D placements. If you're not used to using these memory techniques, figuring that out can be tough. The good news is that if someone else walks you through the process, it can go amazingly quickly with great results.
12
I completely agree with this comment and found it very difficult as I tried to apply these principles to the types of things I'd like to remember for my job. My question is where would you look to find someone who could walk you through the process?
1
Just completed a project with my high school senior visual art students that linked Matteo Ricci's Memory Palace concept with Joseph Cornell. They had to make their own physical memory palace/box, with unique spaces that spoke to a select set of memories that they considered important.
That project was sparked by me reading Thomas Harris' "Hannibal" novel a number of years ago, wherein he made a reference to Ricci's work. Lecter's own palace was wonderfully rendered in an otherwise forgettable movie adaption of the book.
Funny the things one remembers, isn't it?
That project was sparked by me reading Thomas Harris' "Hannibal" novel a number of years ago, wherein he made a reference to Ricci's work. Lecter's own palace was wonderfully rendered in an otherwise forgettable movie adaption of the book.
Funny the things one remembers, isn't it?
2
I don't get it. I've read many of these such articles about "castles", where I am supposed to remember twice as many "random" things as the original list that actually means anything to me, and I fail miserably at these "castles". Why should it help me to memorize all about rice on the ceiling and grapes on the window frames when I need neither grapes nor ceilings? When I know I need flour and sugar and avocados, I think about them; it is baffling to me how cluttering up my recollection with ... ceilings and alarm clocks and whatever ... will help me to remember the three things I actually need. I labor over recollecting the extra fantasies -- they are no help to me. (Also, the fact that it might be only three things is not important; same thing applies to 10 things.) It all seems like much more work. What am I missing?
6
I thought the same thing when I first heard about this, but after experimenting (especially helpful while studying for the psychology GRE and having to commit to memory a LOT about the brain) I realized what was involved.
The reason for all those colorful pictures and associations is that memory works best when we are (a) attentive (i.e. mindful; more on that in a moment) (b) emotionally involved (c) highly motivated to remember something (which means if it's something boring for school or work you're going to have to find some way to motivate yourself, and probably for more than grades or money) and (d) as many senses are involved as possible.
The method of loci, if creatively employed, helps do all those things. If it doesn't work for you, you may have been mechanically trying to apply the method. What made the difference for me was, instead of using locations, I tried making up a silly story that linked together the parts of the brain. Seeing the amygdala, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the cerebellum, etc as characters in a rich, vivid movie, interacting with each other in what might be impossible ways, indelibly stamped them in my memory. And if you employ them (as in that movie whose name I can't remember but which came out last year - an animation about different characters representing different parts of the brain) in ways which represent their functions, it will help even more.
Try it on something that really interests you and let us know if it works!
The reason for all those colorful pictures and associations is that memory works best when we are (a) attentive (i.e. mindful; more on that in a moment) (b) emotionally involved (c) highly motivated to remember something (which means if it's something boring for school or work you're going to have to find some way to motivate yourself, and probably for more than grades or money) and (d) as many senses are involved as possible.
The method of loci, if creatively employed, helps do all those things. If it doesn't work for you, you may have been mechanically trying to apply the method. What made the difference for me was, instead of using locations, I tried making up a silly story that linked together the parts of the brain. Seeing the amygdala, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the cerebellum, etc as characters in a rich, vivid movie, interacting with each other in what might be impossible ways, indelibly stamped them in my memory. And if you employ them (as in that movie whose name I can't remember but which came out last year - an animation about different characters representing different parts of the brain) in ways which represent their functions, it will help even more.
Try it on something that really interests you and let us know if it works!
11
It's easy to make lists today. I'm sticking with that and leaving my creative visualization time for more rewarding results.
1
Thank you, Don. Your tip for turning the items into characters in a story sounds like it would work better for me -- I think the difference is that a story adds a linear direction, linking items one to the other in a related way. The grocery list associations were, to my mind, completely random, and kind of nonsensical (I know they say we should come up with outrageous - even lewd - imagery, but...). In addition, creating a story will activate more parts of the brain, and it requires the desired "focus" and will result in the desired "involvement".
Thank you for your helpful tips and perspective.
Thank you for your helpful tips and perspective.
3
Strawberries to you NYT! It's not nice to trick old people.
3
Harry Lorayne's books on improving memory are read all over the world for more than 40 years. I used them for my daughter when she was 10 most successfully.
3
Can someone help me to not have 100 tabs open in my browser?
11
I have over 600 tabs open in mine.
1
This is covered very well by Tony Buzan in his books "Use Both Sides of your Brain", Dutton paperbacks, 1974, 1983 and "Use Your Head", Ariel Books (BBC) 1974, 1982. He also talks about mind mapping, a novel method of note taking.
3
Another trick I prefer is to form a list of 10 word/images- like:
One fun, two shoe,three tree,4door,5dive, etc
Then attach the list of ten things to memorize to each image/number.
This allows for recall & order retention!
One fun, two shoe,three tree,4door,5dive, etc
Then attach the list of ten things to memorize to each image/number.
This allows for recall & order retention!
3
Austin Frakt claims that the “Rhetorica ad Herennium" is the first known text on the art of memorization. It may be first complete work on the technique that is described, but it was well-known--and often mentioned--in antiquity. See, e.g., Aristotle, Topics VIII 14 and On Memory and Reminiscence 2.
There is a legend that attributes the system to Simonides, a 5th c. BCE poet. Simonides was celebrating at a banquet when he received word that two young men were waiting outside to see him. When he got outside, the two young men were nowhere to be found. But then, the dining hall collapsed behind him. According to the legend, the two young men were the twins Castor and Pollux, who had rewarded the poet's interest in them by saving his life.
During the excavation of the rubble of the dining hall, Simonides was called upon to identify each of the guests who had been killed. Their bodies had been crushed beyond recognition, but Simonides was able to remember who they were by correlating their identities to their positions at the table before his departure. He later drew on this experience to develop the so-called "memory palace".
There is a legend that attributes the system to Simonides, a 5th c. BCE poet. Simonides was celebrating at a banquet when he received word that two young men were waiting outside to see him. When he got outside, the two young men were nowhere to be found. But then, the dining hall collapsed behind him. According to the legend, the two young men were the twins Castor and Pollux, who had rewarded the poet's interest in them by saving his life.
During the excavation of the rubble of the dining hall, Simonides was called upon to identify each of the guests who had been killed. Their bodies had been crushed beyond recognition, but Simonides was able to remember who they were by correlating their identities to their positions at the table before his departure. He later drew on this experience to develop the so-called "memory palace".
17
So, how would one use this for a very boring test? I am studying for the Series 10 right now and it's all boring finance things.
Ah - ha!
NOW I understand why I can't remember what I went downstairs to get, but can remember every shot of an 80-to-90-shot round of golf when we are done ...
NOW I understand why I can't remember what I went downstairs to get, but can remember every shot of an 80-to-90-shot round of golf when we are done ...
2
Is anyone familiar with the memory ability of people who repeat the same task over and over? Here's an example from my own life. About 20 years ago, I worke d in a fine dining restaurant with an ever-rotating menu (we'd learn the new dishes one hour before the dining room opened). While we were always terribly busy, after working there for four years, I was pretty mentally unstimulated. Just for fun, I played a game to challenge myself - taking orders without writing them down. I started with small tables (one or two people) and eventually worked my way up to larger groups. I got so good at it, I could take a complete order from a group of 16 - memorizing appetizers, drinks, salads, dinners and desserts in a single conversation. Some customers would get nervous, but I assured them I never forgot their order - and I didn't! My managers were very happy with me and was often complimented on my work. How did I do it? I'm not very talented at memorizing faces, but I love clothes and colors - so I would remember where the person sat, how they sat and what they were wearing (or how their hair was or if they had a unique physical trait, like freckles). This, along with having worked at the same place for a long time, allowed me to memorize orders from a nightly changing menu with between 20 and 40 different main courses. It kept my brain active! I'm not sure if my experience would be method of loci combined with repetitive tasks, but it worked!
34
How did you convey all this to the cooks? And did they then write it down?
9
Kevin,
One of the reasons young people have so much trouble reading is because they don't remember things they've learned in the past, the vocabulary, the concepts, the facts that would help them make sense of what they read. One of the reasons people have trouble learning anything is that we learn new things by relating them to what we already know. If we don't know much...
Teachers have given up having students memorize anything, including what they just "learned" before they walk out the classroom door and forget it all. Learning and remembering are two sides of the same coin, as any cognitive scientist would tell you. Without good memory, we can hardly think. You have to know stuff in order to ask the right questions, to know what to google, to know what resources are the most appropriate for your project or curiosity, to even understand what someone is writing or saying in a syntax more complex than that of a third grader.
One of the reasons young people have so much trouble reading is because they don't remember things they've learned in the past, the vocabulary, the concepts, the facts that would help them make sense of what they read. One of the reasons people have trouble learning anything is that we learn new things by relating them to what we already know. If we don't know much...
Teachers have given up having students memorize anything, including what they just "learned" before they walk out the classroom door and forget it all. Learning and remembering are two sides of the same coin, as any cognitive scientist would tell you. Without good memory, we can hardly think. You have to know stuff in order to ask the right questions, to know what to google, to know what resources are the most appropriate for your project or curiosity, to even understand what someone is writing or saying in a syntax more complex than that of a third grader.
20
I took interactive test, and suggest factoring time into equation. I went through the list of ten items in less than 20 seconds, did not look back once, and took the test immediately. Result: I remembered 7 of 10 but not associated with a "memory palace" nor in the order they were given to me. I've used physical items in house or other surroundings to associate with a list of things I wanted to remember before. I've always chosen the items though; they've not been given to me. I found the list not helpful. Additional note. This is not a test of memory. See if you can repeat your shopping list next week, if you think it is.
2
I find the question of very short-term memory vs. slightly longer (perhaps a day) or longer (the week the writer mentioned) very interesting. I'm sure many people can recall a short list for a very brief time, but to be functional in society, one must remember the tasks for the day or the meeting next week. In the various forms of dementia, it seems recalling the "chores" of the day or set up the day before as well as appointments,deadlines & such are in fact what causes the destruction of the person's ability to function. I would like to see that kind of memory loss explored in the Times. I think that fear of that kind of memory loss that haunts your readers...and me.
I must have saved a tree's worth of notepads when I realized that phone numbers gleaned from Google/Directory assistance/wherever only needed to be recalled for less than 5 minutes at most. The inability of a spouse to recall the tasks of the day (meals,pills,turning on/off various devices) or appointments coming up in a few days has turned his life (and mine) into a painful catastrophe. But we both get to aced your memory test.
PLEASE WITHHOLD ME NAME. I NEED TO PROTECT MY SPOUSE.
I must have saved a tree's worth of notepads when I realized that phone numbers gleaned from Google/Directory assistance/wherever only needed to be recalled for less than 5 minutes at most. The inability of a spouse to recall the tasks of the day (meals,pills,turning on/off various devices) or appointments coming up in a few days has turned his life (and mine) into a painful catastrophe. But we both get to aced your memory test.
PLEASE WITHHOLD ME NAME. I NEED TO PROTECT MY SPOUSE.
3
Am I the only one who finds this rather pointless. I have plenty of external tools to help me remember lists, like a smart phone or pencil and paper. I'd find it far more useful to remember if I have peanut butter at home when I'm at the grocery store without having to explicitly memorize everything in my pantry, or improve my processing ability so that I can come up with better ideas for something to cook with all the ingredients that I have.
6
Very possibly. Many of us know the usefulness of a pencil and paper and a smartphone but we also like to use our brains at every opportunity.
4
You're not the only one.
1
How about learning a new language? Then it could be very useful to associate a particular word or syllable with an image and increase your vocabulary fatter.
1
The real difficulty for modern man in using this technique is that it calls for the invention of fabulous imagery and is actually more an exercise in imagination than memory. We have become so inundated with imagery not of our own making that our own skills have atrophied. It's obvious that the ancients who were adept at populating their memory palaces were of a mentality completely different than what exists today.
21
Some people are wondering what the point is of a system like this for the average person. Of course, it depends, but I use a memory palace to remember different historical periods attributing centuries to different landmarks on a familiar drive and then adding appropriate images. The local coffee shop is the 1300s and I think of the Plague whenever I see it. The high school next door is the 1400s and the Renaissance and so on. I can add other images if I want to remember more detail for each century. As mentioned, the more bizarre or obscene the image, the better.
7
I like. I had never before thought of using the street numbers in what can be a boring drive. Thank you!
i used kind of similar technique to attribute the imagined to real objects, parts of landscape in most cases. by allowing the interplay of objects and assoscitions i used to find solutions to questions, absurd as it may sound, you asked a "landscape" : in fact projecting psychological processes to outside world and reading solutions.
4
Fascinating idea. Can you explain this in more detail?
2
The moving illustration is a constant distraction.
8
The memory palace of Matteo ricci
1
A 16th-century Jesuit missionary to China named Matteo Ricci used this technique to memorize Chinese and perform tricks to impress the Chinese court, such as reciting a classic text from memory ... and then reciting it backwards. It was also depicted in the recent British remake of Sherlock Holmes, set in modern times. The Benedict Cumerbatch character depends on it from time to time to recall some detail or clue.
2
Can anyone share the basics of the modified story technique as an alternative memory strategy? I have searched high and low and cannot find a guide for how to do it.
2
This is similar to the technique used by James W Heisig for remembering thousands of chinese characters in his book Remembering the Kanji. Create a concrete image in your head for each character made up of the parts of the character and their meanings. Remember the image and you remember the character.
2
Memory systems are worth the investment of time only if you really need them and use them a lot. It is far easier to write a shopping list than try to memorize it. But, we all face this horror of trying to remember people's names when we are introduced to them. I spent a lot of time finding a system that worked in that area. Ironically, I cannot remember what you call it, but the idea is to conjure up a picture to associate with the person. For example, if I am introduced to "Tom," I picture him beating on a drum (tom-tom).
5
Apart from vocabulary lists for the SAT and anatomical terms in med school, memorization is a skill usually better outsourced. A hand written list or a smartphone app is much more useful and accurate when shopping.
One exception to this is in social settings where the quick recall of peoples' names is useful, if not vital, and reading from crypt note is awkward, if not insulting. The method of loci, however, usually fails due to the sheer number of names to be memorized. While teaching high school, where it is incumbent to learn 150 names in two days or less, I have used the time honored technique of creating a mental image unique to each name and face. Picture Brenda eating a loaf of Bread, Doug barking like a Dog, Bill with a large duck's beak, Tiffany with a lampshade over her head.
One exception to this is in social settings where the quick recall of peoples' names is useful, if not vital, and reading from crypt note is awkward, if not insulting. The method of loci, however, usually fails due to the sheer number of names to be memorized. While teaching high school, where it is incumbent to learn 150 names in two days or less, I have used the time honored technique of creating a mental image unique to each name and face. Picture Brenda eating a loaf of Bread, Doug barking like a Dog, Bill with a large duck's beak, Tiffany with a lampshade over her head.
3
And what exactly is the point of this type of memorization for most of us? I can maybe see the value for medical students learning different systems, but the usefulness beyond that narrow instance escapes me.
2
This reader might consider that conscious brain at a younger age is a powerful tool for conscious decision making later in life, in the same way that resistance exercise strengthens the musculo-skeletal system to prevent posture degeneration later in life.
8
Vividly the construction site and a crane dropping a load as you give the correct hand signals you are trying to memorize and the more vivid the picture, sounds, and the feel of your arms and hands as you make the signals and direct the placing. As a grad student working as a laborer in the summers I made a lot of money and overtime by doing just that.
Engine rebuild or maintenance. Let the engine as you take it apart or work on it be your Memory Palace.
I first read about this in the early 1980s, and have used it on occasion. It certainly works. Here's one: sometime in 1985, while driving on the LA freeway and near to a nervous breakdown (as I hail from suburbia, east coat) I heard a particularly good song on a jazz station. I knew nothing of that genre so names meant nothing. The radio announcer said it was by Art Bergman. I visualized an animated scene of a painter (artist) standing on an ice berg, working on a canvas supported by an easel. The name Art Bergman has been permanently affixed in my memory.
7
Thanks, but I'm not interested in using such mnemonic devices for my grocery list or any other inconsequential purpose. I have little difficulty remembering when I judge it important to do so - and when, oddly, I remind myself to remember.
I was once interviewed for a position by twelve people, none of whom I had met previously. As I was introduced and shook their hands, I reminded myself of the importance of remembering their names. That I addressed them thereafter by their first names was reportedly determinative of the outcome.
The value of recall in a social context cannot be overstated; but - games shows notwithstanding - society is moving to a model in which insight and analysis are prized much more than the regurgitation of fact. This is a positive trend in its own right - made more so by the explosion in technology that facilitates ready access of data to support one's logic.
I was once interviewed for a position by twelve people, none of whom I had met previously. As I was introduced and shook their hands, I reminded myself of the importance of remembering their names. That I addressed them thereafter by their first names was reportedly determinative of the outcome.
The value of recall in a social context cannot be overstated; but - games shows notwithstanding - society is moving to a model in which insight and analysis are prized much more than the regurgitation of fact. This is a positive trend in its own right - made more so by the explosion in technology that facilitates ready access of data to support one's logic.
4
"...made more so by the explosion in technology that facilitates ready access of data to support one's logic."
PJ-- UNTIL our technology --that we so depend on-- breaks down and then chaos reigns because we can't remember the cell number of our mother or son, and we don't know how to get to the nearest hospital, and we can't google how to turn off the gas in our house. And how are we going to pay our bills or order clothes online? I see it in my classroom of college students. When they lose their phones they are panicked, fraught with uncertainty and despair. Common sense and memory is valuable, don't kid yourself.
PJ-- UNTIL our technology --that we so depend on-- breaks down and then chaos reigns because we can't remember the cell number of our mother or son, and we don't know how to get to the nearest hospital, and we can't google how to turn off the gas in our house. And how are we going to pay our bills or order clothes online? I see it in my classroom of college students. When they lose their phones they are panicked, fraught with uncertainty and despair. Common sense and memory is valuable, don't kid yourself.
13
In 2001 I discovered a new, visual method to identify botanical plants that can be recorded using an ordinary camera. This discovery is now memorialized in two issued U.S. patents. I was shocked that this discovery could be made. The fact that it could is testimony to a fundamental weakness in our educational priorities.
Seeing is a gift largely shared by all, but using it is taught in a manner that at best diminishes its potency. It is blown off as an eccentric gift to be used by the artistically inclined, while its relevance to every-day life is ignored. We witness visual illnesses in our surroundings and pretend that these illnesses do not diminish our humanity or our personal health.
Remembering what is seen to aid memory is fine, but what about interpreting what is seen?
Imagine how we would interact with each other and with nature if the nutrients pouring into our eyes were classified as either beneficial or toxic to our humanity?
Seeing is a gift largely shared by all, but using it is taught in a manner that at best diminishes its potency. It is blown off as an eccentric gift to be used by the artistically inclined, while its relevance to every-day life is ignored. We witness visual illnesses in our surroundings and pretend that these illnesses do not diminish our humanity or our personal health.
Remembering what is seen to aid memory is fine, but what about interpreting what is seen?
Imagine how we would interact with each other and with nature if the nutrients pouring into our eyes were classified as either beneficial or toxic to our humanity?
3
Please give us the patent numbers.
1
The mechanics of these techniques are explored very fully and engrossingly in the Foer book mentioned in this piece, "Moonwalking with Einstein." Mapping knowledge sequences to spatial/geographic analogs was clearly crucial to human development. In earlier societies, you didn't have to imagine a palace; you could just associate things to be remembered, like steps in complex tasks, with the features of the landscape you lived in all your life. Need to refresh your memory? Take a walk.
After I finished Foer's book, I happened to read something about the extinction of the Plains Indians culture. It reminded me of all the times that Amerind spokesmen, on being evicted from their lands, said something which was translated rather poetically as "you are robbing our souls" or something similar...To which American culture and media responded with "ah, the noble red man." More pleasant than to speculate that relocation was wiping out the entire technology-culture of a people.
After I finished Foer's book, I happened to read something about the extinction of the Plains Indians culture. It reminded me of all the times that Amerind spokesmen, on being evicted from their lands, said something which was translated rather poetically as "you are robbing our souls" or something similar...To which American culture and media responded with "ah, the noble red man." More pleasant than to speculate that relocation was wiping out the entire technology-culture of a people.
35
Humans invented paper and writing to deal with this far better. I guess it's now evolved to smartphone notes. External memorization is far easier and more foolproof -- now where did I put that piece of paper with my shopping list?
4
I have heard about this method for some years, but have never really attempted to put it to use. My innate memory is pretty good, and I have found it easy to make pair-wise associations such as scientific names with various plants and animals. (Although for some reason names of people are challenging.)
Lists have always been a bit harder and elaborate sequences such as songs, poems and oral presentations invariably get out of order or have things left out. It seems that it would be good to add this skill to my repertoire, especially as I age.
I realize I should read the books, but I'll pose my major question about these methods. How do you keep the memory palace "tidy"? How do you prevent the sequences from derailing each other when you get to a given room or anchor? From today's example, I think my stairs may be "contaminated" with the image of a lasagna runner for years to come. Some lists, such as shopping, can safely be forgotten after just an hour but others may be important for years. I'll need to learn more about keeping these tracks separate.
Lists have always been a bit harder and elaborate sequences such as songs, poems and oral presentations invariably get out of order or have things left out. It seems that it would be good to add this skill to my repertoire, especially as I age.
I realize I should read the books, but I'll pose my major question about these methods. How do you keep the memory palace "tidy"? How do you prevent the sequences from derailing each other when you get to a given room or anchor? From today's example, I think my stairs may be "contaminated" with the image of a lasagna runner for years to come. Some lists, such as shopping, can safely be forgotten after just an hour but others may be important for years. I'll need to learn more about keeping these tracks separate.
13
This is the one thing I kept wondering about too and have been reading through the comments hoping to find an answer.
2
I was thinking the same thing when I first tried this, and was amazed to find you could use the same locations for dozens of different items and they stayed distinct.
The key is that the brain organizes things holistically (or in an "integrated" fashion if you want to sound less "new agey"). Say you have 30 locations, and you have one set of memories of names and the other for a foreign language you learn. If you're focusing on the names, once you begin (Lisa in first place, Jordan in 2nd, etc) the foreign language words re gone and the locations become wholly associated with the names.
in terms of usefulness, it's not primarily about memory. Try this: Take your todo list - even if you have 2 or 3 major items, it can be useful, but say you have 10. Prioritize them, and put #1 in the center. Now create a series of "branches" - with each item at various places along the branches, very colorfully illustrated, and animated is even better. Let the colors, shapes, animations represent the relative importance and value of the assorted tasks.
See the entire Todo tree in relation to your larger goals and sense of ultimate meaning and purpose in life. Then see yourself easily, calmly, mindfully and joyfully carrying out those tasks through the day, meeting obstacles and challenges with equanimity and wisdom. See the "todo tree" changing dynamically throughout the day.
Try this for a week or a month and see how it changes your brain, and possibly your life.
The key is that the brain organizes things holistically (or in an "integrated" fashion if you want to sound less "new agey"). Say you have 30 locations, and you have one set of memories of names and the other for a foreign language you learn. If you're focusing on the names, once you begin (Lisa in first place, Jordan in 2nd, etc) the foreign language words re gone and the locations become wholly associated with the names.
in terms of usefulness, it's not primarily about memory. Try this: Take your todo list - even if you have 2 or 3 major items, it can be useful, but say you have 10. Prioritize them, and put #1 in the center. Now create a series of "branches" - with each item at various places along the branches, very colorfully illustrated, and animated is even better. Let the colors, shapes, animations represent the relative importance and value of the assorted tasks.
See the entire Todo tree in relation to your larger goals and sense of ultimate meaning and purpose in life. Then see yourself easily, calmly, mindfully and joyfully carrying out those tasks through the day, meeting obstacles and challenges with equanimity and wisdom. See the "todo tree" changing dynamically throughout the day.
Try this for a week or a month and see how it changes your brain, and possibly your life.
5
You can borrow from Tony Buzan and have one Palace made of ice, the next has oil all over everything, the next everything is on fire. The next is all pulsating purple. The next is all velvet. Then crystal clear, ivy covered as in an ancient ruin, has fog and clouds drifting over and thru, etc etc
"Moonwalking with Einstein."
4
This method was made famous in the BBC Sherlock episode "The Hounds of Baskerville" back in 2012, when Sherlock uses his memory palace to recall the meaning of a set of letters. It's been referred to in subsequent episodes of the TV show as well. It's not something new to those of us who are fans! :-)
7
And earlier in the book "Hannibal".
5
Memory decline for some elderly people placed in a hospital, nursing home, or relative's home, after years in their own home? 'Losing' their memory? Or just lost associations laid down over the years and confusion from all the new competing associations they must make.
Please, let him take a few things with him when you take the old man away.
Only 9 of 10 on the quiz because my home actually has most of the items in the locations as shown. Alas, no chicken sitting on my toilet, nor bowl cleanser in the poultry section of the market.
Groceries in tow. Where did I park the car this time? Oh, next to the 'herd of cattle in the corral' (shopping cart stall). ; - )
Please, let him take a few things with him when you take the old man away.
Only 9 of 10 on the quiz because my home actually has most of the items in the locations as shown. Alas, no chicken sitting on my toilet, nor bowl cleanser in the poultry section of the market.
Groceries in tow. Where did I park the car this time? Oh, next to the 'herd of cattle in the corral' (shopping cart stall). ; - )
10
Of many fine and useful remarks, to me yours is so far the best. Thank you. And may we all remember this.
1
I'm going to try this is my class. Teaching prepositions to ESL students is very challenging since there are no set rules for all the words. However, if I can have them associate a preposition to a visual image, it may help the students remember how to use the words more.
14
Definitely! I remember a long time ago when my 7th grade teacher took a pencil and held it OVER and UNDER a desk, then put it ON and IN the desk, then moved it AROUND the desk. That's only 5 prepositions, but it's a start!
4
When I walk I like to enjoy the moment. I listen to birds, watch the changing trees, feel this time. I'm sorry you miss all that; it makes my day special.
3
Great read! And a wonderful segway introduction into how descriptive text sticks with us. I'm curious on one of the last statements, "Today our memories are eroded by external memory devices like cellphone cameras and apps." Is this something you find empirically, that is to say evidence based? Or do any number of technologies, digital or not, serve as mnemonic devices? I tend to lean towards the latter but I'm curious.
2
A "Segway" is a battery-powered, two-wheeled electric vehicle, the name of which is apparently based on the word you actually want: "segue."
2
Just for laughs: it's "segue", not a two-wheel vehicle with a gyroscope (segway).
Phonemic awareness plus memorization when phonetics just don't make sense in the English language ('knight' and 'night') tend to prove out the utility of this article.
Phonemic awareness plus memorization when phonetics just don't make sense in the English language ('knight' and 'night') tend to prove out the utility of this article.
1
Now I'll always remember this article using a knight riding a Segway at night!
2
Wonderful for remembering things. Need one for forgetting unpleasantness.
16
I have recently come to understand much more clearly that it is possible to stop bad thoughts by simply demanding "stop." You are the driver; the thoughts are the chariot - you do have control.
2
I used the method of loci to memorize the sequence of a complete physical assessment for my pre-clinical training while in midwifery school. I passed with flying colors and my memory training helped to cement each step into my routine.
4
The author could look up Avadhan.
Briefly from Wiki: Avadhānaṃ is a literary performance popular from very ancient days in India. Avadhānaṃ originated as a Sanskrit literary process and is revived by Kannada and Telugu poets in modern times. The true purpose of an Avadhanam event thus is the showcasing, through entertainment, of superior mastery of cognitive capabilities - of observation, memory, multitasking, task switching, retrieval, reasoning and creativity in multiple modes of intelligence - literature, poetry, music, mathematical calculations, puzzle solving etc.
It requires immense memory power and tests a person's capability of performing multiple tasks simultaneously. All the tasks are memory intensive and demand an in-depth knowledge of literature, and prosody. The tasks vary from making up a poem spontaneously to keeping a count of a bell ringing at random. No external memory aids are allowed while performing these tasks except the person's mind. Avadhānaṃ can be considered as the Divided attention (clinical model of attention) as it is the highest level of attention and it refers to the ability to respond simultaneously to multiple tasks or multiple task demands.
There is a lot more.
Yes, memorization in schools too has its value!
Briefly from Wiki: Avadhānaṃ is a literary performance popular from very ancient days in India. Avadhānaṃ originated as a Sanskrit literary process and is revived by Kannada and Telugu poets in modern times. The true purpose of an Avadhanam event thus is the showcasing, through entertainment, of superior mastery of cognitive capabilities - of observation, memory, multitasking, task switching, retrieval, reasoning and creativity in multiple modes of intelligence - literature, poetry, music, mathematical calculations, puzzle solving etc.
It requires immense memory power and tests a person's capability of performing multiple tasks simultaneously. All the tasks are memory intensive and demand an in-depth knowledge of literature, and prosody. The tasks vary from making up a poem spontaneously to keeping a count of a bell ringing at random. No external memory aids are allowed while performing these tasks except the person's mind. Avadhānaṃ can be considered as the Divided attention (clinical model of attention) as it is the highest level of attention and it refers to the ability to respond simultaneously to multiple tasks or multiple task demands.
There is a lot more.
Yes, memorization in schools too has its value!
8
How realistic and practical are applying these techniques? These days it is easier to just type the items in your app. And the only time I ever had to memorize words was studying for standardized tests, which if I applied these techniques(and been effective) it would have taken longer than just to memorize the words using brute force. Outside that I don't find myself regularly having to remember items in a list.
As we age, we lose a lot of our memory power and this technique is training for one's mind. I wish my mother had practiced it more since she became very forgetful as she got into her 80s.
You may one day forget where you put your phone... and then you'd be totally lost.
You may one day forget where you put your phone... and then you'd be totally lost.
3
As a comedian I have had to memorize over an hour's worth of material. It's not the jokes and stories themselves but simply remembering which ones. I have found a way to associate most of them with body parts- my foot is a joke about driving, my leg about running, my arm about tattoos, etc.
But for a grocery list? I may remember to buy milk because I pictured a cow in my living room- but which milk? A gallon of whole milk? A quart of Farlife? A pint of half-and-half?
Also not as useful for, say, learning a ton of vocabulary words in English or a foreign language.
Shaun Eli
www.BrainChampagne.com
But for a grocery list? I may remember to buy milk because I pictured a cow in my living room- but which milk? A gallon of whole milk? A quart of Farlife? A pint of half-and-half?
Also not as useful for, say, learning a ton of vocabulary words in English or a foreign language.
Shaun Eli
www.BrainChampagne.com
2
If you want a gallon of milk, imagine a cow standing on the deck of a Spanish galleon. If you want Fairlife, imagine a fair-skinned cow. If you want half-and-half... well, you get the idea. As long as you're creative enough (and if you're a comedian, then I assume you're a creative person), you can associate just about anything with a pretty concrete image.
2
From the marvelous "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel:
In Italy he learned a memory system and furnished it with pictures. Some are drawn from wood and field, from hedgerow and copse: shy hiding animals, eyes bright in the undergrowth. Some are foxes and deer, some are griffins, dragons. Some are men and women: nuns, warriors, doctors of the church. In their hands he puts unlikely objects, St. Ursula a crossbow, St. Jerome a scythe, while Plato bears a soup ladle and Achilles a dozen damsons in a wooden bowl. It is no use hoping to remember with the help of common objects, familiar faces. One needs startling juxtapositions, images that are more or less peculiar, ridiculous, even indecent. When you have made the images, you place them about the world in locations you choose, each one with its parcel of words, of figures, which they will yield to you on demand. At Greenwich, a shaven cat may peep at you from behind a cupboard; at the palace of Westminster, a snake may leer down from a beam and hiss your name.
In Italy he learned a memory system and furnished it with pictures. Some are drawn from wood and field, from hedgerow and copse: shy hiding animals, eyes bright in the undergrowth. Some are foxes and deer, some are griffins, dragons. Some are men and women: nuns, warriors, doctors of the church. In their hands he puts unlikely objects, St. Ursula a crossbow, St. Jerome a scythe, while Plato bears a soup ladle and Achilles a dozen damsons in a wooden bowl. It is no use hoping to remember with the help of common objects, familiar faces. One needs startling juxtapositions, images that are more or less peculiar, ridiculous, even indecent. When you have made the images, you place them about the world in locations you choose, each one with its parcel of words, of figures, which they will yield to you on demand. At Greenwich, a shaven cat may peep at you from behind a cupboard; at the palace of Westminster, a snake may leer down from a beam and hiss your name.
20
This is an accepted method for memorizing lists, but it will do nothing to help you find those lost keys.
1
Then always place them on the refrigerator or some such place. And if you did not because the phone rang and you had to write down her address, then remember “It is wherever you left it and that is not where it should be but was convenient.” Then start from the last time you used it where did you walk and thru your palace and what were you wearing and what unusual garment with pockets. And so forth. Play with the technique.
Memorization is a great thing and should be brought back. It has helped me to study ancient Greek - I've memorized the "proem" that introduces both the Iliad and the Odyssey. With that great poetry committed to memory I've gone a long way towards understanding Greek.
16
I couldn't agree more. I started memorizing poems in another language and found that my memory for other things had improved. Memorizing lists that will change constantly ... not useful to me.
2
I once memorized my three favorite Shakespeare sonnets. What a wonderful experience.
1
Certainly this technique is an aid to memorization. But, will it improve memory?
5
Frances A. Yates's "The Art of Memory" (Chicago UP, 1966) is a wonderfully written study of memory procedures over time. The "Ad Herenium" (unknown author referred to by Austin Frakt) is in her index & there are references to that work in the text. When the paperback appeared in 1974, it was "One of Modern Library's 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Twentieth Century." I expect Mnemosyne herself was appreciative of Yates's study and I'm hoping Frakt is familiar with it.
4
It is impossible for me to take exercises like this seriously. If I am not likely to remember something without constructing a peewee's playhouse of "memorable" images, I am similarly unlikely to waste a bunch of time trying to commit the playhouse to memory instead.
6
Dale Carnegie teaches this method in his famous course, in the first session. His take is to have students learn a set of visuals and then add the list items to the visuals. The visuals are all named with a key word. So you learn one - run (a horse running around a track), two - shoe (a gorilla throwing a shoe at you), three - tree (a tall tree bending over due to the weight of something on top), etc. Then you envision your list items - the first on the back of the horse, the second in place of the shoe the gorilla is throwing at you, the third as what is weighing the tree down. And yes it does work!
5
The title equates memory with memorization.
When science teaches me how to remember the name of the attractive woman I just met at the party, I'll be a believer.
When science teaches me how to remember the name of the attractive woman I just met at the party, I'll be a believer.
3
By George, I think you're on to something, Austin. It worked! 30 years ago my mom helped me memorize a list of 50+ French verbs for my midterm. She created a little "story" for nearly every one. I remember the swivel chair she sat in, looking down at me as I sat at her feet on the brown shag rug of our family room. Over & over again, however, I confused the verbs vouloir (to want) and pleurer! (to cry). I needed something bigger & bolder to keep those 2 words straight. Mom pulled out all the stops. She broke out into exaggerated sobbs saying, "Poor, poor me!" with strong emphasis on the "P" sound. That was it. Done! For 3 decades I've remembered that "to cry" in French is pleuer. And how did my magic mother make my memory master the meaning of the French verb vouloir (to want)? She looked off to the distance, her face took on an expression of exhausted disgust, and in her best Garbo she said, "I vant to be alone!" Voila.
68
What a fabulous mom, Kathleen!
4
My brain feels refreshed! The game was a good way to reboot my brain. Now back to work.
6
I don't think it's accurate to attribute the decline of the memory palace to the Puritans (particularly since it wasn't a system limited to English speakers). It was actually rendered obsolete by the invention of printing. (In spite of it's imagined extraordinary usefulness to Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs".)
5
Was it not Socrates who thought that writing was dangerous new fangled technology that would adversely affect peoples' memories?
I think that creating odd associations is a very effective way of remembering things but it takes a lot of effort which may often be better directed to making notes and then turning one's mind to other things. Only where it is desirable to remember something one will often use is it worthwhile.
Just about everyone in England in my age group recalls the seven colours of the rainbow with the mnemonic Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain. Of course Newton had a hang up with the number 7 and few people can reliably distinguish between Indigo and Violet.
A physics teacher in England got into deep trouble with a politically incorrect mnemonic for the colour codes of a transistor. I will not repeat it - and if you look it up you are very naughty.
I think that creating odd associations is a very effective way of remembering things but it takes a lot of effort which may often be better directed to making notes and then turning one's mind to other things. Only where it is desirable to remember something one will often use is it worthwhile.
Just about everyone in England in my age group recalls the seven colours of the rainbow with the mnemonic Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain. Of course Newton had a hang up with the number 7 and few people can reliably distinguish between Indigo and Violet.
A physics teacher in England got into deep trouble with a politically incorrect mnemonic for the colour codes of a transistor. I will not repeat it - and if you look it up you are very naughty.
4
Correction: Resistor color code. I remember this moment as though it were not 40 years ago but ten minutes. Mr Abar explained that resistors were coded with painted stripes for numbers and orders of magnitude 500MegOhm, 240Kohm, etc... He said unfortunately the best way to memorize this is obscene, so he stepped outside. Dave immediately rattled off a truly awful ditty starting (black, brown) "Bad Boys.." committing a serious felony and ending in "Violet.." gray white. Immediate shock, immediate memorization, perfect recall, forever.
What surprises me is how few mnemonics are widely available. I use the loci of memory in my teaching by having students draw pictures and 'tell the story.' Let's follow light as it enters the eye. "Light enters (draw this bump, the cornea which pre-focuses it, next the pupil is a hole formed by the iris,..." We all draw this together and label the parts, as soon as we finish, I have them take out a blank sheet of paper. What they then discover is they remember a lot of it, they remember things they didn't think they would and they forget things they didn't think they would. We are very bad at predicting what we will remember. Our eye has about 25 elements, drawing and labels.
In three days I test students and 80% get 80% or better. When I try to demonstrate in a room of teachers and administrators they say, very nice, but let's move on to discussing how our students can learn better.
What surprises me is how few mnemonics are widely available. I use the loci of memory in my teaching by having students draw pictures and 'tell the story.' Let's follow light as it enters the eye. "Light enters (draw this bump, the cornea which pre-focuses it, next the pupil is a hole formed by the iris,..." We all draw this together and label the parts, as soon as we finish, I have them take out a blank sheet of paper. What they then discover is they remember a lot of it, they remember things they didn't think they would and they forget things they didn't think they would. We are very bad at predicting what we will remember. Our eye has about 25 elements, drawing and labels.
In three days I test students and 80% get 80% or better. When I try to demonstrate in a room of teachers and administrators they say, very nice, but let's move on to discussing how our students can learn better.
5
A couple of nits.
1. Using other people's creations for a memory palace will tend to work less well than remembering your own.
2. That I can remember the layout of someone else's home is kind of a rigged example. Where's the TV? Well, unless they're insane, it's up against one of the four walls, almost certainly in the living room. It won't be bolted to the ceiling or stuffed in a closet. Sure, the main point remains valid, but usually what you need to remember is not lined up neatly and as expected.
3. "photographic memory" is a myth -- or, at least, undocumented. (http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2006/04/kaavya_...
4. As for improving memory, the way we learned it back in the day for poetry memorization still holds up well (and is enhanced by memory palaces): You read the poem. SLOWLY! Then, you copy it down. BY HAND. Yes, with a pen. On paper. Then you recite it from memory. Including declarations of punctuation and capitalizations.
5. Although you can memorize a grocery list, why would you? What would be the point of expending all that effort for a list that will have utility for a total of one trip to a supermarket? As a mental exercise, your time would be better spent memorizing the Constitution or a couple of Shakespearean sonnets that you can recite as you gather your groceries by checking the scrap of paper you wrote them on.
1. Using other people's creations for a memory palace will tend to work less well than remembering your own.
2. That I can remember the layout of someone else's home is kind of a rigged example. Where's the TV? Well, unless they're insane, it's up against one of the four walls, almost certainly in the living room. It won't be bolted to the ceiling or stuffed in a closet. Sure, the main point remains valid, but usually what you need to remember is not lined up neatly and as expected.
3. "photographic memory" is a myth -- or, at least, undocumented. (http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2006/04/kaavya_...
4. As for improving memory, the way we learned it back in the day for poetry memorization still holds up well (and is enhanced by memory palaces): You read the poem. SLOWLY! Then, you copy it down. BY HAND. Yes, with a pen. On paper. Then you recite it from memory. Including declarations of punctuation and capitalizations.
5. Although you can memorize a grocery list, why would you? What would be the point of expending all that effort for a list that will have utility for a total of one trip to a supermarket? As a mental exercise, your time would be better spent memorizing the Constitution or a couple of Shakespearean sonnets that you can recite as you gather your groceries by checking the scrap of paper you wrote them on.
50
It's pretty clear that the author used a grocery list as a simple example in order to demonstrate the memory palace method, describe the mechanism by which it works, and show its surprising effectiveness. I would expect Times readers to understand this rather than whine about whether or not memorized grocery lists are specifically useful in daily life. I suppose my expectations are a touch Panglossian at times.
In any case, I'm reminded of an anecdote. A man is sent to a rural town to convince the inhabitants to invest in automobiles, which are at this time new to the world. "I take my daughter to church every Sunday; used to take us an hour, now we're there in 13 minutes," he says. Farmer John replies, "Well thanks but no thanks: I'm Jewish."
In any case, I'm reminded of an anecdote. A man is sent to a rural town to convince the inhabitants to invest in automobiles, which are at this time new to the world. "I take my daughter to church every Sunday; used to take us an hour, now we're there in 13 minutes," he says. Farmer John replies, "Well thanks but no thanks: I'm Jewish."
22
The old phrase of 'use it, or lose it' comes to mind. I'll use it for the mundane as well as what I read and want to retain. We all (supposedly) have more than enough brain cells that are spare and that could always use exercising.
4
Yes, training improves memory in the areas in which you have been interested, but not for mundane things like shopping. Frankly, I prefer not to imagine toilet paper all over my door or lasagna on my staircase, and instead write down the list. I will use my memory for what I like to know - that requires constant training.
3
This technique figures prominently in the Thomas Harris book Hannibal as well as the NBC TV show of the same name. Also see "The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci"
4
This is something that really works. I read about this technique some 30 years ago. I then put down the book I was reading and asked the people I was with to give me a list of things, anything, and for one person to write the list down as they called it out to me.
It was about 20 items long....all kinds of stuff...elephant, shoes, car, stairs, peanut butter, etc.
I was able to not only repeat it back perfectly within a moment or two of hearing it, but it became a joke amongst us for a long time, where they would ask me on the spot to recite the list, and I could.
The trick was to build a crazy story and imagery of the list, and link one to the other.
So ELEPHANT put on SHOES then squeezed into a CAR drove it up the STAIRS to get to the PEANUT BUTTER, etc...
As I said, it really works.
It was about 20 items long....all kinds of stuff...elephant, shoes, car, stairs, peanut butter, etc.
I was able to not only repeat it back perfectly within a moment or two of hearing it, but it became a joke amongst us for a long time, where they would ask me on the spot to recite the list, and I could.
The trick was to build a crazy story and imagery of the list, and link one to the other.
So ELEPHANT put on SHOES then squeezed into a CAR drove it up the STAIRS to get to the PEANUT BUTTER, etc...
As I said, it really works.
11
I have a semi-eidetic memory, and have always felt a bit like a side-show because of it. At 3, I was able to identify the make, model and year of a car even when shown just a section of it. But like any 'skill', it isn't perfect, nor selective. More an accident of brain wiring. But here is a different, more useful tool, and having easily remembered all 10 items, I'm encouraged to give this a shot.
6
I read (and have) Foer's book. This essay explains better in the first few short paragraphs and more straightforwardly what memory maps are than the book. Keep up the good work!
17
Growing up abroad, Mom would send me to the grocery store with a list of 15-20 items, which I would easily recall at the local grocery store 3 blocks away. Not the same 40 years later. I did try the list in the article and it worked, almost. I did not remember the grapes, interestingly. I live in a midsize house which does not have a hallway. So as I mentally walked the house remembering the items, I never passed a hallway, therefore no grapes.
5
we don't have a spare room, so i forgot the corn! :-)
4
A simple and effective technique. The high irony is no one remembers the name of the author of the first known text on the art of memorization.....
14
Okay, but I still can't find my keys.
54
It's okay not finding your keys as long as you remember what they are used for!
5
This is why blocking is so important to actors, especially stage actors. Blocking is the scaffolding upon which you build your memorization of the script. You know what you're supposed to be saying based on where you are physically on the stage. It's the same with the actual script itself. Never begin memorizing until your script is in its final hard-copy form, because where a speech is on a page becomes a key to memory just as physical blocking is on the stage.
60
This is only partly true, in a sense. Yes, lines are more easily remembered once the play has been rehearsed. But the sophisticated actor will work on lines at home, and in a phase of rehearsal with others examining the text, and explore what the words mean, visualizing associations with the them, the needs of the character, and the arguments expressed. Working in this way, staging work in rehearsals can be on actors' physical impulses that come from a strong familiarity with the text. Such staging is usually more organic than director-imposed, or purely analytical "blocking" with book-in-hand, determined before the actors have better internalized their lines. Yet still, the principle is the same: to memorize text, the actors build up visual or kinesthetic associations.
4
Giordano Bruno, who got in trouble back in the 16th century for (among other things) postulating that the stars were suns that might have live-sustaining planets, was also famous for using and expanding on this mnemonic technique. His recall was so amazing that it verged on magic and may have contributed to his heresy conviction and burning at the stake.
24
I used this technique as a stress free way to learn 2000 medications for my pharmacology exam in med school. It was amazing. I imagined each room in my house as a class of drugs and imagined fanciful characters in each room who reminded my of the name of the drug (ie clonidine - I imagine somebody clobbering the dean in my bedroom and could see them begging for water because of the thirst side effect) I remember these images 20 years later. Perfect score ....YAY!!!!! ... and I am not even smart :)
98
This is great, and very much like a book I read many years ago called, simply, The Memory Book, by Harold Lorayne and Jerry Lucas. The latter, interestingly, played for the Boston Celtics.
To remember a 10-item shopping list, they would recommend burning an absurd image of the first item at the door of the store. The second image should link item #1 to item #2, the next would link 2 to 3, and so on. They even had a method of remembering long numbers that I use quite often.
To remember a 10-item shopping list, they would recommend burning an absurd image of the first item at the door of the store. The second image should link item #1 to item #2, the next would link 2 to 3, and so on. They even had a method of remembering long numbers that I use quite often.
3
And what method do you use for remembering long numbers?
Artificial memory, or artful memory, is a product of the liberal arts. And these arts, as the article indicates, are situated within a complex of writing and speaking proficiently. Given an institution whose faculty attends to ancient texts, such as the Rhetorica ad Herenium, students can become proficient not only in useful 'skills' or 'techniques,' they can practice and produce arts which relate much of life's and culture's treasures through remembering and communicating to others what we see and think. That's what the humanities and liberal arts do best. Neglecting such arts and education leads, as this article hints at, to an 'ecology of the mind' that is far more barren than it should be. Remember that when thinking about a college and a choice of major.
29
Some people such as myself do not have the ability to visualize. It was not until I was a teenager that I realized that "picture this" wasn't just a figure of speech. I cannot "picture" or accurately describe my wife or children. Not surprisingly, I have tremendous trouble memorizing. In Dale Carnegie years ago, we were taught to use a memory palace variation to remember everyone's name in the class. At the end of the class, most people could remember about 30 of the 33 people's names. I could only remember about a dozen. This technique clearly works well for most people, but like most things, there are exceptions.
33
How interesting! Can you not visualize what you had for breakfast, not see it on the table? Can you remember it at all? If you can, what form does the memory take (e.g. the word "oatmeal", only the taste of the oatmeal?)? What happens when you read a book? Is it purely an auditory stream of consciousness? I've never known anyone who couldn't visualize, so I am (obviously) very curious.
3
People have different strengths and weaknesses. I am a visual learner and sometimes I can picture something in my head before I get the words associated with it out of my mouth. But auditory learning has always been a struggle. Now that I am older, I am horrible with learning names upon introductions (as one example). My best technique is to picture the person wearing a badge with their name written on it.
4
I cannot do mental visualization very well either. So these techniques aren't that useful for me.
3
I have lived in five states. I recall concepts based on where I first learned them. Some concepts I associate with falling maple leaves; others I associate with hurricane-flailed palm branches.
12
At 4 AM, bleary eyed, after reading your shopping list once, I only missed corn and hummus, out of the ten items. That by itself is a fantastic result for me.
Great article, I will begin practicing this technique.
Great article, I will begin practicing this technique.
21