Do you have the feeling that you forgot something very important? Perhaps the name of a new colleague or the location of the pet store, or, say, some details related to work. Nothing wrong! The spatial mnemonic method, often referred to as the "memory palace", is a time-tested technique for memorizing truly amazing amounts of information.
If you needed to give your memory a physical form, what would it be? Is your memory like a filing cabinet, where everything you've ever seen or heard is carefully arranged on shelves, cross-numbered for easy access? Or it is more like a slightly leaking bucket, meaning you can hold information in your memory for a short time, but if you don't refresh it, it will eventually disappear. Don't be upset if the second option is closer to reality than the first. This applies to most of us. And in fact, it is very interesting to figure out exactly how memories disappear, are lost or transform over time.
As you can see in the TV series Sherlock, there is a special way we use our memory that can dramatically increase our memorization efficiency. The "palace of memory" (or "palaces of the mind"), or the method of loci, is a mnemonic device that transforms any physical location into a repository of information convenient for navigation. Of course, this method was not invented by Benedict Cumberbertch, not even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself. In fact, the original Sherlock Holmes character didn't have a particularly good memory. In A Study in Crimson, the first story about Holmes, he even forgot that the earth revolves around the sun. No, the "palace of memory" is rooted in Ancient Greece.
According to a rather grim story told by the legendary Roman statesman Cicero, this method was developed by the Greek poet Simonides after one gala dinner that went as badly as possible. First of all, the rich owner spoke insultingly about the poem of Simonides, and later, as if everything was still not bad enough, the roof collapsed and crushed all the guests, except for Simonides himself, so much so that it was impossible to recognize them. The poet was lucky - he was mysteriously summoned from the premises shortly before the disaster. Simonides was able to help identify the bodies. Remembering where each of the guests sat, he managed to make sure that the grieving families received the remains of their loved ones. And then he realized that he could use this spatial method to remember less painful information.
In Sherlock, the memory palace method takes the form of an imaginary state that has no spatial meaning. Holmes only uses it to store memories. If you start building your "memory palace", you will have to act differently. In fact, it is very important that the place you choose is not just real - it should be very familiar to you. Your own home or office, or even the route you take to get to work every day, is a great choice. Have you already made yours? This is how it works.
Suppose you have a huge list of errands to complete today, and you are afraid that you will forget something. You need to go shopping, pick up things from the dry cleaner, change the oil in the car, find a friend's birthday present, and take the cat to the vet. Of course, you could write everything down, but why waste paper?
Instead, just imagine in detail the location of your home. Imagine entering the staircase and walking up the stairs to the front door. When you take out your keys, you notice a couple of bags of groceries rolling around on a children's swing in the yard (the dumber you are, the more likely you are to remember). You enter the apartment and stop in the hallway when you suddenly come across a stack of freshly ironed suits. Moving past them, you enter the living room, where your car is relaxing in a kiddie pool full of black lube oil. And passing the bathroom, you suddenly hear the melody "Happy Birthday to you". Looking inside, you see that someone has replaced the shower curtain with wrapping paper. Finally, you get to the kitchen, and there is a cat sitting at the table with a thermometer in its mouth.“I actually feel great now,” he tells you gratefully.
The bottom line is that you know the layout of your home well and you don't have to think too much to imagine it. Thus, you can easily imagine the changes that you yourself will mentally outline. It will not be just a list, but a list animated with exotic details and tied to hard reality.
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This combination makes it easy to add additional elements and more detailed information as needed. For example, you might walk into the bathroom of your "memory palace" to find out the details of your birthday. Maybe you add a dinosaur fighting Luke Skywalker on toilet paper to remind yourself of your daughter's two biggest hobbies, or leave a bunch of socks in the shower … in short, don't hold back your fantasy. While this path may seem a bit winding at first, the palaces of memory work, it's tested. We've had to wonder more than once how Cumberbertch remembers his lyrics.
