How to Create A Memory Palace: A Start-to-Finish Guide

This memorization technique is called the Method of Loci, or more commonly the “Memory Palace”. It is a memorization method that not only has held the test of ... Searchthesite Menu HOME ABOUT FREECOURSE BLOG Memory Learning LanguageLearning Reading Thinking Productivity PODCAST MEMBERS HowtoCreateAMemoryPalace:AProvenMemoryPalaceTechniqueApproach AnthonyMetivier| May29,2022| Memory,Podcast Share121Tweet62Share14197Shares https://traffic.libsyn.com/magneticmemorymethod/Memory_Palace_Science__Proof_That_The_Ultimate_Memory_Technique_Works.mp3Podcast:DownloadSubscribe:ApplePodcasts|GooglePodcasts|Stitcher|RSSInthemodernworldofomnipresentinformationaccess,memorizationusingaMemoryPalaceisalmostathingofthepast. Andthisshifthasoccurredveryquickly. Littlemorethanadecadeago,itwasn’tuncommonthatapersonhadtomemorizeasizablelistofphonenumbersbelongingtopartners,siblings,parentsandclosefriends. NowManyOfUsForgetOurOwnCellPhoneNumbers!   Despitethisfact,therearesituationsinthemoderndaythatstillrequirememorization. PerhapsphonenumbersandhistoricalfactsarebetterlefttoGoogle.Butinreality,noteverythingcanandshouldbesearchedviaacomputer. Anotableexamplewhichisbecomingconversantis“language”–whichrequiresthatyoumemorizeahugeamountofvocabularyandgrammar. Untilnow,thereisn’tatechnologyeffectiveenoughtoreplacehumanabilitytolearnandmasteralanguage. Inthepast,havingtomemorizeinformationwasnotoptionalbecauseinformationwasn’teasilyaccessible.Upuntilthe19thcentury,paperwasexpensive,especiallyforquantitiesrequiredtomakeabook. Toaddtoitwasthatnotmanypeoplecouldreadandwritesotheabilityandneedtomemorizeandrecallinformationwascritical. YoursFree:APrivateCourseWithCheatSheetsForBecomingAMemoryMaster,StartingFromScratch.>>>ClickHereForThisSpecialFreeOffer.   WhyTheGreeksAdoredtheMemoryPalaceTechnique   That’swhyapowerfulmemorizationmethodwasadoredbytheancientGreeks.Thistechniqueisusedtodaybymemoryexpertstocommithugeamountsofinformationtomind. Theonlyproblemisthis: Anabundanceofterminologyhasemergedthatallmeansessentiallythesamething.Forexample,you’llheresomememoryexpertscalltheMemoryPalacetechniquetheMindPalace.ThistermappearstocomefromtheworldofSherlockHolmes,andit’snotreallyaccurate. Afterall,thisdetectiveisafictionalcharacter,andwe’reheretooptimizeourmemorybasedonwhatisreallyscientificallypossible,notfantasticallydescribed.Personally,Ialsodisliketheideaofassociatingthesetechniqueswithcrime,andSherlockHolmesisadrugaddict.Finally,thewholenotionthattheinformationisinour‘mind’isobvious,butalsoadeviationfromthefactthatthistechniqueuseswhatisalreadyinourmemorytohelpusremembermore. YoumightalsohearthiscalledtheJourneyMethod,theRomanRoomorarelatedtermlikethePegwordMethod.Allofthesehaveonethingincommon:Theyareusingspaceitselfasamnemonic. Thefactthatallofthesetechniquesdrawuponyourspatialmemoryexplainswhy“MemoryPalace”isinfactthebetterterm:Nomatterwhatyoucallthetechnique,it’saloteasiertouseifyouarebasingitonspacethatisalreadyrememberedandeasilyrecalled.ThisfeaturewasnotedbyThalesofMiletuswholivedduringthepre-SocraticEra.Hepointedoutthat“spaceisultimatebecauseitcontainsallthings.” AndthankstoThalesandalonglineofpeoplewhohaveusedthesetechniques,wehaveanabundanceofAncientGreekfactsandinstructionsthathavebeenhandeddown,anyonecanlearntouseaMindPalaceatanytime. Onesuchcontemporarymemoryexpert,usedittomemorizePitoover100,000digits.OurownMMMstudentMarnoHermannhasusedaMemoryPalacetomemorize1200digitsofPi. ThismemorizationtechniqueiscalledtheMethodofLoci,ormorecommonlythe“MemoryPalace”.Itisamemorizationmethodthatnotonlyhasheldthetestoftime,buthasbeenshowntobeeffectivethroughmodern-daystudies. YoumayevenhaveheardoftheMemoryPalacewithoutrealizingitbecauseithasbeenfeaturedinmultiplebooksandmedia.   TheSilenceOfTheMemoryPalace InFictionAndMovies   Forexample,thetechniquewasemployedbythefictionalserialkillerHannibalLecterinthenovelseriesHannibal writtenbyanAmericanauthorThomasHarris. Inseveralpassagesofthenovel,LecterwasdescribedasmentallywalkingthroughanelaborateMindPalacetorememberfacts.That’sthebasicsoftheMemoryPalace. Althoughrelativelyunknown,thismethodcanbeagame-changingtechniqueforpeoplewhowanttoimprovetheirabilitytoretainlargeamountsofinformation. Youmightbeastudenttryingtomasterinformationforanexam,oranaspiringpolyglottryingtolearnItalian.Youmightbeagingandfindingitmoredifficulttorecallroutineinformation. Whatevermemorizationchallengeyouface,theMemoryPalaceisaproficientwaytofinallyhelpyouachieveyourgoals.   HowtheMemoryPalaceEvolved   TheoriginoftheMemoryPalacewastracedtoancientGreece.Asmentionedearlier,intheoldendays,peoplehadhigherincentivestocreateeffectivemethodsofretaininginformation.Writingandwritingmaterialsweredifficulttoaccess. TheMemoryPalacewasintroducedtotheancientRomansandtheworldviaGreekrhetoricaltreatises. TheRomanCicerodescribedtheMemoryPalaceinhiswritingsonrhetoric,calledDeOratore. InDeOratore,CirceroclaimsthathisMindPalacemethodoriginatedfromtheGreekpoetSimonides.Simonideswascommissionedtoreciteapoempraisingagroupofnoblesatabanquet.Aftertherecitation,Simonidesleftthehallandshortlyaftertheedificecollapsedandkilledallthepeopleinthebanquet. Thebodiesweresobadlymangledthatnotevencloserelativescouldidentifythecorpsesoftheirownpeople.However,Simonideswasabletoidentifyeachofthecorpsesbynamebasedontheirlocation.Basedonthisexperience,SimonidesdevisedtheMemoryPalace(Bower1970). Whetherthisstoryisrealityormyth,itillustratesthebasicideabehindtheMemoryPalace.Luckily,youdon’thavetoattendatragicbanquettomasterthetechniqueandstartusingittoimproveyourinformationretention. Foratruestorythatwillrivetyoufrombeginningtoend,checkoutTheMemoryPalaceofMatteoRicci.   HowtoCreate aMemoryPalace   ThebasicideabehindtheMemoryPalaceistoassociatepiecesofinformationwithalocationthatyouareveryfamiliarwith.Aprimeexamplewouldbeofyourhome. Ifyou’dlikesomefreeMemoryPalaceworksheetsandaconcisememoryimprovementvideocourse,dothisnow:   Ifyoucloseyoureyesrightnow,youcanprobablypictureyourhomewithahighdegreeofdetail.Youknowwherethefurnitureisfound,whatcolorsthewallsare,andevenwheresmallobjectsareplaced. TheMemoryPalacehastodowithassociatinginformationwithspecificareasofthatfamiliarlocation. Asyouwalkthroughthatlocation,youplacepiecesofinformationthatyouwishtomemorizeinspecificareas.Whenyouwanttorecalltheinformation,yougothroughthatmentalroute,andtheinformationwillbeeasilyaccessible. Thetechniqueismademoreeffectivewhenyouaddsurprisingorout-of-thenormalfeaturestotheinformation. Forexample,assumingyouwouldliketomemorizethissequenceofwords: hero drill spacecraft music Youcouldimagineyourselfatyourfrontdoor,withaherostandingnexttoyou.Hereyou’vemadeanassociationbetweenyourdoorandahero. Youcanincreaseyourabilitytomemorizeandretainthisbymakingthememorymoredistinctiveorunusual.Forexample,youcouldimaginetheheroopeningthedoorforyou,orbangingonitbeforeyouenter. Youthenwalkdownyourhall,andbeforeyourfeetisadrill.Toincreasethepowerofthisimagery,imaginethatitisturnedonandyouhavetoleaptoavoidbeinghurt. Youthenturnthecornerandseeaspacecraftflyingoutofthewindowleavingbehinditselfatrailofglitter. Finally,yousatdownonthecouch,andasyourbottomtouchesthecushion,yourfavoritesongstartsplaying.Youmightevenimaginetheword“music”writtenonthecushionbeforeyousit. QuickMemoryPalaceDrawingbyAnthonyMetivier(Berlinapartment) TogetstartedcreatingaMindPalace,dothisnow: Drawafloorplanofafamiliarlocation. Createajourneythatdoesnotleadyouintoadeadend. Makesurethatyourjourneyislinearsothatyoudon’tcreateconfusionbycrossingyourownpath. Don’toverclutteryourfirstMemoryPalace. Numbereachstationandcreateatop-downlisttohelpyoumindrememberthejourneybetter.Optional:UseaMagnetic00-99P.O.A.toassignanimagetoeachMagneticStation UsetheMemoryPalaceasquicklyaspossiblewithinformationthatwillimproveyourlife. UsetheMemoryPalacetoinvokethePrimacyEffectandRecencyeffectforeachMagneticStationbyusingtheSerial-PositioningEffect. CreatemoreMemoryPalacesandrepeattheprocess,alwaystakingcaretomemorizeinformationthatmakesyourlifebetterprofessionallyandpersonally. TheDefinitiveGuideToReusingAMemoryPalace AlotofpeopleaskmeaboutusingtheirMindPalaceasecondorthirdtime. Itispossible,butitcanbeabitfinicky.Toexplain,pleasecheckoutthisthoroughguideonthetopic: Asyoucansee,noteventhemostskilledmemoryexpertsreuseMemoryPalaces.Ifyousetyourselfupcorrectly,it’snotreallynecessary. Thatsaid,doublingupdoesmakeforgreatbrainexercise,andthat’susuallythewayItreatthepractice.Ithinkitmighthavehelpedmeexperienceabreakthroughwithaphantasia,actually. Butwhatthisquestionhastaughtmethemostovertheyearsisthatmanystudentsofmemoryimprovementputthecartbeforethehorse.Theyworryaboutadvancedskillsbeforethey’vemasteredthefundamentals–advancedskillsthattheproshavealreadydeterminedmightbegreat,butaren’treallyworthusing. Likewise,peoplesometimesworryaboutwhatwillhappenifthefurnitureintheirMemoryPalacemovesaround. Iunderstandwhytheyareconcerned,butit’sthekindofquestionthatjustdoesn’tarisewhenyouhavethefundamentalsmastered.Pleasemakesurethatyoudevoteyourselftothelocimethodthoroughlyandcompletely.Itwillserveyouwellfortherestofyourlife. YoursFree:APrivateCourseWithCheatSheetsForBecomingAMemoryMaster,StartingFromScratch.>>>ClickHereForThisSpecialFreeOffer. ThisMemoryPalaceTechniqueIsNotNecessarilyVisual   Asyoucansee,thetechniqueseemstorequireavividvisualimagination.Alotofpeoplegetthiswrong,confusingiconicmemorywiththefantasyofphotographicmemory. However,whendonecorrectlyusingalloftheMagneticModes,youcanmemorizeaverylargeamountofinformationrelativelyquicklywithoutnecessarilyseeingtheMemoryPalaceinyourmind. Here’saninfographictoteachyouallaboutthedifferentwaysthatyourbrainperceivesinformation: KeepingthefullrangeofyourMagneticModesinmind,youcanuseanyhomeorlocationwithwhichyouarefamiliar. Youcanevenusesmallareas,suchastheinsideofabroomcloset.Youcanevenuseyourownbody,attachinginformationtodifferentlimbs. Justkeepinmindthatyoudon’tnecessarilyhaveto see theMemoryPalace.Youcanfeelit,hearit,tasteit,smellitandevenjustthinkaboutit. Ifanyofthisseemsodd,continuereadingtobeconvincedofhowseriouslywellthistechniqueworks.YoumightwanttoseejusthowwelltheMemoryPalacecanworkincombinationwithMindMappingtoo.   TheSciencebehindtheMemoryPalace   ManystudieshavebeenconductedtoanalyzetheeffectivenessoftheMemoryPalace.It’sallbasedonthescientificfactthatyourbrainandspatialmemoryperceivespaceasakindofimage. CheckoutthislecturewithmemoryexpertStephenKosslynformoreinformationabouthowthatworks: Cool,right? Theanswerisaresounding“yes!” YoursFree:APrivateCourseWithCheatSheetsForBecomingAMemoryMaster,StartingFromScratch.>>>ClickHereForThisSpecialFreeOffer. IncredibleExperimentswithMemoryPalacesandStudents Evenbetter: InastudyconductedbyJ.RossandK.A.Lawrencein1968,theMemoryPalacewastestedonagroupof40students. Thestudentswereaskedtomemorizealistof40items.Theyweregivenonlyafewminutestodoso,yetwereabletorecallanaverageof38outof40itemsuponimmediaterecall. Thenextday,theaveragerecallratedroppedto34outof40items–stillveryimpressive! NatureMagazinedidaninvestigationofso-calledsuperiormemorizers(SM)ina2002paper(Maguireetal).Theystudiedagroupof10championswhohadcompetedintheWorldMemoryChampionships. TheresearchersfirstwantedtoknowiftheseSMshadsomespecialnaturaladvantagesthatotherpeopledonothave,suchasahigherIQ. TheyfirstfoundoutthatSMsdidnothaveexceptionalcognitiveabilities.Infact,theydidnotevenshowsuperiorperformanceonvisualmemorytasks(forexample,therecalloffaces). ThepaperfurtherinvestigatedthebrainstructureoftheseSMs,andfoundoutthattheirbrainswerenotsignificantlydifferentfromaveragebrains(Maguireetal2002). ThescientistsalsoperformedfunctionalMRIscanstoseeiftheSMsbrainswereactivateddifferentlywhenactivelymemorizing. HeretheSMsbrainsdifferedfromnormalbrains–SM’sbrainsactivatedparticularlywhenmemorizing(Maguireetal2002). Significantly,scientistsfoundoutthatSMsallusedmnemonictechniquestoaidintheirmemorization.NineoutoftenofthesesubjectswerespecificallyusingtheMemoryPalace(Maguireetal2002). Note:SomeofpeoplecallittheMindPalacemethod,butthebasicsarethesame. Plus,thedifferentactivationpatternsobservedwereassociatedtothefactthatSMsusedmnemonictechniques,namelytheMemoryPalace,tomemorizeinformation(Maguireetal2002).   NoNeedForAHugeIQToUseAMemoryPalace!   It’snotthatSMsaresmarterorhavebiggerbrainsthantherestofus.It’sthattheyusemnemonics,andspecificallytheMemoryPalacetomemorizesemanticinformation. Thatisthesecretbehindtheirimpressiveabilities.AndbecausetheseSMshadbeenpracticingthetechniqueforalittleover11yearsonaverage,theywerereallygood(Maguireetal2002). Thissuggeststhatanyonewithaverageabilitiescanusethistechniquetoimprovehis/hermemory. Andonceyouknowthedrill,it’sreallyjustamatterofspendingsometimewithafewsolidMemoryPalacetrainingexercises.Likethese: Evenifyouarenotseekingtolearnlargeamountsofinformation,theMemoryPalacestillhassomethingtooffer.ThereisevenevidencethattheMemoryPalacecanhelpmaintainahealthybrainduringoldage. AsMMMstudentSunilKhatrihasexplained,theMemoryPalaceisalsogreatforlanguagelearning,includingthedifficultiesofJapanese.   BenefitsoftheMemoryPalace TechniquefortheAgingBrain   Asweage,ourmemoriesbecomeweaker.Inelderlypeople,thismightleadtoafrustratingsituationwheretheyarestrugglingtorecallroutineinformation. Therehasbeenmuchstudyonage-relatedmemoryloss,butsofarnotmanyeffectivesolutionstothisproblem. Happily,theMemoryPalaceholdspromiseinaidingtheenhancementofmemoryintheagingbrain. OnestudyconductedinNorwayin2010employedexpertinstructors,whotaughttheMemoryPalaceto23volunteers.Theaverageageofthesevolunteerswas61(Engvigetal2010). Aftertraining,thesevolunteerswereabletomemorizealistof30wordsinsequentialorderinunder10minutes–impressive! Acontrolgroup,asetofvolunteersofthesameaverageage,sexandeducationwasincludedinthestudy.TheywerenottrainedintheMemoryPalacetechnique,andwereinstructedtomemorizethelistaswell(Engvigetal2010). Afterwards,bothgroupswerereleasedintotheworldtolivenormallyforeightweeks. Whentheyreturnedtothestudy,researcherschallengedbothgroupstoarecalltask. TheResults Theyfirstflashedalistof15unrelatedwords,eachforonlyasecond.Thevolunteersweretheninstructedtorecallthewordsinorder. Researchersthenshowedthemalistof30words.Halfofthesewordshadbeendisplayedintheinitial15wordlistwhiletheotherhalfwascompletelynew. Thevolunteerswereaskedtopickoutwordsthathadpreviouslyappearedandalsoidentifytheircorrectpositioninthefirstlist(Engvigetal2010). VolunteerstrainedintheMemoryPalaceoutperformedthenon-trainedvolunteersforrecognizingthepositionofthewords(Engvigetal2010). Thestudyalsomeasuredtheamountofbrainthinningthatoccurredinthetrainedversusuntrainedgroupsofvolunteers.Normalagecausesthebraintoshrink. Thebrainoftheindividualsshowedthickeninginareasofthebrainwhichwerekeyforvisualabstractmemory(Engvigetal2010). Whatshouldweconcludefromthesefindings?It’sclearthatusingaMemoryPalacemakesforgreatbrainexercise. YoursFree:APrivateCourseWithCheatSheetsForBecomingAMemoryMaster,StartingFromScratch.>>>ClickHereForThisSpecialFreeOffer.   WhyTheMemoryPalaceTechniqueIsNotSnakeOil   ThisresearchandotherslikeithaveshownthattheMemoryPalaceisnotsnakeoil. Sadly,mostadultsinthemodernworldarenotencouragedtousetheirimagination.Itmightthereforebeslightlychallengingforsomeonenewlyusingthetechniquetoreallygetintoit,especiallyiftheydon’thavethekindofMemoryPalaceexampleyoucangetwhenyoutakemyfreememoryimprovementcourse. However,afterpractice,manyfindoutthatthismemorytechniqueisnotonlyeffectiveinmemorization,butisalsoveryengaging.Certainlymoreengagingthanthetraditionalrotememorizationtechnique,especiallywhenyouuseMagneticNoteTakingaspartoftheprocess. Withsomepractice,you’llbeimpressingallofyourfriendsandfamilywithhowgoodyourmemorizationhasgotteninnotime.Andifit’sstillnotclearhowandwhythisincredibletoolworkssowell,hereare5MemoryPalaceExamplesthatmakeeverythingclear.   MemoryPalaceReferences&FurtherResources   Bower,G.H.,“AnalysisofaMnemonicDevice:Modernpsychologyuncoversthepowerfulcomponentsofanancientsystemforimprovingmemory”AmericanScientist,Vol.58,No.5,pp.496-510,September–October1970Web.21Jan.2016.. Engvig,Andreas,AndersM.Fjell,LarsT.Westlye,TorgeirMoberget,ØyvindSundseth,ViviAgneteLarsen,andKristineB.Walhovd.“EffectsofMemoryTrainingonCorticalThicknessintheElderly.”NeuroImage52.4(2010):1667-676.1Oct.2010.Web.22Jan.2016. Fan,Shelley.“CanaMnemonicSlowMemoryLosswithAge?”ScientificAmericanBlogNetwork.20Mar.2014.Web.22Jan.2016. Maguire,EleanorA.,ElizabethR.Valentine,JohnM.Wilding,andNarinderKapur.“RoutestoRemembering:TheBrainsbehindSuperiorMemory.”NatureNeuroscienceNatNeurosci6.1(2002):90-95.Web.22Jan.2016. WanttoBecomeaMnemonicsDictionary?5PowerfulSecretsRevealed! 7MoreMentalExercisesFromAroundtheWorld RelatedPosts APolyglotClubForMemoryPalaceBuildersUsethisresourcetofindgreatforeignlanguagevocabularywordsformemorizinginyourMagnet… TapTheMindOfA10-YearOldMemoryPalaceMasterAliciaCrosbytalkstousabouthowshememorizedallofShakespeare'splaysinhistorical… HowtoImproveShortTermMemory:7EasyStepsManypeoplethinkyoucannotimproveshorttermmemory.Intruth,youcan.Inthis… Share121Tweet62Share14197Shares Lastmodified:May29,2022 AbouttheAuthor/AnthonyMetivier AnthonyMetivieristhefounderoftheMagneticMemoryMethod,asystematic,21stCenturyapproachtomemorizingforeignlanguagevocabulary,names,faces,numbers,poetryandanyinformationinwaysthatareeasy,elegantandfun. 90Responsesto"HowtoCreateAMemoryPalace:AProvenMemoryPalaceTechniqueApproach" Alexsays: December15,2016at6:29pm MemoryPalaceScience:ProofThatThisMemoryTechniqueWorks ThanksAnthony, Memorytrulyresidesinseveralrealms,andscienceiscertainlyoneofthem.Ofcourse,itisasubjectofpureandappliedsciences,suchasmedicine,neuropsychologyandthelike;butitalsoresidesinsocialscience,lifescience,formalscience,etc.Scienceisanactivitythatweusetogainknowledgeofourworldthroughgatheringevidence,conductingexperiments,andarrivingatconclusions. ThosewhoconsiderHumanities,whichappliesthescientificmethodtothestudyofhumanculture,asnon-scientifichaveamisunderstandingofscience. Thisissad,butitisnotsurprising,forourWesternsystemsofeducationhavebeendegradingwoefullyovertheyears.Levelsofilliteracy(cultural,literary,scientific,andsoforth)andinnumeracyarestaggering. ButMemoryisthestuffofallscientificandartisticpursuit.Infact,Ciceroconsidereditthe“treasurehouseofknowledge.” HisworkonRhetoric(“deOratore”)coverstheclassicalfivefields,whichareInvention,Arrangement,Style,MemoryandDelivery.Forhim,andformanyofhiscontemporaries,location-basedmnemonicswasverywellknown.Manywereversedintheskill,soheisalmostapologeticwhenhecoversit.Moreover,Memorywasmadeevenmorepowerfulwhenusedinconjunctionwiththefourotherfields. Mentalimagerypredatesspokenlanguage.Infact,afascinatingarticleonitappearsintheStanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy(https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/index.html#MneEffIma).Itrelatesimagerytomnemonicandotherpursuits.Iencourageyouandotherstoreadit. WhenIrecallhowIlearnedmyphonenumbersasachild,I“see”thetelephone(itscolour,itslocation).Irememberdiallingthenumberswiththerotarydial.Everythingwasexperientialandhighlymemorable. Ithinkwedevelopedsuchastrongsenseofvisualmemorybecauseitliterallywasamatteroflifeanddeath.Weneededtoknowwheretofindfoodorhowtoavoidpitfalls,andallofthiswascontingentonvisualmemory. Ilikeyourexamplewithhero,drill,spacecraftandmusic.HowIwouldhandleitiscombiningthewordstogethertoformonemnemonicimageinonelocation.Forexample,Iseeourold1966DodgePolaraparkedinourdriveway.Allofasuddenanoldflyingsaucerspacecraftcomeswhirlingoutoftheskyandlandsonitcrushingitlikeapancake.AclassicalGreekHerocomesrushingoutofmyhousewithadrillinhandtostartfixingthemess;buthe’sonlymakingitworse.BonnieTyler’s“IneedaHero”isblaringoutoverthescene,addingthemusic.Funny,crazy,dynamicandallrolledintoonelocation. PossiblywhypeoplecomplainabouttheeffectivenessofMemoryPalacesisthatthey’renotusingvividimagery.Ithastobetotallyoutlandishifyouwanttoremember.Butasyousay,“Sadly,mostadultsinthemodernworldarenotencouragedtousetheirimagination.Itmightthereforebeslightlychallengingforsomeonenewlyusingthetechniquetoreallygetintoit.” However,oncepeoplereallyusethetechnique,andastrueMemoryScientists,explore,practise,experimentandobserve;andcompareittoothermethods,suchasrotelearning),IamsuremorepeoplewillembracetheScienceandArtofMemory. Kindsregards. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: December20,2016at2:22pm Ah,rotarydial…justthinkingofallthephonesI’veusedorownedinmylifebringsbacksomanymemories–andallintheformofaprofoundmemoryexercise. Thephonesinthehomesoffriendsandrelatives…payphonesaroundtheworld. Andthenmyfirstcellphone…howthecellphonesofmyfriendslooked… Justonewordinyourpostunlocksatreasurehouseofknowledgethat,evenifitseemstrivialtosome,isthemostvaluableintheworld. Why? Becauseitmakespossiblemorethanjustmemoryexercise.ItopensupideasforevenmoreMemoryPalaces. Thelackofvividimageryispreciselythecomplaintsomanymake.Thatissolvedbyunderstandinghowoneisvisualandthenmassagingthatmusclesothatitworks.TheMemoryPalaceisboththestorehouseandthedojo/gymwherealltheworkistobedone.Anditisdoneatthehighestpossiblelevelwhenweactasthescientistofourownmemorylaboratory. AndsoIhopeandworktowardsyoubeingrightthatthemajoritywillcometoembracetheglorious,ancienttechnologyoftheMemoryPalace.It’sonlygoingtogetmorepowerfulandmoreusefultheolderitgets!🙂 Reply Vladimirsays: September22,2017at5:13am HiAnthony, Thanksforthearticle. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: September22,2017at8:45pm Mypleasure,Vladimir. Havefunbeingthescientistinthelaboratoryofyourmemory!🙂 Reply Betsysays: October23,2017at6:52pm Itellpeoplethatanyonecandevelopagoodmemory,yettheydon’tbelieveme!Coulditbeduetomentallaziness?Idon’tknow…. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: October23,2017at10:39pm Thanksforthis,Betsy. I’msurementallazinessisinvolvedinsomecases.Inothers,itcouldbeDigitalAmnesia. Anotherreasonisthatpeopledon’thaveaccountability,whichisonereasonwhyIdevelopedthismonthlyprintnewsletterprogramwithabookcalledTheMemoryConnection. Iwasn’tsureifitwouldbesuccessfulornot,buttheresponsesofarhasbeengreat.I’mconfidentthatthisformofcontinuoustrainingisanewwaytohelppeoplefindtheirwaytomemorytechniquesnomatterwhatmightbeholdingthemback. Thanksforyourpostandlookforwardtoyournextonesoon.Weallappreciatehearingfromyou!🙂 Reply Khawajasays: September6,2019at10:20am DearSircanonememorypalacebeusedformultiplepurpose Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: September7,2019at8:59pm Thanksforyourquestion. Yes,youcanreuseanyMemoryPalace,buttherearemanyconsiderations.Somepeopledoitwithease,butothersstruggle.Alotdependsonthepurpose,yourlevelofskillandthedistinctivenatureoftheinformation. Forexample,youcangetwhatIthinkofas“borderblur”iftheimageryistoosimilar.Youcanalsoexperiencewhatsomememorycompetitorscall“ghosting.”Whenitcomestore-usingaMemoryPalaceforknowledge,Iprefertocallthisthe“UglySisterEffect.”Ifyousearchthissiteforit,you’llfindawholeepisodeoftheMagneticMemoryMethodPodcastaboutwhythishappens,whyIpreferthistermandhowtodealwiththeissue. Attheendoftheday,giveitatryandseehowitworksforyou.Ifit’stoomuchofapain,makeandusemoreMemoryPalaces.Ifindthisapproachtobethebetteronebecauseitexercisesmorelevelsofyourmemoryoverall. Reply Sameepasays: August30,2019at8:56am HiAnthony, Thanksforthearticle, I‘vebeenusingthistechiquesince5yearsitreallyworkswell,likeIcanstillrememberwhatIread2yearsback. Icreatedmorethan150memorypalaceswithasketchbutnowI’mrunningoutofmyfamiliarplaces IcompletedalltheplacesI’mfamiliarwith. Iendedupusingsameplaceagainandagainwhichcreatedamess SoIstartedvisitingnewplacesandthencomingbacktomemorizestuffinthatplacebutthisisnotefficientbecauseI’mnotfullyfamiliarwiththeplace WhatI’mIsupposedtodo? Pleasehelpme. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: August30,2019at11:04pm HiSameepa, Thanksforyourquestion. Yes,re-usingMemoryPalacescancreateamess.It’spossibletogetbetteratdoingso,butI’vefoundthatthebenefitsareusuallyverylow.Itworkswellformemorizingcards,butnotreallyforknowledgebasedprojectswhereyouwantlongtermmemoryofthematerial. IntermsoffindingnewMemoryPalaces,ongoinginventoryexercisesareuseful.Ifyouhaven’ttakenmyfreecourse,pleasestartthere.Itwalksyouthroughaninventoryexerciseusingaverypowerfultooleveryoneknows. Ifyoustillcan’tfindideasfordevelopingafullMemoryPalaceNetwork(andthenanotherandanother),pleaseconsidervisitingnewcafes,museums,bookstores,etc. Youcanalsoexploreoptionslikemoviesandtvseriesandsearchthissitefortutorialsonthatpractice. Attheendoftheday,everyonecanfindmoreMemoryPalaceoptions.It’sjustamatterofdevelopingdoingsoasahabitandhavinganorganizationalstructureforthetask,ideallyonethatalsohelpsgeneratetheMPnetworks.That’swhatthefreecoursehelpsyoudoandyou’refreetopostmorequestionsifyouhavethemalongtheway. Reply Gabrielsays: January15,2020at7:35am HiAnthony,thankyouforallyourposts,theyallreallygivegreatinsights! I’vebeenintomnemonicssince2011whenIwasstudyingmentalism,Ireadalotaboutmnemonics,Imean,alot!I’vefinishedhavingkindofgreatknowledgeaboutthisbutIneverreallyneededtouseitforreal-lifepurposes.Iuseditformemorizingadeckofcards,sometimesIusedformemorizingstuffforsomeexamatschool,butnowIfinallyhavesomeincentive,IwanttouseMPformemorizingforeignvocabularyandformathequationtoo…Thetrickythingformeis,Ispeak3languages(Portuguese,ItalianandalmosttherewithEnglish),Ihavetwosimilardoubtswithdifferentcontexts. So,languagefirst;whenIcomeupwithanimageforavocabularysometimesitiseasiertorelatewithaPortugueseword,othertimesitiseasierwithamEnglishword.Forexample,theFrenchwordfor“cake”,it’s“gateau”,itspronunciationisalmostthesameasthewordinPortuguesefor“cat”whichis“gato”.TheFrenchwordfor“rabbit”is“lapin”,andmymindrapidlyvisualizedarabbitlappinghimself.Now,it’soktodothat?Tomixlanguages?Orit’sbettertochooseadefinite“mindlanguage”andalwaysusethatlanguage?Whataboutcomposedwords?Imean,whenyouusemorethanoneimageforthesameword,like“tofind”inFrenchis“retrouver”,thefirstthingsthatcametomymindweretheItalianword“retro”andthePortugueseword“ver”.WhenIthinkaboutthewordIrememberwhatIdid,butI’mafraidthatinthelongtermifIdonotusethewordforalongtime,Icouldthenmakesomeconfusion.Whatdoyouthinkaboutthis? Fornumber,likea00-99majormethod,forsomenumber,itisnotthateasytocomeup withanimage,butsinceI’mBrazilianbutI’velivedinSwitzerlandforalmost10years,so formanyyearsschoolandessayswereinItalian.MymotherlanguageisPortuguese,but Italiankindofalsoismymotherlanguage.So,Iwascreatinganumbersystembutsomeof thewordswereinItalian,someinPortuguese,andsomeeveninEnglish.Istilldidn’t finishforallthenumbers,butdoyouthinkthiscouldconfusemymind?Orwith practice,thiswouldnotmatter? Anyway,thankyouforalltheyoutubevideosandarticles,Ireallymakegooduseofthem. Kindsregards Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: January15,2020at11:57am Thanksforthis,Gabriel. Youhaveawonderfulassetbyspeakingmultiplelanguages.Useitfreely.Thereareno“MemoryPalace”policewhogovernthesematters. Instead,lettheresultsbefinalarbiter. Personally,ItakeeverypossibleadvantageoftheotherlanguagesandsnippetsfromlanguagesIknow.ImightevendrawuponaConglangorsoundpoetryifit’suseful. Asforconfusionthatmightariseoverthelongterm,thatisonlypossiblewhenyou’renotusingtheMemoryPalacetechniquecorrectly. Youneedtointegrate: 1.ProperMemoryPalacecreation 2.EffectiveencodingwithMagneticImagery(soundslikeyou’redoinggreatwiththat 3.RecallRehearsalthatmaximizesthepoweroftheprimacyeffect,recencyeffectandserial-positioningeffect ManypeoplethinktheMemoryPalacestheycreateareforpermanentstorage,butthisisnotwhatthetechniquehelpsestablish.ThetechniqueisforsettingupRecallRehearsalsothatwecanmoveshorttermrecallintolongtermmemory. Whenitcomestothe00-99,“easy”isastateofmind,amentaljudgment.Tyingone’sshoeswasn’teasyinthebeginningeither.Somepeoplejustlearnit.Othersdevelopamentalattitudeoffrustrationandmakeittakelongerthannecessary.Iwouldstartbyeliminatinganythingthatevenremotelysmacksofajudgmentontheprocess. Iknowthatcansoundbrutal.Buthere’stheimportantthing:Weknowthatothersuseitandverysuccessfully.Whatdoesouropinionsofhow“hard”or“easy”itismatterwhenit’sjustafactthatitcanbelearned?Itonlymattersifourmentalattitudehelpsorhindersus.Onlyfocusonthementalattitudesthathelp. Intermsofthe00-99confusingyouinyourmind,thatsoundslikeyou’reworryingaboutsomethingthathasn’thappenedyet.Whyevenbuildsuchapossible,imaginaryfuture? Isuggestyousimplyfocusonmasteringtheskillwithnoregardforthefuture.Youcan’tcontrolthefutureanyway,butyoucanprepareforit.Confusionmightwellbepartofit,anditwouldn’tbemuchofalifeifitweren’t. Butwhenyoupracticethegreatmemorytraditionwithoutjudgmentsordecidingwhatcountsasconfusioninadvance,youcanjustsettlebackandenjoytheprocess. Somanypeoplewantto“optimize”everypartofitinadvanceandavoidmistakes.Tryingtodosoistheultimatemistakebecauseitisnotpossible.Wecanonlyoptimizeitbyencounteringmistakesaswego.Thereisnorefinementinadvanceandthedesiretoavoidconfusionisunderstandable,butfalse.Wewillallencounteritevenifwe’renotusingmemorytechniques. Embraceit! Reply AdrianAustinsays: January22,2020at9:38pm HiAnthony, Iamstillconfused.DoIpickastationthenbuildamindmaptowhatIwanttolearnbecauseifyouuseeverystationyourrunoutofstationstouse.Surelyeachworddoesnotgetputonastation.Iwouldrunoutofstationsandwouldneedhundredsofthem. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: January22,2020at9:58pm Thanksforyourquestion. I’mnotsurewhyyouarebringingthemindmaptechniqueintothisdiscussion.YoucancombinemindmappingwiththeMemoryPalacetechnique,butIwouldnotdothisforagoallikememorizingverbatiminformation. Everyseriouspractitionerofthistechniquedoeseventuallyhaveandusehundredsofstationsandthisisnotanissuewhenyouknowtheskills. However,thelongeryouthinkaboutitbeforejustdivinginandstartingtomemorize,themoreyourbrainplaysa“numbersgame”withafuturethathasn’tarrivedyet. Therealityisthatyouwillneverrunoutofstations,norwillyourunoutofMemoryPalaces.Thiswillhappenbecauseyouwilllearnafewdifferentwaystoreusethem. Youwillalsolearnanumberofwaystomaximizethespacewithinthemasyoupractice. Andyouwillcontinuetodevelopnewstrategiestoexpandyourtechnique.Icando11-17wordsperstation,whichleadstomassiveprogresswhendealingwithlargetextsveryquickly. HopethishelpsandpleasereadHowToStopOverthinkingTheMemoryPalaceTechnique.Ithinkitwilldoyouwonders. Putthenumbersgameasideanddivein.Expecttolearnitasyougoandspendsometimereallyseepingintothepractice.Theancientsdiditandsocanallofus.It’sfunandeasy. Reply Simonasays: November9,2020at5:41am Hi, thankyouforthearticle.AndIhaveaquestion–ispossibleusememorypalaceforlearningphysics? Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: November9,2020at11:38am Thanksforstoppingby,Simona. Yes,youcanuseaMemoryPalaceforrememberingconceptsandformulasinphysics. Todoso,you’llwanttodevelopafewmoretools: *AMajorSystem *Asystemformemorizingsymbolsusedinequations *Analphabetlistorpegwordsystem,perhapsmorethanone Reply GalenGrazianosays: January28,2021at11:48pm HiDr.Metivier! Ihaveaquestionaboutmemorypalacesandobtainingdegrees. I’vealreadynoticedhowfastinformationgoesintoamemorypalace.EventhoughthereisaRecallRetentionRehearsalperiodafterwards,itseemstomethatgivenalargeenoughnetworkofmemorypalaces,andenoughtimeandenergyafterwardstoreviewitallproperly,obtainingadegreeshouldnottake4,8,or12yearsatall.Itcouldprobablybecutinhalforinthirdsatleast. Butsinceyou’vealreadyobtainedaPhD,I’mwonderingyourthoughts.Iaskbecausewithmyworkschedule,Isimplycan’tattendcollegerightnow,butIstillwanttogeteducated(Ijustdon’tknowwhatI’llusetheinformationfor).Mygoalistopickupabook,readthroughitonceandunderstandalltheknowledgeinit(especiallysuchtextbooksasanatomy/medical/pharmacologicalbooksandscience/engineering)books. IhavenoideahowmanystationsI’llneedthough.Soplanningamemorypalacewithsuchalargegoalisdifficulttojudge. I’mcuriouswhatyourthoughtsare? Bestwishes, GalenGraziano Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: January29,2021at4:05pm Thanksforthispost,Galen.It’sagreattopic. Ithinkit’simportanttoapproachthisfromtheperspectiveofyourgoals. Ifyouwanttomasterthesetopicsforpersonalreasons,youaregoodtogo.Noonecananswer“howmanystations”you’llneedbecausethejourneywillunlockthingsthatarecurrentlyunknowntoyou.Sotherealgoalissimplytobeabletolearnthosethingsondemand–andwhenitcomestousingtheMemoryPalacetechnique,youwillalwayshaveoptionswhenyouknowandpracticethismethod.Ittooalwaysunlocksmorepossiblelocationsandtools. Butiftherearereasonsyouarestudyingthesetopicswhereyouwillberequiredtohavecompletedaformaldegree,nospeedoflearningwillmagicallymanifesttherequiredslipsofpaper. Wherearetheseinterestsyou’vementionedtakingyouandtowhatextentwillformaleducationberequired? Ifnone,thentheexactnumberofMemoryPalacesinyourMemoryPalaceNetworksisnotknowableandonewoulddowelltojustgetstarted,ideallywithall26oftherecommendedfirstnetwork. Reply GalenGrazianosays: January29,2021at9:45pm Thanks,Dr.Metivier! Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: January29,2021at10:55pm Mypleasure! AnythingelseIcandotohelpyouout? Reply AntonyOnopkosays: March10,2021at3:49pm HiAnthony, Iappreciateyousharingthisknowledgewithallofus.SoIsometimeswonderifthatknowledgeisbeingputtogoodusewithmyownversionofthemagneticmemorypalace.Iunderstandthateveryoneiseachtotheirown.However,Iwishtoseeifthiswouldresultinfailureorsuccesssinceyouarethememoryexpertafterall.(Someofthesequestionsmayseemratherbrainless,butIamextremelycautiousofeverythingbeforeIstart.) Firstly,whenIassignapartofaworditsmeaning;doesthatmeanIhavetomakeanothermeaningthenexttimeIencounterthatpartoftheword?Ordoesitjuststay?Forexample,thereistheword*hanshi*.Withthatbeingsaid,Icreatedmyownalphabet.Moreover,:han:wouldmean:freeze:,and*shi*wouldmeandeath.OutofthesetwowordsIwouldthencreateastory.So,forthenexttimeIencounter:shi:doIhavetoassociateadifferentmeaningwithitorcanitalwaysmean:death:.? ThereasonIamsoworriedaboutsomethingthatmightbesoobviousisthatIamafraidofnotprovidingenoughvariationinmystories.Thus,resultinginstoriesthathavemanysimilarelementstothem.Butatthesametime,Iamafraidofrunningawayfromanorganizedalphabetsystemthatwouldhavethepossibilityofleadingintochaos. Secondly,woulditbealrightifonereusedobjects?Onestationmightbeacouch,butinadifferentpartofthememorypalaceImightwanttore-usethatcouchagain. Next,isitacceptabletousevideogames/cartoonsinone:smemorypalace.Orisitrecommendedtousestuffclosertoreality?Iftheyarebothfine,whichoneisbetter? Also,forexamplethereisthewordmorashi.WoulditbebetterifIcombinedraandshiorshouldImakeanentirelynewassociation-withrashimeaning:rash:.? Lastly,shouldIreallytrytoassociatewithtasteandtouch.Icanseethepotentialformakingobjectslargerthanlife,vibrant,andusingsounds/music,butIcan:tseehowtasteandtouchwouldwork.Maybeitdoes,andIsimplyjusthavetogoforit?Like,simplygetbetteratmemorizingthesmellsandtouch?WoulditdomegoodifIjustreliedonvisionandsound,ratherthantouchandtasteifIprefertodoso?Moreover,aretheemotions,touch,taste,smell,etc,usedtomakevocabularyeasiertorememberortoalsohelpwithdifferentiation?Asin,thesevocabaresad,butthosearehappy.Thesearesalty,butthosearesweet. P.S,couldyouexplaintheapplicationsoftheprimacyeffect,recencyeffect,andtheserialpositioningeffect?AsfarasIknow,theymeanthatHumanscanrecallinformationinthebeginningandthelastofalisteasierthanthemiddle?Doesthismean,Ijusthavetostudythemiddlepartofmymemorypalacemore? Thanks, AntonyOnopko Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: March10,2021at4:09pm Thanksforthesegreatquestions,Antony. Let’sgothrougheverythinginreverseorder: TheMemoryPalacetechniquealreadygivesyouPrimacy,RecencyandSerialPositioningEffectwhenyouusetheMagneticMemoryMethodRecallRehearsalpatterns.Thisisbecausethetechniqueensuresthateachpieceofinformationreceives“equaldoses”ofwhatiscalledinmemoryscience“activerecall”or“decoding.” Withoutimplementingthesepatterns,theforgettingcurveisgoingtohaveamucheasiertimeerodingmanymemoriesweestablish,especiallyinareaslikelanguagelearning. Sothepointhereisnottofocusonthegeneralfactthatwerecallbeginningsandendingseasierthanmiddles.Itistousetheserialpositioningeffectinawaythatrendersthepointmootbecausewearemakingeverything“Magnetic.”Somespacerepetitionsoftwaresdoanokayjobofthiskindofpatterning,however,theyareweakinmanywaysbecausetheyrarelyhelppeopleengageinelaborativeencodingorproperactiverecallbasedonelaborativeencoding. Yes,taste,touch,smell,concepts–alloftheseMagneticModeswillhelpagreatdealbecausetheycreatemoreconnections–literallyneuronalconnectionsinthechemicalbathofthebrain. It’seasytoapplyalltheMagneticModestoanyword,butitcantakeabitofpracticeifyou’renotusedtodoingit.WeusethesimpleKAVECOGSformulatomakesurethatwedo. Yourexampleslookfine,andthereareopportunitiestoreuseimages.Iwouldn’tnecessarilydoitinthemannerthatyou’resuggesting,butalotdependsonthecorrectuseofRecallRehearsalduringreview.Youcangetawaywithquiteafewthingsifyouperformitdiligentlyenough. Butasabestpractice,it’simportanttoarrangetheinformationinwaysthatreducecognitiveload,andwhereverpossibleusewhatwecallBridgingFigures.Theyarenotalwayspossibletodeploy,buttheycanbeespeciallypowerfulwithAsianlanguages. Thedesireto“reuse”MemoryPalacesorMemoryPalaceelementsisnormal,butexposessomethingofamisunderstandingofwhatthistechniqueisandwhatitspowercanbe.Yes,theycanbereused,butit’ssofarfromnecessary,createsissuesthatcanbeavoided,anddoesn’tdevelopyourspatialmemoryabilitiesnearlyasmuchasworkingwithnewMemoryPalaces.Ipersonallysavereuseforrawpractice,suchaswithrandomvocab,numbersorplayingcards. SomepeopleliketousegamesorothervirtualMemoryPalacesources.Ipersonallydonot,sorecommendseekingoutadvicefromthosewhodo. Iactuallythinkatsomelevelthetopicisirrelevantbecauseallspaceappearsinthemind.It’saquestionofhowdurableandusefulthespacebeingreferredtoisfortheindividualandsometrainingwillberequired.MybiasagainstusinggamesisthatIsimplydonotwanttospendanymoretimeonfantasyandtechnologicallyderivedlocationsthannecessary. Butifwereto,those“locations”arestillappearinginthesameconsciousnessasanyotherspace,whichsuggeststhatallspaceisinherently“virtual.”Thisispartlyaphilosophicalissue,soyoumaywanttolookintotheproblemsofsoftandhardsolipsismformoreinsightonthisaspectandhowitimpactsmemoryimprovementefforts. Asforvariationand“stories,”youdonotneedtocreatestories,whichsoundslikealotofhardwork.Ifyou’reworkingalphabetically,atmostyouwillhavevignettes,buteventhatisusuallymorethanisneeded.Ifyoureallydevoteyourselftothispractice,variationwillbeinevitablebecauseyou’redrawinguponthesourceofallrepresentationeachandeverytime.Variationisguaranteedandyoucansubstantiallyreducetheneededamountofelements,especiallywhenyoulockinalloftheMagneticModes. Finally,thereisnofailureinmemorytrainingexceptinoneregard:Thefailuretotreatallofthisasanexperimentandtolearnfromthedatarunningtheexperimentsproducesfortheindividualpractitioner.Ifanyonefailsatthis,itisbytheirdefinitionandbytheirchoice. Doesthissetofresponseshelpyouout? Reply AntonyOnopkosays: March11,2021at5:22pm HiAnthony, Ireallyappreciateyoutakingthetimetoanswermyquestions.Inowhaveamuchbetterunderstandingofthistechniqueandallofmyquestionshavebeenanswered. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: March11,2021at5:25pm GladIcouldhelp! Reply Andreasays: July12,2021at2:17pm Hiall,hopeIamintherightplace!JuststartedAnthony’s“MagneticSquareMinicourse”,andIamfollowinginstructionsforLesson1.IhaveexchangedafewmailswithAnthonyandhecomesacrossasasuperniceperson,sowhenIgotanofferfortheMSMc,Icouldn’tsayno! IamcurioustolearnmoreabouthisMSmethod,andas4wordstomemoriseIhavedecidedtopickthelasttubestopsbeforemyoffice,soIrememberwhentostarttogetreadyforgettingoff,withouthavingtorelyonanapp!Justfortherecords,mystopisBlackfriars,andthe4beforethatoneare: 1)St.James’sPark 2)Westminster 3)Embankment 4)Temple Untiltomorrow, Andrea Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July12,2021at2:27pm Greatthatyou’rehere,Andrea,andthanksforparticipatinginthispartofthecourse. Yourgoalofnothavingtorelyonanappisagreatone–welldone! Infact,thisisexactlythekindofgoalthatleadstosomuchimprovementinlife.Notonlydoesitcreatemorespatialawareness,butyou’reestablishingthefoundationforlaterusingeachofthosestationsasamorecompleteMemoryPalace. Ilookforwardtoyournextpostandthanksagainforparticipating! Reply Andreasays: July13,2021at12:45pm Thankssomuch,Anthony!Iwillpostmynextlessonhere,soIavoidclutteringyourblogwithtoomanyentries! [MS2of8] Doneminilesson2: Ihavepickedupanotebook,selectedaroom(mybedroom,probablytheroomIknowbest🙂)anddrewitasabox,withlabelledcorners–Ihavealsocongratulatedmyselffordoingthis:Ifeltalittlesillyfordoingthis,butIalwaystrusttheteacher,wheneverIlearnsomethingnew! Iamverybadatdrawing,butatleastIcanmanageabox! Untiltomorrow, Andrea Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July13,2021at1:48pm Aboxisallittakestogetstarted! Beforeyouknowit,you’llhavemanyandcanevenstartgettingintotheadvancedstuff,liketheMagneticCube!🙂 Reply Andreasays: July14,2021at9:57am Thanksagain,Anthony! [MS3of8] Doneminilesson3:I’vedoneasAnthonysuggested,tryingdifferentwaysto“visualise”thecorners,andtheonethatworkedbestformeisjustimaginingtobeatthedoor,andlookingatthecornerssimplybyturningmy“imaginaryhead”,pointingatthevariouscorners. I’vereallyenjoyedthisexercise,becauseitkeptthingsverysimple:whenapproachedinitsentirety,theMemoryPalacetechniqueseemsdauntingtome(howto“visualise”clearly?whataboutthefurniture?howcanIpossiblydothisfor10sor100sofplaces?),butwhenbrokendowntoawellknownroomand4simplecorners,itisveryeasytomanage,anditalmosthasameditative/relaxingqualitytoit. IdoappreciatethatthroughthisIwillonlybeabletomemorise4items,butasformanythingsinlife,Iassumefirstyouneedtomasterthebasics,thenyouworryabouttherest! Untiltomorrow, Andrea AnthonyMetiviersays: July14,2021at12:19pm You’redoinggreat,Andrea! Yes,keepingitsimpleisthekey–beforeyouknowit,youwillhavethechoicetocontinuekeepingitsimple,ormoveontomorecomplexandgranularMemoryPalaces. Also,it’snotonlyfouritems,that’sjustthebeginning.YoucanlaterdoubleandquadrupleMagneticSquares,oraddfurniturefromtheroom,etc. Butthepurposeofthiscourseisindeedtokeepitsimple. Afterall,ifyoucan’tmemorizefourthingsreliably,howwilliteverbepossibletobuilduptothousands? Everyonecangetthere,sothanksforbeingpartofthemissiontotakeitonestepatatimesothefoundationscanbebuilt.Inspiring! MagicMemorysays: July14,2021at11:35am ForDay1,Thereare4categoriesofinfo(membershipnumbers,creditcardnumbers,accountandpasswords,phonenumbers)thatIwouldliketoremember.Fortheexercise,doyourecommendthatIchoose4categories(manynumbersinthe4categories)or1categorywith4numbers. ForDay2,drawthesquareandnamethe4corners..🙂,andhopethemagicwillhappensoon! Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July14,2021at12:17pm Thisisgreat–thanksforstoppingbytoshareyourprogress. Forthisbeginningexercise,ifyou’regoingtochoosenumbers,Iwouldsuggestshorterdigits,ormaybejustonecreditcardorphonenumberratherthanfour. Fornumbers,you’llalsowanttoaddontheMajorSystem. ButweneedtogetcomfortablewithnavigatingtheMagneticSquarefirst,soIlookforwardtoyourcomingprogressupdatesasyoucontinuethroughthecourse.🙂 Reply Andreasays: July15,2021at7:53am Sorryforstartinganewthread,butthetooldoesn’tletmedoanymorereplies(Iguesswereachedthelimitofnestedposts!) [MS4of8] AfraidIamabitconfusedbythislesson,tobehonest. Igettothepointthatsays:“Thenextstepistotakethe4thingsyouwanttomemorizeandbringthemtogetherwiththeMagneticStations”;afterthisthereisasectiononhowtoselectthosewords,whichisinteresting,butIalreadyhavethem(IhavetheonesIhaveidentifiedinLesson1,asthatwastheask).Idon’tunderstandifIhavetodotheassociationsnow,orifit’ssomethingthatwillcomeinthenextlesson. Anyhelp,thanksinadvance! Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July15,2021at2:05pm Noproblemwithstartinganewthread.Thatisprobablyforthebestonamodule-by-modulebasis,eventhoughIdidn’tknowthesoftwarehadthislimitation. (Note–Iusedtouseaforumforpreviouscohortsofthiscourse,butIwantedtoseeifthiswaywouldworkbetter.) Aboutthislesson,wearejustpreppingforthe“weaving”phase. Asapreview,thebasicprocessisexperiencedbyeveryonedifferently. Forexample,IrecentlymemorizedsomenewSanskrit.Thewordwas“tesham.” AttheappropriatespotintheMagneticSquareI’didentified,I“placed”NikolaTesladrivingaTeslacaroveraChristmasHam. Now,“weaving”itintothatspecificcorneroftheMagneticSquareisjustoneofmanywaysyoucanthinkofit.Butattheendoftheday,thewordsweusefortheprocessmatterlessthanthepractitionerfiguringouthowtodoit. Andbytryingtofigureouthowtodoitisusuallyhowitwindsup“clicking”forpeople. Doesthiswayoflookingatthingshelpyououtatthispointinthecourse? Reply Andreasays: July16,2021at9:13am ThanksAnthony,thatclarifieditandithelpsalot! [MS5of8] Ilovedthislesson!Asperassignment,belowaresomecelebritiesIcameupwithforthefirst5lettersofthealphabet(somenamesmaybemisspelled!): A:AlbertEinstein,AdolfHitler,ArnoldSchwarzenegger,AudreyHepburn,AbrahamLincoln B:BillGates,BorisJohnson,BarackObama,BruceLee,BobDylan,BenitoMussolini C:CharlesPrinceofWhales,CharlieChaplin,CheGuevara,CameronDiaz,ChristopherColumbus D:DonaldTrump,DwayneJohnson,DavidBowie,DickVanDyke,DavidAttenborough E:ElonMusk,ErnestHemingway,ElizabethII,EltonJohn,ElvisPresley,EmmaWatson,EmiliaClarke,EdSheeran,EddieMurphy FortheKAVECOGS,I’vedoneitwithmyfavouriteactress(LilyJames)frommyfavouritemovie(MammaMiaHereWeGoAgain–I’vewatchedit18times,soIrememberitquitewell,despitemybadmemory!) K=Kinaesthetic:IvisualiseLilystrokingafrightenedhorseduringastormtocalmhimdown,andIfeelthetouchofthehorse’smaneagainstthehand A=Auditory:IimagineLilysinging“Andante,Andante”,myfavouritesonginthemovie V=Visual:Ivisualisethefinalsongfromthemovie,withLilyandtherestofthecastsingingalltogetherwithbeautifulchoreographyandcostumes E=Emotional:IvisualisethescenewhereLilyisgivingbirth C=Cognitive:I’llskipthisone,becauseIdidn’treallygetit,fromtheexample O=Olfactory:IvisualisethescenewhenLilyisrunningintoafieldintheearlymorning,togatherorangesformakingajuice,andIimaginethesmellofthegrassatthattimeofday G=Gustatory:Iimaginethetasteofthefreshlysqueezedoranges S=Spatial:Ivisualiseallthesescenesunfoldinginmyfirstcorner Untiltomorrow, Andrea Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July16,2021at1:06pm Thanksforthisincrediblyricharrayofmulti-sensoryexercising.You’redoinggreat! Soon,you’llbeconnectingtheseassociationstowhatyouwanttolearn.ThatisthegreatsecretoftheMemoryPalace. Afterthat,it’sjustrinseandrepeat–thoughideallywewanttohavemultipleMemoryPalacestoreallygrowwiththetechnique. Always,justtakeitoneMagneticSquareatatime.🙂 Reply Andreasays: July18,2021at12:28pm [MS6/8] HiAnthony,anotherverygoodlesson,thanksforthat–Ihaveafewquestionsonthisone,anyhelp/guidancemuchappreciatedinadvance! 1)Onceyoulinkacelebritytoanobject(likeCatherineZeta-JonestotheZebra),isthatcelebrity“burnt”(i.e.linkedforlifetotheZebra),orcantheybereused? 2)WhileIgethowtolinkthecelebritytotheobject,IstruggleabitwithunderstandinghowtolinkthecelebritytotheMagneticSquarecorner,astheyareall“nondescript”–howdoyoudothat? 3)AnotherpointI’mmissingiswhyweneedtolinkthecelebritytothecorner,andthentheobjecttothecelebrity:can’twejustlinktheobjecttothecornerdirectly?IappreciatethecelebritywentthroughtheKAVECOGSprocess,butintheorywecandothatdirectlywiththeobject,and“save”astep,no? 4)Finally,forthelastpartoftheexercise(usingonecelebrityforeveryletterofthealphabet,havetheminteractwithoneobjectthatcorrespondstoaletterofthealphabet)–shouldtheybelinkedtotheirownletter?Soforexample,forAlbertEinstein,shouldIuseanApple(wordcomingtomindwhichstartswithA,likeAlbert),orsomethingrelatedtoEinstein(likeHairorBlackboard)? Thanksinadvance, Andrea AnthonyMetiviersays: July18,2021at1:17pm Greatquestions,Andrea! MagneticImagerycancertainlybereused.Whatwewanttoavoidisduplicationerrors,orwhatissometimescalled“ghosting”ortheUglySisterEffect.IfyouareusingappropriatelydistinguishedMagneticSquares,thisshouldrarelybeanissue. MagneticSquaresshouldnotbevagueinanyway.Asinthecourse,theyarebasedonroomsthatyouknow.Thedrawingshouldbeasimplerepresentationofaroomyouarefamiliarwith.I’lllookbackthroughthematerialandseeifthatpointneedstobeamplified. Whereyou’retryingtogetisthatyoucanwalkintoanyroomandinstantlytransformitintoaMagneticSquare.Later,youcanlearnmanymorewaystotransformationroomsintomuchmorerobusttoolsthantheMS,butweneedtostartwiththefundamentals. Youcanlinkanythingyouwishdirectly,thoughtheimportantthingtounderstandhereisthatthisis“imaginary.”Istherereallyany“linking”goingon?Ifso,thenworkwithit.Idon’tlinkthingsatall.Ijustinteractthemwithreferencetospace.Whatyoudoistotallyuptoyou,andwhatyoucallitisalsouptoyou.Butwherewewanttogetistoseethatwhatwe’redoingisactuallybeyondnameandform.Itismemoryitself,andthenameformemoryisitselfinitself. Iknowthatsoundslikeaphilosophicaldetour,butitisinfactthegreatestmemorysecretofthemall.Thereisno“linking”assuchbecausethatverynotionisinmemory,andwhatyouareactuallydoingissomethingquitedifferent.Thepointbeing:Experiment.Makeityourown.Butdon’tgetcaughtuptoomuchinthewordingofitortheideathatithastobesomeexactprocesseverytime.Itcan’tbebecauseit’smorelikeastageplaythanamovie.Therewillbevariationsfromcornertocorner,walltowall,figuretofigure,etc. YoucouldlinkAlbertEinsteintohisownletterifyouwish.Thatisacoolideatoplaywithatafoundationallevel. Laterinthegame,however,Iwouldnotnecessarilyrecommendthisfortworeasons: 1)We’vejustdiscussedhowthatinformationisnotwhatitseems.“Linking”istheillusionwewanttoeventuallytranscend. 2)Youcanusedoublealphabetsanddoublerepresentations.Thesearemoreadvancedtechniquesdiscussedinothertrainings.Fornow,thelongandshortofitisthatyoushouldexperiment,butavoidbecominglockedintoA=AtostrictlybecauseEinsteincouldalsobe“AL”and“EIN”andmanyotherconfigurations. Doesthiswayoflookingatthingshelpyouout?🙂 Andreasays: July20,2021at1:54am ThankssomuchAnthony,reallyhelpfulcontextandadditionalinformation! Ihavedone[MS7/8],andveryhappywiththat:ofcoursethefactIhaveonlyhave4piecesofinformationstoredmadeitveryeasy,butthemechanismisveryclear,andIseehowitcanbeappliedtoanynumberofMS.IhavealsobeenplayingabitwithAnki,forspacedrepetition,andIthinkthatcouldworkverywellwiththerepetitionmethodyouaresuggesting. Thanksagainforallyourfeedback,whichisreallyappreciated. Untiltomorrow, Andrea Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July20,2021at9:19am Thanksforthis,Andrea. Yes,onceyouhavetheideainplace,youcanapplyittoAnkiandlinkMemoryPalacestoanynumberofspacedrepetitionsoftwares. Thescienceshowsthataslongaseverythingishighlypersonalized,thelearningprocessandlongtermretentionwillbemuchhigherthanrepetitionalone. Lookingforwardtoyourconcludingremarksonthecourseandbeyond! Reply AchalDubeysays: July21,2021at5:48am Hello,iknowi’mlateforthisbuti’vebeenkindofstuckataquestioninMS6/8. Inthelesson,weusedcelebritiestolearnsomewordsbymakingtheminteractwiththewords. Myquestionisthatifweweretomaketheminteractdirectlywiththewordsthenwhydidweranthroughallthemodesinthepreviouslessonbeforehand.Wecouldhavedirectlylinkedanymodeofthecelebritywiththewordasweencounterthem.Orwasitthatinthislesson’sexampleweusedapre-ranmode. Forexample,intheCaseofXylophone,ProfessorXwasplayingit.Itwaskinaestheticmoderight,whatifwhenipre-ranProfessorXasinpreviouslesson,Iuseanotherkinaesthetic,I’mconfused. Wehavetocomeupwithanimageincontextoftheword,right?Sowhydidweranthroughallthemodes? Thanksinadvance. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July21,2021at2:55pm Greatthatyou’rehere,Achal. It’spossibletoapproachthisinmanydifferentways.Ichosetheonethatseemedmostimmersive,butobviouslyitwon’tbethatwayforeveryone. I’mnotsurewhatyou’reconfusedaboutprecisely,butifyoutakeProfessorXplayingaXylophone,knowledgeofthemodesbeforehandshouldhelpyougothroughallofthem.Butifyouaren’tawareoftheMagneticModesbeforehand,wehavetostoptheexampleandgobackandlearnthemall. Doesthiswayoflookingatthingsmakesense? Reply Andreasays: July21,2021at2:32am [MS8of8] Reachedtheendofthisshort,butveryinteresting,journey.IhavestartedtoapplytheprinciplesthatAnthonyhasexplainedindifferentareas,suchasrememberingallthetubestopsfromhometooffice(ratherthanonlythelast4),rememberingashoppinglist,rememberingthenamesofallthemaincitiesIamtravellingthroughinaVirtualWalkingChallengeIamdoingwithafriend(Route66onfoot),andmanyothers. AnothernicevariantI’veintroducedisusingaplaceIhavetogoastheactual“magneticsquare”,torememberwhattobringwithme(sayforexamplethegymortheswimmingpool):Ilovethis,becausetheroomiscoming“forfree”(it’stheplaceIamactuallygoingto),andIdon’thaveanyproblemwith“ghostmemories”orreusing,becausethelistofthingsIwanttorememberisspecifictothatplace,andtherefore,tothatMagneticSquare. ImustsayI’menjoyingtheprocessalot,asitmakesrememberingthingsapleasantmemoryexercise,ratherthanadauntingchallenge.MaybeonedayIwilldoAnthony’sfullMMMcourse,toseehowthiscanscaleupandbeextended,butfornowIamverygratefulforallhehascreatedandsharedwithus. Wishingyouallgreatsuccessandlotsoffunintheprocess! OnecommentforAnthony:Inoticedthatthesiteyouareusingisnotsendingnotificationswhenanewreplytoathreadyouhavecontributedtoisposted,evenifyouaddyouremailaddresswhenposting;thisisabitofabummer,becauseunlesssomeonegoestherecontinuallytocheck,theymaymissoutonreplies.Justwantedtoletyouknow,incasenobodyreportedityet. Andrea Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: July21,2021at2:58pm Thankssomuchforyourthoughtsonthecourseandforsharingthisapplication,Andrea.Rememberingthingstobringisyetanotherpossibleapplication.Wonderful! It’sgreatthatyoudon’thaveissueswithghosting.Itwouldbelovelyifthatwasthecaseforallofus.Ifyouencounteritwithhighervolumesofinformation,therewillbeoptionsforyouthough. Intermsofthenotificationsissue,thatisnotideal.I’lllookintoit. Thesedays,therearesomanyproblemswithcorporationsdecidingthroughalgoswhichemailsreachwhom,soitmightbeanissuebeyondmycontrol.ButI’llseeifthere’sanissuewiththisaspectofthesite,andifso,hopefullycanresolveit. Thanksagainforbeingpartofthecourseandtalksoon!🙂 Reply Amansays: September8,2021at6:55am AfternoonSir.Asyouknow,I’mtakingabreakfromtheHarryKahnestufftogetthememorypalaceandcardstuffdown. Anyway,regardingthememorypalace,IamstartingMYworkbymemorizingstoriesfromtheAesopsfablesbook. Thestoryiamstartingwithis“thefrogsaskingforaking” MustIdrawtheexaggeratedimagesinthememorypalace? I’llsendyouanemailshowingthedrawingidid,forthefirstlineidrew3sadlookingfrogscuttinggrasswithagrasscutter(thefrogsgrieved(grrrr),andthenIdrewalongrulerwiththewordestablishedonitinsideanoentrysign(havingnoestablishedruler). Fortheline“theysentanambassadortoJupitertoentreattheking”,IdrewtherapperAmbassadortreatingacharacternamedkingfrombeyblade(theointmentsnamewasNtreat(entreat),andAmbassadorshatwasmadetolookkindoflikeJupiteranditsring). Idon’tknow,foreachlinetoberememberedwordforworditsalotofpicturestodraw,andthisisoneoftheshorterstoriesinthebook. Howmuchdrawingisinvolved? Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: September8,2021at3:26pm Greatprogress! IonlydrawimageswhenI’mfeelingtiredordown. Otherwise,allofthiscanbedonementally. Reply Amansays: September9,2021at2:34am OkThankYOUforyourresponse.Firstofall,I’mnotsureifthisisrightoranything,asyouyourselfmadeavideoonthemethodoflocionitsown…..ButIdon’tknowman,Iknowthenameisnotimportant,butIlovemethodoflociasaname.It’sstuffoflegend. Anyway,regardingmyfirstmemorypalace,I’dgivemyfirstexperience5/10. “GOODPARTS” -exercise3naturallycametomewhencomingupwithimages.Iwasnaturally“outofmyownway”,asthecharacterkingfrombeybladejustsprungupinmyhead(samewithJupiterfromsailorMoon). “BADPARTS” -Ionlyremembereachsentenceinmyownwords(notwordforwordsadly).I’mnotsureifthisisgoodornot,asthiswasoneoftheshorterstoriesinAesopsfables. “INTERESTINGPARTS(Iguess)” -Iwasabletousesomeharrykahneinfluenceandpickanyorderatrandomandrememberthesentence(egoutofmy9stationsI’drememberitas192837465….andotherorders). ButIdon’tknowman,I’mgladthatimagerycanonlybemental!Iwilltryoneofmyoldpsychologytextbookstoday. Willthenletyouknow. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: September9,2021at11:06pm MethodofLociisaperfectlyacceptablealternativetoMemoryPalace. Let’sgetyouto10/10.Everymemorizingexperiencingcanbethatincredibleandmore! Reply Amansays: September10,2021at1:31am Yeah,butmustitspecificallyberememberedwordforword? Ididitagainyesterdayandrememberedeachsentencefromanoldpsychologybook……Butitwasinmyownwords. Anyway,willtrymeditatingwiththemethodoflocitoday. AnthonyMetiviersays: September11,2021at3:55pm Theanswerdependsonthegoal. FormyTEDxTalk,Iwantedtomemorizeitwordforword. Myimageswerenotnecessarilyword-by-word.SometimesIhad3imagesforupto17words. Buteverythingcomesdowntowhatthewordsareandthenatureofyourgoal. TheMMMisallaboutflexibilityandgettingthegoalaccomplishedrelativetoyourcurrentlevelofskill. Moreskill=moreoptions. Amansays: September14,2021at2:50pm OkThankyoufortheresponse. Firstlysorryforthelateresponse,nowthatIhavecommentsonthreeofyourpages(cards,lociandkahne)….Iforget!(Yeah,shouldn’tbeforgetting!). Anyway,regardingmygoal,Ijudgememoryrelativetomyhighschool/universitystandards…..inthatletssaythere’saparagraphstyleexamworthsay10marks,andtheoverallexamisworth70markstotal…..YeahI’dforgetstufffrommytextbook,butevenifItrywritingstuffupasarticulateaspossible……itwasn’tinthebook,soI’dthusgetitwrong.AndI’dfailafewexams,andmostlyI’dgetlike60s. Soyeah,asofnow,evendayslaterIstillremembermythreememorypalaces…..soIthinkI’mgood(thoughI’llstilltrygettingwordforword). Anyway,I’llcommentonthecardspagesoon……gotsomegoodresultsoutofthat. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: September17,2021at2:02pm Focusonmemorizingthematerialthatyouneedtoknowtopassyourexams. Addwritingyourownsummariesfrommemory. Reply Amansays: November22,2021at6:03am Canyouuseyourfingers(Palmfacingyou)asmemorypalaces? Whenlookingatyourfingers,therearelines.Thisamountsto14blocks(2onbothyourthumbs,threeontherest). Canthesebeusedaspalaces? Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: November28,2021at1:52am AsfarasIknow,anyobjectcanbeusedasaMemoryPalace.Butthatdoesn’tmeanitwillbeaverygoodone. Reply Alexandersays: May16,2022at5:38pm HelloDr.Metivier, IamhereasaparticipantintheMagneticSquarecorrespondencecourse.BecauseIhaverecentlybegunlearningtheUkrainianlanguage,Iwillchoosethewordsforthefourseasonsoftheyeartomemorizefirst.UkrainianisveryunrelatedtoEnglish,soworkingonmymemorizationabilitieswillbecrucialforthisjourney. Thankyoufortheopportunitytodipmytoesintothismethod! Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May16,2022at6:08pm Thisiswonderful,Alexander! IlearnedabitofUkrainianmyselfrecently.Idon’tknowifyousawthevideoaboutthatonYouTube,butIsharedmyveryfirstsessionwithaUkrainiantutor.She’sfantasticifyou’relookingforsomeone. Thegreatthingaboutalllanguagesisthatnomatterhowunrelatedtheymaybeintermsofgrammarandcertainsounds,thereisalmostalwayssomekindofmnemonichookwecanuseinourMemoryPalaceNetworks. Thetrickispracticewiththetechniques.Eventherustiestmindscangetmovingsmoothlyoncethekeymethodsorinmotion. EnjoyandIlookforwardtoyourprogressupdates.Thanksforbeinginvolved! Reply Alexandersays: May17,2022at7:13pm HereIamagain,havingcompletedmyfirststepinthememoryjournal.(Thoughitstillneedsacover) IbelieveyourvideowithKaterynawashowyougotintomyYouTubealgorithm,becauseitpoppedupwhileIwasresearchingUkrainianlanguageresources.I’vebeenfollowingherupdatesandhopefullyIwillenduptakingsomelessonswithhertoo. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May17,2022at10:09pm Thisisgreat,Alexander! Wonderfulthatyou’relearningUkrainianandperhapsaflagonthecoverwouldbeinorder,atleastforthisparticularjournal. I’veseenmanydifferentkindsofcovers,though,andwhatmattersaboveallisthatyoufinditinspiringanduseful. Enjoythisjourneyandtalksoon! Reply Alexandersays: May18,2022at6:19pm I’vedonesomementaltravelingofmysquare’scorners,andwillcontinuetodosoinandoutoforderthroughoutmydaytomorrowuntilIreceivethenextstep. Myabilitytomentallyvisualizehasalwaysbeenexceedinglyvivid,sowhenIthinkaboutthesquareinreferencetotheroomitrepresents,Ican’thelpbutfillinallkindsofremembereddetails.I’mnotsureifthiswillhelporhindertheprocessinthelongrun. I’mexcitedtofinallybeputtingthesetechniquesintopractice.I’vealwayshada“good”memory,butI’mseekingtousemymemoryefficientlyandwithpurpose. AnthonyMetiviersays: May18,2022at10:27pm Thanksforthis,Alexander. Aswelearn,Ithinkit’sfairtoexpectthingstooccurthatbothhinderandhelp.Thetrickistobeopentobothandthenexperimentwithweedingouttheobstacleswhilestrengtheningtheadvantages. OnethingI’velearnedtooisthatsomethingthatseemslike(orevendecidedlyis)anobstacleonTuesday,mightplayoutdifferentlyonThursday.Thisiswhyitisusefultoretryvariousthingsthatdidn’t“work”orseemedtocreatedistortionsafewmoretimes.I’mnotsuggestingthatwe“force”themtowork,butteasingthemabitcanbethekey. Anotherreasonthisisimportant,isthatsomethingsare“knacky.”Theyneedfiddlinginordertofinallyslideintoplace. IntheReadwithMomentumlivecohortcourse,Ishowedtheattendeesmypinky-countingwithcards,whichthesedayslooksprettygood.There’saYouTubevideowhereIshowittoo.Restassured,ittookmenotjustafewtriestofinallygettheknackforthisparticularskill,butyears.Icouldalwaysdoitpoorlyfromtheget-go,butI’mgladIkeptatitsothatitfinallyclickedandIlearnedtodoitinvisiblywhiletalking. AlthoughI’veneverseenanythinginmemorytrainingtakethatlong,therecertainlyareafewthingsthatsomepeopleabandontoosoon.Thebreakthroughisoftencloserthanyouthink.Andnothingismorefuninmyexperiencethanmemorizingallthenamesinaroomwithasmatteringofsmalltalkdetailsaboutpeopleasyouarelisteningandtalkingatthesametime.It’sreallyjustaknackandknowinghowtosetthatroomupasaMagneticSquarefromtheinstantyouenterit. Lookingforwardtoyournextpost! Khansays: May17,2022at5:44am Whatisthepurposeofchangingthesequenceofthejourneyandexpandingtheinteriorofamemorypalace? Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May17,2022at1:59pm IgenerallydonotadvisechangingMemoryPalacesintheseways.It’sgenerallybesttosetthemupinthemostoptimalwayfromtheget-gotoavoidhavingtodosuchthingslateron. Reply Mariosays: May17,2022at4:10pm Heythere!Excitedtolearnthistechniqueofmemory.I’veheardofthememorypalaceabout7yearsagobutNeverhaveItriedtoactuallylearnituntilToday.Iwilltrytoremember4wordsinhebrewasthatisthelanguageIamstudyingandtherecentpushandintereststoembarkonthismemoryjourney.Wishallthebest. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May17,2022at4:40pm Greatthatyou’rehere,Mario! IrememberstudyingBiblicalHebrewinuniversityverywell.Greatlanguage! Reply PhilGsays: May18,2022at10:09am Juststartinglesson1ofthemagneticsquarelessons.I’vealreadygotacoupleofmemorypalacesbasedonpropertiesIknow,butthey’rereallynotoptimised.I’mlookingforwardtomemorisingmorerichinformationwithlessloci.My4itemstomemorisearethebigbossesatwork. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May18,2022at2:51pm Memorizingthenamesofimportantpeoplerelatedtocareerisaverygoodapplication.Excellentchoiceandthanksforbeingpartoftheprogram! Reply Mariosays: May18,2022at9:14pm Itis!Thankyouagainforcreatingthisprogramandallowingustolearnfromyou. Reply Johannessays: May17,2022at7:02pm Hello,I’mdoingtheMagneticSquarecourse.I’minterestedinlearningmorebiblicalHebrewandhowIwouldbeabletousetheSquaremethod.Forthe4words,IcouldtakethefourdirectionsofthecompassinHebrewtotestitout.Otherthanthat,I’malsointerestedinmemorisingscripturesandI’mexploringhowtosimplifytheprocesssothatitcanbeusedbychildren.Ihavealreadymadegreatprogress,butmaybetherearebettermethods.Ilookforwardtolearnmore. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May17,2022at7:12pm Welcome,Johannes.Marioalsomentionedthathe’slearningHebrew,andsinceIstudieditmyselfbackinuniversity,we’reallingoodcompany. Memorizingscripturesisbyfaroneofthemosthighmarginactivitiesavailabletouswhenwehavememorytechniquesonourside.Iinfactwasjustoutmemorizingafewlineswhilewaitingformywifeoutsideastore. Andofcourse,IusedaMagneticSquaretodoit. EnjoyandIlookforwardtoyourprogressupdatesalongtheway! Reply DJRosssays: May19,2022at5:23am SelamatPagi–day2andIhavemySquareready.PlanningtostartbymemorizingcommongreetingsinIndonesian! Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May19,2022at2:27pm Excellent–andwhatacool-soundinggreeting!Happymemorizing! Reply Alexandersays: May19,2022at7:04pm JustcheckinginondayfouroftheMagneticSquarecourse.Idon’twanttosharemywholelistofwants/needsre:whattomemorize,butIthoughtIwouldsharealittleaboutmygoaloflearningUkrainian.Itbeganasamoveofsolidarity,andasIstartedmystudiesIfellinlovewiththemusicofthelanguageandcultureitcomesfrom.Sointhiswaylearningthelanguageisa“want.” ButIalsohaveagoalofvolunteeringthereafterthewartohelpinsomeway,sothispursuitgivesmealotofpurposeinlearningthelanguage.SoIwouldsayithasbecomea“need”aswell. Onethingyou’vesaidthat’sreallystuckwithmeisthatwecan’tleaveinformationwewanttomemorizefloatinginspacewithoutanythingconnectingtoit.ThatwasoftentimesmyexperienceasIwaslearningFrenchvocabularyyearsago.Theideaofhavingawaytonavigatetoinformationreliablymakesalotofsensetome. Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May19,2022at8:01pm Thankssoforthis,Alexander.Bringingourwantandneedtogetherisapowerfuloutcomewheneverpossible. Yes,mnemonicscanworkwithoutaspatialreference.Butit’snotnearlyasrefinedorreliable.EnjoyhowitenablesmuchfasterprogressandcooltrickslikebeingabletoaddentirephrasestotheoriginalwordintheMemoryPalaceNetworksyou’lleventuallycommand. Reply PhilGsays: May19,2022at11:29pm HeyAnthony,Ihopeyouarewell. I’monlesson2oftheMagneticSquarecourse.Youmentionlabelingeachcorner.Iwasn’tsureifyoumeanteachofthe8cornersincludingceilingandfloororsimplythe4cornersattheintersectionofeachwall.I’mguessingit’s4seeingaswe’retalkingsquaresnotcubes. Thanksagain,Phil Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May19,2022at11:35pm Thanks,Phil. Youcandoeither,butforthepurposesofthiscourse,wewanttomakesurewecanmemorize4inordertomake40and400possible. Tothatend,there’sanelementof“KnowThyself”eachofushastobring.Oncethefundamentalsarecovered,it’spossibletoexplorestationsataninchbyinchlevelformemorizingcertainthings.Thisishowsomeoftherecordholdersdealwithpi,forexample. Doesthiswayoflookingatthingsmakesense? Reply PhilGsays: May20,2022at5:22am Absolutely,Igetit.I’mreadingMemoryCraftbyLynnKellyandIlovethewayshe’smappedoutherneighborhoodwithhistoricaldates,whilealsomanagingtoinsertmoredatesandfacts,ormoredetailasshewants.Greatstuff:o) Reply PhilGsays: May20,2022at5:59am Absolutely,Igetit.I’mreadingMemoryCraftbyLynnKellyandIlovethewayshe’smappedoutherneighborhoodwithhistoricaldates,whilealsomanagingtoinsertmoredatesandfacts,ormoredetailasshewants.Greatstuff:o) Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May20,2022at4:35pm Yes,MemoryCraftisgreat. ReadingitfinallygotmeexploringmoreoutdoorMemoryPalaces,whichIpreviouslyneverliked. TheMemoryPalaceformyTEDxTalkisalmost100%outdoors. Reply RafaelAndressays: May21,2022at7:21pm Iimaginedamagneticsquare(mybedroom)andIimaginedLeepriest(aretiredbodybuilder)indifferentstations,station1washimdoingdumbbellbicepcurlsagainstthewall(Kinesthetic)station2washimsupinatedwristcurlsandsaying:“nexttimesomeoneasksmehowdoesitfeeltocompeteagainstthosebigguysusethewordtallabigguywiththesamemeasurementsasasmallguyisthesmallerman,ispathetic!!”(auditorybecauseofthetalkingalsoLeepriestwasashortbodybuilder)station3LeePriestinaposterposingaftergettingatattooonhisface(VisualsinceisjustanImage)inthelaststationIimaginedhimdefeatingRonnieColemaninacompetition(Emotional,RonnieColemanadmittedthatthatwashismostpainfuldefeatbecauseLeewasthesmallerguyandhewasthebigguy). ThemethodoftravelingthesquarewasteleportinglikeindifferentCrashbandicootgames,fromstation1to2LeeteleportslikeIncrash1transformingintoayellowlightandyouhearawooshsound,arrivesandleavesintothesecondstationbybeignmaterializedbyabunchoffallingenergyrings(kinda)thirdstationentersandleavebyexitingandenteringasphereportalandinthefourthstationitlookslikeacameraisrecordinghimfromoneangletotheother(kindalikeincrashteamracingsincethereisnocrashbandicoot4forPS1andIwantedtousethemethodsofteleportationformthecrashbandicootgamesthatIhavePlayed,usingcrash1,2,3forthestations1,2,3issupereasytorememberandcrashteamracingforthefourthsinceitcamafterthePS1trilogy) Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May21,2022at8:06pm Thisisexcellent,Rafael! You’vegotagreatsenseofhowtoidentifypowerfulassociationsandplacetheminspacewithmulti-sensoryassociations.Wonderfulspecificitytoo! Reply Mariosays: May24,2022at6:18pm Sothankfulforyousupportandguidance.Withthismethod,Ithinkicanstartrememberingthehebrewlanguagemoreefficiently.Although,whatisyourtakeonobjectsintheroom;forexampleachair,bed,alightfixture,etc.?Howmanyobjectscanwehaveinoneroomaswell? Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May24,2022at6:35pm Mypleasure,Mario! Youcandefinitelyusetables,chairs,beds,etc.Infact,youcanoftenhavemorethanoneMagneticStationonthem. However,theruleofthumbisthatitshouldberememberedfurniture,notmemorizedfurniture. Themoreyouhavetomanage,thelessofaMemoryPalaceitbecomesandwealwayswanttouseMemoryPalaces,not“MemorizedPalaces.” Intermsofhowmanystationsyoucanhave,that’suptoyou,butIwouldfocusonoutcomes,notvolume.Memorizing8wordsataregularclipisgoingtoworkoutalotbetteroverthelongrunthanbeingirregularduetohavingtomanageirregularMemoryPalacesthathavetobememorized. Thebenefitofhavingfewerstationsisthatyoucanthenaddphrasestoeachindividualwordwithmuchgreaterease.Butthat’shardertodowithalightbulb. Inallthings,theimportantthingittoexperimentwidelywithdifferentapproachessoyoucandevelopyourown“mnemonicstyle”. Reply Miguelsays: May25,2022at5:41am CouldIduplicateeveryMagneticSquarethatIcreateif addinthewallsseverallandscapesthere?Likeabigpicture? Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May25,2022at1:08pm Greatquestions,Miguel. Yes,therearemanythingsyoucandolikethis.Forexample,youcantakeafamouspaintingthathasmanystationsinitandstickitonthewallofaMemoryPalace. Youcanevenhavepaintingswithinpaintings. Thetrickistomakesureyouaren’toverwhelmingyourselforgivingyourselfjourneystomemorize.Thatwouldmakeita“MemorizedPalace.”Fun,ifyoulikethatkindofthing,butultimatelymoreworktocreateandmaintain. Reply Joshuasays: May26,2022at11:41am HeyAnthony, IhavebeenwatchingsomeofyourvideosandIhavebeenwonderingwhatismoreeffective:amemorypalaceoramindmap?Iknowtheybothuselocilearningandvisualization.ThemaindifferenceIfoundbetweenthemisthatwiththemindmap,youcanmakeconnectionsbetweenideaswhereasinthememorypalaceyoucannot.Iwouldlovetogetyourthoughtsandopiniononthis. Thanks Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May26,2022at6:35pm Thanks,Joshua. Ultimately,Ifeelthatit’sbesttocombinetheminavarietyofwaysandnotfocustoomuchoncomparingthem. ItispossibletouseamindmapasaMemoryPalace,butasyoumayhaveseeninoneofmyvideos,themindmapisverylimitedforsuchpurposes. SoifthetraditionalMemoryPalacetechniquehasanadvantage,itisscale. AndI’veseenmanyideasconnectinMemoryPalacesveryeasily,aswellasspontaneous“a-ha!”momentsthatareveryrewarding.Thatcanhappenwithmindmappingtoo,butI’vepersonallyexperienceditlessoften. Insum,InormallyusemindmapsforgeneratingandorganizingideasandtheMemoryPalacetechniqueformemorizationandunderstanding. Reply Irinasays: May28,2022at6:55am GREATTHREADandarticle! Startingwithmemorizingashortprayer Thankyou! Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: May28,2022at3:42pm Wonderfulgoal,Irina. Enjoytheprocessandjustshoutoutifyouhaveanyquestionsalongtheway! Reply Lukassays: June3,2022at6:48am Goodevening/morningsir, Ihaveacoupleofquestionstoask, First,whatisasub-journey? Second,whyisavoidingcrossingyourownpathimportant? Finally,howcanIdifferentiateanduse9chairsthatlookthesame? Reply AnthonyMetiviersays: June3,2022at3:19pm Thanksforyourquestion. IfamainMemoryPalacejourneyinvolvesthemicroandthemacrostations,asubjourneywouldbesomethingwhereyouaddasmallMemoryPalacetoalargerone.Forexample,Isometimesplaceasmall3-stationPencilMemoryPalaceinsidethepocketofaBridgingFigureasasub-journey. Path-crossingcreatesconfusionandaspectsofthejourneyyouhavetoremember.Thisskill,artandcraftisabouttheMemoryPalace,nottheMemorizedPalacetechnique. Spaceitselfusuallydifferentiateschairs.ChairAcannotbeinthesameplaceasChairBeveniftheyarestacked.Ifyouneeddifferentlevelsofdifferentiationthanspatialorientationonitsown,youcanuseassociationstodistinguish.ThiscanbedoneeitherthroughusinganAlphabetMnemonicsSystem(a.ka.pegwordmethod)orsomethinglikea00-99PAO. Isometimesdothesethingsandoneisnotbetterthantheother.Generally,though,Iwouldsaythatthe00-99PAOhasatouchmorepower. Attheendoftheday,theyareallworthlearningtouse. Reply LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*Comment*Name* Email* Website Savemyname,email,andwebsiteinthisbrowserforthenexttimeIcomment. IacceptthePrivacyPolicy Δ AboutAnthonyMetivier AnthonyMetivierhastaughtasaprofessor,isthecreatoroftheacclaimedMagneticMemoryMethodandtheauthorbehindadozenbestsellingbooksonthetopicofmemoryandlanguagelearning…ReadMore AnthonyMetivierhastaughtasaprofessorat: PopularPostsDigitalAmnesia:5Ways ToStopGoogleFromRuiningYourMemory11MemoryExercisesThatEnsureMemoryImprovementAphantasia:DevelopYourMemoryEvenIfYouCannotSeeMentalImages7KillerMemoryImprovementTipsForEffortlessConferenceInterpreting15ReasonsWhyLearningAForeignLanguageIsGoodForYourBrain17ReasonsGoingToArtGalleriesWillImproveYourMemory11ReasonsYouShouldRereadAtLeastOneBookEveryMonthHowtoCreateAMemoryPalace:AProvenMemoryPalaceTechniqueApproachHowtoRememberThings:21MemoryTechniquesTheMemoryPalaceofMatteoRicci RecentPosts 12BrainWarmUpExercisesThatActuallyWork HowtoMemorizeHiraganaatLightningSpeed TheTrachtenbergMethod:WhatItIs&HowtoUseIt MemoryandIntelligence:AreTheyConnected? 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