Method of loci - Wikipedia

The method of loci is a strategy of memory enhancement which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of ... Methodofloci FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch MemorytechniquesadoptedinancientRomanandGreekrhetoricaltreatises Thisarticleisaboutthememorizationtechnique.Forotheruses,seeLocus. "Arsmemoriae"redirectshere.ForGiordanoBruno's1582book,seeGiordanoBruno§ Firstyearsofwandering,1576–1583. "Memorypalace"redirectshere.Forthepodcast,seeTheMemoryPalace. CicerodiscussedthemethodoflociinhisDeOratore. Themethodofloci(loci[ˈlɔkiː]beingLatinfor"places")isastrategyofmemoryenhancementwhichusesvisualizationsoffamiliarspatialenvironmentsinordertoenhancetherecallofinformation.Themethodoflociisalsoknownasthememoryjourney,memorypalace,ormindpalacetechnique.ThismethodisamnemonicdeviceadoptedinancientRomanandGreekrhetoricaltreatises(intheanonymousRhetoricaadHerennium,Cicero'sDeOratore,andQuintilian'sInstitutioOratoria).Manymemorycontestchampionsreportusingthistechniquetorecallfaces,digits,andlistsofwords. Thetermismostoftenfoundinspecialisedworksonpsychology,neurobiology,andmemory,thoughitwasusedinthesamegeneralwayatleastasearlyasthefirsthalfofthenineteenthcenturyinworksonrhetoric,logic,andphilosophy.[1]JohnO'KeefeandLynnNadelreferto:..."themethodofloci",animaginaltechniqueknowntotheancientGreeksandRomansanddescribedbyYates(1966)inherbookTheArtofMemoryaswellasbyLuria(1969).Inthistechniquethesubjectmemorizesthelayoutofsomebuilding,orthearrangementofshopsonastreet,oranygeographicalentitywhichiscomposedofanumberofdiscreteloci.Whendesiringtorememberasetofitemsthesubject'walks'throughtheselociintheirimaginationandcommitsanitemtoeachonebyforminganimagebetweentheitemandanyfeatureofthatlocus.Retrievalofitemsisachievedby'walking'throughtheloci,allowingthelattertoactivatethedesireditems.Theefficacyofthistechniquehasbeenwellestablished(RossandLawrence1968,Crovitz1969,1971,Briggs,HawkinsandCrovitz1970,Lea1975),asistheminimalinterferenceseenwithitsuse.[2] Theitemstoberememberedinthismnemonicsystemarementallyassociatedwithspecificphysicallocations.[3]Themethodreliesonmemorizedspatialrelationshipstoestablishorderandrecollectmemorialcontent.Itisalsoknownasthe"JourneyMethod",usedforstoringlistsofrelateditems,orthe"RomanRoom"technique,whichismosteffectiveforstoringunrelatedinformation.[citationneeded] Contents 1Contemporaryusage 2Method 3Applicabilityoftheterm 4Spatialmnemonicsandspecificbrainactivation 5Fictionalportrayals 6Seealso 7Notes 8References Contemporaryusage[edit] Manyeffectivememoriserstodayresorttothe"methodofloci"tosomedegree.Contemporarymemorycompetition,inparticulartheWorldMemoryChampionship,wasinitiatedin1991andthefirstUnitedStateschampionshipwasheldin1997.[4]Partofthecompetitionrequirescommittingtomemoryandrecallingasequenceofdigits,two-digitnumbers,alphabeticletters,orplayingcards.Inasimplemethodofdoingthis,contestants,usingvariousstrategieswellbeforecompeting,committolong-termmemoryauniquevividimageassociatedwitheachitem.Theyhavealsocommittedtolong-termmemoryafamiliarroutewithfirmlyestablishedstop-pointsorloci.Theninthecompetitiontheyneedonlydeposittheimagethattheyhaveassociatedwitheachitemattheloci.Torecall,theyretracetheroute,"stop"ateachlocus,and"observe"theimage.Theythentranslatethisbacktotheassociateditem.Forexample,EdCooke,aGrandMasterofMemory,describestoJoshFoerinhisbookMoonwalkingwithEinsteinhowheusesthemethodofloci.First,hedescribesaveryfamiliarlocationwherehecanclearlyremembermanydifferentsmallerlocationslikehissinkinhischildhoodhomeorhisdog'sbed.Cookealsoadvisesthatthemoreoutlandishandvulgarthesymbolusedtomemorizethematerial,themorelikelyitwillstick. Memorychampionselaborateonthisbycombiningimages.Eight-timeWorldMemoryChampionDominicO'Brienusesthistechnique.[5][6]The2006WorldMemoryChampion,ClemensMayer,useda300-point-longjourneythroughhishouseforhisworldrecordin"numberhalfmarathon",memorising1040randomdigitsinahalf-hour.Ananonymousindividualhasusedthemethodoflocitomemorisepitoover65,536(216)digits.[7] Thetechniqueistaughtasametacognitivetechniqueinlearning-to-learncourses.[8]Itisgenerallyappliedtoencodingthekeyideasofasubject.Twoapproachesare: Linkthekeyideasofasubjectandthendeep-learnthosekeyideasinrelationtoeachother,and Thinkthroughthekeyideasofasubjectindepth,re-arrangetheideasinrelationtoanargument,thenlinktheideastolociingoodorder. Themethodoflocihasalsobeenshowntohelpthosewithdepressionrememberpositive,self-affirmingmemories.[9] AstudyattheUniversityofMarylandevaluatedparticipants'abilitytoaccuratelyrecalltwosetsoffamiliarfaces,usingatraditionaldesktop,andwithahead-mounteddisplay.Thestudywasdesignedtoleveragethemethodoflocitechnique,withvirtualenvironmentsresemblingmemorypalaces.Thestudyfoundan8.8%recallimprovementinfavorofthehead-mounteddisplay,inpartduetoparticipantsbeingabletoleveragetheirvestibularandproprioceptivesensations.[10] Method[edit] TheRhetoricaadHerenniumandmostothersourcesrecommendthatthemethodoflocishouldbeintegratedwithotherformsofelaborativeencoding(i.e.,addingvisual,auditory,orotherdetails)tostrengthenmemory.[11][12]However,duetothestrengthofspatialmemory,simplymentallyplacingobjectsinrealorimaginedlocationswithoutfurtherelaborationcanbeeffectiveforsimpleassociations. Avariationofthe"methodofloci"involvescreatingimaginarylocations(houses,palaces,roads,andcities)towhichthesameprocedureisapplied.Itisacceptedthatthereisagreatercostinvolvedintheinitialsetup,butthereaftertheperformanceisinlinewiththestandardlocimethod.Thepurportedadvantageistocreatetownsandcitiesthateachrepresentatopicoranareaofstudy,thusofferinganefficientfilingoftheinformationandaneasypathfortheregularreviewnecessaryforlong-termmemorystorage.[13][14] Somethingthatislikelyareferencetothe"methodofloci"techniquessurvivestothisdayinthecommonEnglishphrases"inthefirstplace","inthesecondplace",andsoforth.[15][16] Thetechniqueisalsousedforsecondlanguagevocabularylearning,aspolyglotTimothyDonerdescribedinhis2014TEDtalk.[17] Applicabilityoftheterm[edit] Thedesignationisnotusedwithstrictconsistency.Insomecasesitrefersbroadlytowhatisotherwiseknownastheartofmemory,theoriginsofwhicharerelated,accordingtotradition,inthestoryofSimonidesofCeosandthecollapsingbanquethall.[18]Forexample,afterrelatingthestoryofhowSimonidesreliedonrememberedseatingarrangementstocalltomindthefacesofrecentlydeceasedguests,StephenM.Kosslynremarks"[t]hisinsightledtothedevelopmentofatechniquetheGreekscalledthemethodofloci,whichisasystematicwayofimprovingone'smemorybyusingimagery."[19]SkoylesandSaganindicatethat"anancienttechniqueofmemorizationcalledMethodofLoci,bywhichmemoriesarereferenceddirectlyontospatialmaps"originatedwiththestoryofSimonides.[20]Referringtomnemonicmethods,VerleeWilliamsmentions,"Onesuchstrategyisthe'loci'method,whichwasdevelopedbySimonides,aGreekpoetofthefifthandsixthcenturiesBC."[21]LoftuscitesthefoundationstoryofSimonides(moreorlesstakenfromFrancesYates)anddescribessomeofthemostbasicaspectsoftheuseofspaceintheartofmemory.Shestates,"Thisparticularmnemonictechniquehascometobecalledthe"methodofloci".[22]Whileplaceorpositioncertainlyfiguredprominentlyinancientmnemonictechniques,nodesignationequivalentto"methodofloci"wasusedexclusivelytorefertomnemonicschemesrelyinguponspacefororganization.[23] Inothercasesthedesignationisgenerallyconsistent,butmorespecific:"TheMethodofLociisaMnemonicDeviceinvolvingthecreationofaVisualMapofone'shouse."[24] Thistermcanbemisleading:theancientprinciplesandtechniquesoftheartofmemory,hastilyglossedinsomeoftheworks,citedabove,dependedequallyuponimagesandplaces.Thedesignator"methodofloci"doesnotconveytheequalweightplacedonbothelements.Trainingintheartorartsofmemoryasawhole,asattestedinclassicalantiquity,wasfarmoreinclusiveandcomprehensiveinthetreatmentofthissubject. Spatialmnemonicsandspecificbrainactivation[edit] Brainscansof"superiormemorizers",90%ofwhomusethemethodoflocitechnique,haveshownthatitinvolvesactivationofregionsofthebraininvolvedinspatialawareness,suchasthemedialparietalcortex,retrosplenialcortex,andtherightposteriorhippocampus.[25][26]Themedialparietalcortexismostassociatedwithencodingandretrievingofinformation.Patientswhohavemedialparietalcortexdamagehavetroublelinkinglandmarkswithcertainlocations;manyofthesepatientsareunabletogiveorfollowdirectionsandoftengetlost.Theretrosplenialcortexisalsolinkedtomemoryandnavigation.Inonestudyontheeffectsofselectivegranularretrosplenialcortexlesionsinrats,theresearcherfoundthatdamagetotheretrosplenialcortexledtoimpairedspatiallearningabilities.Ratswithdamagetothisareafailedtorecallwhichareasofthemazetheyhadalreadyvisited,rarelyexploreddifferentarmsofthemaze,almostneverrecalledthemazeinfuturetrials,andtooklongertoreachtheendofthemaze,ascomparedtoratswithafullyworkingretrosplenialcortex. Inaclassicstudyincognitiveneuroscience,O'KeefeandNadelproposed"thatthehippocampusisthecoreofaneuralmemorysystemprovidinganobjectivespatialframeworkwithinwhichtheitemsandeventsofanorganism'sexperiencearelocatedandinterrelated."Thistheoryhasgeneratedconsiderabledebateandfurtherexperiment.Ithasbeennotedthat"[t]hehippocampusunderpinsourabilitytonavigate,toformandrecollectmemories,andtoimaginefutureexperiences.Howactivityacrossmillionsofhippocampalneuronssupportsthesefunctionsisafundamentalquestioninneuroscience,whereinthesize,sparseness,andorganizationofthehippocampalneuralcodearedebated."[27] Inamorerecentstudy,memorychampionsduringrestingperiodsdidnotexhibitspecificregionalbraindifferences,butdistributedfunctionalbrainnetworkconnectivitychangescomparedtocontrolsubjects.Whenvolunteerstraineduseofthemethodoflociforsixweeks,thetraining-inducedchangesinbrainconnectivityweresimilartothebrainnetworkorganizationthatdistinguishedmemorychampionsfromcontrols.[28] Fictionalportrayals[edit] FictionalportrayalsofthemethodoflociextendasfarbackasancientGreekmyths. InthenovelsHannibal(1999)andHannibalRising(2006),byThomasHarris,adetaileddescriptionofHannibalLecter'smemorypalaceisprovided.[29][30] WecatchuptohimastheswiftslippersofhismindpassfromthefoyerintotheGreatHalloftheSeasons.ThepalaceisbuiltaccordingtotherulesdiscoveredbySimonidesofCeosandelaboratedbyCicerofourhundredyearslater;itisairy,high-ceilinged,furnishedwithobjectsandtableauxthatarevivid,striking,sometimesshockingandabsurd,andoftenbeautiful.Thedisplaysarewellspacedandwelllightedlikethoseofagreatmuseum.[...]Onthefloorbeforethepaintingisthistableau,life-sizedinpaintedmarble. AparadeinArlingtonNationalCemeteryledbyJesus,thirtythree,drivinga'27Model-TFordtruck,a"tinlizzie",withJ.EdgarHooverstandinginthetruckbedwearingatutuandwavingtoanunseencrowd.MarchingbehindhimisClariceStarlingcarryinga.308Enfieldrifleatshoulderarms. InthefirstepisodeofBordertown(2016),detectiveKariSorjonenexplainsthememorypalaceconcept,and,throughouttheseries,hemarksrectangleswithtapeonhisbasementfloorwherehestandstoimaginehimselfatvarioussignificantlociinacase,organizedintomemorypalaces.[31] ThetelevisionseriesTheMentalist,whichpremieredinlate2008,mentionsmemorypalacesonmultipleoccasions.ThemaincharacterPatrickJaneclaimstouseamemorypalacetomemorisecardsandgamblesuccessfully.Intheeleventhepisodeofseasontwo,JaneteacheshiscolleagueWayneRigsbyhowtoconstructamemorypalace,explainingthattheyaregoodformemorisinglargechunksofinformationatatime. Inthe2003filmDreamcatcher,thecharacterJonesyhasanelaboratememorypalacewhichplaysamajorroleintheplotandisshownseveraltimesinthefilm,depictedasaphysicalbuildingthatJonesyiswalkingthroughasawaytorepresenthimaccessingthememories. IntheBBCtelevisionseriesSherlock,whichpremieredin2010,thetitlecharacterusesmindpalacestoremembervariousthingsthroughouttheshow. InHilaryMantel's2009novel,WolfHall,thefictionalizedversionofThomasCromwelldescribes"memorypalace"techniquesandhisusesofit.[32] Inthe2019videogameTheSinkingCity,themaincharacterCharlesWinfieldisadetectivethatkeepspointsofinterestinamindpalacemenu. Inthe2020videogameTwinMirror,themaincharacterSamHiggsusesthemindpalaceinvariouspointsofthegametorelivememoriesandinvestigate. Seealso[edit] Spatialmemory Notes[edit] ^e.g.inadiscussionof"topicalmemory"(yetanotherdesignator)Jamiesonmentionsthat"memoriallines,orverses,aremoreusefulthanthemethodofloci."AlexanderJamieson,AGrammarofLogicandIntellectualPhilosophy,A.H.Maltby,1835,p112 ^O'Keefe,John;Nadel,Lynn(December7,1978).TheHippocampusasaCognitiveMap'.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.ISBN 978-0198572060. ^Carlson,NeilR.(2010).Psychologythescienceofbehaviour.PearsonCanadaInc.pp. 245.ISBN 9780205645244. ^Foer,Joshua(March16,2005)."ForgetMeNot:HowtowintheU.S.memorychampionship".Slate.RetrievedOctober24,2013. ^"1997WorldMemoryChampionships".MindSportsWorldwide.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonMay14,2011.RetrievedOctober24,2013. ^"MemoryTownSystemforLanguages-MemoryTechniquesWiki".mt.artofmemory.com. ^Raz,A.;Packard,M.G.;Alexander,G.M.;Buhle,J.T.;Zhu,H.;Yu,S.;Peterson,B.S.(2009)."Asliceofπ :Anexploratoryneuroimagingstudyofdigitencodingandretrievalinasuperiormemorist".Neurocase.15(5):361–372.doi:10.1080/13554790902776896.PMC 4323087.PMID 19585350. ^"LearningHowtoLearn:Powerfulmentaltoolstohelpyoumastertoughsubjects-Coursera".Coursera. ^Dalgleish,Tim;Navrady,Lauren;Bird,Elinor;Hill,Emma;Dunn,BarnabyD.;Golden,Ann-Marie(12February2013)."Method-of-LociasaMnemonicDevicetoFacilitateAccesstoSelf-AffirmingPersonalMemoriesforIndividualsWithDepression".ClinicalPsychologicalScience.1(2):156–162.doi:10.1177/2167702612468111.S2CID 145382198. ^Krokos,Eric;Plaisant,Catherine;Varshney,Amitabh(16May2018)."VirtualMemoryPalaces:ImmersionAidsRecall".VirtualReality.23:1–15.doi:10.1007/s10055-018-0346-3. ^Galinsky,DouglasBoin/Karl."RhetoricaadHerenniumPassagesonMemory".www.utexas.edu. ^"QuintilianonMemory-ArtofMemoryBlog".artofmemory.com.25November2010. ^Bremer,Rod(September20,2011).TheManual-AguidetotheUltimateStudyMethod(USM).Cambridge,UnitedKingdom:FonsSapientiaePublishing.ISBN 978-0956990709. ^"NewProject:UseMemoryTechniquestoLearnBrazilianPortuguese-ArtofMemoryBlog".artofmemory.com.18December2010. ^Finger,Stanley(October11,2001).OriginsofNeuroscience:AHistoryofExplorationsIntoBrainFunction.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.p. 333.ISBN 978-0195146943. ^""IntheFirstPlace,intheSecondPlace"-ArtofMemoryBlog".artofmemory.com.12January2015. ^Donor,Timothy."Breakingthelanguagebarrier".Archivedfromtheoriginalon2021-12-13.Retrieved19February2015. ^FrancesYates,TheArtofMemory,UniversityofChicago,1966,p1-2 ^StephenM.Kosslyn,"ImageryinLearning"in:MichaelS.Gazzaniga(Ed.),PerspectivesinMemoryResearch,MITPress,1988,p245;KosslynfailstociteanyexampleoftheuseofanequivalentterminperiodGreekorLatinsources. ^JohnRobertSkoyles,DorionSagan,UpFromDragons:TheEvolutionofHumanIntelligence,McGraw-Hill,2002,p150 ^LindaVerleeWilliams,TeachingForTheTwo-SidedMind:AGuidetoRightBrain/LeftBrainEducation,Simon&Schuster,1986,p110 ^ElizabethF.Loftus,HumanMemory:TheProcessingofInformation,LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,1976,p65 ^Forexample,Aristotlereferredtotopoi(places)inwhichmemorialcontentcouldbeaggregated-henceourmodernterm"topics",whileanotherprimaryclassicalsource,RhetoricaadHerennium(BkIII)discussesrulesforplacesandimages.IngeneralClassicalandMedievalsourcesdescribethesetechniquesastheartorartsofmemory(arsmemorativaorartesmemorativae),ratherthanasanyputative"methodofloci".Noristheimprecisedesignationcurrentinspecializedhistoricalstudies,forexampleMaryCarruthersusestheterm"architecturalmnemonic"todescribewhatisotherwisedesignated"methodofloci". ^Gutman,SharonA.(December1,2007).QuickReferenceNeuroscienceForRehabilitationProfessionals.Thorofare,NewJersey:SLACKIncorporated.p. 216.ISBN 978-1556428005. ^Maguire,E.A.;Valentine,E.R.;Wilding,J.M.;Kapur,N.(2002)."Routestoremembering:Thebrainsbehindsuperiormemory".NatureNeuroscience.6(1):90–95.doi:10.1038/nn988.PMID 12483214.S2CID 13921255. ^Parasuraman,Raja;Rizzo,Matthew(February13,2008).Neuroergonomics.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.p. 139.ISBN 978-0195368659. ^Hassabis,D.;Chu,C.;Rees,G.;Weiskopf,N.;Molyneux,P.D.;Maguire,E.A.(2009)."DecodingNeuronalEnsemblesintheHumanHippocampus".CurrentBiology.19(7):546–554.doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.02.033.PMC 2670980.PMID 19285400. ^Dresler,M.;Shirer,W.R.;Konrad,B.N.;Wagner,I.C.;Fernández,F.;Czisch,M.;Greicius,M.D.(2017)."MnemonicTrainingReshapesBrainNetworkstoSupportSuperiorMemory".Neuron.93(5):1227–1235.doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.003.PMC 5439266.PMID 28279356. ^Harris,Thomas(2006).HannibalRising.UnitedStates:DelacortePress.pp. 1–2,167,178–179.ISBN 978-0385339414. ^Martinez-Conde,Susana(April26,2013)."NeuroscienceinFiction:HannibalLecter'sMemoryPalace".ScientificAmerican. ^"RecentNordicNoirinPrintandTelevision,PartTwo:Finland".CriticsatLarge.Retrieved27March2022. ^"WolfHallandthememorypalace".NathanCarterette.Retrieved2020-10-24. References[edit] Yates,FrancesA.(1966).TheArtofMemory.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.ISBN 978-0226950013. Brown,Derren(2007).TricksoftheMind.London:Transworldpublishers. Spence,JonathanD.(1984).TheMemoryPalaceofMatteoRicci.NewYork:VikingPenguin.ISBN 978-0-14-008098-8. Carruthers,Mary(1990).TheBookofMemory.CambridgeUniversityPress.ISBN 978-0521716314. Carruthers,Mary(1998).TheCraftofThought.CambridgeUniversityPress.ISBN 978-0521795418. Rossi,Paolo(2000).LogicandtheArtofMemory.UniversityofChicagoPress.ISBN 978-0226728261. Bolzoni,Lina(2001).TheGalleryofMemory.UniversityofTorontoPress.ISBN 978-0802043306. Bolzoni,Lina(2004).TheWebofImages.AshgatePublishers.ISBN 978-0754605515. Dudai,Yadin(2002).MemoryfromAtoZ.OxfordUniversityPress.ISBN 978-0198520870. Small,JocelynP.(1997).WaxTabletsoftheMind.London:Routledge.ISBN 978-0415149839. Carruthers,Mary;Ziolkowski,Jan(2002).TheMedievalCraftofMemory:Ananthologyoftextsandpictures.UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress.ISBN 978-0812218817. Dann,Jack(1995)TheMemoryCathedral:ASecretHistoryofLeonardodaVinci:BantamBooks0553378570 Foer,Joshua(2011).MoonwalkingwithEinstein:TheArtandScienceofRememberingEverything.NewYork:PenguinPress.ISBN 978-1-59420-229-2. MnemonicTrainingReshapesBrainNetworkstoSupportSuperiorMemory,Neuron,8March2017. Lyndon,Donlyn;Moore,CharlesW.(1994).ChambersforaMemoryPalace.Cambridge,Massachusetts:TheMITPress. 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