Memory Palace: a technique for memorizing words

Today's pace of life and the speed of updating the scientific and practical knowledge used by modern people in their work, and in everyday life, poses many questions on how to memorize more and remember the significant amounts of diverse information for longer. Unfortunately, most schools do not teach such discipline as mnemonics, which teaches different techniques, methods and methods of memorizing and storing knowledge. "Memory Palace" is one of the oldest mnemonics. In this article we will tell you about its history, various modifications and possibilities of practical application.

How does memory work?

Without delving into scientific research, let us recall what kind of process is memory. The information that enters our brain passes through four main stages:

- memorization;

- preservation;

- extraction;

- forgetting.

In the memorization process, all sensory organs that fix incoming information are involved: the eyes, note the color and brightness of the font, the nose catches the smell of the library or fresh ink, ears hear the rustling of the pages, and the hands "remember" the weight of the book and the texture of its cover. After receiving all the information, the brain transmits all the information to the hippocampus by means of nerve impulses - a special paired area of the cerebral cortex that performs the function of monitoring the quality of the stored information. According to the research, it is this part of the brain that for some time keeps the important data isolated in the flow of nerve impulses, and then redirects them to the cortex of the hemispheres, where the main vault is located. Thus, the hippocampus is responsible for a short-term, and the cortex of the brain - for long-term memory.

However, always before the person was the acute problem of finding the necessary information at the right time in the "back streets" of his memory.

A bit of history

In the process of narrating about the art of memory and techniques and techniques used by the mnemonists, one constantly remembers the catch phrase that everything new is a well-forgotten old. Most mnemonics, successfully used today, were described as far back as 82 BC. E. In a short manual on rhetoric Rhetorica ad Herennium. The mnemonic methods, techniques and training of memory set forth in this folio have been widely used both in the ancient and the Middle Ages.

Lawyer Peter Ravenna, who lived in the XV century, used such techniques as palaces of memory, for memorizing words and quotations. And the number of palaces in his case was calculated not in tens, but in thousands, and in them alphabetically stored key phrases and quotations on important topics for him. He described this method in his book "Phoenix", published at the end of the XV century.

Along with logic, grammar and rhetoric, the methods of memory development were the basis of classical European humanities education. The students were not only forced to memorize the material, but also explained how to do this.

Modern politicians and businessmen perfectly know how to build a memory palace and use this mnemonics to achieve their own goals.

Who is author?

Today it is impossible to determine exactly who created and used the technique of remembering a huge number of names, historical dates, quotes and facts - the ancient Greek poet Simonides or the Roman orator Cicero. The essence of the technique they used was that they had the necessary information in a building they knew well. In imagination they filled the rooms of this building with images, key words - in general, all those that wanted to remember. Later, at any time, it was possible to reproduce the building itself in the imagination, walk along it and recall everything that is necessary. Later, this method began to be called the palace of memory, the method of Cicero, the technique of roads.

Roman rooms, or the road of Cicero

Considering how long the ancient Roman speaker and philosopher Mark Tullius Cicero lived , one should not be surprised that he is credited with several variants of using mnemonics. According to one version, preparing for public appearances, he walked through the numerous rooms of his own house and had various theses, quotations and dates in them. Speaking, he mentally repeated his path and gave the necessary information. Another version says that to memorize this Roman rhetorician used the road on which he had to walk every day. Of course, being an observant and attentive person, Cicero knew all of its features, to which he "tied" the objects, facts, etc. necessary to him, and so on.

Religious history

In the Middle Ages, especially during the time of the Inquisition, the problem of memorizing large volumes of various information was especially acute for the servants of the church. Religious figures of the time needed not only to know the Holy Scriptures and prayers, but also to remember all types, types of adulteries, sins, and even the signs of witches ... It is at this time that mnemonics becomes a secret area of knowledge. A person able to teach others to remember all the most important things was very much appreciated at that time. It is unlikely that the Catholic priests of that era read or heard of such mnemonics as the memory palace or the road of Cicero. They came up with and used a similar technique, called memory theaters. The imagination created a room with four walls, each of which had several tiers with many seats. Filling out such "theaters", clergymen memorized all the religious information they needed. Giulio Camillo went further and created a real memory theater, built of wood, which was donated to the French monarch. There could have been two people: Camillo himself and the king, where the governor was explained how to remember anything, anything.

What made Matteo Ricci famous?

Medieval Catholicism was famous for its desire to "lead" to its "true" faith the peoples who professed other religions. One of the Catholic missionaries in China in the 16th century was the Jesuit Matteo Ricci. He was an educated man of his time: a mathematician and cartographer, an interpreter who was able to establish for the first time a permanent cultural relationship between Chinese society and Christian Europe. In addition, in history his name was preserved also because of the brilliant mnemonic abilities, thanks to which he became the first, and for many years the only European who managed to endure in China an examination for obtaining a high public office.

Jesuit mnemonics

For ten years Ricci, who took the name of Li Ma-do in China, not only managed to learn Chinese and several regional dialects, but also to become a very wise and learned person. In this he was helped not only by the brilliant education, but also by the possession of Jesuit mnemotechnics, to which he taught the Chinese. The memory palace Matteo Ricci built on the basis of the amount of material necessary for memorization. In the most difficult cases, this building could consist of a variety of different in height and size of buildings, connected to each other. Ricci believed that for better remembering, you can use not only palaces, but also various bureaucratic institutions and temples, decorative gazebos and public buildings. It was in such a "composite" memory palace that he offered his Chinese students to place images and concepts necessary for memorization. The Chinese took advantage of the methodology proposed by him, but they did not pass to the Catholic faith. It should be noted that modern Buddhists honor Matteo Ricci as the patron god of all watchmakers - Li Ma-do.

What is the essence of the method?

Regardless of the name of this mnemonics - the technique of supporting images or locations, the method of matrices or geometric places, the memory palace or the halls of the mind, the basis of its effectiveness is always the same. A person creates in his imagination an image of a familiar and emotionally close space, whether it is a room in a student dormitory or the Knight's Hall of the Hermitage, a working office or a favorite level of computer game DooM or Heroes of Might and Magic. The actual information that needs to be remembered turns into bright associative images, placed in a person recreated in the imagination, a well-known and emotionally pleasing space. When you need to remember a particular fact, remember where you put it, and recover to a mental journey through the memory palace, your room or the level of computer games.

Psychological mechanisms

Such mnemonic techniques as the memory palace or locus method use the transformation of memorized information and facts into vivid visual images placed and connected with certain points of emotionally significant and familiar space. As a result of such intellectual manipulations, the brain creates new neural connections and associations between information that must be remembered and subsequently reproduced, and the image of one or another place. Thanks to this, as a result of imaginative visualization and development of associative connections , human memory develops.

How to build a palace of memory?

If you need to remember and save, and also have online access to boring and voluminous information, you can build your own "smart halls." In the beginning, only mastering this technique, it is better to confine yourself to a small and very familiar room, for example, your own room. So, what needs to be done to "erect" your own memory palace? The technique is simple, here are the basic steps:

1. Decide with your memory palace. At first, in order to decompose memories, there can be enough for a desk and a bookcase. If not enough, then you can use the rest of the furniture and space. Instead of a room, you can "build" facts along your road to classes or work. The memory palace or locus method works best, allowing you to place more memorized information when the imaginable space is realistic and detailed.

2. Laying the route. Having created your own "mental" palace, it is important to think over the ways of your movement on it. If you need to remember the information in a strictly defined order, then the travel route should be very clear and preferably simple. The easiest way to use the imagination is the same path that exists in reality. For example, entering the room first you see a TV, then a sofa, and only then - a workplace.

3. Choose storage. A very important step, since using the methodology (the memory / mind palace) you have to place all the necessary numbers, facts and names in these places. It is worth remembering that one thing can be imposed one thought, otherwise confusion is possible, and the method will be useless. It is desirable that the items are significantly different from each other, so it will be easier to remember.

4. Remember: the memory palace is a technique that works efficiently only if you know the palace you created as your five fingers and remember all its details by heart. Those who practice this method, it is recommended to draw a drawing of the mental store and indicate on it the places where the information is stored. By verifying the virtual image with the circuit you have drawn, you can check how closely you tied it to the object.

How to use it?

But here all the preparatory stages are over, and finally, your memory palace is ready for memorization. The method of filling it is quite simple: you need to fill out a small amount of information for each subject. The more characteristics - the better. Present the smell, color, texture and texture of each object, give it some emotional coloring. If you have to memorize a large amount of coherent information, then place the associative objects in sequence, connecting them together. The more extravagant and even absurd the keys and images you use will be, the better. For example, Polar Bear in Valenka size 6 Maximum will help you easily recall the brand and model of the new supercar from the famous concern.

Instead of concluding

It is not necessary to hope that the palaces of memory are an easy and quick way to prepare for an exam or a public performance. In fact, this is an affordable technique, thanks to which it is really possible to improve memory. That's only to deal with regularly, constantly training your imagination and various types of memory. You can start small - from your workplace or room. The main thing is that each memory "lay" in its place, because then it will be easy to find. The ancients said that the going will be mastered by the going, so maybe it's time to go?