Memory Palaces and Journeys

Memory Palace

Journey

A Memory Palace is a set of locations that you can recall easily. And when you want to remember things, you put them in the locations.
You might recall the rooms of your house easily. And so if you want to remember a list of items, you put each item to remember in the room.
To help recall the item when you visit the room in your mental memory palace, you might need to make the image bizarre, imaginative, strange so that they stand out in your mind. This helps you pair the item to the location, and aid recall.
This is sometimes called a ‘journey’ method because you can create a ‘journey’ through the rooms, and possibly use different journeys for different lists.
The ‘journey’ or chain of locations doesn’t have to be a house, it could be a journey that you make regularly that is already burned into your mind:

• the commute to work
• the walk to the shops
• a walk around the streets where you live

Find one that you can recall, and has locations where you can pair items to remember.
I think I found the notion of it as a ‘journey’ in a Dominic Obrien book.

Location

A variation of this is to use a physical location.
This works well if you need to remember things in an actual physical location so you can look around and have your recall triggered by the actual place.
You need to:

• know the physical place pretty well
• identify ‘slots’ in the physical location to place items to remember
• still create bizarre images to pair the items with the slots

Then as you look around the physical location your recall will be triggered.

Peg Systems

These do seem to be variations of a ‘peg’ system.
The ‘journey’ notion is useful for remembering items in sequence.
The ‘location’ notion is useful for remember stuff in ‘random’ orders depending on when you visit the locations or wander around the physical location.

Studying Techniques for memory recall

Plenty of techniques exist to help you study quickly, and you can use them to help you recall what you study:

Review the territory
Survey the material. Skip through it all quickly. Read the summaries. Look at the images. Get a feel for the structure.
I imagine that when I do this I'm blocking out space in my brain to put all the information I'm going to learn. I have no idea if the brain works like this, but it gives me a simple model of justification that works for me.

Create Questions
Write down questions about what you think you are going to learn. Check that the material you have studied answered those questions.
This helps you identify 'why' you want to study and remember the information. It also helps you identify what you already know about the topic.

Read it
Yup, you have to read it. I usually read it a number of times. I read it fast. I read it slow. I read it backwards. I read it in chunks.

Make Notes and Review
Having read it, I make notes. Sometimes on a mind map, sometimes as unstructured text, sometimes as a visual adhoc map. Whatever helps me review it.
The notes are really there to help me review. I can review what I've written against what is in my head. I can review my notes against the text to see how complete my understanding of the top is. i.e my notes don't have to contain all the information, but do they trigger the recall of the information from my brain? That is their main purpose.

Repeat
Yes, repeat each of the steps, in various orders, until you are confident with the material.

Simple System for remembering PIN Numbers

Many of the memory systems seem over complicated for little things.

Particularly for PIN numbers, we don't need a formal number alphabet.

The great thing about numbers is that they are all different, at least in English:

• One
• Two
• Three
• Four
• Five
• Six
• Seven
• Eight
• Nine
• Zero

I know you don't need to have them listed, but look, none of them rhyme, none of them are particularly similar, which means if you have a short PIN e.g. 9843

You don't need a complicated system, just find words that rhyme with the numbers and use them in a phrase. You can add any other words into the phrase so long as they don't rhyme with one of the numbers.

e.g.

• Nine - mine, fine, line
• Eight - gate, fate, mate, rate
• Four - door, floor, bore
• Three - wee, tree, she, twee

I don't need to have a specific set of words, I can use whatever is appropriate for the phrase e.g.

• a Line at the Gate was For a Tree
• the Mine(rs) Fate? Pour the Tea

When I practice recalling the phrase I say it in English in my head and overdub the number on the word at the same time.

If it is a pin I have to physically enter in a keypad then I practice recalling the phrase as I move my fingers to the keys to build in some muscle association as well.

I practice the recall of the number, phrase and movement while holding the card or pass that the PIN is for, or visualize the keypad that I have to use.

This means I'm using a system based on rhyme. I practice it in multiple ways to build associations with the context the PIN will be used in. I use my imagination to build the phrase to make it novel and memorable. 

We can, and should, design our own systems to help us remember things. 

Peg System

Attributed to: Stanislaus mink von Wennsshein 1648, Dr Richard Grey 1730

Associate a consonant sound for each digit: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

• 1 = T or D (T has one downstroke)
• 2 = N (n has two downstrokes)
• 3 = M (m has 3 downstrokes)
• 4 = R (last letter of four)
• 5 = L (Roman numeral for 50 is L)
• 6 = J, ch, sh, soft g, etc (J turned round looks like a 6)
• 7 = K, hard c, hard g (you can use 7 for form a K by putting one rightside up, and the other upside down)
• 8 = F or V, (handwritten f has two loops)
• 9 = P or B (9 turned around looks like P)
• 0 = S or Z (first sound of the word zero)

above from Develop a super-power memory by harry Lorayne

TeN MoRe LoGiC FiBs (a mnemonic to remember the sounds in sequence from 1-0)

When you see a number, read it as the Sounds and turn it into a word.

e.g. 124 = TeNoR

Create a word for each number 1-0 so when you remember a list you associate each 'thing' you want to remember with your 'peg' number word e.g. if you word for 1 is Toy then you would associate the first thing on your list with a giant Toy.

Phonetic alphabet for each of the number 0-9

To remember a number just make a word, or word sequence, by stringing the phonetics together with whatever vowels you need in the middle

Extensions...

Create a word for each number:

1 = tie

2 = noah

3 = ma

4 = rye

5 = law

6 = shoe

7 = cow

8 = ivy

9 = bee

10 = toes

to remember things in order – associate them (ridiculously) with the word.

Peg words for 11 – 25

11 – tot, 12 – tin, 13 – tomb, 14 – tire, 15 – towel, 16 - dish, 17 – tack, 18 – dove, 19 – tub, 20 – nose, 21 – net, 22 – nun, 23 – name, 24 – nero, 25 – nail (from Develop a super-power memory by harry Lorayne)

peg words for 26 – 50

26 – notch, 27 – neck, 28 – knife, 29 – knob, 30 – mice, 31 – mat, 32 – moon, 33 – mummy, 34 – mower, 35 – mule, 36 – match, 37 – mug, 38 – movie, 39 – mop, 40 – rose, 41 – rod, 42 – rain, 43 – ram, 4 – rower, 45 – roll, 46 – roach, 47 – rock, 48 – roof, 49 rope, 50 - lace. (from Develop a super-power memory by harry Lorayne)

51 – lot, 52 – lion, 53 – loom, 54 – lure, 55 – lily, 56 – leech, 57 – log, 58 – lava, 59 – lip, 60 – cheese, 61 – sheet, 62 – chain, 63- chum, 64 – cheery, 65 – jail, 66 – choo choo, 67 – chalk, 68 – chef, 69 – ship, 70 – case, 71 – cot, 72 – coin, 73 – comb, 74 – car, 75 – coal (from Develop a super-power memory by harry Lorayne)

76 – cage, 77 – coke, 78 – cave, 79- cob, 80- fez, 81 – fit, 82 – phone, 83 – foam, 84 – fur, 85 – file, 86 – fish, 87 – fog, 88 -fife, 89 – fob, 90 – bus, 91- bat, 92 – bone, 9 3- bum, 94 – bear, 95 – bell, 96 – beach, 97 book, 98 – puff, 99 – pipe, 100 – thesis or disease (from Develop a super-power memory by harry Lorayne)

Use a rhyming scheme

e.g. To remember the number 4659 (door, sticks, hive, wine) – come to the front door(4), open it and see a pile of sticks (6) which I pick up and see a bee hive (5), so I run into the kitchen and see a glass of wine(9).

Link Method

Also known as: Link Method, Chain System

Given a list, link the first thing to the second thing using a ridiculous or exaggerated picture, see the pictures.

The link system involves learning a list by chaining together the items in the list through some sort of ridiculous or illogical association. 

The link system also involves visualising the items and the association. e.g. bottle, remote control, CD, book, car, photo

The links are between pairs and construct an association between each pair.

 i.e. in the list above, create a link between bottle and remote control, a separate image to link remote control and CD, another image to link CD to book, etc.

1. I might imagine a tiny bottle and I try 'in vain' to stuff a remote control in it. 
2. Then I might imagine the remote control that shoots out CD's when I press a button. 
3. When I pick up the CD I can imagine that I'm having to hold the edges of the CD while a big book is balanced on top of it and I have to hold the book steady as I walk across the room. etc. 

The hardest part of the link system is remembering the first item so try to associate it with the place you'll need the list, or the thing you'll use when you need the list.

I use the link system to remember my PIN numbers and associate each link association chain with the card I use it with.

Principles:

• Associate each item with the next.
• Make association exaggerated or ridiculous or illogical
• Learning loves novelty

Hints:

• out of proportion to each other
• “in action” moving or in use, a mini-story or scene
• increase the numbers “millions of x”
• substitute items for one another
• to recall the first one associate it with the place, time, person where you will need to trigger it

One Minute Memory Improvement

Most memory books and sites start with a section like “OK, memorise these things. Pah, you were rubbish. You need this book. Here's how to improve.”

We are going to start by memorising a few things, and going – see you can do it. Let's get better.

We will do this by memorising the following 10 'things' , just your average shopping list:

• a pint of milk, a loaf of bread, some cheese, a chocolate bar, a newspaper, some apples, shampoo, a bottle of wine, a hair brush, and a new television

The untrained mnemonist (someone who remembers stuff), will read the list, repeat the list to themselves with the text in front of them, repeat the list without looking at the text, repeat the items the didn't recall, and continue until they have a full pass through the list. Then wait five minutes and fail to recall most of the list. Then they will start again, or give up assuming that they can't remember a list of 10 items.

We are going to do something different.

• Trigger
  
  • Build an image
  • Chain the image

Instead of starting with the list. Start with a trigger. I'm going to use the phrase “Welcome to Today's shopping list”. I'm going to imagine this said in the voice of a Gameshow introduction. “Weeeeelcome to Today's shopping list”. This will be shown on a tacky flashing sign and will have a rousing applause after it. The sign will also be on the outside of the shop where I do my shopping.

The first thing on the list is a pint of milk. So my camera will pan to the show's host. And today's guest host is a pint of milk so I can see a pint of milk holding a microphone welcoming me to the show. The pint of milk then starts introducing the contestants on the show.

The first contestant is a loaf of bread. A cartoon style loaf of bread who is dancing and excited to be on the show, and so excited that he falls over to the right, bumping into the next contestant, a wedge of cheese who gets a bit annoyed and glares at the next contestant who is laughing at these antics and turns out to be a bar of chocolate.

The bar of chocolate picks up a newspaper and comes to the front of the stage to start the first game in the show. Which in this case is using the newspaper to catch apples falling from the roof. As he is catching them, the cheese (still angry) squirts shampoo on the floor, causing the chocolate to slip.

The game ends and the milk bottle host presents the chocolate with a giant bottle of red wine as a prize and he staggers off screen.

The host then preens himself with a hair brush saying we'll be back after these adverts, and I see my hand switch off the television hosting the show.

To remember the list I turn each of the items into a memorable picture which flow to the next, and I put them in a context such that I can trigger them. So I really only have to trigger the 'recall' and the story unfolds with the memorable items being picked out as the story plays.

This uses a combination of techniques which we will learn as we go through the book.

If the story I used didn't work for you then create your own. Using the following principles:

• make the pictures outlandish and 'different'
• use sound, motion, humour in the story
• exaggerate the images and situations
• create a trigger/intro for the situation