4 ms·

Are most people able to just "picture a room" as required by this technique? I've never been good at that. Whenever I try to picture a location, I just see obje

Are most people able to just "picture a room" as required by this technique? I've never been good at that. Whenever I try to picture a location, I just see objects and landmarks with no real sense of place, kind of just floating in an impressionistic aether.

gohrt 11y ago
You don't have to picture it, you just have to visit the loci in sequence. Can you write down a description of your morning routine (wake up, wash, eat, commute, etc) or execute your morning routine with your eyes closed? (ignoring safety concens, so please don't try driving with your eyes closed!) As you do so, how many specific objects could you identify, in the order you handle them? Quite many, I bet.
hacker_9 11y ago
If I think of the word 'mansion' it does bring up a picture in my head, but as I move around it everything is kinda hazy and I kinda make stuff up as I go along. Like I look at the floor and set it's colour, but then a different view-angle changes it again. With practise though you can make details more permanent. Try closing your eyes and walking around your own house/room. As you've seen it so many times it is far easier to do.
tedmiston 11y ago
For me it's not really about picturing a room, but coming up with the vivid transitions between objects. Ex. For wolf, orange, hail; I might picture: The wolf sitting on top of a house, and when he opens his mouth it violently rains an infinite stream of oranges, then when gravity kicks in the oranges start falling from the sky turning into huge balls of hail. The imagery like hundreds of oranges pouring out of a wolves' mouth, and oranges falling from the sky like hail are what do it for me. I've used this technique for lists of 20-30 somewhat unrelated items effectively.
pcote 11y ago
It's not so hard. The easiest way to start is with the place you live. You just pick out the most notable aspects of different parts of the rooms and start matching items to them. Like anything else, it takes practice. Over time, that aether should clear right up.
Jtsummers 11y ago
It doesn't have to be a room/house/building. If you're better with the abstract, maybe imagine a map of a city you know well.

gohrt 11y ago

You don't have to picture it, you just have to visit the loci in sequence. Can you write down a description of your morning routine (wake up, wash, eat, commute, etc) or execute your morning routine with your eyes closed? (ignoring safety concens, so please don't try driving with your eyes closed!) As you do so, how many specific objects could you identify, in the order you handle them? Quite many, I bet.

hacker_9 11y ago

If I think of the word 'mansion' it does bring up a picture in my head, but as I move around it everything is kinda hazy and I kinda make stuff up as I go along. Like I look at the floor and set it's colour, but then a different view-angle changes it again. With practise though you can make details more permanent. Try closing your eyes and walking around your own house/room. As you've seen it so many times it is far easier to do.

tedmiston 11y ago

For me it's not really about picturing a room, but coming up with the vivid transitions between objects. Ex. For wolf, orange, hail; I might picture: The wolf sitting on top of a house, and when he opens his mouth it violently rains an infinite stream of oranges, then when gravity kicks in the oranges start falling from the sky turning into huge balls of hail. The imagery like hundreds of oranges pouring out of a wolves' mouth, and oranges falling from the sky like hail are what do it for me. I've used this technique for lists of 20-30 somewhat unrelated items effectively.

pcote 11y ago

It's not so hard. The easiest way to start is with the place you live. You just pick out the most notable aspects of different parts of the rooms and start matching items to them. Like anything else, it takes practice. Over time, that aether should clear right up.

Jtsummers 11y ago

It doesn't have to be a room/house/building. If you're better with the abstract, maybe imagine a map of a city you know well.