7 ms·

An ancient memorization strategy might cause lasting changes to the brain

215 points by jaboutboul 10y ago

achow 10y ago
There is a very interesting book on this topic - memory competitions - the book is about how ordinary people using an ancient Roman technique (Memory palace) becomes extraordinary memorizers. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything https://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Remembering-Everything/dp/0143120530/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= https://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Remember... I could pickup the technique to help me in my day to day life. For very little investment in efforts it managed to drastically improve my life. Context: I consider myself quite challenged when it comes to memorizing numbers. The technique described in the book (and in this article) allowed me to remember details of a financial instrument which involves 32 numbers without any pattern. Whenever I have to use this instrument I have to input random 6 numbers out of those 32. Before I discovered this technique I had to pull out the hardcopy of the instrument every time for reference (it was painful - sometime it will be not in my possession, or it would be buried inside some cabinet etc.) The technique that I use/adapted essentially is, I use mental map of a roadway which I’m intimately familiar with to place the 32 numbers on the various 32 landmark along the way (landmarks can be anything - a funny looking rock next to the road will also do. The key is one should be able to visualize it very clearly). So, whenever I need to retrieve numbers I mentally ’drive’ on the road and start checking out the landmarks. Example: I need to retrieve number corresponding to landmarks 5,9,15,20.. I start ‘driving’ reach landmark no. 5 and able to remember immediately this landmark is associated with number 29, then I move on and reach to next landmark, when I ‘reach’ that one I’m able to recollect that this landmark has number 89 associated with it, and so on… Somewhere I read that it works so well because as a human species we have ability to remember geo spatial things much better than abstract things like numbers. I would guess that it has to do with our hunter-gatherer days when we were primarily dealing with spatial concepts; brain is hard wired to store those information much better than things like numbers.
- divbit 10y ago
  For numbers, I think mapping them to consonants helps: 1-> t/d, 2 -> n (as it has two things on bottom), 3 -> m (3 things on bottom), 4 -> r (ends in r), 5 -> l, 6 -> j/ch, 7 -> g/k, 8 -> f/ph, 9 -> p/b. Now plug in some vowels and make words / a sentence for whatever numbers you need, e.g. mud riddle -> 31415 -> 3.1415. I forgot where I learned this many years ago, but its probably on some random website.
  - kukx 10y ago
    According to your technique "mud riddle" should map to 314115. There're two d's. Anyway, the method seems interesting.
    - matthewaveryusa 10y ago
      It's called the major system and it's based off the sonority rather than the spelling. Great system.
      - gweinberg 10y ago
        But then how do you remember a number that really does have repeated digits? I'd never be able to remember my phone number under this system.
        BeetleB 10y ago
        You can intersperse the vowels and the letters w, h, y anywhere you like.
        Nadya 10y ago
        To remember the number 1111, `to do today`. Or even "today today". You construct words by mapping consonant sounds to numbers and using whatever vowels you need to construct words. Other people learn gibberish sentences instead. They break down the number into groups of two, three, or four and use pre-memorized words for each group of words. So to memorize the number "102457692" they might break it up into three groups: 102, 457, 692. Then they have a word memorized for "102" (ton) and a word for "457" (rolling), and "692" (cheapen). They memorize the number as `ton rolling cheapen`. Words are easier to memorize than numbers, even if the words don't form proper sentences.
walterbell 10y ago
Memory palace tutorial: http://artofmemory.com/start http://artofmemory.com/start
- colordrops 10y ago
  Is this the one used in the study mentioned in the article?
  - kirykl 10y ago
    the original paper says they used memocamp
- emerongi 10y ago
  How easy is it to reuse the memory palace? Ultimately I'd like to use this technique to remember played cards during a card game. I can remember most cards quite easily, but often when it comes to the last 3-8 cards, I can't be 100% sure what they are. Though I'm not sure it's worth my time. I already remember more cards than my usual opponents.
  - achow 10y ago
    Think remembering birthdays is difficult? Try memorizing two decks of cards in five minutes or less. That is what Joshua Foer did to win the 2006 U.S. Memory Championship... “Moonwalking With Einstein” does just that: It takes the reader on Foer’s journey from memory novice to national champion. http://www.salon.com/2011/03/06/foer_moonwalking_with_einstein/ http://www.salon.com/2011/03/06/foer_moonwalking_with_einste...
    - gcb0 10y ago
      even the opening of the article is misleading. memory palace is great for silly memory competitions but I've never seen anyone mention they used it to remember birthdays.
      - 10y ago
jwdunne 10y ago
How unusual :) I'm reading Conceptual Blockbusting, based on the recommendation in programming pearls (another great book btw). It just walked me through the method of loci technique as a demonstration of using long term memory.
hprotagonist 10y ago
Nearly any habitual task causes "lasting changes to the brain". Plasticity is not only real, but normative.
- outlace 10y ago
  Amen. Let's stop getting all excited every time someone shows the brain changes in response to some repeated activity. That's what it's supposed to do!
- xkcd-sucks 10y ago
  Moreover if it didn't cause lasting changes to the brain, there would be no memories!
- SubiculumCode 10y ago
  This is true. Indeed, the true question usually revolves around transfer. That is, as your brain changes in response to a certain memory task (e.g. recognition of visual objects) to get better at it, will those changes transfer benefits to other types of memory tasks (e.g. recall of visual objects), or tasks which have a memory component (e.g. navigation). Transfer has been the bane of most cognitive training paradigms. Improvements are seen in the same task, but do not seem to transfer to conceptually related tasks. One idea to overcome problems in transfer has been to identify tasks which inordinately rely on core cognitive processes of memory (e.g. recollection vs. familiarity; Yonelinas, 2002), or relational binding (Konkel & Cohen, 2009). Another idea might be to train using memory strategies, like loci. Typically that research looks to whether using a particular strategy benefits memory, and frequently, does that strategy work in a particular population with poorer memory (e.g. children, adults with Alzheimer)
  - summarite 10y ago
    Very interesting. Did these ideas bear fruit?
    - SubiculumCode 10y ago
      I diverted my attention to lower hanging fruit in my Ph.D., so stopped following that literature closely. Overall I think that unless you already exercise regularly, exercising will have a larger effect on cognitive ability than any task-based cognitive training regimen.
motoboi 10y ago
> one group was trained in the method of loci, and they practiced using an online course for six weeks, 30 minutes per day. Does someone know if the course referred to in the article is available to anyone?
- Denzel 10y ago
  It's not so difficult as to require a course. Literally, the Art of Memory website and forum will do you well (they even discuss more advanced techniques on there such as Gavino's Massive Memory Palace). I can confirm that within two hours of learning the technique, I was able to memorize a list of 100 random objects with 100% recall hours later, even days later without practice. You could ask me where an object was in relation to another, you could ask me to name them backwards... you could even pick an object at random and I could work forwards and backwards from it. The effectiveness of the method of loci shocked me to say the least. And I showed anyone that was willing to see. Everyone thought there was some sort of trick, it seems impossible to be able to memorize that many objects so easily. Truth be told, you can go to 1,000+ if you want to. It's all just a matter of what you want to remember.
- JoshMnem 10y ago
  You can train with the techniques at https://memoryleague.com/ https://memoryleague.com/ Start with "images" by linking each image to the next one to form a story, and pick up the techniques for the other disciplines at http://artofmemory.com/start http://artofmemory.com/start
  - Denzel 10y ago
    Wow, this is why HN is awesome. Just wanted to say thanks for Art of Memory! It's helped me a lot, especially the discussion forums.
    - JoshMnem 10y ago
      Thanks for mentioning the site, and glad to hear that it's useful. :)
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
mrfusion 10y ago
Dumb question I've always wondered. How do you reset the memory palace? I feel like old things you stored would stick in your memory and get confusing.
- wodenokoto 10y ago
  I read "moonwalking with Einstein" and can relay what it said in the book about this. You mentally walk through your memory palace and clean it out. You walk through every room and look at every nook and cranny and imagine them clean. As far as I understand you don't do this every day, but every once in a while or before competitions.
  - fao_ 10y ago
    This sounds analogous to a stop-the-world GC. I wonder whether it's possible to construct a method for dealing with memory palaces that is more analogous to a non-stop-the-world GC?
    - blunte 10y ago
      If you can figure out how to have two active conscious thoughts simultaneously, please share!
      - mirimir 10y ago
        The voices in my head sometimes talk over each other ;)
      - ianai 10y ago
        Lots, and I mean lots, of caffeine. Or just working in IT.
      - WalterSear 10y ago
        Learn to play and improvise on a polyphonic musical instrument. http://www.radiolab.org/story/301427-head-full-symphonies/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/301427-head-full-symphonies/
dev24333344 10y ago
On a dofferent note this story is on the front page from past several days even though it has only 49 points as of now.
hluska 10y ago
I started practicing the method of loci when I was in Toastmasters. Over the course of a year, I went from literally reading my entire speech off of paper, to speaking without any notes at all. That one change made an unbelievable difference in my confidence and helped turn me into a pretty damned good public speaker. I highly recommend it to anyone who dislikes doing presentations.
- kevinwang 10y ago
  how do you apply this technique to speeches? Like, what do you store in the locations? Topics, or whole sentences?
  - summarite 10y ago
    Key ideas of the speech. Some people remember transition phrases but that never seemed helpful for me. In the end spend time remembering a few core ideas and practice the speech freely a few times. I actually don't write speeches anymore - i just think of a rough structure and practice until i get through it in a way i like. Then refine beginning and ending, make sure the core ideas are clear to me - and it's in my head for a while. Means I'll never give the same speech twice, but it's also more fun for me as i learn new things/ideas while speaking :)
DoodleBuggy 10y ago
Source study without The Verge garbage-ification http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(17)30087-9 http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(17)30087-9
jackreichert 10y ago
I enjoyed Moonwalking with Einstein, but I felt that it was more story than technique. I found [Unlimited Memory](https://www.amazon.com/Unlimited-Memory-Advanced-Strategies-Productive-ebook/dp/B00I3QS1XQ https://www.amazon.com/Unlimited-Memory-Advanced-Strategies-...) a nice follow-up to the former.
- mmny2017 10y ago
  I feel the exact same way! I'm kinesthetic & very technique driven when learning. For me, theory doesn't get it done. - mm My memory (techniques practical tools that work) course is streaming FREE on Amazon. Check it out: http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF
stevehiehn 10y ago
Interesting, Whenever i have trouble understanding an algorithm/code its usually because of not being able to remember what everything does. It usually not a due to a lack of logical reasoning.
- kingmanaz 10y ago
  As much as I disliked my time spent with perl several decades ago, the terseness did allow for some impressive "stunts" due to the amount of moving parts one ~80x40 window of code could present to the coder. God help anyone trying to read that stuff after the fact.
pps 10y ago
Some good resources for beginners: https://mullenmemory.com/ https://mullenmemory.com/ http://artofmemory.com/ http://artofmemory.com/ You can't just imagine something and remember it forever, combine mnemotechniques with: http://www.retrievalpractice.org/ http://www.retrievalpractice.org/ https://www.supermemo.com/en/articles/20rules https://www.supermemo.com/en/articles/20rules http://rs.io/anki-tips/ http://rs.io/anki-tips/
- JoshMnem 10y ago
  Thanks for the mention. :) If anyone is near SF you can learn how to do the techniques (free) at our memory club: http://artofmemory.com/sf http://artofmemory.com/sf and train for our upcoming memory championships (SF Bay Area and internationally) at https://memoryleague.com/ https://memoryleague.com/
ozim 10y ago
I kind of used that technique when I was working as sales for small gastronomy single-use plasticware. I went to a customer without notepad, he was telling me what he needs like 20-30 items with amounts, and the way I was able to remember that list was because at the time person was telling what he needs I was imagining place in the truck where I had what he needed. So only reading that story I realised that I was using some technique that I never heard before.
skyisblue 10y ago
Does this explain why it's easy to remember complex concepts using analogies as we're mapping new ideas to something we're familar with?
- mmny2017 10y ago
  thats neuroplasticity that would explain that, right? -m My memory (techniques practical tools that work) course is streaming FREE on Amazon. Check it out: http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF
andai 10y ago
From PGP's Passphrase FAQ: > "Shocking nonsense" means to make up a short phrase or sentence that is both nonsensical and shocking in the culture of the user, that is, it contains grossly obscene, racist, impossible or other extreme juxtaposition of ideas. This technique is permissable because the passphrase, by its nature, is never revealed to anyone with sensibilities to be offended. https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~conrad/krypto/passphrase-faq.html https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~conrad/krypto/passphrase-faq....
mmny2017 10y ago
I have had problems with the memory palace being concrete enough. I've tried all types of techniques over the years. I feel like I have a love hate love relationship with the memory palace. I feel like it needs more commitmment than I can give. check out My memory (practical tools that work) course is streaming FREE on Amazon. Check it out: http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF

215 points by jaboutboul 10y ago

achow 10y ago

There is a very interesting book on this topic - memory competitions - the book is about how ordinary people using an ancient Roman technique (Memory palace) becomes extraordinary memorizers. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything https://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Remembering-Everything/dp/0143120530/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= https://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Remember... I could pickup the technique to help me in my day to day life. For very little investment in efforts it managed to drastically improve my life. Context: I consider myself quite challenged when it comes to memorizing numbers. The technique described in the book (and in this article) allowed me to remember details of a financial instrument which involves 32 numbers without any pattern. Whenever I have to use this instrument I have to input random 6 numbers out of those 32. Before I discovered this technique I had to pull out the hardcopy of the instrument every time for reference (it was painful - sometime it will be not in my possession, or it would be buried inside some cabinet etc.) The technique that I use/adapted essentially is, I use mental map of a roadway which I’m intimately familiar with to place the 32 numbers on the various 32 landmark along the way (landmarks can be anything - a funny looking rock next to the road will also do. The key is one should be able to visualize it very clearly). So, whenever I need to retrieve numbers I mentally ’drive’ on the road and start checking out the landmarks. Example: I need to retrieve number corresponding to landmarks 5,9,15,20.. I start ‘driving’ reach landmark no. 5 and able to remember immediately this landmark is associated with number 29, then I move on and reach to next landmark, when I ‘reach’ that one I’m able to recollect that this landmark has number 89 associated with it, and so on… Somewhere I read that it works so well because as a human species we have ability to remember geo spatial things much better than abstract things like numbers. I would guess that it has to do with our hunter-gatherer days when we were primarily dealing with spatial concepts; brain is hard wired to store those information much better than things like numbers.

divbit 10y ago
For numbers, I think mapping them to consonants helps: 1-> t/d, 2 -> n (as it has two things on bottom), 3 -> m (3 things on bottom), 4 -> r (ends in r), 5 -> l, 6 -> j/ch, 7 -> g/k, 8 -> f/ph, 9 -> p/b. Now plug in some vowels and make words / a sentence for whatever numbers you need, e.g. mud riddle -> 31415 -> 3.1415. I forgot where I learned this many years ago, but its probably on some random website.
- kukx 10y ago
  According to your technique "mud riddle" should map to 314115. There're two d's. Anyway, the method seems interesting.
  - matthewaveryusa 10y ago
    It's called the major system and it's based off the sonority rather than the spelling. Great system.
    - gweinberg 10y ago
      But then how do you remember a number that really does have repeated digits? I'd never be able to remember my phone number under this system.
      - BeetleB 10y ago
        You can intersperse the vowels and the letters w, h, y anywhere you like.
      - Nadya 10y ago
        To remember the number 1111, `to do today`. Or even "today today". You construct words by mapping consonant sounds to numbers and using whatever vowels you need to construct words. Other people learn gibberish sentences instead. They break down the number into groups of two, three, or four and use pre-memorized words for each group of words. So to memorize the number "102457692" they might break it up into three groups: 102, 457, 692. Then they have a word memorized for "102" (ton) and a word for "457" (rolling), and "692" (cheapen). They memorize the number as `ton rolling cheapen`. Words are easier to memorize than numbers, even if the words don't form proper sentences.

walterbell 10y ago

Memory palace tutorial: http://artofmemory.com/start http://artofmemory.com/start

colordrops 10y ago
Is this the one used in the study mentioned in the article?
- kirykl 10y ago
  the original paper says they used memocamp
emerongi 10y ago
How easy is it to reuse the memory palace? Ultimately I'd like to use this technique to remember played cards during a card game. I can remember most cards quite easily, but often when it comes to the last 3-8 cards, I can't be 100% sure what they are. Though I'm not sure it's worth my time. I already remember more cards than my usual opponents.
- achow 10y ago
  Think remembering birthdays is difficult? Try memorizing two decks of cards in five minutes or less. That is what Joshua Foer did to win the 2006 U.S. Memory Championship... “Moonwalking With Einstein” does just that: It takes the reader on Foer’s journey from memory novice to national champion. http://www.salon.com/2011/03/06/foer_moonwalking_with_einstein/ http://www.salon.com/2011/03/06/foer_moonwalking_with_einste...
  - gcb0 10y ago
    even the opening of the article is misleading. memory palace is great for silly memory competitions but I've never seen anyone mention they used it to remember birthdays.
    - 10y ago

jwdunne 10y ago

How unusual :) I'm reading Conceptual Blockbusting, based on the recommendation in programming pearls (another great book btw). It just walked me through the method of loci technique as a demonstration of using long term memory.

hprotagonist 10y ago

Nearly any habitual task causes "lasting changes to the brain". Plasticity is not only real, but normative.

outlace 10y ago
Amen. Let's stop getting all excited every time someone shows the brain changes in response to some repeated activity. That's what it's supposed to do!
xkcd-sucks 10y ago
Moreover if it didn't cause lasting changes to the brain, there would be no memories!
SubiculumCode 10y ago
This is true. Indeed, the true question usually revolves around transfer. That is, as your brain changes in response to a certain memory task (e.g. recognition of visual objects) to get better at it, will those changes transfer benefits to other types of memory tasks (e.g. recall of visual objects), or tasks which have a memory component (e.g. navigation). Transfer has been the bane of most cognitive training paradigms. Improvements are seen in the same task, but do not seem to transfer to conceptually related tasks. One idea to overcome problems in transfer has been to identify tasks which inordinately rely on core cognitive processes of memory (e.g. recollection vs. familiarity; Yonelinas, 2002), or relational binding (Konkel & Cohen, 2009). Another idea might be to train using memory strategies, like loci. Typically that research looks to whether using a particular strategy benefits memory, and frequently, does that strategy work in a particular population with poorer memory (e.g. children, adults with Alzheimer)
- summarite 10y ago
  Very interesting. Did these ideas bear fruit?
  - SubiculumCode 10y ago
    I diverted my attention to lower hanging fruit in my Ph.D., so stopped following that literature closely. Overall I think that unless you already exercise regularly, exercising will have a larger effect on cognitive ability than any task-based cognitive training regimen.

motoboi 10y ago

> one group was trained in the method of loci, and they practiced using an online course for six weeks, 30 minutes per day. Does someone know if the course referred to in the article is available to anyone?

Denzel 10y ago
It's not so difficult as to require a course. Literally, the Art of Memory website and forum will do you well (they even discuss more advanced techniques on there such as Gavino's Massive Memory Palace). I can confirm that within two hours of learning the technique, I was able to memorize a list of 100 random objects with 100% recall hours later, even days later without practice. You could ask me where an object was in relation to another, you could ask me to name them backwards... you could even pick an object at random and I could work forwards and backwards from it. The effectiveness of the method of loci shocked me to say the least. And I showed anyone that was willing to see. Everyone thought there was some sort of trick, it seems impossible to be able to memorize that many objects so easily. Truth be told, you can go to 1,000+ if you want to. It's all just a matter of what you want to remember.
JoshMnem 10y ago
You can train with the techniques at https://memoryleague.com/ https://memoryleague.com/ Start with "images" by linking each image to the next one to form a story, and pick up the techniques for the other disciplines at http://artofmemory.com/start http://artofmemory.com/start
- Denzel 10y ago
  Wow, this is why HN is awesome. Just wanted to say thanks for Art of Memory! It's helped me a lot, especially the discussion forums.
  - JoshMnem 10y ago
    Thanks for mentioning the site, and glad to hear that it's useful. :)

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

mrfusion 10y ago

Dumb question I've always wondered. How do you reset the memory palace? I feel like old things you stored would stick in your memory and get confusing.

wodenokoto 10y ago
I read "moonwalking with Einstein" and can relay what it said in the book about this. You mentally walk through your memory palace and clean it out. You walk through every room and look at every nook and cranny and imagine them clean. As far as I understand you don't do this every day, but every once in a while or before competitions.
- fao_ 10y ago
  This sounds analogous to a stop-the-world GC. I wonder whether it's possible to construct a method for dealing with memory palaces that is more analogous to a non-stop-the-world GC?
  - blunte 10y ago
    If you can figure out how to have two active conscious thoughts simultaneously, please share!
    - mirimir 10y ago
      The voices in my head sometimes talk over each other ;)
    - ianai 10y ago
      Lots, and I mean lots, of caffeine. Or just working in IT.
    - WalterSear 10y ago
      Learn to play and improvise on a polyphonic musical instrument. http://www.radiolab.org/story/301427-head-full-symphonies/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/301427-head-full-symphonies/

dev24333344 10y ago

On a dofferent note this story is on the front page from past several days even though it has only 49 points as of now.

hluska 10y ago

I started practicing the method of loci when I was in Toastmasters. Over the course of a year, I went from literally reading my entire speech off of paper, to speaking without any notes at all. That one change made an unbelievable difference in my confidence and helped turn me into a pretty damned good public speaker. I highly recommend it to anyone who dislikes doing presentations.

kevinwang 10y ago
how do you apply this technique to speeches? Like, what do you store in the locations? Topics, or whole sentences?
- summarite 10y ago
  Key ideas of the speech. Some people remember transition phrases but that never seemed helpful for me. In the end spend time remembering a few core ideas and practice the speech freely a few times. I actually don't write speeches anymore - i just think of a rough structure and practice until i get through it in a way i like. Then refine beginning and ending, make sure the core ideas are clear to me - and it's in my head for a while. Means I'll never give the same speech twice, but it's also more fun for me as i learn new things/ideas while speaking :)

DoodleBuggy 10y ago

Source study without The Verge garbage-ification http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(17)30087-9 http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(17)30087-9

jackreichert 10y ago

I enjoyed Moonwalking with Einstein, but I felt that it was more story than technique. I found [Unlimited Memory](https://www.amazon.com/Unlimited-Memory-Advanced-Strategies-Productive-ebook/dp/B00I3QS1XQ https://www.amazon.com/Unlimited-Memory-Advanced-Strategies-...) a nice follow-up to the former.

mmny2017 10y ago
I feel the exact same way! I'm kinesthetic & very technique driven when learning. For me, theory doesn't get it done. - mm My memory (techniques practical tools that work) course is streaming FREE on Amazon. Check it out: http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF

stevehiehn 10y ago

Interesting, Whenever i have trouble understanding an algorithm/code its usually because of not being able to remember what everything does. It usually not a due to a lack of logical reasoning.

kingmanaz 10y ago
As much as I disliked my time spent with perl several decades ago, the terseness did allow for some impressive "stunts" due to the amount of moving parts one ~80x40 window of code could present to the coder. God help anyone trying to read that stuff after the fact.

pps 10y ago

Some good resources for beginners: https://mullenmemory.com/ https://mullenmemory.com/ http://artofmemory.com/ http://artofmemory.com/ You can't just imagine something and remember it forever, combine mnemotechniques with: http://www.retrievalpractice.org/ http://www.retrievalpractice.org/ https://www.supermemo.com/en/articles/20rules https://www.supermemo.com/en/articles/20rules http://rs.io/anki-tips/ http://rs.io/anki-tips/

JoshMnem 10y ago
Thanks for the mention. :) If anyone is near SF you can learn how to do the techniques (free) at our memory club: http://artofmemory.com/sf http://artofmemory.com/sf and train for our upcoming memory championships (SF Bay Area and internationally) at https://memoryleague.com/ https://memoryleague.com/

ozim 10y ago

I kind of used that technique when I was working as sales for small gastronomy single-use plasticware. I went to a customer without notepad, he was telling me what he needs like 20-30 items with amounts, and the way I was able to remember that list was because at the time person was telling what he needs I was imagining place in the truck where I had what he needed. So only reading that story I realised that I was using some technique that I never heard before.

skyisblue 10y ago

Does this explain why it's easy to remember complex concepts using analogies as we're mapping new ideas to something we're familar with?

mmny2017 10y ago
thats neuroplasticity that would explain that, right? -m My memory (techniques practical tools that work) course is streaming FREE on Amazon. Check it out: http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF

andai 10y ago

From PGP's Passphrase FAQ: > "Shocking nonsense" means to make up a short phrase or sentence that is both nonsensical and shocking in the culture of the user, that is, it contains grossly obscene, racist, impossible or other extreme juxtaposition of ideas. This technique is permissable because the passphrase, by its nature, is never revealed to anyone with sensibilities to be offended. https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~conrad/krypto/passphrase-faq.html https://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~conrad/krypto/passphrase-faq....

mmny2017 10y ago

I have had problems with the memory palace being concrete enough. I've tried all types of techniques over the years. I feel like I have a love hate love relationship with the memory palace. I feel like it needs more commitmment than I can give. check out My memory (practical tools that work) course is streaming FREE on Amazon. Check it out: http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF http://amzn.to/2mAIiaF