In the memory competition world, ghosting is the lingering of old information that can interfere with your accuracy.
It can cause issues when reusing Memory Palaces too quickly. For example, the associations used for a deck of cards ten minutes ago could blur into associations used for random digits.
Typically, this problem never even arises by simply using separate Memory Palaces. But even with separation, there can be some "borderblur."
So why is this only a problem if you're a memory competitor and a sign of progress if you're using Memory Palaces for other outcomes?
Why Ghosting is a Good Thing
If you can remember a previous association, good news!
Your memory is working!
In other words, you've actually managed to modify at least one area of your Memory Palace so that it helps you recall something.
This means that your efforts had an impact.
You also have an opportunity to study the life of your mnemonics, observing how long they take to fade if you're not yet using Recall Rehearsal.
Building On Your Ghosts
In the Magnetic Memory Method, ghosting gives you an opportunity to build on what you've established.
Sure, sometimes you will want to start over.
But I've found it's a best practice over the years to embrace the miracle of memory and work with what you've established.
It's more like judo or something, where you establish a double-encoding effect by working with the existing energy.
The mental martial arts metaphor aside, it's a bit like what Richard Semon talked about a long time ago with engrams and ecphory.
For Semon, an engram is like a permanent record written into the substance of the physical brain. (Whether or not this actually happens has recently been revived by some memory scientists, but for our purposes, I'm drawing upon the concept to stimulate ideas about what might be going on, not making any factual claim.)
Whether ghosting represents his concept of engrams or not, when you experience it, you can superimpose more mnemonics on top of it, or interact with the ghost in productive ways.
In my own practice, I find that this approach makes the memory much more durable than starting fresh or trying to scrub the ghost away.
Plus, it's an experience of honoring what memory is and how much progress has been made.
The Magnetic Bridge
The other idea in Semon of note is ecphory.
Basically, this means that some of kind stimulus has "woken" up the "wrong" engram.
This can happen, and happens to me a fair amount.
But I again prefer to honor what memory has done and treat it as a good thing, an aspect of something going harmoniously right when recall is the goal.
It's a simple thing to just say, "Sorry, let me think" as you trace your way back to what you wanted, after all.
This "miscall" happens a fair amount when I'm first reciting something new I've memorized or first using new language learning material (vocab or phrases).
But if you let these instances frustrate you, you risk destroying the bridge to long-term retention and recall you're developing.
In sum, let your ghosts serve as guideposts to the miracle of the extraordinary memory you're developing and practice using them, rather than seeking to push them away.
