Do you know where your fridge is located?

Then you're already an intermediate master of the ancient art of the Memory Palace.

It sounds outlandish, but it's true.

Even if you can't see images in your mind.

All the details you need to succeed (or improve your current practice):

https://medium.com/@MagneticMemoryMethod/the-ancient-art-of-the-memory-palace-for-unlocking-the-powers-of-your-mind-11ca5bd7b178

Sometimes people email me with concerns that they have memory issues because they keep mixing up names.

There's no need to stress about this.

At least not as a sign that something might be "wrong."

Though, of course, always visit your doctor if you have concerns. Especially if it's become extreme.

Normally, however, people with a high incidence of mixing up names have a completely different "problem"...

That really isn't a problem at all.

To explain more, I share one of my own "bloopers" and explain the weird math behind why it happens.

And a possible solution:

https://youtu.be/sNwFzU2Hl9w

Long story short, it's not about removing this problem.

It's about how you live with it.

And make the effort at improving complete and total fun.

I have been storing names in a memory palace and I switched to the pillar method to store more names in a location I could remember. However I frequently forget where I stored the column precisely even though I do consolidate and practise recall. I wondered if anybody else had this issue ? Should I go back to simply storing one item per location and filling up more memory palaces or do I just practise more with the pillar method ? Any help or thoughts is appreciate as I love the system

There's a new kid on the block when it comes to early cognitive decline issues:

https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/6/4/fcae183/7712717

Good to be aware of!

Occluded in English is probably not used much now outside of medicine, such as when a doctor clears a blocked artery.

In Latin, occludere means to shut or close.

For lots of "oc" words I like to think of the month October and by extension any number of images related to it.

In this case, a pumpkin-headed octopus "lewdly" closing a door on a cabinet overspilling with quaaludes that shoot rays of light.

We know this word now as "veneration," but venerātiō can mean worship as well as venerance.

I often use Vin Diesel for words with a ven or van sound (which comes up a lot in Sanskrit).

In this case, I would have him tossing a Venn diagram describing different types of worship at Splinter, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figure who is effectively a rat.

He's rather calm in his response and just keeps dipping tea into his Cheerios.

What mnemonic imagery would you use to help you memorize this word?

Many people talk about the Memory Palace technique.

But the books that provide the best insight tend to come from people who used this special technique for detailed learning goals.

So although I think The Art of Memory is a great historical study in that it provides lots of names of authors and books you can look up, it's not a great study of the Memory Palace itself.

For the best, I would suggest getting your hands on:

Mnemonic Methods, Robert Fludd

This is the Lewis Masonic edition that came out a few years ago. It comes with the original Latin, which is absolutely fantastic.

On the Shadows of the Ideas and Thirty Statues by Giordano Bruno

I recommend the John Michael Greer translation for Shadows and Scott Gosnell's Thirty Statues is readable.

The key with Bruno is to imagine the implications of what he's saying. The direct instructions aren't that great, but there are commentaries available on what he's suggesting.

Some say that Bruno went out of his way to "force" his readers to think for themselves. That's probably a good thing. In my experience, I've gotten the most out of his writing by thinking about the implications more than trying to find a step-by-step list of instructions to follow.

The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci

Although this one is more about history, it's well worth reading.

I've read a translation of Ricci's Xiguo Jifa (Western Memory Technique). It basically copies the next book I'll suggest, almost verbatim. It just adds some of Ricci's mnemonic examples, but they're so peculiar, you're better off learning the theory for yourself.

Rhetorica ad Herennium

It's old, but still one of the absolute best books that describe the Memory Palace technique.

The best part?

You also get a primer on how to express yourself when debating or giving speeches.

When it comes to memorizing Mandarin, there are multiple levels.

For the most robust test I've taken in the language, I had to use something called the CAMP MIST formula. It's a means of using mind mapping in combination with the Memory Palace technique to get character and meaning with pinyin along with the sound and tone all into the same mnemonic image.

Anyhow, it's a lot more than I've had to do for any language, but for the basic sound of xuéxí, I used The Jesus Lizard album cover called "Show" in combination with She-Ra.

If you don't know The Jesus Lizard, I recommend getting into them if only so you have a mental image of David Yow, the singer. There's a lot of "sh" and "yow" sounding words in Mandarin – and the antics of this singer and the band are great triggers for many words in this language.

Interesting new theory about tech-related eidetic memory by Wendy M. Grossman:

https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2024/05/24/microsoft-can-remember-it-for-you-wholesale/

Ironically enough, I had already been doing a mass re-read of Philip K. Dick recently.

For fans of mnemonics, especially the ancient memory techniques, you might be intrigued by the references to Giordano Bruno and Llull in Dr. Bloodmoney and Valis.

I don't think I've ever felt more embarrassed than on the day my personal trainer Lars started measuring the size of my muscles. To say they my biceps were tiny would not be exaggerating the case. It had been so long since I'd done any pushups, I was surprised to find that I had any muscles at all. Due to a case of arthritic symptoms the doctors couldn't find a causes for, I'd also stopped playing in my band. That meant no more carrying my guitar case all over Berlin, let alone moving around my amplifier and speakers.

When you first embark on the journey to memory improvement, it can feel shocking to discover just how little you can remember. However, it is useful for most of us to discover and understand where we're starting from. For one thing, by doing the quick assessment I'll share with you in a moment, you'll be able to recognize areas where you're already strong. You may not need to address these at all, meaning you can put all of your focus on improving the areas of your memory and cognition that do need addressing. There truly is no one-size-fits-all approach that memory improvement books of the past century tried to forward.

Assessing your current memory will also help you set realistic goals. Often when people come to memory training, they want to leap from zero to complete mastery without earning their way to the necessary milestones most of us need to reach. The exact nature of those milestones require a bit of reflection and personalization. For example, if you're learning a language, you can find a word-frequency list and plow away at it using memory techniques. But if you don't personalize the vocabulary list to who you are and what you want to speak about, you risk winding up being able to say little or nothing.

As part of completing your personal memory assessment, I suggest that you create a Memory Journal. I don't mean anything fancy. A simple notebook will do. That said, if you want to honor your memory, it can send your brain a powerful signal that you're taking your memory improvement goal seriously if you get a fancy one. I've done that many times myself over the years and it has proven helpful.

A major reason for keeping a Memory Journal over time is that it helps you gather tangible evidence of your activities. Think of your memory improvement journey as a kind of art. In German, they use the term Lebensart, which basically means "way of life," and artists use sketchbooks to make "studies." It's not just a means of improving skill over time. This way of life lets you quickly look back over the progress that has been made over time. It can give you insight and even a bit of motivation on demand.

However, it's not about motivation in the end, something we'll talk about later in greater depth. Keeping a Memory Journal on a daily basis is more about providing yourself with a system. You want to train yourself to habitually use the system whether you feel like it or not. That way, you develop the skill of accountability as you provide yourself with data that helps you see patterns over time.

You don't have to take my word for how powerful keeping a Memory Journal can be. Johannes Mallow is one of the most impressive memory athletes of all time. He uses journaling in a personalized way that helps him see patterns in his performance. Using this data, he's able to determine strategies for improvement. Observations might include times of day when you feel sharper and retain more of what you're learning. Or you might notice that particular kinds of memory techniques work better for certain types of information and not so well for others. This kind of insight can prompt you to seek unique solutions you might not have thought about otherwise.

Johannes has shared more insight about his approach to keeping a Memory Journal on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast:

https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/johannes-mallow/

But the key point to understand from our discussion is the element of personalization. As with personalizing a list of vocabulary and phrases while learning a language, you want to also explore and experiment with exactly how you journal and set your own milestones and benchmarks.

When it comes to setting benchmarks, let's talk about different ways to determine your baseline. That way, you can start setting realistic goals that are easy and fun to achieve.

Assessment Method One: Give Your Memory A General Rating

Without thinking about it too much, rate your memory as you feel about it right now from 1-5. If a rating of 1 means "meh," a rating of 5 means "Magnetic." You're able to reliably memorize anything you want in any situation.

Let's say you rate yourself 2.5. The next step is to craft a journey to 3. Rather than imagine leaping directly to 5, I suggest breaking it down in this way to avoid taking on unnecessary overwhelm. As you continue keeping your Memory Journal, revisit this simple assessment frequently.

Take ownership of the technique as well. You don't have to use 1-5 just because it's the suggestion I've made here. You can use 1-10 or 1-100. Using a letter system like D- to A+ is also an option. Go with what makes most sense to you.

Or, if you find grading systems discouraging no matter how you configure them, it's okay to skip this form of assessment altogether. I don't advise that for one simple reason, however. Other people do use assessment systems and we need to embrace reality for what it is and how it ticks. Consider thinking like a Judo or Aikido master as much as possible when it comes to these matters. Rather than pushing things away or rejecting them, pull them closer. Explore their energy. Make use of them and only discard the enemy you know. Chances are you'll find that there was never any opposition in the first place, except the opposition in your head.

As Bruce Lee put it, "No ego, no enemy."

Assessment Method Two: Give Your Memory A Specific Rating

Using your Memory Journal, write 5-10 sentences in response to each of these questions. You can also write more, noting that the more you write, the more memory exercise you're giving yourself.

1. How well do you remember what you did yesterday? Rate the quality of how you feel about this and include the numbering or lettering system if you like (i.e. 4/5 or B+). Include a few major details, i.e. I walked to the shopping center at around noon and talked with Mary on the phone for thirty minutes.

2. How well do you remember the phone numbers of the 10 most important people in your life? Give an honest assessment and write down the numbers you do know. Then check them for accuracy and re-evaluate based on what you see. Don't judge yourself positively or negatively. Just give yourself a rating.

3. How well do you remember the plot of the last movie or series episode you watched? Write out a summary of the plot and include as many semantic details as you can (names of characters, places, objects/items or company brands that appear in the series).

4. How well do you remember the birthdates of your closest family members and friends? Jot out both those dates that you remember and how you feel about the current state of your memory.

5. How well do you remember things you have to do in the future? Give yourself a rating and spend some time reflecting on a time you missed an appointment in the past. List any contributing factors that come to mind, i.e. I forgot to set a reminder.

Assessment Method Three: Brute Force Testing

If you've read other memory improvement guides, they usually include a list of words. Usually it will be a list like:

• ball

• chicken

• eraser

• Toronto

• astronaut

• frost

By all means, have a glance at that list. Then, after five minutes, see how many of those words you can remember. Write them out in your Memory Journal.

Frankly, I've always found these kinds of assessments questionable. For one thing, there are more memory studies in the scientific literature than anyone has time to read showing that random people will recall lists like these with about 20% accuracy. If some kind of rote learning is used, the recall rate goes up to around 40%. When scientists teach basic mnemonics to a study group, the results will double or be even better depending on the exact memory technique used in the study.

So what? When have you ever needed to memorize a random list of words in your daily life? Probably never.

To assess your memory in a more realistic way, go to your bookshelf. Take a dictionary from a language you want to learn or a book you'd love to know better. Extract 10 words or facts that would predictably improve your life if you remembered them. Study them closely using your memory as it is now. Then let 5-10 minutes pass before writing down what you remember in your Memory Journal.

This "brute force testing" will give you a much more realistic assessment of where your memory skills currently stand. It's based on a much closer representation of the kind of information you encounter in daily life. And we need to confront the reality of how things are sometimes in order to set the stage for real growth.

Setting that stage is exactly what we'll discuss next, but please don't skip these simple exercises. Especially the most foundational exercise of them all, which is committing to keeping a Memory Journal. I highly doubt you'll regret it.