September42012

Memory Aid: The Method of Loki … ok fine, Loci

fabafter40:

I’ve been reading up on all sorts of mnemonic devices recently because AGING SUCKS and I swear I’m totally losing my memory…

.. and I’m not quite ready yet to let go of some of the things that could be affecting it. 

Someday. But not today. 

So in the meantime, I’ve discovered a couple of cool memory aids, but for now I’m focusing on The Method of Loci — because it sounds the coolest.

I mean, honestly… if you saw “The Method of Loci” and didn’t immediately think “OMG AVENGERS SEQUEL!” I swear there’s something wrong with you. EVEN if Loci is actually the plural of locus (location), is pronounced “low-sigh” and has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with our evil friend from Asgard.

Whatever. I’m afraid I’ll have to insist on reading it as LOKI. Because it sounds cooler.

Anyway, this is the method in a nutshell:

The Method of Loci is one of the oldest mnemonic devices known to man. It was developed by this poet called Simonides, who had a gig at some banquet but had to split for a while — and then returned to discover the whole place had burned down.

Anyway because CSI hadn’t been invented yet then, no one had a way of identifying the charred remains of the victims — except for good old Simonides, who remembered where everyone had been sitting. 

So everyone was all “OMG Sim, you’re the coolest! This memory thing is so much better than your poetry! Now we can totally remember things just by associating them with a mental image of a location!” — and thus the Method of Loci was born.

It became a really popular memory tool, particularly for Greek and Roman orators who wanted to give speeches without having to use notes…

Because I’m guessing notes were a bit of a hassle back then…

So yeah, I’m giving this method a shot, and if you’d like to try it too, here’s how to use it:

  • Think of a place you know well, like your house. 
  • Visualize a series of locations in that place, in logical order. 
  • Place each item that you want to remember at one of the locations.
  • When you want to remember the items, just visualize your house and go through it room by room in your mind. 
If you need more detailed instructions, you can find them here or here. 

Good luck, and happy remembering!

Reblogging for the awesome.

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