Method of loci The Method of loci , also called the memory
palace, is a mnemonic device introduced in ancient Roman and Greek rhetorical treatises
. In basic terms, it is a method of memory enhancement which uses visualization to organize
and recall information. Many memory contest champions claim to use this technique to recall
faces, digits, and lists of words. These champions’ successes have little to do with brain structure
or intelligence, but more to do with their technique of using regions of their brain
that have to do with spatial learning. The term is most often found in specialised
works on psychology, neurobiology and memory, though it was used in the same general way
at least as early as the first half of the nineteenth century in works on rhetoric, logic
and philosophy. John O'Keefe and Lynn Nadel refer to:
The items to be remembered in this mnemonic system are mentally associated with specific
physical locations. The method relies on memorized spatial relationships to establish, order,
and recollect memorial content. It is also known as the "Journey Method," used for storing
lists of related items, or the "Roman Room" technique, which is most effective for storing
unrelated information. Contemporary usage
Many effective memorisers today use the 'method of loci' to some degree. Contemporary memory
competition was initiated in 1991 and the first United States championship was held
in 1997. Part of the competition requires committing to memory and recalling a sequence
of digits, two-digit numbers, alphabetic letters, or playing cards. In a simple method of doing
this, contestants, using various strategies well before competing, commit to long-term
memory a unique vivid image associated with each item. They have also committed to long-term
memory a familiar route with firmly established stop-points or loci. Then in the competition
they need only deposit the image that they have associated with each item at the loci.
To recall, they retrace the route, "stop" at each locus, and "observe" the image. They
then translate this back to the associated item.
Memory champions elaborate on this by combining images. Eight-time World Memory Champion Dominic
O'Brien uses this technique. The 2006 World Memory Champion, Clemens Mayer from Germany,
used a 300-point-long journey through his house for his world record in "number half
marathon", memorising 1040 random digits in a half hour. Gary Shang has used the method
of loci to memorise pi to over 65,536 digits. Using this technique a person with ordinary
memorisation capabilities, after establishing the route stop-points and committing the associated
images to long-term memory, with less than an hour of practice, can remember the sequence
of a shuffled deck of cards. The world record for this is held by Simon Reinhard at 21.19
seconds. The technique is taught as a metacognitive
technique in learning to learn courses. It is generally applied to encoding the key ideas
of a subject. Two approaches are: Link the key ideas of a subject and then deep-learn
those key ideas in relation to each other, and
Think through the key ideas of a subject in depth, re-arrange the ideas in relation to
an argument, then link the ideas to loci in good order.
The Rhetorica ad Herennium and most other sources recommend that the method of loci
should be integrated with elaborative encoding (i.e., adding visual, auditory, or other details)
to strengthen memory. However, due to the strength of spatial memory, simply mentally
placing objects in real or imagined locations without further elaboration can be effective
for simple associations. A recent variation of the "method of loci"
involves creating imaginary locations (houses, palaces, roads, and cities) to which the same
procedure is applied. It is accepted that there is a greater cost involved in the initial
setup, but thereafter the performance is in line with the standard loci method. The purported
advantage is to create towns and cities that each represent a topic or an area of study,
thus offering an efficient filing of the information and an easy path for the regular review necessary
for long term memory storage. Something that is likely a reference to the
"method of loci" techniques survives to this day in the common English phrases "in the
first place", "in the second place", and so forth.
Applicability of the term The designation is not used with strict consistency.
In some cases it refers broadly to what is otherwise known as the art of memory, the
origins of which are related, according to tradition, in the story of Simonides of Ceos
and the collapsing banquet hall. For example, after relating the story of how Simonides
relied on remembered seating arrangements to call to mind the faces of recently deceased
guests, Steven M. Kosslyn remarks "his insight led to the development of a technique the
Greeks called the method of loci, which is a systematic way of improving one's memory
by using imagery." Skoyles and Sagan indicate that "an ancient technique of memorization
called Method of Loci, by which memories are referenced directly onto spatial maps" originated
with the story of Simonides. Referring to mnemonic methods, Verlee Williams mentions,
"One such strategy is the 'loci' method, which was developed by Simonides, a Greek poet of
the fifth and sixth centuries BC" Loftus cites the foundation story of Simonides (more or
less taken from Frances Yates) and describes some of the most basic aspects of the use
of space in the art of memory. She states, "This particular mnemonic technique has come
to be called the "method of loci". While place or position certainly figured prominently
in ancient mnemonic techniques, no designation equivalent to "method of loci" was used exclusively
to refer to mnemonic schemes relying upon space for organization.
In other cases the designation is generally consistent, but more specific: "The Method
of Loci is a Mnemonic Device involving the creation of a Visual Map of one's house."
This term can be misleading: the ancient principles and techniques of the art of memory, hastily
glossed in some of the works cited above, depended equally upon images and places. The
designator "method of loci" does not convey the equal weight placed on both elements.
Training in the art or arts of memory as a whole, as attested in classical antiquity,
was far more inclusive and comprehensive in the treatment of this subject.
Spatial mnemonics and specific brain activation Brain scans of "superior memorizers", 90%
of whom use the method of loci technique, have shown that it involves activation of
regions of the brain involved in spatial awareness, such as the medial parietal cortex, retrosplenial
cortex, and the right posterior hippocampus. The medial parietal cortex is most associated
with encoding and retrieving of information. Patients who have medial parietal cortex damage
have trouble linking landmarks with certain locations; many of these patients are unable
to give or follow directions and often got lost. The retrosplenial cortex is also linked
to memory and navigation. In one study on the effects of selective granular retrosplenial
cortex lesions in rats, the researcher found that damage to the retrosplenial cortex lead
to impaired spatial learning abilities. Rats with damage to this area failed to recall
which areas of the maze they had already visited, rarely explored different arms of the maze,
almost never recalled the maze in future trials, and took longer to reach the end of the maze,
as compared to rats with a fully working retrosplenial cortex.
In a classic study in cognitive neuroscience, O'Keefe and Nadel proposed "that the hippocampus
is the core of a neural memory system providing an objective spatial framework within which
the items and events of an organism's experience are located and interrelated."
In popular culture Literature
In the 1981 fantasy classic Little, Big by John Crowley, advisor-mage Ariel Hawksquill
uses the method to link obscure information to aid her clients, and notes that:
The technique is employed by the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal,
and Hannibal Rising, novels by American author Thomas Harris. In several passages in these
books, Lecter is described as mentally walking through an elaborate memory palace to remember
facts. The technique is depicted in the Matthew Reilly
book Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves. The main character, Shane Schofield, uses the
technique to lock away good memories and prevent psychological torture.
The technique is mentioned in Hilary Mantel's book Wolf Hall. The protagonist, Thomas Cromwell,
uses the technique, and makes reference to Cicero's story of Simonides of Ceos remembering
the locations of all the guests after he escapes being crushed by the collapsing roof.
The technique is also the main focus of the book Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer.
The technique is often used by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child´s agent Pendergast.
Derren Brown, in his book Tricks of the Mind, showed how to use the Loci system in conjunction
with a linking and number-pegging system. He demonstrated the technique in the BBC Four
series Trick of the Mind. Television
The technique was depicted in the BBC television series Sherlock in the second episode of the
second series, "The Hounds of Baskerville", where Sherlock Holmes uses his "mind palace"
to seek and reassemble important facts and associations in his memory which were relevant
to the case. In "The Empty Hearse," first episode of its third series, Sherlock pretends
to access his mind palace in order to defuse a bomb. The method is also seen again in episodes
two and three of series three. In episode two, 'The Sign of Three', he uses the "mind
palace" to organize an interrogation; in episode three, 'His Last Vow', the technique is again
used by Sherlock to survive being shot in the chest. In this episode it was also used
by the main antagonist, Charles Augustus Magnussen, as a method of storing vast amounts of blackmail
material. Holmes uses the method of loci to recall where
he heard a phrase in CBS's Sherlock Holmes adaptation Elementary, in the episode called
"The Long Fuse." The memory palace concept is also used in
several episodes of the CBS series The Mentalist by the titular mentalist Patrick Jane to help
colleagues and witnesses remember things such as playing card locations in a deck or information
and names of guests at a party. The concept was illustrated in the episode
of the documentary television series, The Day the Universe Changed titled "A Matter
of Fact", in which James Burke explains how it was used in medieval times when literacy
was rare for sophisticated scholastic and business affairs.
The television show "Leverage", the team of thieves execute a con completely revolving
around the concept of a Roman Room ("The Reunion Job").
Will Graham in NBC's "Hannibal" uses a 'mind palace' to escape from his surroundings and
retain some sanity in Season 2. Film
A version of the technique, dubbed "The Memory Warehouse" appears in the 2003 film Dreamcatcher,
granted to the film's four main characters as a result of contact with an alien that
takes the form of a young boy they befriend who calls himself "Dudditz". In the film,
the Memory Warehouse is a place where all of the characters' thoughts and memories take
the form of physical files that can be interacted with, and burned when necessary. The character
Jonesy keeps an entire section of the Memory Warehouse dedicated specifically to his memories
and theories regarding Dudditz, which he must recover and hide after an antagonistic alien
takes over his body. Notes
^ Jusczyk, P.W.; Klein, R.M., eds. (August 1, 1980). The Nature of Thought: Essays in
Honor of D. O. Hebb. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Psychology Press. pp. 217–218. ISBN 0898590345.
^ e.g. in a discussion of "topical memory" (yet another designator) Jamieson mentions
that "memorial lines, or verses, are more useful than the method of loci." Alexander
Jamieson, A Grammar of Logic and Intellectual Philosophy, A. H. Maltby, 1835, p112
^ O'Keefe, John; Nadel, Lynn (December 7, 1978). The Hippocampus as a Cognitive Map'.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198572060. ^ Carlson, Neil R. (2010). Psychology the
science of behaviour. Pearson Canada Inc. p. 245. ISBN 9780205645244.
^ "The Roman Room Technique". AcademicTips.org. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
^ Foer, Joshua (March 16, 2005). "Forget Me Not: How to win the U.S. memory championship".
Slate. Retrieved October 24, 2013. ^ "1997 World Memory Championships". Mind
Sports Worldwide. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
^ Raz, A.; Packard, M. G.; Alexander, G. M.; Buhle, J. T.; Zhu, H.; Yu, S.; Peterson, B.
S. (2009). "A slice of π : An exploratory neuroimaging study of digit encoding and retrieval
in a superior memorist". Neurocase 15 (5): 361–372. doi:10.1080/13554790902776896.
PMID 19585350. edit ^ "5 Minute Speed Cards". World Memory Statistics.
World Memory Sports Council. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
^ Bremer, Rod (September 20, 2011). The Manual - A guide to the Ultimate Study Method (USM).
Cambridge, United Kingdom: Fons Sapientiae Publishing. ISBN 978-0956990709.
^ Finger, Stanley (October 11, 2001). Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations
Into Brain Function. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-0195146943.
^ Frances Yates, The Art of Memory, University of Chicago, 1966, p1-2
^ Steven M. Kosslyn, "Imagery in Learning" in: Michael S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), Perspectives
in Memory Research, MIT Press, 1988, p245; it should be noted that Kosslyn fails to cite
any example of the use of an equivalent term in period Greek or Latin sources.
^ John Robert Skoyles, Dorion Sagan, Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence,
McGraw-Hill, 2002, p150 ^ Linda Verlee Williams, Teaching For The
Two-Sided Mind: A Guide to Right Brain/Left Brain Education, Simon & Schuster, 1986, p110
^ Elizabeth F. Loftus, Human Memory: The Processing of Information, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
1976, p65 ^ For example, Aristotle referred to topoi
(places) in which memorial content could be aggregated - hence our modern term "topics",
while another primary classical source, Rhetorica ad Herennium (Bk III) discusses rules for
places and images. In general Classical and Medieval sources describe these techniques
as the art or arts of memory (ars memorativa or artes memorativae), rather than as any
putative "method of loci". Nor is the imprecise designation current in specialized historical
studies, for example Mary Carruthers uses the term "architectural mnemonic" to describe
what is otherwise designated "method of loci". ^ Gutman, Sharon A. (December 1, 2007). Quick
Reference Neuroscience For Rehabilitation Professionals. Thorofare, New Jersey: SLACK
Incorporated. p. 216. ISBN 978-1556428005. ^ Maguire, E. A.; Valentine, E. R.; Wilding,
J. M.; Kapur, N. (2002). "Routes to remembering: The brains behind superior memory". Nature
Neuroscience 6 (1): 90–95. doi:10.1038/nn988. PMID 12483214.
^ Parasuraman, Raja; Rizzo, Matthew (February 13, 2008). Neuroergonomics. New York: Oxford
University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0195368659. ^ Hassabis, D.; Chu, C.; Rees, G.; Weiskopf,
N.; Molyneux, P. D.; Maguire, E. A. (2009). "Decoding Neuronal Ensembles in the Human
Hippocampus". Current Biology 19 (7): 546–554. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.02.033. PMC 2670980.
PMID 19285400. ^ Harris, Thomas (1999). Hannibal. Delacorte
Press. ISBN 0-385-29929-X.