hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about how to memorize anything 10
times faster now let's begin the method of loci is the oldest mnemonic tool in the world today
a mnemonic tool is a shortcut or abbreviation that helps you remember important information
like names places and numbers most mnemonic devices are short and simple like acronyms and
mnemonic phrases for example the mnemonic phrase mother visits every monday just stays until noon
helps people remember the eight planets in our solar system phrases and acronyms are perfect
tools for memorizing small bits of information before a test or presentation you can use these
shortcuts to keep these kernels of information lodged in your memory but what if you need a
more powerful tool what mnemonic devices help you memorize more complicated concepts
according to roman legend the method of loci was invented by a poet named simonides of cius
one day simonides was invited to a dinner party in the grand hall of a nobleman's palace
where he would recite a poem for the nobleman's honored guests
after delivering his poem simonides was called outside the palace to receive a message in his
absence the roof of the palace collapsed into the grand hall and simonides was the only survivor
news of the tragedy spread throughout the city soon friends of the deceased arrived to bury
their loved ones but under the wreckage in rubble no one could tell who was who luckily simonides
remembered the layout of the palace by imagining each table and chair in the dining hall he could
identify where each person was sitting whether or not this story is true the method of loci later
nicknamed the memory palace was the most popular mnemonic tool in the world for several centuries
today the method of loci is used by the most advanced memorizers in the world
competitors at the world memory championship use memory palaces to retain long sequences of numbers
letters and playing cards like simonides in the grand hall these memorizers create associations
between pieces of information and familiar spaces a memorizer might for example use their home town
as their memory palace to store information they imagine themselves navigating the streets of
their hometown usually walking along a familiar route each time they want to store a piece of
information they place that piece of information on or inside a distinctive object called a loci
all right let's say the memorizer is encoding a stack of playing cards to memorize those cards in
order they put a king of hearts in the window of their favorite bakery a queen of spades on
the street corner and an ace of diamonds under the doormat by their front door but how do you recall
everything you've stored in your memory palace well to retrieve each piece of information they
walk along their route and they stop at every loci there they find something that jogs their
memory when they stop at the bakery they find a king of hearts when they walk down to the street
corner they see a queen of spades and under their doormat they discover an ace of diamonds
world-renowned memorizers create lengthy journeys with hundreds of distinctive loci
while seasoned veterans have fine-tuned their memory palaces everyone can use the method of loci
in fact you can create a memory palace of your own in five simple steps number one choose your
palace before you begin memorizing sixty thousand digits of pie you have to choose a location to
store your memories the best memory palaces are spaces that you know like the back of your hand
many memorizers use their houses because they're already familiar with every nook and cranny
others make memory palaces out of their streets neighborhoods and offices whatever
you choose a good memory palace must satisfy three requirements first there must be a path a journey
or a route that's how you store information in order by following a predetermined path
through your memory palace second your palace must be memorable don't pick a random location
that you've only visited once in your life if you aren't familiar with your palace then you
won't be able to store information effectively and third your palace should be realistic and distinct
it's tempting to choose massive castles or beautiful countrysides for your memory palace
but locations like these can be confusing instead choose a finite location like a
house and or a street because you can navigate those places quickly and easily
number two distinctive features once you've chosen your memory palace it's time to flesh out the
details alright let's say you like many memorizers have chosen your home as your memory palace within
your home think about distinctive features objects or spaces where you might put something important
these will become your loci in your bedroom potential loci may include your bed your
nightstand or your closet these loci act as storage points or memory slots for each piece
of information that you want to remember to streamline this process think about your loci
in order when selecting your memory palace you may have chosen a path which you can use to explore
your palace you're going to pick distinctive objects or loci that follow your route that
way you can access your loci in order all right let's try an example you've chosen your house
to be your memory palace your path starts in your bedroom and it ends in your kitchen so the first
loci might be your bed the second could be your closet and the third could be a painting in the
hallway let's keep defining these distinctive loci until you reach the end of your imaginary journey
number three memorize your palace have you selected loci within your palace now that
you've chosen your memory slots it's time to commit those slots to memory there are many
ways to study and memorize your palace you could physically travel the route through your palace
if your route spans from your bedroom to your kitchen walk that route several times in a
row take special notice of the loci you've chosen and the order in which they appear
if you can't physically walk through your palace you can also draw a map of your palace within
your map detail the individual memory slots you've chosen where do they appear what do they look like
the more details that you provide the more you're going to remember number four fill your slots
you've memorized your routes you've chosen your loci and now it's time to fill your memory slots
with pieces of information let's run through a very simple example imagine you want to remember
an ordered list of 10 names go into your memory palace and start at the beginning of your route
in this case your bedroom your first memory slot is located under your pillow to stimulate your
memory at a later date just place something under your pillow that reminds you of the first name on
your list let's say the first name on your list is john you might place a jacket under your pillow
to remind you of the letter j now let's move to your second memory slot the drawer in your
nightstand inside that drawer place an object that reminds you of the second item on your list
if the second name on your list is merry you might put a wedding ring into your nightstand
to jog your memory now repeat this process for every empty memory slot in your palace
number five build familiarity all right now that your slots are filled spend time visualizing your
palace your loci and the objects you've placed inside in the beginning you may have trouble
accessing your loci it may take more than one pass to store information inside your palace
don't be discouraged experienced users have walked through their palace hundreds maybe thousands of
times you're still new to the process so be patient even if you're memorizing something
simple like a list of groceries walk through your palace a few times make sure you can remember
exactly where you put each item by rehearsing your route you'll build stronger associations
in your memory and retain more information over time once you've refined your palace you may want
to memorize more elaborate concepts or maybe you want to retain longer lists of information
to further improve your memory you can weave other mnemonic tools into your memory palace
the link system for example transforms any list of items into a memorable story as you follow
the story you've created you naturally encounter each item in the order you memorized it all right
let's say you need to memorize this list of words six mechanic b cake eight window nine car ten
dog eleven blazer now using the link system you can transform a list of words into a simple story
your story might sound something like this a mechanic threw a piece of cake out the window of
his car and hit a dog wearing a blazer it's much easier for your brain to memorize information when
it's woven into a story while these mnemonic tools have incredible potential you can and probably
will stumble in the beginning the method of loci and the lynx system takes years of practice to use
effectively you may find yourself forgetting where you put specific things but that's part of the
learning process don't change your loci or choose a different mnemonic tool the method of loci
relies on familiarity to access your incredible spatial memory but it takes time to become
familiar with any space especially an imaginary one so keep trying keep refining your palace
and following your route because over time your memory will improve exponentially hey thank you
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