My story is classic: Always had a terrible memory, suffered a lot because I wanted to learn new things, learning is one of my biggest motivations, I love languages and find religions fascinating, but my poor memory stifled my progress. Greek mythology, just the names of the 12 Olympians were a challenge. Hebrew vocab. Ancient greek... all of it. Not to mention, song lyrics, which I love. It was all so frustrating.
So lately I delved into mnemonics, memory techniques. It was a result of my exploration of improvisational theater, of all things.
I got into a bit of a frenzy this week. I'm so thrilled! I used the "memory palace" technique (aka loci method) to memorize John 1 in about 2 days, maybe an hour each day. And that was my very first serious attempt at it... I wonder what the future has in store.
(I picked John 1 precisely because I find John to be a huge challenge, with all his relative clauses and abstractions. I wanted to start with something hard, as a proof of concept.)
All it took, was a bit of systematic training in free associations, the memory palace thing, and some dedication. It wasn't hard at all.
The only downside: A lot of the youtube videos on the topic are terribly clickbaity and want to sell you "free courses" and all that. I understand that they need to make money, but it makes me cringe and I find it very offputting.
Just for getting this started, here are the basics, the way I do it anyway:
The basic rule is: Make everything as simple as possible. Human beings already come with a good memory for places, which we developed over many thousands of years, so use this to your advantage. Also, make it as sensual as possible, as emotional as possible, as absurd and grotesque as possible, politically incorrect and gruesome and lovely and whatever. Whatever makes your heart race is better than whatever does not touch your emotions!
E.g.: John 1:4 "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."
This is one corner of my bathroom, where the cat's litter box happens to be. So I imagine an embryo ("life"), all bloody and crying, exploding out of that box ("in him"), and turning into a nuclear explosion ("light") that throws cat poo and urine all around, stinky and disgusting.
(I actually didn't follow my own rule of ordering the stations very precisely, because it was my first attempt. And that is fine! Let the system develop.)
You'll still have to repeat them a few times, but it's not nearly as hard as rote memorization. Plus, it's fun!
If people want it, I'll post youtube links. But it's really just a question of searching for "memory palace".
So lately I delved into mnemonics, memory techniques. It was a result of my exploration of improvisational theater, of all things.
I got into a bit of a frenzy this week. I'm so thrilled! I used the "memory palace" technique (aka loci method) to memorize John 1 in about 2 days, maybe an hour each day. And that was my very first serious attempt at it... I wonder what the future has in store.
(I picked John 1 precisely because I find John to be a huge challenge, with all his relative clauses and abstractions. I wanted to start with something hard, as a proof of concept.)
All it took, was a bit of systematic training in free associations, the memory palace thing, and some dedication. It wasn't hard at all.
The only downside: A lot of the youtube videos on the topic are terribly clickbaity and want to sell you "free courses" and all that. I understand that they need to make money, but it makes me cringe and I find it very offputting.
Just for getting this started, here are the basics, the way I do it anyway:
The basic rule is: Make everything as simple as possible. Human beings already come with a good memory for places, which we developed over many thousands of years, so use this to your advantage. Also, make it as sensual as possible, as emotional as possible, as absurd and grotesque as possible, politically incorrect and gruesome and lovely and whatever. Whatever makes your heart race is better than whatever does not touch your emotions!
- Start with your own flat/house and other places that you know intimately. You can use any place you like, but the more familiar it is to you, the better.
- Plan your route before you start! You want to have enough "stations" for each verse.
- Take the time to draw a map. This will help you navigate the whole plan later on.
- Try to avoid crossing your own path. Make the route as logical as you can. Make it as linear as possible.
- Mark 5 spots in each room: One at the entrance door, plus 4 corners.
- Move through the rooms in a specified order - that goes for the whole flat, but also for each room! (I do it clockwise.)
- You CAN use "magnetic points" such as the sink or a chair that stands out to you - I don't, but that's just a personal preference. Again, it should be simple and obvious to you, not to anyone else.
- Make vivid, 3d, LARGE moving images for a verse, and "store them" in the location associated with that point on the path.
E.g.: John 1:4 "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."
This is one corner of my bathroom, where the cat's litter box happens to be. So I imagine an embryo ("life"), all bloody and crying, exploding out of that box ("in him"), and turning into a nuclear explosion ("light") that throws cat poo and urine all around, stinky and disgusting.
(I actually didn't follow my own rule of ordering the stations very precisely, because it was my first attempt. And that is fine! Let the system develop.)
You'll still have to repeat them a few times, but it's not nearly as hard as rote memorization. Plus, it's fun!
If people want it, I'll post youtube links. But it's really just a question of searching for "memory palace".
... They have no clue what the human mind can do with a bit of training...