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This hack was used to deliver long speeches from memory in ancient Greece, was referenced in the fictional tales of Sherlo ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Tum ego: Non mehercule, inquam, soleo temere contra Stoicos, non quo illis admodum assentiar, sed pudore impedior; Quid interest, nisi quod ego res notas notis verbis appello, illi nomina nova quaerunt, quibus idem dicant? Honesta oratio, Socratica, Platonis etiam. Et si in ipsa gubernatione neglegentia est navis eversa, maius est peccatum in auro quam in palea. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Tollitur beneficium, tollitur gratia, quae sunt vincla concordiae.
Sin autem eos non probabat, quid attinuit cum iis, quibuscum re concinebat, verbis discrepare? Quasi vero, inquit, perpetua oratio rhetorum solum, non etiam philosophorum sit. Hoc non est positum in nostra actione. Haec dicuntur fortasse ieiunius; Quid turpius quam sapientis vitam ex insipientium sermone pendere? Servari enim iustitia nisi a forti viro, nisi a sapiente non potest.
Beatus sibi videtur esse moriens. Ergo adhuc, quantum equidem intellego, causa non videtur fuisse mutandi nominis. Est enim effectrix multarum et magnarum voluptatum. Videmus igitur ut conquiescere ne infantes quidem possint. Ad eas enim res ab Epicuro praecepta dantur. Habes, inquam, Cato, formam eorum, de quibus loquor, philosophorum. Satis est tibi in te, satis in legibus, satis in mediocribus amicitiis praesidii. Tecum optime, deinde etiam cum mediocri amico. Illud urgueam, non intellegere eum quid sibi dicendum sit, cum dolorem summum malum esse dixerit. Quamquam haec quidem praeposita recte et reiecta dicere licebit.
- Identify a familiar place and key locations in it.
Use a familiar place with m ...
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ita prorsus, inquam; Deinde prima illa, quae in congressu solemus: Quid tu, inquit, huc? Quae similitudo in genere etiam humano apparet. Nam ista vestra: Si gravis, brevis; Si quicquam extra virtutem habeatur in bonis. Saepe ab Aristotele, a Theophrasto mirabiliter est laudata per se ipsa rerum scientia; Duo Reges: constructio interrete.
Haec quo modo conveniant, non sane intellego. Tuum credibile? Si enim, ut mihi quidem videtur, non explet bona naturae voluptas, iure praetermissa est; Si stante, hoc natura videlicet vult, salvam esse se, quod concedimus; Sed eum qui audiebant, quoad poterant, defendebant sententiam suam. Ut optime, secundum naturam affectum esse possit.
Non quam nostram quidem, inquit Pomponius iocans; Ut necesse sit omnium rerum, quae natura vigeant, similem esse finem, non eundem. Illud urgueam, non intellegere eum quid sibi dicendum sit, cum dolorem summum malum esse dixerit. Qualem igitur hominem natura inchoavit? Num igitur eum postea censes anxio animo aut sollicito fuisse? Quam illa ardentis amores excitaret sui! Cur tandem? Haec quo modo conveniant, non sane intellego. Hanc quoque iucunditatem, si vis, transfer in animum; Quid enim me prohiberet Epicureum esse, si probarem, quae ille diceret? Ut proverbia non nulla veriora sint quam vestra dogmata. Nisi autem rerum natura perspecta erit, nullo modo poterimus sensuum iudicia defendere.
The Method of Loci definitely works as a memory hack to remember specific lists or sets of information as the technique has been repeatedly born out in numerous studies. Along with Spaced Retrieval, the Method of Loci is considered to be highly evidence-based approach. One of its limitations then is, 'so what?'
Do you really need to remember an order of a pack of playing cards or the numbers in pi to the nth degree? Sure, that’s all useful if you want to compete in Memory Championships, but how transferable is it beyond that? Need to remember a grocery list? Why not write it down or capture it on your phone? The point is, in today's digital world, one might argue that there is less need to simply remember lists of information.
Beyond that, another limitation is that the Method of Loci is the effort it involves and the limited transferability it offers when it is not being specifically and deliberately applied. So yes, memory champions can quickly memorise a pack of cards if they invest the effort into it, but will still forget to buy the milk or misplace their car keys as this is not a broader cognitive fix.
Remembering Moby Dick.
This Vox reporter who admits to having a terrible memory applied the Memory Palace to memorise an entire chapter of Moby Dick.
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According to stories, the origins of the Method of Loci can be traced back to a truly disastrous party in ancient Greece. The legend tells of Simonides of Ceos, a poet, attending a banquet around 500 BC. Simonides left the banquet, stepping outside to meet someone, only to see the building collapse behind him killing everyone inside. The remains of the dead were unidentifiable, but Simonides was able to remember who had attended the banquet by remembering where they were sitting in the hall.
The story goes on to say that Simonides translated this experience into the Method of Loci, realising that he didn’t just have to place the guests around the banquet hall but could replace them with lines of his poetry, or every Greek dramatist seated in order of birth, or anything. The memory hack caught on and was commonly used by ancient Greek and Roman orators to memorise and deliver long speeches without requiring notes. The concept and associated techniques were later captured in the textbook Rhetorica ad Herennium, which has been attributed to Cicero.
The approach fell out of vogue with the development of the printing press and the rise of alternative ways to capture and recall information. Indeed, historians such as Robert Darnton have pointed out that before the printing press reading was an intense activity — with limited books often read and reread and a greater need to memorise the contents because of the limited availability of such treasured texts. However, with the proliferation of books, reading expanded to be more of an ‘extensive’ experience, using them as ongoing references.
In terms of the research behind the approach, the study exploring the impact of mnemonic and Method of Loci training at Rabound University can be found here. This additional study showed that most people with superior memory do not have structural differences in their brain, but instead use spatial forms of memory.
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