August 2, 2005

Memory Palaces

A lady named Nancy who is working with us passed along this article to me about “memory palaces.” Here’s a brief blurb:

The memory palace was the foundation. Once that is in your head, you can begin practicing the science of memory. (See “The Science Of Memory,” at right). While the palace never changes, the objects inside of a room certainly can change. The strategy, when presented with a large text to memorize, is to walk into the first room of your memory palace and place the first stanza of your address next to a distinctive object, the second stanza next to another object, and so on.

What’s the application to LearnOutLoud? Well, let’s imagine that you’re listening to an audio course from someone like The Teaching Company. Let’s say you are listening to their excellent Great Minds series on your commute to work each day. The concept of memory palaces suggests that when you learn about certain philosophers your memory will associate what you’ve learned with where you are geographically. So if you’re learning about Aristotle while passing a bridge, in the future your mind might recall what you’ve learned each time you pass that bridge.

This begs the question of what you might want your mind recalling each day on your commute to work. By listening to really cool educational and self-development material (we know a great site for that…) you can theoretically tie your mind to teaching from some of the greatest individuals in history. Not a bad way to start your workday huh? To read more about memory palaces, click the link below:

Memory Palaces