![]() ![]() Loci is the plural of locus, which is just fancy Latin for “a particular position, point, or place” (Oxford Dictionary via Google). The reason this particular memorization trick works so well can be found in its name. So how does the method of loci work? And what specific value does it hold for lifelong learners? What is Loci – and How the Method of Loci Works Examples of the loci method include beiung used by world record breakers reciting tens of thousands of digits of pi and even a champion chess player playing 47 opponents at once while blindfolded. Today, this technique is recognized as one of the most effective and powerful ways to strengthen memory. While a tragic event, the experience is said to have inspired the poet to devise a new spatial visualization technique called the method of loci. Legend has it, Simonides watched the roof of a building cave in and crush everyone inside, leaving him as the only one left to remember all the different people who had died. ![]() In reality, however, the true origin story of this memory technique is far older.ĭating back almost 2,500 years to around 477 B.C., the method of loci is said to have come from Simonides, a poet of ancient Greece. What is the Method of Loci?Īlso called a memory palace or mind palace, the method of loci technique is often traced to the fictional brilliance of Sherlock Holmes and his ability to recall a superhuman amount of information. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at what the method of loci is and how to use it as a lifelong learner. While there are plenty of tips and tricks out there to help you improve your memory, one of the most time-tested – one that every lifelong learner should have in their toolbox – is the method of loci. So, how can you improve your ability to remember? So often, though, the issue is not that we have a bad memory it’s that we don’t really know how to remember effectively. “The more bizarre, action-based, and ridiculous these connections are, the more likely you are to remember them,” a report noted.Įven better is to add a component of storytelling to this palace to make it more effective.If you are a dedicated lifelong learner, then not being able to remember things – particularly things you’ve put a lot of effort into learning – can be really frustrating. Once you have identified the locations, start planting information you want to remember within them – for instance, imagine a king sitting in your study if you want to remember to buy a ruler. So how does one go about it? Just imagine a place you know well – like your childhood home, current home, or favourite café – and then map all the routes that you can think of within this ‘palace’. Today, though we largely note everything down on paper to remain organised, research shows that this technique can exercise your brain and improve its neural networks, making it more efficient at storing information. In real life, this technique has been used by ‘memory athletes’ – people who participate in memory championships – as well as ancient civilizations (like the Greeks and Romans) to pass on information using only the spoken word. If you’ve watched Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes, you know what we are talking about – the ‘memory palace’ is a construction of the mind that his character visits to store and recall important information. ![]()
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