Ancient Greeks and Romans have developed a way to improve memory, scientifically proven by a 2017 study. The idea is to create a "memory palace" in the brain and practice it daily to improve the average storage skills to up to twice its usual capacity.
Although there might be some technologies used to help improve human memory, this ancient mnemonic technique does not require something so drastic. Instead, it only needs time because it should be practiced daily.
What is a Mnemonic?
According to the website Psychologist World, a mnemonic is something that can be used to remember things easier.
People can use a mnemonic device that could come in the form of a phrase, a short song, or something that is quite easily remembered. In other words, mnemonics are a way of remembering using association to use that memory from the brain's storage easily.
Mnemonic devices help remember anything from phone numbers to long lists that are otherwise difficult to remember. The five most common mnemonic devices, namely acronyms and acrostics, association, chunking, songs and rhymes, and method of loci.
Create a Memory Palace
Researchers of the 2017 study titled "Mnemonic Training Reshapes Brain Networks to Support Superior Memory," published in the journal Neuron, discussed in their papers how they used the technique on their 51 unique subjects who were able to improve their memory drastically.
The idea is to create a memory palace by training the brain to remember things better, BGR reported. They found that after the four months of the study, participants could remember 62 out of 72 test terms. They were only able to remember 26 out of 72 at the start of the study.
Creating a memory palace is not a new technique and dates back to the Greeks and Romans. The idea has been featured again in modern media, including TV shows, movies, and video games.
How to Use Method of Loci
The technique was originally called "method of loci," which is one of the mnemonic devices and means the method of places in Latin. The method of loci involves remembering items based on their locations, just as how the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos first discovered it.
Psych Central reported that there was a legend before that says Simonides was able to identify the dead bodies in a large banquet he attended because he remembered where each person was sitting.
Legend says that he temporarily excused himself from the banquet to speak with someone outside and went back to find a chaotic scene where the structure collapsed on everyone inside. The story has been used as an example of when recalling large groups of items.
To use the method of loci, imagine an area you know very well, such as your house. For example, someone must remember to pick up a scented candle, flip flops, paper towels, honey, and a purple pot. The method of loci is utilized by imagining these items in exaggerated or silly forms placed somewhere inside the house.
It may look like arriving at the front door and seeing a large flickering candlelight, then walking inside the house and seeing a pair of flip-flops from the air conditioning vent. Then imagine someone holding a paper towel roll in the family photo on the wall. Further, into the kitchen, imagine seeing a large honeycomb dripping with honey. Lastly, imagine seeing the honey dripping into a purple flower pot below.
Participants of the 2017 study noticed improvements in their memory four months after the study ended, suggesting that the ancient memory technique does improve the brain's memory storage capacity.
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