What is a mind palaceโโโand how do you use it?
In this artยญicle, Iโll share my learnยญings and insights from conยญstructยญing a mind palace for myself.
A mind palace (also known as a โmemory palaceโ) is a menยญtal conยญstruct of a metaยญphysยญicยญal buildยญing with difยญferยญent imaยญginยญary โrooms.โ
By adding a dimenยญsion of physยญicยญalยญity to your mind, the idea is that youโll be able to use your mind palace for memยญorยญisaยญtion (the Method of Loci)โโโbut potenยญtially also for othยญer cogยญnitยญive enhancements.
Here we go:
My Interest in Mind Palaces
Do you know those pop culยญture moments that stickโโโand stay with you? Here are a few such examples from my mind:
For me, such a semยญinยญal moment is from Sherlock, the British TV show starยญring Benedict Cumberbatch:
In the series, Sherlock Holmes and the vilยญlain Charles Augustus use a memory techยญnique called the mind palace to comยญmit informยญaยญtion to memory. 1The teleยญviยญsion series Hannibal, starยญring Mads Mikkelsen as the geniยญus psyยญchoยญpath with a pecuยญliยญar taste for human flesh, also menยญtioned a mind palace. Weird eatยญing habits and, more importยญantly, โฆ Continue readยญing
The idea of havยญing a mind palace appealed to me.
Is the mind palace a propยญer techยญnique that one can use?
And if so, how does it work?
The Method of Loci
As it turns out, a mind palace isnโt just a teleยญviยญsion trope.
The mind palace is a mneยญmonยญic methยญod used by ancient Greek and Roman scholยญars to comยญmit large chunks of informยญaยญtion to memory called the Method of Loci (loci = Latin for locยญaยญtion). 2Method of loci. (2023, December 3). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โMโeโtโhโoโdโ_โoโfโ_โlโoci
Example:
Letโs say you want to memยญorยญise a deck of 52 cards. For this, you could think of a house with 13 (52 divided by 4) difยญferยญent rooms, rooms you pass through in a pre-decided order.
The first room is a hallยญway with a large antique mirror.
As you memยญorยญise the first playยญing card, letโs say an ace of hearts, you menยญtally attach the card to the mirยญrorโโโand then you move on to the next room in your sequence.
You place 13 cards in 13 rooms attached to 13 difยญferยญent pieces of furยญniture. Then, you take the same route three more times, securยญing a new card for anothยญer piece of furยญniture in each room. Every room now conยญtains four pieces of furยญniture with one unique playยญing card attached.
When you test how many of the 52 cards you rememยญber, you enter the first room (the hallยญway), look at the first piece of furยญniture (the antique mirยญror), and find the ace of hearts.
โThe design of a virยญtuยญal memory palace sigยญniยญficยญantly impacts memory perยญformยญance, comยญbinยญing the loci methยญod with modยญern techยญnoยญlogy for effectยญive learnยญing.โ
Source: Technische Universitรคt Braunschweig 3Huttner, J. (2021). Virtual Memory Palaces: The Impact of Design on the Memorization Performance. Technische Universitรคt Braunschweig. https://โdoiโ.org/โ1โ0โ.โ2โ4โ3โ5โ5โ/โDโBโBโSโ.โ084โโโ202102161019โ0
Our Brainโs Built-In GPS System
In 2014, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarยญded to John OโKeefe from University College London, May-Britt Moser, and Edvard Moser from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. 4The Nobel Assembly. (2014, October 6). The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014. NobelPrizeโ.org. https://โwwwโ.nobelโprizeโ.org/โpโrโiโzโeโsโ/โmโeโdโiโcโiโnโeโ/โ2โ0โ1โ4โ/โpโrโeโsโsโ-โrโeโlโeโaโse/
Scientists found that cells in our brain conยญstiยญtute a posยญiยญtionยญing system:
โโฆ cerยญtain neurยญons in the hipยญpoยญcamยญpus fired whenevยญer a rat was in a cerยญtain place in the locยญal envirยญonยญment, with neighยญbourยญing neurยญons firยญing at difยญferยญent locยญaยญtions, such that the entire envirยญonยญment was repยญresยญenยญted by the activยญity of these cells throughยญout the hipยญpoยญcamยญpus.โ
Source: Brainbloggerโ.com 5Adaes, S. (2014, November 19). The Coordinates Of A Nobel Prize. Brainbloggerโ.com. https://โbrainโblogโgerโ.com/โ2โ0โ1โ4โ/โ1โ1โ/โ1โ9โ/โtโhโeโ-โcโoโoโrโdโiโnโaโtโeโsโ-โoโfโ-โaโ-โnโoโbโeโlโ-โpโrโiโze/
Assigning memory neurยญons to fire at speยญcifยญic locยญaยญtions is a clevยญer way to conยญserve menยญtal energy.
The mind palace techยญnique makes good use of this brain feaยญture; by assignยญing an imaยญginยญary (enhanced with othยญer sensยญory informยญaยญtion like the smell, sounds, temยญperยญatยญure, lightยญing conยญdiยญtions, etc.) to a speยญcifยญic memory, recall becomes more accessible.
Mind Palaces in the Media
Here are a few examples of the memory palace or simยญilยญar conยญcepts being refยญerยญenced in variยญous forms of media:
Mind Places in Literature
Several examples of the memory palace concept or simยญilยญar ideas appear in the litยญerยญatยญure. Some notยญable examples include:
These examples from litยญerยญatยญure illusยญtrate how the memory palace concept has been explored in variยญous ways, both as a hisยญtorยญicยญal pracยญtice and as a narยญratยญive device to explore the power and limยญits of human memory.
Altering Your Emotional States
In an online memory forยญum, I found ongoยญing disยญcusยญsions of what othยญer uses there could be for havยญing a mind palace:
One forยญum memยญber used a mind palace to lower the heart rate before a nerve-wrackยญing speech.
One forยญum memยญber used a mind palace to sleep instead of countยญing sheep.
One forยญum memยญber used a mind palace to preยญpare for meditation.
One forยญum memยญber used a mind palace to increase focus in disยญtractยญing environments.
One forยญum memยญber used a mind palace to reinยญforce posยญitยญive memorยญies to comยญbat depresยญsion and increase confidence.
Ergo: Some people have been using their mind palaces to alter or conยญtrol their emoยญtionยญal statesโโโwith posยญitยญive results.
To me, this sounds interยญestยญing and potenยญtially useful.
Would it be posยญsible to use a mind palace to improve cogยญnitยญive conยญtrol instead of pracยญtising raw memยญorยญisaยญtion techniques?
Techniques To Enhance Cognitive Abilities
A few years ago, I came across the creยญativยญity researchยญer Win Wenger. Wengerโs primary hypoยญthesยญis was outยญlandยญish yet freakยญishly fantastic:
Since our subยญconยญscious speaks to us visuยญally and not verbally, we can enhance our cogยญnitยญive perยญformยญance by reinยญforยญcing our inner image stream.
Hereโs an interยญestยญing use case:
Imagine yourยญself sitยญting in a room with people that you look up to. It could be Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Stephen King. Discuss with them, and ask them quesยญtions. Visualise them as they speak.
Soon, your โavatar friendsโ might start to surยญprise you, conยญtraยญdict you, or even chalยญlenge you. Despite that, their words come from someยญwhere withยญin yourยญself, of course.
From this example, we could imaยญgine buildยญing a mind palace with sevยญerยญal rooms filled with difยญferยญent types of valuยญable experts with one sinยญguยญlar trait in comยญmonโโโtheyโre not you, even though they are.
The pracยญtice could bring the power of visuยญalยญisaยญtion and locยญaยญtion togethยญer, sugยญgestยญing a powerยญful combination.
We could start seeยญing a โroomโ in a mind palace as a sepยญarยญate cogยญnitยญive tool for purยญposes othยญer than just comยญmitยญting informยญaยญtion strings to memory.
Genius boardยญrooms. You could experยญiยญment with havยญing imaยญgined boardยญrooms inhabยญited by geniยญuses on standby for disยญcussยญing decisions and solutions.
Mind Palace โRoomโ Examples
Of course, you can have rooms you like in your mind palace. Here are a few examples of rooms that I freยญquently use:
Meditation spots. Your mind palace could have rooms designed to strengthen the effects of your medยญitยญaยญtion practice.
Rehearsal rooms. Before givยญing a keyยญnote or speech, I like to rehearse them menยญtally. I find that it helps me to rehearse my talks in a familยญiยญar space without distractions.
Memory libยญrary. I imaยญgine a libยญrary where everything I ever learnt resides. Searching for the right book helps me retrieve lost memorยญies. To comยญmit someยญthing to memory, I think of going to the study hall and writยญing the informยญaยญtion down in a book, then plaยญcing it someยญwhere speยญcifยญic in the library.
Gardens for walkยญing and thinkยญing. I think betยญter when Iโm walkยญing. But if I canโt go for a walk, I can always go for a menยญtal walk through one of many mind palace gardens.
Building a Mind Palace in Minecraft
For me, conยญstructยญing the mind palace has been someยญwhat chalยญlenยญging. It requires focus and conยญcenยญtraยญtion for long periยญods. And life tends to get in the way.
Building a repยญlica of my mind palace in Minecraft is helpยญing reinยญforce my memorยญies of its layยญout. As with Lego, I nevยญer forยญget a build. By buildยญing my mind palace in Minecraft, Iโve reinยญforced the metaยญstrucยญture in my mind.
This Minecraft trick has givยญen my menยญtal strucยญture a form of staยญbilยญity. 6 Iโm lookยญing forยญward to VR and AR softยญware dedยญicยญated to the use cases.
THANKS FOR READING.
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Annotations
1 | The teleยญviยญsion series Hannibal, starยญring Mads Mikkelsen as the geniยญus psyยญchoยญpath with a pecuยญliยญar taste for human flesh, also menยญtioned a mind palace. Weird eatยญing habits and, more importยญantly, fantยญastยญic memory techniques. |
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2 | Method of loci. (2023, December 3). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โMโeโtโhโoโdโ_โoโfโ_โlโoci |
3 | Huttner, J. (2021). Virtual Memory Palaces: The Impact of Design on the Memorization Performance. Technische Universitรคt Braunschweig. https://โdoiโ.org/โ1โ0โ.โ2โ4โ3โ5โ5โ/โDโBโBโSโ.โ084โโโ202102161019โ0 |
4 | The Nobel Assembly. (2014, October 6). The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014. NobelPrizeโ.org. https://โwwwโ.nobelโprizeโ.org/โpโrโiโzโeโsโ/โmโeโdโiโcโiโnโeโ/โ2โ0โ1โ4โ/โpโrโeโsโsโ-โrโeโlโeโaโse/ |
5 | Adaes, S. (2014, November 19). The Coordinates Of A Nobel Prize. Brainbloggerโ.com. https://โbrainโblogโgerโ.com/โ2โ0โ1โ4โ/โ1โ1โ/โ1โ9โ/โtโhโeโ-โcโoโoโrโdโiโnโaโtโeโsโ-โoโfโ-โaโ-โnโoโbโeโlโ-โpโrโiโze/ |
6 | Iโm lookยญing forยญward to VR and AR softยญware dedยญicยญated to the use cases. |