The topic of today’s story was right on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t quite place it. If only…
As it turns out, there is a trick, arguably a proven semi-scientific way to better remember things like anniversaries, grocery lists, speeches, toasts at your friend’s wedding, birthdays, names, and all manner of things we tend to forget during embarrassing moments. Oh, and did I mention anniversaries? Yes, I did. These are most important to remember. Taping a note to the bathroom mirror results in a loss of points and proceeding directly to purgatory.
By now, you just know there’s a story behind it, so let’s get cracking and build something.
The Legend of Death Poetry
As the story goes, and no one really knows if it’s entirely factual, a 5th-century Greek poet named Simonides of Ceos was attending a banquet to recite poetry. In case you’re wondering, Ceos (or sometimes Keos) is a small island off the southeast coast of Greece, not far from Santorini. If you want to hear some swell poetry, plan a trip there.
Anyway, Simonides steps outside for a smoke, or maybe he was called out by a friend reminding him not to forget his anniversary. The roof of the massive hall collapses while he’s outside. Everyone inside dies a horrible, crushing death.
But, the poet survives.
As it turns out, there is one silver lining to poetry readings involving mass carnage. Simonides can identify all the bodies, even though they’re crushed beyond recognition, by visualizing the interior of the hall and “seeing” in his mind who was sitting where.
The proverbial lightbulb (flaming torch?) goes off, and he realizes that memory can be tied to location.
Before Google Calendar, There Was Cicero’s Brain Palace
In the age before smartphones, electronic to-do lists, and PowerPoint for speeches, the “memory palace” concept caught on. With no teleprompters for big speeches or smartphones to remind you two weeks prior to your anniversary, the ability to recall in detail was a valuable skill.
Now given a formal name, The Method of Loci (Loci being the Latin word for places or locations, hence ‘method of places’), the idea was studied and taught by smart guys like Cicero and, roughly 100 years later, Quintilian.
Decorate Your Brain Like It’s an Airbnb for Memories
Wanna impress your friends with amazing your amazing recall? It takes some purposeful brain power, but you just might be surprised by the results.
Think of a place with special meaning to you, one you can literally see in your mind’s eye. It might be a house, a building, a park or anywhere with lots of distinctive locations contained within. We’ll use a home for example purposes.
Place the objects or concepts you want to recall in specific locations in your chosen place. For example, maybe the kitchen represents the month of your anniversary. Picture your one blender, and remember you had Pina Coladas at your wedding. Got it. One. January.
As you mentally walk to the living room, you see 12 empty Coke cans. You had 12 drinks at your reception. There’s the date. January 12.
Keep “memory walking” to the back porch. Note the hammock. That’s where your high school buddy passed out on New Year’s Eve, 2000. Great! Now you’ve got the year.
A silly example, but that’s the idea. Associate things with specific locations and make up a crazy scenario to associate the item and the place. The more unhinged the mental picture, the better you’ll be able to remember.
Can’t remember names? In your mind, stick your new acquaintance, Harry, in a chair in your regular salon or barber shop. Yeah, that one was too simple; I’m sure you can do better!
