up:: [[Mnemonics]] Tags:: #🌱 # Method of Loci The method of loci is a powerful memory technique used by the Ancient Greeks and Romans to remember vast amounts of information. It works by visualizing a place you know spatially quite well like your house or your college campus. You list out some of the most common locations in a continuous series. For example your house: 1. Entrance door 2. Television room 3. Bathroom 4. Kitchen 5. Living room 6. Dining room Then you create a list of something you want to remember. It might be the anatomy of the ear. 1. Pinnae 2. Ear Canal 3. Eardrum 4. Ossicles 5. Oval window 6. Round window 7. Cochlea 8. Vestibulocochlear nerve You end by putting each of those items in your continuous series of locations in some remarkable way. For example the entrance door might literally be a ear instead of a door to remember the external ear (pinnae). Do this for each item. Then you practice by mentally running through the series in your head until you have it nailed down. #### Why does this work so well? Humans are incredibly good at thinking spatially. We have evolved to be [[Humans have evolved to be opportunistic omnivores|opportunistic omnivores]] and a large part of our diet came from hunting game. We can see from modern day hunter gatherer tribes that on many days they must walk more than 10-15 miles. Clearly, they need a fantastic mental map of where they are going spatially to make it back home. Spatial thinking is built into our very nature. The method of loci takes advantage of our spatial thinking abilities. Related: Created: [[29-09-2022]] ___ # Resources