Memory Palace
Secular
Nelson Dellis
Instructions from Nelson Dellis, interview published at Lumosity.com (January 3, 2019); classical origin in De Oratore by Cicero (55 BCE)
The Method of Loci is one of the oldest documented memory techniques in Western history. According to Cicero's De Oratore (55 BCE), it was discovered by the poet Simonides of Ceos after a banquet hall collapsed and he identified the victims by remembering where each person had been seated. It is the primary method used by modern memory sport competitors.
Nelson Dellis won the USA Memory Championship four times between 2011 and 2015 and is the author of Remember It! (Abrams Image, 2018). The World Memory Championships, founded in 1991, codified memory sport as a competitive discipline.
Tips
- Start with a simple 5-item grocery list before scaling up to larger palaces. - Vividness is the key variable. Dull images are forgotten; striking ones are not. - Memory competition athletes use this technique to memorize entire decks of cards in under two minutes.