Confusion regarding loci in memory palaces

General Memory Chat
1

Hello everyone,
I have been getting into memorization but I am confused by the concept of loci. I think I should give an example to explain what I mean.

Lets say, I want to memorize a shopping list and in specific a banana. Some books suggest I create a vivid image of the banana and place it in the living room of my memory palace. BUT some books suggest I take an object in my living room such as the coffee table and try to link the image of banana with it. Which approach is better and why?

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It’s the same thing… in the first scenario the entire living room is your locus… in the second scenario only the coffee table is the locus. Just personal preference… some people like to have the freedom of placing things and just use the living room for one object… others are so afraid of running out of locations, that they create 10 loci per room. Either way, your object gets attached to the locus.

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The first is just imagery, applying your imagination converting an idea into a mental image and linking that mental image with the idea. There you are applying two principles of memorization: association and imagination. The second suggestion tells you to do the first and then also link the mental image with a place to which you then go back to look for the idea: that’s the memory palace technique also known as method of loci, loci method and Roman Room. When you use the method of loci, you use the three principles of memorization actively: imagination, association and location.

Loci it’s the plural of the word locus, and locus from the Latin means: place.

Method of loci:

  1. Consider an idea to memorize. Absolutely anything, but it will differ the difficulty of memorization by the kind of idea to memorize: take that into account.
  2. Select a mental place where to hold the idea. This place is in what you will think to remember the idea.
  3. Translate the idea into an image, by this the memorization is complete. The image can be by strength of recall: visual, emotional, auditory, sensational, an smell or a taste. Mostly you will only do visuals. This visuals don’t need to be special and the level of detail should be at your discretion and prowess. Some will suggest to create bizarre images, it does not matter how the picture is if you keep foward to the next step.
  4. Put the mental image from step 3 in the place you selected in step 2. The place can be within another place eternally recursive, but it is here where you’ll recall, so be mindful and focus in connecting the image to the place and inmidiately recall the idea.
  5. Last, review. Get out of your mind, then get back to the place, to the image, to the idea.

With training you won’t need to perform step 5 to ensure memorization. However, for recalling ideas for years, it is ideal to recall, treated as if you have precious objects within a safe. From time to time you check if it is still there.

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Ohhh that makes sense. But the 10 loci per room approach would be better, wouldn’t it?

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Why can’t the first approach be considered the loci method too?

Aren’t we taking the whole lounge as a locus in the first approach?

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Try it and see which works for YOU… there is no right or wrong. I am not a fan of placing things in the fridge, the freezer, the sink, etc… for ME, kitchen and done. You can use the search function to find more details about either approach, but ultimately, it’s entirely up to you which is the better approach for YOU.

For instance, I prefer some space between my loci… I don’t mind indoor locations, but outdoor locations are much easier to come by. Here’s an example:

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Yes, and no. As I said, if you don’t mind the location of your mental image, the location won’t matter and proably forgotten. But you’re right: everything is a memory palace including the very mental images, everything is a location to comeback to. The problem is, that when we memorize, if we don’t see it as a place, it may not be treated as such.

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Ohh that makes sense. Thanks for the help mate.

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That’s a really intuitive way to go about it. I didn’t think about it like that. Thanks mate :grinning:.

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