[This thread was manually copied into the top post from the old forum.]
MajorK 25 September, 2012 - 16:12
I don’t have many journeys to choose from.
I have just thought about using google’s “street view” to take virtual walks down streets.
Street view looks very cool on the iPad, and it really looks like you are walking down the street (you can look around yourself, etc).
Has anybody tried this? I may give it a go when I run out of loci.
gavino 25 September, 2012 - 23:31
I have used it to solidify and add details to some journies that I already knew in outline. That works, but I am not sure about using it from scratch, lathough i dont see why not. Suggest you just give it a try with a 10 or 20 loci journey and report back!
Gavin
wesselj 26 September, 2012 - 01:22
Rather spend the time dreaming up your own memory palaces, that would not only help you develop you visualization skills, but you will find it more effective in later recall, as you had to focus your attention on creating it. Looking at a movie (or visualization) of a journey is not nearly as effective as actually being there.
Visualization have been proven the best alternative to actually being there.
Try both, and see for yourself.
gavino 26 September, 2012 - 03:35
wesselj wrote:
Visualization have been proven the best alternative to actually being there.
That is interesting Wesselj. What proof is there? Thanks.
Gavino
wesselj 26 September, 2012 - 04:17
Look at all the studies done in visualization in practice vs actual physical practice, you can also look at the studies of MRI data comparing physiological reaction in the brain between actual experience (sign sound smell) related to imagined experience.
Google Scholar has a nice collection of formal studies and their results in the abstracts.
wesselj 26 September, 2012 - 04:24
Here are some of the abstracts of the basketball studies:
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1993-27744-001
This study has a nice discussion, and also an interesting list of references. Most of these journals can be accessed for free from a university or collage library.
http://www.unicommons.com/sites/default/files/mentalpractice.pdf [broken link]
Most of these referenced articles focus om motor skills as often these are the easiest to test in terms or the “real” effect of the mental imagery.
Also on a more of a meta level the following, concerning the physiological effect of mental imagery, or visualization,
https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/jocn.1993.5.3.263
wesselj 26 September, 2012 - 04:35
Things become really really interesting once you begin to dig into the scientific studies associated with visualization and memory. The only criticism I have of the academic studies into the use of mnemonics is that they usually to not represent the case for mnemonics accurately in their grouped studies. Usually some sort of test is used, and then one group is given a series of lectures on mnemonics and the other group is not. Both groups are then presented with an information set. Recall is then measured after learning, as well as over time. The problem is that the mnemonics group never seem to be a group of individuals who have spent a significant amount of time developing the right skills set.
To me this is equivalent to determining the fastest swimming stroke by getting a random group of people in the pool and showing a subsection of the group a different stroke. Since most people can swim a bit of free style this group will have the fastest time, butterfly will be the slowest, as it is the most difficult to learn. Yet at an advanced (and especially elite level) butterfly is second quickest.
Alas this is the topic of another thread all together
gavino 26 September, 2012 - 04:49
Indeed, I shall have to peruse these studies!
Actually on this particular topic, I don’t think we are in any disagreement, because I am really advising the use of the Street Views to aid the initial creation of your own visualisation. Once that is done, your own internal world becomes the key to memorisation using that journey, not the original images on the screen. Thanks.
Gavino
wesselj 26 September, 2012 - 04:58
Makes sense. A number of people have trouble getting the seed for their own visualization. Let me know what you think about those studies.
Wessel
castleman 26 September, 2012 - 10:28
Another resource for loci are panoramic views of interiors on sites such as 360photos.com.au [broken link]. Does anyone have others that they use?
Josh 26 September, 2012 - 11:53
Check out this page on virtual memory palaces.
chuckg 1 March, 2014 - 11:17
Hello. I have been using Google Maps mainly as a refresher to various journeys (e.g., the town where I grew up , the place I went to college etc.) I have found the street view especially helpful because I have forgotten many of the landmarks, stores, etc. It allows me to crystalize the image in my brain rather than trying to recreate it from distant memory. It has really opened me up to an endless number of journeys.
But as much as I like it, I seem to have trouble getting it to work for me. Ideally, I would create a new custom map, locate an exact location and image using streetview and then pin it to my saved maps. Then when I want to go back on to view the image I would just click on the pin and bring up streetview and the image would be there.
But I don’t seem to be able to do that (at least not conveniently). I can’t seem to pin directly from street view so instead when I create or edit my journey, I look at the approximate location on the road and take a guess where the location is and then pin it, but more often than not when I then switch to street view, it is not where I want it to be. Does that make sense? Let me know if I am doing something wrong, or if there is a better map program to use for this. Thanks!