I was asking ChatGPT about memory palaces, and it suddenly introduced me to a new technique I hadn’t known before: using only one room for multiple keys.
For example, imagine you want to remember a book. You take each page number and convert it using the Major System, then use it as an index or key. So if the first page corresponds to “sea,” you imagine a sea at the door of the room. Then you enter the room. You do the same thing for page two, page three, and so on.
I’m not sure if this method really works. I already tried it and felt confused, mainly because there is no clear link between the lock and the key. I want to know whether, if I continue training with this method, it will eventually become effective.
The technique works. I did something like that for memorizing pi using multiple memory palaces. The keys for the palaces were number-shapes (different images than the images for the numbers that were in the memory palaces).
If you’re having trouble linking the index image with the palace, try making the images interact. You could picture the sea crashing through the door to the room, not just some water that is sitting next to the door without any relationship between the two things.
Do you mean reuse the same room with different keys? I meant that I’ve used different palaces (rooms) but I kept track of the order by assigning a different key to each room.
If you want to reuse the same room/palace, check the discussions in the reuse-memory-palaces section.
Hmm, yes well what i want exactly is to memorise a technical book, it contains around 40 section each section contains between 5 to 13 section,
So for this I did create a visual image for each chapter number using major system, then using major system another time to build a key for a room, example chapter 21, section 9, I will imagine a net and inside the net a bee trying to escape, and that bee is the key to enter a room, one room that I did already built or house that contains 8 room each has 10 loci, for that I will imagine the bee on the front door of the house, I can try vhange the decor of the same house to a bee to make it easier
This is my idea I don’t know if this can work or not since I am trying to use one palace hundreds of times with different keys, I want to be sure first that this is actually possible before tying it my self, well I don’t have problem with time I can spend years designing it, but since I am new I don’t know if it works or if there is better ways to do that
Hi Josh, sorry but I don’t get it.
what’s the point in indexing with image/numbers a palace that is already indexed by design?
if entrance door is your location number one, why linking it with an image to symbolize One?
Could you explain again this part?
Then, about using the same palace for hundreds of books, i think this is always possible if you don’t aim at permanent storage, otherwise i think you can manage a few simultaneous uses, with different topics, but it would be difficult to handle hundreds of them.
You might like to Google SEM Cubed.
Also an attempt to reuse a concept to make a new peg.
My approach is 100 backgrounds and 1000 items.
And it will make for me a 10,000 location system without scenes being too samy.
Changing colours helps too.
Alphabetical or numerical order: characters, actions, objects, etc.
They can be categorical: fruits, animals, heroes, etc.
An object in one place can lead you to another; one man pulls a sword from a rock, another raises a flaming sword, etc. Never use the same method everywhere, as it can be confusing.
There’s another way: if you use memory palaces, you can choose a theme, place the atomic information around it, and in the center, a general image of the entire theme. I advise you to use characters—that is, dress up a character or create one based on the theme—since a character can move from one place to another, and this can be more flexible.
Let’s say you have a place you call an aquarium and another you call a museum. You have figures or objects placed in them. You can do the following: in the aquarium, place a dolphin and observe it emerging from a painting.
In other words, you can use the chain method, but the information must be ready before adding indexes.
