Method of loci beginner: help me learn history and geography for school?

General Memory Chat
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1

Hey, first post!

So I need to learn history and geography for school, and I suck at memorising data, and I’d love some help. :slight_smile:

I have to learn almost 25 chapters per subject - not verbatim, but I need everything to be available on-demand (but instantaneous/random-access recall is not necessary).

Specifically, the material I need to memorise is either:
For history:

  • A sequence of events with dates (I suck at dates, but the Major system is helping!)
  • Causes for something, factors for something, effects of something, etc., etc.
Or, for geography:
  • Lots of data. There are things like climate and natural vegetation in, like, 25 types of climatic regions.
  • Points on maps, rivers, the like.
  • Crop data: seasons, areas grown in, whatnot.
  • A lot more. Every chapter is different, but I think the same general principles ought to apply.

I’d love some help from you guys.
And have any of you done this? How’s it going/gone?

2

How much of memory techniques do you already know? How have you used them?

Could you give some specific examples of things you want to memorize? It’ll be easier to help then.

Bateman

3

I can memorize small, 3-6 digit numbers relatively well with a digit-based Major system (I don’t have images for 1-100 or anything!)
For all intents and purposes, I have not tried the method of loci seriously yet, although I have played around with it for a bit.

As for examples, I’ll give you something for history. We usually have to study about some war, and so there’ll be the causes for the war, the events that took place (war declared, city X overrun, Y captured, X reclaimed, A killed, etc.) with the date for each event, the aftermath of the war and the reasons for the winner winning and the loser being defeated. There are five to seven paragraphs for each of these, with a heading (like one reason for the loser losing could be that they didn’t have advanced weaponry) and an explanation.

Geography: we have to study about crops and stuff: where the crop grows (usually we have to learn the names of a few cities), when, what kind of soil it likes, etc.

4

Geography: we have to study about crops and stuff: where the crop grows (usually we have to learn the names of a few cities), when, what kind of soil it likes, etc.

For example, to learn:

Geographers commonly identify two major “belts” of crops in the U.S. The wheat belt is identified as crossing the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Corn, which is primarily grown to feed livestock, reaches from southern Minnesota, across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

I would set up a Geography Palace with multiple rooms
The “Wheat” room would have a door with a picture of wheat on it and would be filled with wheat. In the room would be multiple objects like Dakota Fanning and her twin (the two Dakotas) dancing with Abe Lincoln (capital of Nebraska), the band Kansas playing in the background, then a large tornado (Oklahoma) spinning them all around

5

At least you’re honest. First check out the getting started guide, I’m biased but it’s a great introduction to memory techniques, and explains memory palaces very well. This will help you.

I was going to suggest a room for each war, but that’s quite a lot of information; you’ll probably need a small house. Check this page for ideas on creating journeys(see “Thirdly”).

Title of the war would go on the front door of the house(or the front side of it, or front lawn, etc.) Lets use The American Civil War, since you didn’t’ give an example. First image that pops into my head is a gentleman dressed in a suit and tie aiming an old rifle(Courteous, polite). Whatever pops into your head first works. You could also use something that sounds similar or whatever reminds you of the name.

Probably best to use a room for each of the things you mentioned. First room, causes. Just going off of wikipedia: Slavery, States Rights, Sectionalism, Protectionism, Slave power and free soil, Territorial crisis, Lincolns Election. Organized in no particular order, you would have in this room anything that represents slavery(pretty easy to imagine), States rights- I imagine the state of california holding a marijuana leaf, Sectionalism- Bunch of states arranged like jigsaw pieces, Protectionism- a shield, Slave power and free soil- Slave holding his fist up and in his other hand holding dirt with a small plant in it. Territorial crisis- two farmers on either side of a fence arguing, Lincolns Election- Lincoln being sworn in with hand on bible.

It’s probably best to know what all of those terms mean and represent, that way you can have images better matched to the actual meaning and how it correlates to this war, but this is just an example.

Second room: Events that took place. First of all, something that represents start, first, or beginning to you, connected with the year(or date); to me that’s a guy holding a gun into the air and shooting(like in a race) while Tim Ferriss goads him(1861). Then, around the room in chronological order would be major events, like Emancipation Proclamation, Anaconda plan, Battle of Ironclads, Battle of Pea Ridge, Fall of Vicksburg, etc etc etc…
For those examples: Emancipation Proclamation: I imagine Lincoln reading from a scroll on some balcony, and below him chains fall off from slaves, and Tim Ferris(18) then sticks a giant piece of gum(63) onto Lincolns face. Anaconda Plan- I imagine a giant snake, and it’s head is getting shopped off by a kukri(there’s this one kukri in a game that’s called the anaconda kukri), and then connect that with whatever the date was. Battle of ironclads, people in full iron armor(like EXCESSIVELY armored) fighting, Battle of Pea Ridge- Fighting on a giant pea, Fall of Vicksburg-Imagine my friend Victor(vic) falling… etc etc

Then you do the same thing for the aftermath- new room, and the reasons.

Hope this helps,

Bateman