Hi everybody! I’m a student, and I want to apply memory techniques on my daily life, to learn languages, college content, and maybe even computer languages. But right now I’m focused only on the memory technique itself, both to learn to use it and learn its potential.
I have some questions and I want some opinions, if you could help me out:
How important you think it is to create images to both 0-9 and 00-09? If you don’t, 08 would take two slots, but if you do, you end up with 110 images, for 100 numbers, which is kinda disturbing.
2.1 To memorize numbers, is it worth creating 3 images for each number (PAO)? Coming up with that much people seems to be way more trouble than 99 regular consistent images. For me it is so hard to remember some celebrity compared to an object or word.
2.2 Other than PAO, is there another way to store multiple images into one loci? I read about “1-, 2-, or 3-image System” here , but didn’t find much else about it.
3.1 I know very little places well enough to create a good amount of memory palaces and the ones I have are full already. What I’m doing right now is instanciating my main memory palace (the same place, in different “universes”, I think you got it), so far I didn’t have a problem, but I feel that with more instances I’ll eventually mix rooms across different instances, since they are the same place… So how do I come up with more palaces?
3.2 This guy suggested creating a dynamic memory palace, which seems really interesting for me. Unfortunately didn’t find much else talking about it. Is dynamic memory palace the correct name? Do you recommend it?
3.3 How many images can you store in a single room? Do you have multiple Locis in the room or do you store multiple images per loci? or both?
If you think an article or other topic might help me, send me the link, don’t be shy
You could just learn 00-99 (100 images total), and in any instances where you need to remember 8, just use your image for 08. But there are instances where having the single digit is useful. Say you’re trying to remember a three digit number, like 347. You could use your image for 34 plus your image for 7 to remember this. Of course, you could just use your image for 34 along with your image for 07, and as long as you made a mental note that this is a three-digit number you’re trying to memorize, you would remember that the number is 347 and not 3407. But why take that chance when you could just learn images for the single digits. If you can learn images for 100 numbers, it’s trivial to learn 10 more.
2.1 Probably personal preference whether you adopt a PAO system or just use 100 images. If you decide to use PAO, you’ll be learning 100 people, 100 actions, and 100 objects, so technically you’re learning 300 images, but in practice it tends to be not so much work as you might think, if you use actions and objects that seem to make logical sense for the person you choose. For example, your person might be LeBron James, and his action is dribbling, and his object is a basketball. You may want to start by learning a simple 100 image system, and see how far that gets you, and if you wish to experiment, you can always try a PAO system later (since you seem to be leaning in that direction already).
2.2 Yes. You simply put multiple images on each locus. I use two on each locus, and many other mental athletes do, too. If you are working on numbers, you memorize 3476 by putting your image for 34 on a locus, then put your image for 76 there also. You’ll need to clearly establish which one is first so you don’t confuse the sequence. I put the first image on the left (or on top), and the second image on the right (or bottom).
3.1 Use former homes you’ve lived in, and the homes of relatives and friends. Use parks, restaurants, schools, malls, gardens, theme parks, workplaces, etc. You know more than you think. Or start using more loci in each palace. Shrink yourself down to the size of a mouse and you’ll be able to find 50 loci or more in a single room.
3.2 I’m not familiar with dynamic memory palaces, but there are quite a few memory palaces I use over and over again for memorizing temporary data, like the sequence of cards or numbers for competition. For memorizing new vocabulary, I would first try using direct association before trying to learn dynamic memory palaces. For example, learning the Spanish word for butterfly (Mariposa), I would envision the butterfly wearing a bridal gown and standing at an altar taking the vows. When I next think of a butterfly, the wedding ceremony (“marry”) would probably be enough of a trigger to remind me of the word “Mariposa”.
3.3 I usually use around 10 per room, and I store two images on each locus. But some folks use 5 loci per room. Some use many more than 10, but I’m guessing the average is between 5-10.
Personally, I used colors for 0-9 and it has worked fine for me so far. I do not recommend using your 00-09 images as your 0-9 images because when I tried that it got confusing in more than one way. However, if you have tried it and it works for you, go for it.
2.1 A PAO system is not necessarily more advanced than a 100 image system. In fact, I usually recommend the 100 image system over the PAO. Personally, I started with PAO but found that 100 objects was more effective for me, especially for speed memorization. You can try it, but definitely don’t force yourself to learn celebrities for this.
2.2 Most people put 2-3 images per loci with simple 100 or 1000 object images. It’s pretty straightforward, you just put multiple images on the same loci in order and have them interact with each other. This interaction can make it easier to remember each image but putting too many can slow you down and keeping track of the order is more difficult.
3.1 Using the same memory palace like that doesn’t seem like it would work well for me, but if it works for you go for it. New places aren’t that difficult, just make sure you know where each loci is and that you can remember this in a hurry, after you do what tracym suggests to find a palace.
3.2 I do not think the term is “dynamic memory palace,” but simply dynamic creation of memory palaces. I do not use palaces for practical information that often, but I am aware of this technique and know that Alex Mullen recommends it, and I have personally recommended it to others as an option. However, it seems that you do not have that much experience creating memory palaces so I think you will find this technique too difficult to be useful for now. The basic idea of dynamically creating memory palaces is that there are lots of places you know and during memorization, you can create a memory palace with one of these places on the spot instead of before memorizing. It’s efficient but takes more effort and skill to do. I recommend trying it out especially as you become more advanced.
3.3 It’s very variable, and I think you will find that the more experienced you get, the more loci you can fit in a smaller space. However, this isn’t a clear cut thing and I suggest just doing that you think feels right. Personally, I put several loci per room and I know people who can fit dozens.
