Thank you so much. You have no idea(or perhaps, you do) how much you’ve helped me. May I come to you with anymore questions I have if they come?
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Of course. Lovely to talk to you!
Lynne
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@MagicallyDelicious
Something to think about is the goal you want from the training.
Dr Lynne uses tarot as part of her history set up however I cannot do that because my tarot is about using tarot so the cards need to represent the meaning of the card.
I am trying to design a building around a Sem cube set up which works for me because of a building I worked in.
When you are doing your 00 to 99 PAO set up it really the different associations that your mind makes. It is also strange how sometimes what you think of first does not stick long term.
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I’m sure I would need all the mnemonic techniques I could think of for Chinese - that’s a much harder challenge than Spanish. For Spanish, even before I started my intensive-learning phase, I could basically read a newspaper article and get about 75% of it, so I had a lot more of a base to build on. I admire you for taking on Chinese; such a hard challenge.
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The reason I need the techniques for Chinese is that I have no hooks to start with. Even with little French, there are enough hooks for similarity with English, both vocabulary and structure. But with Chinese there are none. Not a single familiar word, nor structure, and the writing is independent of the spoken language. But now that I am over the initial huge hurdle, I am totally loving it.
There is so much that is intriguing in whatever you learn in any field - every bit of knowledge seems to open up vast new vistas. If only I had a few more lifetimes.
Lynne
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My, but with the way technology is developing, you just might have that opportunity. 
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Remembered a question I wanted to ask- memory devices. Is the following correct? You stare at and touch a place on the memory device, whether lukasa or knob, and as you go you follow along in a memory palace or a story or a song. And you try to interpolate any connection between the physical object and the needed information, no matter how extraneous.(…can’t tell if I’m using extraneous correctly.)
Is that how to do it?
Thanks again for your time.
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Absolutely. You will find things in the physical structure, the way you touch each point will be different, and then you adjust as you make more connections with each location on it. Just let it happen - it will - your brain and body know what to do, even if you don’t! 
Lynne
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You’re so cool, Dr. Kelly. I can’t explain how cool you are to me. You’re either my first or second pick for use as ancestor to learn things from. Your contender is Jordan B. Peterson, a prolific Canadian psychologist and philosopher. The third of my top 3 is James Clear, author of Atomic Habits.
You’re so awesome.
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I must look up Jordan B. Peterson.
You are welcome to call me Dr Kelly, but I would prefer to just be Lynne. I am learning from you as well.
I am really chuffed by your compliments. Thank you.
Lynne
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You should check out Tim Ferriss. His Podcast was one of the first Jordan B Peterson was on. His book the 4 hour chef is actually about memory and learning. He is really into self-practice and discovery. The 4 Four Body his previous book is about exercise and health however it also has chapters on how to look at medical research. Joshua Waitzkin has been on a couple of times.
A Tim Ferriss question for Lynne and Meepster - what are the top things you wished you knew before starting memory training?
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Hmm. I wish I’d known what a life-changing experience it would turn out to be. I would have started earlier then.
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I can’t even tell you how inspirational I am finding this.
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I think I’ve decided what my next memory challenge is going to be. I’m going to try to make a lukasa or a “memory bead string” for my next memorization project - some sort of classic book. Haven’t decided what book it’s going to be yet, but I want to see how a lukasa would work for me, as I haven’t played around with those yet. I have a large collection of miscellaneous beads from my kid’s craft materials, so I think I can cobble something together.
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I have done this and have some advice. I have a string of letter and what I think of as “Billy” beads so it basically my PAO in colour and letters. I really need some different beads to split the tens and the start/finish.
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I just wish I’d known about memory training - decades ago. I was a teacher. I could have shared this with my students as well as struggling so much less myself. I also wish I’d known it would be fun, not just useful and effective.
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I’m pondering another memory project - I’d like to learn some astronomy. The kid and I were looking at the stars the other day, and I had to use a phone app to look up every single constellation. I’m kinda wondering if the night sky could be a “memory palace” of its own, with astronomical data attached to each individual star and a story attached to each individual constellation. For those of you who have memorized astronomical data, how have you structured the information in your head?
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Somebody has done the memory palace thing however for the life of my cannot remember who or where I read it.
I can spot from memory Usar Major and Orion after that you are on your own. You can either make or maybe buy star cards which are cards with holes punched out for the stars so you can see them by using a torch.
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I have spent the last two days at the University of Melbourne with Duane Hamacher, author of The First Astronomers, which was published this week.
What you are talking about has been done by Indigenous cultures for millennia. But it is a moving memory palace.
I am using this book to start working on analysing learning astronomy and using memory methods. I’ll be structuring it the way he does in the book, and then branching out from there. He starts with what is visible, so that suits me.
- Star Knowledge
- The Nearest Star [sun]
- The Moon
- The Wandering Stars [planets]
- The Twinkling Stars
- The Seasonal Stars
- The Variable Stars
- The Cataclysmic Stars
- The Navigational Stars
- The Falling Stars
Duane is an astronomer, but specialises in working with Indigenous astronomical knowledge. He’s helping me look at it from the perspective of learning astronomy as a Western person, but using these techniques.
In workshops with Duane’s students over the last few days, each made a lukasa [African memory board] representing the 88 Western constellations as a starting point. This is the second year that we’ve done that and it was really successful.
I’ll be using Duane’s book - it has the Western science as well - and working on this theme. But it will take time. I have so many projects going on!
I am very keen to hear how you go with it.
Lynne
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Lynne, have you posted more details elsewhere as to which mnemonic approach you’re using for Chinese? You’re right – it’s a major challenge – and any hints would be greatly appreciated.
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