I’m fascinated by the human brain. That flexible organ that can achieve way more than its owners might even conceive. Recently, I’ve discovered ways to use more brainpower. Yeah, I know it sounds like a bad commercial, but it’s true.

A story

Let me start by telling you a story from the past.

No, not with the invention of smartphones. No, not with the advent of paper. Yes, around the times of the hunter-gatherer, a strange species not different from us, the Homo Sapiens. This might seem seems like a long time ago. It isn’t though, we run on pretty much the same hardware.

This ancestor was exceptionally good at fulfilling one objective. His tasks involved finding home, that one bush with great berries, that flock of buffalo’s… Okay, maybe I’m overfantasizing a little bit.

On this board, Lynne Kelly was able to memorise 412 birds.

Spatial memory has always been a talent of ours. If location skills lacked, death was closely nearby. Grabbed by a random wild beast, froze to death…

This spatial memory was used by ancient tribes to remember non-poisonous plants, animal species and a whole lot more. Even Stonehenge might’ve been a place of remembering. That’s why there was a storytelling culture as well. To remember, and to remember more deeply. Stories make dry knowledge vividly and transfer knowledge across generations. I find this really fascinating. Especially Lynne Kelly’s research on the transfer of knowledge in oral cultures goes deep in this.

A whole lot later

Let us fly 48.000 years closer to current times, to Ancient Rome. Around 80 BC, an unknown author wrote one of the classics of rhetoric and persuasion, Rhetorica ad Herennium. The art of persuasion was used by orators to change public of its opinion. And now, memory comes into play. In the text, the Method of Loci, or the Mind Palace was first mentioned.

Are you an ancient orator? Want to remember speeches that last a whole day without forgetting one point? Then, this knowledge is perfect for you!

Cicero used the Method of the Loci against his foes

Just think of one place that you remember very vividly, your house for example. Then mark certain spots: the entrance door, entrance hall, the kitchen. On every spot, you place a vivid image. The more senses you use, the longer you will remember these images.

An example…

Let’s say you want to talk about the current emperor and his misbehaviours, then about the fact that criminality has risen, then about the rising of prices of food. You want to stir up the people! How would you walk about this?

In your entrance hall, put the current emperor (this might be Caesar, Augustus or one you remember very well). Imagine him being naughty and stealing a cookie from the basket (yes, this is silly, but the sillier the better). He then eats it with loud crackling and a great smell occurs. The emperor with his misbehaviours.

Go further, into the kitchen. There is robber over there, pointing with a knife at you, asking for your money. He’s badly shaven and smells. Criminality has risen.

Go further, into the garden. There is a big trophy, it rises because a giant person picks it up. This giant person throws it at you. Prices are rising.

This can go on and on. Now try to to remember these three places. What was there? Can you extend it even more? If you can, check tomorrow how much you’ve remembered.

Paper and cellphones, the great devil

Paper, the start of the end

With the advent of the printing press, memory became obsolete in the eyes of many people. Paper can indeed store many facts, but there’s one big problem with paper. That problem is that you don’t always have it with you!

After that, memory techniques got another hit: the cellphone. The fact that we can look up everything, made the prevalence of them wane even more.

But then came Joshua

Moonwalking with Einstein — the book

In 2011, Moonwalking with Einstein came out. Joshua Foer, a journalist practiced one year and became U.S.A Memory Champion, an esoteric title at those times. He managed to memorise a deck of 52 cards in 1 minute and 40 seconds. (Current world record: 12.78 seconds).

This book, a great introduction on the topic, has boosted the interest of the general public. Since then, a lot of times, the world records have been shattered.

The disciplines (number, card, history date memorisation) might seem boring at first glance, but they’re most certainly not. These are abstract concepts and without context, they mean nothing. This makes it easy to put a mnemonic layer on top of them.

Conclusion

All my life, I thought I couldn’t remember. My brain was always fuzzy and this was quite annoying. Guess this wasn’t true, the right introduction in this subject helped immensily. These techniques are healthier than any other stimulant (Ritalin, Caffeine…) you could take. They’re close to our human nature and extremely effective.

Good luck on taking it a step further!

Actions to take:

Read Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

by Joshua Foer Read Quantum Memory Power by Dominic O’Brien

Questions:

How would you implement these techniques in your life?

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