Anthony Metivier's Blog, page 41

Luca Lampariello On How To Master Any Language

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In this week’s episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we have our third interview with language learning expert and polyglot, Luca Lampariello. And this week we’ve got something extra special because, instead of just recording the audio …

We’ve got it on video!

Take a look on YouTube or download the full MP4.

It was truly amazing to speak with Luca live in person and to offer you both the audio and the video version of our talk. For the first time ever, you’ll have a chance to learn a bit about his background, his interests outside of language learning – and even his middle name!

Of all the things I like about Luca, it’s his passion for helping people with language learning that impresses me the most. And to help people even further, he’s got a free video series for you called Master Any Language. I highly suggest you check it out and avail yourself of his fantastic approach to language learning.

As for this interview, whether you decide to watch the video or listen to the podcast version, here’s just some of what you’ll learn:

* How to find the best resources for language learning.

* The keys to competence when it comes to learning words when using the chaining technique.

* The special connection between language learning, exercise and sleep.

* How to find and place yourself in the absolutely best conditions for language learning.

* The power of cultural differences and how they can be useful for learning multiple languages at once.

* Exactly how Luca would train an actor to convincingly portray fluency in a film.

* The number one problem language learners face when first approaching a language (and its solution).

* Luca’s thoughts on memory and memorizing words.

* How to get yourself to “sit down and do it” when it comes to the key language learning activities.

* The only language learning “talents” you’ll ever need to develop and exactly how to identify and nurture them.

* How to find the small clues in words so that you can gain deep familiarity with a language rapidly.

* Luca’s special brand of spaced-time repetition.

* Why every brain is different and how to identify how yours works so you can find the best ways to learn.

* … and much, much more!

Special thanks to George for letting us use his apartment for the interview while Luca was in town!

Further Resources

Luca Lampariello on Language as a Net

Luca Lampariello on Working Memory And The Oceans Of Language

A Magnetic Little Tip On Memorizing Foreign Language Vocabulary

Kerstin Hammes Talks About The Real Meanings Of Fluency

Olly Richards Talks About Language Tech And Communication

How To Find Memory Palaces

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn how to find more Memory Palaces, even if you live in a small town and …

… don’t want to appear creepy to the locals.

You can use the Method of Loci anywhere for language acquisition, and yet, what if you don’t have access to a big city? What if you live in the boondocks? What if you’re a prisoner and haven’t seen daylight for a hundred thousand hours?

Well, I haven’t got answers for all of these questions, but as I talk about in this episode, often the questions are more important anyway.

Why?

Because questions open up the mind. Questions trigger the search for solutions. Throw experimentation into the mix and the next thing you know, life changes. And usually for the better.

That’s why I especially admired this recent letter I received from a member of the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. Give it a read as a supplement to this week’s episode, followed by a basic prose version of my answer. As always get in touch if you have any questions. I’d love to help you if I can.

The Magnetic Questions Of The Week

I’m going to apologize in advance, this email is going to be a bit long, and…I am very sorry for that. I would be, however, very grateful for your help.

I have to say this… I watched a lot of your videos, listened to a lot of podcasts, and…I honestly am pumped to get started really seriously learning Japanese vocabulary.

However…

At the risk or sounding like I’m obfuscating things…I just have a few quick and simple questions, involving the “Art of Association” itself, so to speak.

Should one prefer memory palaces, or images?

If you have looked at Japanese before, you probably have noticed that its spelling is in no way similar to western languages, so I came up with two possible ways to memorize vocabulary, but, I’d rather do things the right way, the easier and more efficient way, right from the get-go. So, in idea one, I thought of treating each kana as a sentinel, to give each one a specific image that will be tied to vocabulary. I’d create 26 memory palaces, a-z, and store words based on their first letter when transliterated. Then tie the actual first kana image, to the rest of the word. That way I can have words like yasai and yokoshiro in the same palace, with distinct “sentinel” images attached to them, to give away the first kana itself. This idea uses less palaces, but more images. And is, as I think of it, “Palace-Conservative”.

The second idea, (Don’t worry,there is only two), is “Image-Conservative”, and, the general idea, is to use a single palace for each kana. Now, there are variations to this, really, in variation 1, I only looked at the hiragana, (because katakana uses the same sounds but different symbols), and would store words based solely on the first kana in the word. (no transliteration). Including the Datuken, I would require 70 palaces. If I included “Combo-Hiragana”, I’d require 106. (Roughly). To blow this up even more, in variation 2, if I were to treat the katakana and hiragana separately, to remember the proper spelling of words (Like, which kana syllabary to use), I’d need roughly 212 palaces.

I’m brand new to memory palaces, and the magnetic memory method, and really, the “Palace Conservative” idea sounds more intuitive to me, but, haha, this is coming from a guy who thought rote learning and spaced repetition systems like Anki were the only way to go. And I really, really didn’t like them.

Memory Palace Acquisition, a problem?

For me, yes. Let me explain: I’m 21 years old. I live in a town of 5000 people. Nearest town has maybe 500 people. Nearest city, of 250,000, is 400km away. I have no car. I have no drivers license. I also have a night job, and sleep during the day. I have spent 13 years of my life here, about 8 years of my life in that small nearby town, and 4 months in Barrie. I don’t remember those 4 months very well, I was only 7, and…well, I was extremely depressed, and in short, that’s the reason I ended up back in this town to begin with.

Anyways…during the Palace Recitation exercise I was only able to come up with about 60 palaces. And I really thought about this,  with a lot of time and effort. Occasionally, 1 more might pop up, but…I believe I have pretty much maxed out now. And I really don’t want to sound pessimistic, I love this method thus far, and I can see myself using it forever, and ever…and ever. But, until I’m able to move out to a city, where I can actually just “go memory palace hunting” so to speak, I’m stumped about what to do. I don’t know if you ever lived in a small town before, but just going out and getting new friends and doing all that, is really…it’s very hard to do. For example I can’t just, you know, burst into the little high school we have and start socializing with a bunch of the kids there. It’d be…inappropriate, to say the least.

I played one of my favourite video games, Ocarina of Time, as remade for the 3DS back in 2011, and spent about an hour, really visualizing and exploring one of the “Dungeons” in the game, both as a visualization exercise, and because I may use it as an imagined memory palace. I was thinking of using many, many more buildings I have found in video games as well, but…recalling these structures adds a layer of complexity on top of storing the images…so, I wanted to know how “practical” it would be, in general, to save up a bunch of imagined memory palaces?

What about large imagined memory palaces?

Okay, so, recalling large, real buildings, is fairly easy. Our brains are tuned for that. But what about…large, imaginary buildings? I know it sounds like a no-brainer, like, “it’s imagined and it’s large and so there’s more to try and remember about the layout, so of course it’ll be harder to remember!” But, I was wondering if it’d be more practical to memorize a large imaginary palace, (Take Ocarina of Time’s Shadow Temple or Spirit Temple for example), versus, trying to memorize the layouts of say, ten or fifteen small or medium sized imaginary buildings? I suppose it depends on the volume of related information I’d want to store in it, but…if I wanted to learn about multi-threaded programming, and store it all in imagined palaces, should I store all the info across several imagined palaces, or contain it in a single, large one?

Not crossing your path, and long hallways…

On the note of not crossing your own path in memory palaces. During my “Virtual tour” of the “Shadow Temple” in ocarina of time, I realized there are many hallways and, “leaf” rooms. Or, really, a hallway that leads to a room, and that room leads to 5 more connected rooms, but the only way to get back, is to go down that hallway again. Does that…count as crossing my path? Or does it only really count, if there are stations in that hallway?

Okay I’m done bombarding you with questions for now! I hope you can answer, and…I hope they are good questions (Well, there’s no such thing as a bad question, really) but, I hope they are at least…entertaining questions or…something positive. I love you videos, your method, your website, (I also love that it is mobile-friendly), and your podcasts. I listen to them while I’m at work!

Prose Version Of My Answer

Thanks for your questions!

First off, I apologize for the lateness in my response. I was on a research trip in Italy so that I can bring more valuable ideas to the Masterclass and Mastermind. Do you know of Giordano Bruno? He had some great memory systems and I’ve been able to look at some archival documents and will be putting together something special over the coming year based on his work.

But I also fell ill and should have seen a doctor while I was there. So I am on a lot of antiobiotics now and haven’t really been able to get to the computer until yesterday and am struggling to catch up. I had seen your email and apologize for not answering it, but I was shivering in bed with fever and all manner of nastiness and really could only do the minimum. I haven’t even had a podcast up for almost three weeks and though I’ve been blessed by having lots of emails asking if I’m okay, I feel terrible about getting behind. This is my biggest passion in life and it sucks to get ill. Maybe one day I’ll have an assistant who can at least send out an email that I have to be away. But hopefully I won’t get this sick again, and no matter where I might be in the world, I will make sure to see a doctor one way or the other.

All that said, I’ll do my best to address your questions with respect to using Memory Palaces for language acquisition and we can carry forward from there if you have any more. I really appreciate them and am dedicated to helping you in every possible.

It’s great to hear that you’re excited for learning Japanese. And I like what you’re thinking.

The honest answer is that you should try both. At first glance, I think your sentinel idea is going to work better, but I still think the only way to know is to at least give a percentage of the 212 Memory Palace version you are thinking of a try.

Why?

Because it might open the floodgates in your mind in a way that will never happen if you opt for just the one. I’m going through the same experimentation phase with Kanji and I simply have to do the extra steps of trying different approaches I come up with or risk never knowing what will

a) Work best

b) Stimulate new ideas and results I could not anticipate without at least giving it a try

There’s a third way, however, and one that I don’t think you should take because you’re obviously advanced enough not to need it. And that’s to either use Romanji or the principle of homophonic transliteration to create your own Romanji. Ultimately, this can create more problems than it solves and I only recommend it to people who need to get their foot in the door in order to at least have speech recognition and the ability to speak, but since you want to read, spell and have such a high order of thinking already working for you, go with these two options and settle on the one you like best. You’ll figure it out in short order.

With respect to life north of Barrie, Ontario, I lived in Toronto for 10 years, so know your neck of the woods quite well. I’ve driven through at least 5 times throughout my life. I’ve also lived in places smaller than you, though admittedly Silver Creek is within 20 minutes of Salmon Arm by car. Of course, I had to hitchhike a lot to get there, but it was still not that big of a deal and I did wind up walking more than a few times too.

In other words, I think I understand your situation and have to say that 60 is an impressive number given the circumstances. But I think you can probably stretch it out further.

About using the school you mentioned, often schools have evening programs and public events. It’s Christmas time, so maybe you can go to the Christmas concert or take a one-day seminar. There’s probably a community events calendar available online that you can look into.

Failing that, you could just go to the principal’s office during the day, tell him about the Magnetic Memory Method and say that you need a new Memory Palace. Tell him that you know it sounds creepy, but if you could make an appointment a 4 or 4:30 after you’ve woken up and all the students are gone home to have a guided tour, that would be great. If you’re upfront with people, they’re usually very helpful, no matter how strange your story may be.

Have you tried the local hospital? You should be able to walk around in there without anybody even asking about your presence and get lots and lots of stations.

I don’t know if you’re a religious person or not, but there are often tasty snacks after the Sunday service and churches make for great Memory Palaces. I have several.

Have you covered the gas stations and restaurants? Admittedly, these aren’t the greatest, but a gas station with a restaurant can work wonders just by sitting for a cup of coffee.

Finally, when I used to walk those long stretches, I encountered many barns and I can still remember them. Even without seeing the inside of them, I know that they all have four corners and have used these corners to memorize information.

About virtual Memory Palaces, I really don’t find them practical for most things for the precise reason you’ve expressed: they add a layer of complexity. More than that, you have to rebuild them while you’re staging and decoding the associative-imagery. It makes no sense in most cases.

However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment with it. You most certainly should. I’ve had some interesting successes with them, especially with memorizing poetry and other verbatim texts. This is because the text itself serves as a kind of aid to memory because it’s a chain. So one thing you can do is practice Virtual Memory Palaces based on video games using poetry first and then adapt them for other purposes such as vocabulary.

This represents an extra step, but I think you’ll find that it pays off in the long run. You get good with using Virtual Memory Palaces with something relatively trivial first and that lends itself to the practice and then switch the ability you’ve gained over to something more difficult. It’s kind of like how a baseball player practices swinging with 3 or 4 bats in hand so that they have more power and agility when they gear down to just one bat during the game.

About crossing your own path, the solution here is to not enter the rooms. Just glance into them. I call this at certain points in the Masterclass the “Peer vs. Enter” technique. And it literally is just that: peering in through the door and casting your mental eyes around either clockwise or counterclockwise depending on the nature of your journey and then moving on. It helps a lot of people a great deal.

The other alternative is not to travel your Memory Palace at all. You don’t have to be a figure that moves along the journey. You can be like a god who lifts up the roof and then peers down at the layout, looking from room to room and station to station. There will be path-crossing issues with this too, but it is another way to think about travelling through a Memory Palace.

Back to Virtual Memory Palaces – I do have a full video about this that I haven’t uploaded to the Masterclass yet. It goes through some of the more advanced techniques and will give you some ideas. Please extend me some patience with getting it in there. There are other videos coming too that I know you’re going to love.

And to thank you for your questions, I’m going to feature them on the podcast. With any luck, I’ll be able to get that out today. I’m really glad that you enjoy it and hope that you won’t mind that I make your letter and this response the basis for an episode. But I think it would be of tremendous value to people and maybe I’ll get some more ideas as I’m talking through the material.

You’ve also given me some ideas of illustrations that I can make to better demonstrate the Peer vs. Enter technique. I’ll work on these and make them exclusive to the Masterclass.

I hope that these notes answer your questions. Please do be in touch if you have any more and let me know when that something special I put into the mailbox for you the other day arrives.

Talk soon!

Sincerely,

Anthony

P.S. Visiting this dude nearly killed me. LOL!

Further Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Previous episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast: A Magnetic Little Tip On Memorizing Foreign Language Vocabulary.

Giordano Bruno on Wikipedia

Scott Gosnell’s translation of Bruno’s De Umbris Idearum: On The Shadows Of Ideas.

Difference and Repetition by Gilles Deleuze

What is an Author? by Michel Foucault

A Magnetic Little Tip On Memorizing Foreign Language Vocabulary

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we talk about how to use Memory Palaces to memorize foreign language vocabulary. One of the most important questions is raised and answered in-depth.

Program Notes

Today’s question involves your language of focus. When memorizing foreign language vocabulary using a Memory Palace it can be hard to settle on which language to feature along your journeys. These considerations combine a location you’re familiar with and the Method of Loci.

The inspiration for the podcast came from a reader of my book on how to learn Spanish vocabulary and memorize it. Focusing on Spanish words first and then finding the English definitions confused him, so I answer the issue in this episode. In brief, you should always focus on the target language and use images to memorize both the sound and the meaning.

How To Remember What You Learn

This is important because you want to train your mind to think in the target language by using imagery. Although you are connecting the images to your mother tongue in a real way, the stronger the images, the faster the meaning will come to mind. This effectively skips thinking about the meaning your mother tongue and drives you directly to the concept.

As I talk about in the podcast, you want to think about memory techniques as being a kind of bicycle. They involve universal principles that touch everyone the same way, but we still need to adjust them to our own uses. The Method of Loci and the Memory Palace you use for this or that language learning project will need to be adjusted to your needs and learning style.

As ever, the most important thing is to get started. Build a Memory Palace using all the tools provided by the Magnetic Memory Method. Then get started memorizing the foreign language vocabulary you’ve selected with care.

Choice Is The Ultimate Language Learning Memory Enhancer

There are lots of different ideas about how to focus on the right vocabulary. Some of the different opinions can be downright controversial. But there are also good discussions about word frequency lists and how to compile them using existing resources. Or you can create your own.

Luca Lampariello is one of my favorite teachers on the topic. And the good news is that he has been a guest on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast twice before. These episodes are called:

Luca Lampariello On Working Memory And The Oceans Of Language

Luca Lampariello On Language As A Net

Speaking of Luca, I’m looking forward to meeting with him soon for his birthday and some discussions about language learning. He also gave a great suggestion for the translation of my book, The Ultimate Language Learning Secret.

Originally my translator gave me the following choices:

Il Segreto Ultimo Per Imparare Le Lingue

Imparare Le Lingue: Il Segreto Ultimo

Imparare Le Lingue: Il Segreto Svelato

The first two are more or less literal translations. The third is roughly “Learning Languages ​​: The Secret Revealed” in English.

However, part of the trickiness of the situation involves the structure of the book. I can’t discuss more about why here, but it’s likely that each of these titles will be misleading in the end.

That’s why I’m so grateful for Luca’s suggestion, which is (drum roll, please) …

Il vero segreto di imparare le lingue

This translates more or less to: “The Real Secret To Learning Languages.” Due to the nature of how the book discusses the secret, this truly is the best title.

Thanks Luca!

Further Memory and Language Learning Resources

How to Memorize Concepts (with video)

Kirsten Hammes talks about the Real Meanings of Fluency

Olly Richards Talks About Technology and Language Learning

How To Renovate A Memory Palace

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In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method podcast, you’ll learn how to make changes to a Memory Palace you’ve already created (and when not to do this at all).

Episode Notes

Today’s episode features a question about making changes to a Memory Palace to add new information. There are at least 3 options that we discuss in detail in the podcast. These are:

1) Creating Virtual Memory Palace elements. These can include imaginary bookshelves other types of invented or imaginary stations. You place these between pre-existing stations and the information memorized at/on/beside/in or under them.

This technique will be most useful for those Memorizers who already have some experience using Virtual Memory Palace elements in combination with the Method of Loci.

2) Create a mnemonic palimpsest. Although not recommended, you can use Memory Palace stations twice. But as discussed in the episode, it’s much better to add new phrases to words. That way you’re preserving the original station and adding new material without having to add Virtual Memory Palace elements or shift things around.

3) Create new Memory Palaces. Instead of modifying existing Memory Palaces, create new ones.

For example, create 3-4 Memory Palace per letter of the alphabet. You could have:

A1

A2

A3

… and so on. Then, when you have new words to memorize, you place them in a new Memory Palace altogether. This technique works well if you want to maintain old Memory Palaces and still add new words to your vocabulary.

You can also use the Principle of Word Division with multiple Memory Palaces. Thus, you would have:

A1 = Words that start with “al”

A2 = Words that start with “an”

A3 = Words that start with “at”

… etc. …

Although multiple Memory Palaces for each letter of the alphabet may have limited appeal. But once you give it a try, you’ll find that it works a charm.

The worst that can happen is that you wind up not using some of the Memory Palaces you create. But that’s hardly a problem. It will give you a lot of practice in Memory Palace construction and you can always go back and use those Memory Palaces later.

Your mind loves this kind of exercise and the experimentation involved. You just need the mindset, the willingness and the determination to succeed and you’ll find more success than you imagined possible.

Multiple alphabetized Memory Palaces also work wonders when you’re memorizing vocabulary around themes.

For example, if you’re memorizing words based on the theme of restaurants, instead of having one Memory Palace with 50 words, you could have 5 with 10 words each. In fact, you could think of 5 restaurants that you’ve enjoyed and use these. This will create a nice connection between the theme you’re working on and the actual Memory Palaces you’re using.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions. And if you want more detailed training, over 20 hours of videos and dozens of PDFs and Worksheets await you in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass.

Further Resources

7 Ways To Make Your Memory Swiss Army Knife Sharp

Method of Loci article on Wikipedia

5 Ultra Fun Ways To Super Boost Your Fluency

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast via iTunes or Stitcher.

Program Notes

As you all know, I focus on memorizing vocabulary. I also  share some ideas about memorizing poetry and decks of cards. And other ways to awaken the possibilities of your mind. Lots of other ways.

But above all, my goal is to help people succeed in their target language studies. Or within their profession so that can excel with sophistication and ease.

The method I teach involves creating many Memory Palaces based on the alphabet. Each Memory Palace features a journey, some long, some short.

But memorizing vocabulary isn’t the whole story when it comes to becoming fluent in a language or profession. So in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we talk about 5 other ways you can get a superboost of fluency.

So let’s get started:

1. Expand your fluency by studying the background of your language or profession.

If you’re studying French, turn to books on the history of the language. Read up on the countries where French is spoken or its influence has been felt.  Look at how it has shaped cultural customs, political structures and its speakers.

The same is true for reading about, say, medicine. Look at the history of the field and its cultural impact. You can look at how medicine has influenced art, theatre, literature and other aspects of culture.

2. Read within the language itself.

This means not only children’s books. In fact, as discussed in the episode, these can be more destructive than helpful when learning a language. They often have non-standard words that can be hard to find in a dictionary.

Try online magazines and newspapers instead. You can find a breaking news story in your mother tongue and then look for it in the language your are studying. Write down some of the words and phrases you’d like to learn and use the Magnetic Memory Method to memorize them.

3. Test what you’ve memorized.

This is critical. Recall Rehearsal not only tells you how accurately you’ve memorized the material, but it also does at least two things:

a) It improves your memory abilities

b) It depends your familiarity with the target information

In sum, the Method of Loci and Memory Palaces are best used by …

Using them.

4. Seek, develop and use motivation.

As discussed in this episode of the Podcast, motivation is a slippery fish. You don’t want to visualize goals that you can’t achieve. At the same time, you don’t want to encourage yourself to be an underachiever.

It’s kind of cliche to suggest this, but choose SMART goals. But the fact of the matter is that they work.

From Wikipedia, courtesy of Peter Drucker, SMART goals are:

* Specific. This means that they target a specific area for improvement.

* Measurable. You need to be able to  quantify or at least suggest an indicator of progress.

* Assignable. You have to be able to assign the goal to yourself. If you can’t do it, who will?

* Realistic. If it’s impossible to achieve, the goal will be of limited use.

* Time-related. You should specify when you expect the results.

Using SMART goals will help you a great deal as you continue your fluency development.

5. Teach.

As people often say, something taught is something learned twice.

And it’s true.

If you haven’t externalized a subject you’ve learned, you haven’t really internalized it. Without teaching it, you haven’t fully processed it. Like good coffee, knowledge needs to be percolated and then shared.

The same goes for everything, including mnemonics and other work with memory techniques. into place and the theories lose their complexity.

As always, thanks for listening to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. If you’re looking for information about the Masterclass, it’s currently open. If you’re already a member, please login now to continue learning about how to improve your memory and the quality of your mind. You really can learn and memorize anything.

7 Ways To Make Your Memory Swiss Army Knife Sharp

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you’ll learn the 7 best ways to make your memory sharper than a Swiss Army Knife.

MacGyver, in case you’ve never seen the show, is a secret agent with a background in science. He’s always building bombs and troubleshooting problems.

His favorite tools?

Duct-tape and a Swiss Army Knife.

He also had a cool boss who was also his best friend.

How many secret agents can say that?

But what has MacGuyver got to do with the Magnetic Memory Method?

A lot, actually.  

When you use the Magnetic Memory Method, you’re transforming your mind into a Swiss Army knife and duct-tape at the same time.

Your mental Swiss Army knife extends just the right associative imagery at the right time. And your mental duct-tape (your Memory Palaces) makes those images stick.

They stick for as long as you want to keep the information memorized.

And there are a lot of tools that go along with it.

Here are just 8 of those tools in your Swiss Army knife-brain that you might not have spent enough time on yet.

Listen to this episode of The Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and read the following to learn how.

1. Sensory

Whether you’re building your Memory Palaces or filling them, it’s important to be aware of your five senses.

The more of the main senses you activate when working on your language learning goals, the easier it will be to recall your vocabulary.

2. Intensity

Your mind has the amazing ability to make its contents more vibrant, hilarious, and strange. This will help you memorize and recall information.

And it’s easy to do. You need only focus on the associative-imagery you’ve created and then amplify it. Make it even more colorful, large, vibrant and strange.

 3. Distinction

This point relates to intensity. But the difference here is that you focus on differentiating the images in your mind.

One way to do this is to focus on the borders of the images you create.

For example, let’s say my image has Fred Flintstone kissing a frog in a tutu. I can make the image more outstanding by taking a few seconds to really see the edges of the image and strengthen them.

You can pretend that you are tracing over them with a black marker like you might do in a coloring book if it helps.

It’s kind of a weird thing to do, but once you try it, you’ll find that your images are at least 10x more memorable. All because you’ve focused on making them distinct.

It doesn’t have to be black lines either.

Try silver, gold, red, the color of duct-tape – any color will do.

4.  Emotion

Believe it or not, there’s a little pea in your brain called the amygdala. It deals with emotional content, both positive and negative, and …

You can hack it.

Just by presenting it with crazy imagery.

This works because the amygdala is designed to sense emotions and literally scream, “pay attention to this! It’s important!”

And so you can supercharge your associative images, and the Memory Palaces themselves, by giving them strong emotional elements.

5. Survivalist impulses

Our brains come with some heavy duty wiring to ensure that we have the necessary drive to survive.

And it’s not just a physical thing. We need to survive – and thrive – emotionally, mentally, financially, nutritionally, etc.

In other words, if you want your memory to work better, make sure you’re well-fed, well-watered and well-rested.

6. Personal connections

I’ve had some people tell me that their life histories interfere with their Memory Palace language learning work.

I find this surprising, because I think it would be just the opposite.

Part of the mnemonic principle that underlies the Magnetic Memory system is association. Normally associations to things that you’re already familiar. Things that need zero memorization (because they’re already in memory).

To each a zone, of course, but do experiment with increasing the personal importance of the images you use. It will make everything more memorable.

And it only stands to reason that your favorite TV shows, actors, musicians and movies are personal connections that you can draw upon with ease. It doesn’t just have to be family and friends.

7. Repetition

A lot of people have told me that because I’m against rote learning, I’m against repetition.

This is absolutely not the case.

There’s smart, useful and results producing repetition that takes less time and effort. Like using Memory Palaces and the Method of Loci in your work with mnemonics.

And then there’s the other kind.

I call this the ..

Blunt Force Hammer Of Rote Learning

The fact of the matter is that the Magnetic Memory Method lets you recall on demand based on associative imagery.

But you perform the repetitions based on what you’ve memorized, not as an attempt to memorize in the first place.

Sounds like a winning formula to me.

That’s all for this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method, dear Memorizers.

Until next time, get out the duct-tape and then teach someone else what you’ve learned about Memory Palaces.

Teaching a skill is one of the best ways to learn it and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we can make the world a better place.

The more we remember, the more we can remember. And the more we learn, the more we can learn.

And if you want to learn more, then feel free to check out the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass.

On Math, The Science Of Mnemonics And Memory Modalities

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we discuss visuality, science and a new book on memorizing numbers and math.

Note:

If you are visiting by no later than Sunday, October 27th, then How to Learn and Memorize Math, Numbers, Equations and Simple Arithmetic is free on Kindle.

If you don’t own a Kindle, you can get a free app for most devices on the US Kindle Store or here in the UK.

I want to thank you kindly for visiting and look back to this page soon for a full discussion of the episode, the Method of Loci, mnemonics, creating a Memory Palace network and all of that good stuff that we tend to talk about.

Here is the correspondence I received as referred to in this episode of the podcast:

Hi Anthony,

I have a question I would like to ask. Using mnemonics what have you committed to memory?

I’m interested in using mnemonics to educate myself, to learn and be able to remember a vast sum of knowledge, that I find enjoyable, and I find it inspirational to hear, what others have achieved using such techniques.

Kind regards.

This is a great question, and answering it helps me describe just how versatile the Magnetic Memory system – and mnemonics in general – happen to be.

Over the years I have memorized:

* Foreign language vocabulary

* Musical notation

* Dates and facts

* Seat numbers on airplanes and trains

* Poetry

* Famous quotes

* Randomized decks of cards

* To-do lists (which as Derren Brown points out, Memory Palace to-do items are for more likely to get done)

* Philosophical concepts

* Names of people I meet

* Street and city names

* Addresses

* Phone numbers

* Film and book titles

* Recipes

* Call numbers at the library

* Appointment times

* … and I’m sure there’s much more.

For me, the ultimate trick has always been to use locations. Some people toss their visual associations “into the void” of their minds without locating them some place.

And for some people, that’s just fine.

But I’m an advocate for localized organization.

Why? I’ve talked about this a lot before in other editions of the Magnetic Memory newsletter, the key idea being that we have an unconscious fear of losing things (especially our minds).

Thus, when we create a visual image to help us remember something and then stick it in a clearly visualized mental location based on an actual location with which we are intimately familiar, we eliminate the fear and anxiety we naturally have a losing things and can focus on embedding that information instead.

Just a theory?

Perhaps.

But the theory is irrelevant.

This stuff works.

And there’s science behind it too.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have very limited patience for anything that can’t be empirically demonstrated in front of a council of disinterested men and women in lab coats.

That’s just the way my Magnets roll.

Further Resources:

In Praise of the Mnemonic Peg System

How to Memorize Numbers with the Major Method

Method of Loci article on Wikipedia

 

Defeat Procrastination And Memorize More With These Tricks

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

I’ll bet you feel horrible when you procrastinate.

You do?

Good. That means that this podcast may be the most important episode you ever hear.

Look, procrastination is a reality. And falling prey to it is understandable.

Especially if you’re a doer.

Here’s what happens:

Many times when we start a new activity, we experience an initial rush. And everything seems not only possible, but nothing can go wrong. A feeling erupts that says you can conquer the world in a single day.

But before you know it, that energy drops off. And then the resolve drops off. And before you know it, you start sabotaging yourselves by finding excuses that take you away from moving forward.

Again, it’s understandable.

But it doesn’t have to be this way!

Especially not when you’re using the Magnetic Memory Method.

But even then some people fall off the path.  For example, you might come across a challenging word. But instead of popping it into a well-designed Memory Palace … it’s time to do the dishes.

Or attend to the laundry.

Or play games.

Or check email.

Anything but the work of memorization.

Yet we all know one important fact.

That fact is this:

If you want to memorize a lot of vocabulary, terminology, math equations, or whatever it is that floats your Magnetic boat …

You’ve got to actually engage in the key activity of using the Method of Loci in your Memory Palaces.

Luckily, this isn’t work as such (more like play), but it still trips a lot of people up.

The question is why.

The answer is often simple.

It’s fear.

People fear a lot of things when it comes to success. There are two in particular:

1) The fear of failing

2) The fear of succeeding

People usually address the first fear by never getting started.

Crazy, but true.

And in some ways, it’s a pretty rational approach to avoiding failure. After all, if you never take action, you cannot fail.

Only problem is that not taking action is the biggest failure of all.

Fear of success is its own kettle of fish.

It’s connected to the fear of change.

After all, if you achieve one of your goals, you’ll have power.

Great power.

And with power, as the comic books and Superhero movies tell us, comes great responsibility.

Think about it.

If you were to use the Magnetic Memory Method to gain massive boosts in French fluency, for example, you would have to use the language.

You’re not going to be fluent in a language you’re not using, after all. No matter how much you use a Memory Palace or general mnemonics.

And just imagine what would happen if you aced all your exams?

You’d be morally and ethically obliged to study even more and even teach so that others could enjoy your knowledge.

You’d have to become a superhero.

Success has consequences. And that’s why so many fear it.

Here’s another weird reason that people fear success:

They don’t believe they deserve it.

And without self-worth, even bigger negative believes sail in.

They are the seeds of weeds that start growing and distributing even more seeds.

Before you know it, no machete will get your through the jungle.

What are some of these beliefs?

That other people are:

* Faster

* Smarter

* Better

Could be true.

In fact, it will almost always be true.

But it doesn’t matter!

There’s always room for another drop in the ocean.

And the next time you’re by the shore, take a drop away and see what happens. (I’ll leave that as a riddle for you to think about.)

Finally, some people fear that success is impossible.

A lot of this comes from the fact that they haven’t defined what success means to them.

If you don’t know were to find Eden on the map …

Good luck finding it on the ground.

Look, there’s a Golden Rule when it comes to what is achievable and what isn’t. That rule is this:

If someone else can do it, you can do it too.

And if that’s the case, then there’s no reason to fear that it’s impossible.

So long as the evidence behind it having been done is solid, then it can be done.

And as I talk about in the podcast, you can even achieve impossible things without being the doer. Like if you’re a sports coach, for example. You can be the conduit, the strategist, the inspiration.

And perhaps in this case, it might be true that some things are impossible. Because without you at the helm, they would never get done.

So, now that we’ve got all these issues cleared up, make sure that you listen to the podcast episode. This will help ensure that you understand how to overcome these fears and turn procrastination into a tool.

There’s simply no reason to let procrastination get in the way of using mnemonics, your dedicated Memory Palace strategy and all the ways you approach the Method of Loci in combination with the memory techniques you know.

So be sure to check out the resources mentioned in the podcast before you memorize another single unit of the valuable information that will bring meaning, value and positive change to your life. Because if you’re going to procrastinate, these resources will be a powerful diversion indeed.

 

Talk soon!

Sincerely,

Anthony Metivier

Further Resources

BBC article on concentration and focus

Tim Ferris on “Productivity Hacks”

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Do This One Thing And Stop Procrastinating (From Psychology Today)

In Praise Of The Mnemonic Peg-System

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast via iTunes or Stitcher.

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I mention the Peg System as an alternative to the Method of Loci and the Memory Palace method so central to what we do here on the site and the podcast.

Here’s a brief rundown of what it is and when you might want to use it.

The Peg System is just what it sounds like: the exercise of “pegging” (or linking) one thing to another. It assumes that you know the first thing, so it’s just a matter of Magnetically connecting the next in your mind.

I’m going to be giving some examples of how this works, and I want you to follow along. But here’s an important caveat:

Following my examples or the examples of any mnemonist is not the best way to learn memory techniques. As you read, treat these examples and demonstrations only. Immediately create your own images in your mind.

Only in this way will you be accomplishing two things:

1. Learning the link system

2. Exercising your imagination

Let’s get started.

How To Hang Information On A Number

Have a read through the following list of rhymes:

1 is a gun

2 is a shoe

3 is a bee

4 is a door

5 is a hive

6 is a stick

7 is heaven

8 is a gate

9 is a line

10 is Ben

11 is heaven

12 is a shelf

Etc. …

What On Earth Is This All About?

It’s about hanging one piece of information in the other. In this case, you are hanging a rhymed word onto something you already know and will probably never forget  (the numbers 1-12). You’re associating them.

There are some problems with the rhymes I just gave you, however.

Here’s the major issue:

Although all of the items that rhyme with the numbers (something that is in and of itself part of creating memorability), not all of the words I’ve given you are directly visible.

For example, what does heaven look like? Clouds? Angel wings? Fields of grass as shown in Gladiator as Maximus makes his way to Elysium?

Who can say?

And that lack of specificity can be a problem.

But not usually if you know your system and always use it … religiously.

Here is why:

What we’re going to do with these rhymes is use them to memorize more information.

For example, let’s say that you’re going to an important business meeting and you’ll be meeting twelve new people.

The 11th person you meet is named Ralph.

How are you going to associate Ralph with 11? Well, you could see him floating on a cloud (heaven).

Or you could see him with angel wings bursting from his back (heaven).

Or you could see him on the roof of the Sistine Chapel flirting with God’s finger (heaven).

The important thing is to be consistent.

And include wild, exaggerated action in a visual way. It’s great if you can make it absurd too. So instead of seeing wings bursting from Ralph’s back, you could have them bursting from his chest, perhaps even poking through the “Ralph” nametag on this chest.

A Concrete Alternative

Personally, I never use “heaven” for 11 the rare times I use the Peg System. It’s too abstract and vague and there are too many possibilities. I use my friend “Evan.” I’ve known him for years and can see what he looks like in my mind (he’s almost always got a goofy smile).  And if I were to meet a guy named Ralph and wanted to memorize him as part of a list of names, I would have him interacting with this new dude Ralph in a weird and interesting way.

Or better yet, I might include some other Ralph I already know to “peg” Ralph even deeper into the connective tissue of my mind.

For example, Ralph Macchio from The Karate Kid might show up and do some fancy footwork in a fight between Evan and my new business associate Ralph. It would be large, bright, vivid and filled with zany action.

Go One Step Further

To make this process truly Magnetic, you can add a Memory Palace component to your pegs.

In fact, as I suggested in this episode of the podcast, pegs are perfect for use within Memory Palaces as much as possible.

Why?

Because having a location increases your chances of recall and reduces that anxiety we were talking about.

Not only that, but you also use and strengthen your spatial memory.

And the more you do this, the more you’ll become a Memory Palace fanatic and get the massive results that only Memory Palaces make possible.

In Conclusion …

Let me leave you with three fuller examples from the list above, but this time with examples of names and how they could be memorized.

Again, make sure to come up with your own examples so that you can learn this method by doing instead of just running the examples through your mind.

Don’t make the mistake of hoping that they’ll work for you next time if you’ve only just read this over.

That’s activity.

Go for accomplishment.

1 is a gun.

Memory Palace station: My bed.

Target name: Kirsten.

Associative-imagery: My gun shoots a gun made from pillows and the curtains where Kirsten is standing.

Notice the similarity between “Kirsten” and “curtains” in terms of sound. This is the principle of compounding. Use it as much as you can.

2 is a shoe.

Memory Palace station: My desk.

Target name: Amir.

Amir plays a drum kit made of mirrors using shoes instead of drum sticks.

Notice the “mirror” contains the “mir’ sound of Amir. It is the most striking part of the name, so the image is centered on capturing that for decoding later.

3 is a bee.

Memory Palace station: The wall where my guitar rests.

Target name: Phil.

I see my other friend Phil swatting at a bee with my old philosophy textbook while my new associate Phil puts a filter on his camera lens before shooting the action.

Notice that I am using a friend I already have named Phil, plus a book of philosophy.

I also have Phil putting a differently spelled but similar sounding filter on his camera.

To some people, this compounding procedure might sound like overkill.

However, I recommend that you practice getting good at it. It will make the difference between memorizing material effectively just some of the time and all of the time.

And since I assume that you’re into mnemonics for total memory mastery, then you’re going to want to get started with the principle of compounding right away.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of the podcast. Thanks for listening. I appreciate it!

Sincerely, Anthony Metivier

Further Resources:

Peg System article on Wikipedia

A Peg-esque way of Memorizing Numbers

Magnetic Memory Method Article on the Major Method

The Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass

The Original Letter That Forms The Basis Of This Podcast EpisodeJust in case you aren’t able to listen to the podcast, here is a copy of the original letter I received. If you’d like to write in and have a question addressed on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, please feel free to get in touch.

Associating in the void does work although I have to admit that your loci system for storing vocabulary may have two advantages:

Having a location might improve fluency
There is something very slightly superior seemingly to the loci system versus the peg system for example.

I would like to expand a little on number two. I had used the peg system for 30 years before I started using the loci system. Once I started using the loci system I began to notice that there are actually two separate associations one makes with the loci system as contrasted with peg system. One is the interaction with the item stored there at the locus. The other is the visual image of seeing the word one is trying to remember at the locus with no real interaction except visually being there. With the peg system in contrast there is only the interaction between the word one is trying to store in memory and the peg word for the numeral.

So in conclusion I think that loci system involves an extra association with essentially two chances to recall the word or image whereas the peg system only involves the actual interaction between the peg and the word to be recalled.

Even so I would like to see the two systems compared experimentally. Keep in mind that the peg system could be used for language learning as well as simple list learning just as the loci system can.

Jonathan Levi Talks About Becoming A Superlearner

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In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Jonathan Levi talks about how to become a SuperLearner using speed reading and memory techniques.

Tune in now and learn:

* Why speed reading is not snake oil and Jonathan’s amazing bucket, hose and water metaphor for understanding your memory.

* Why long term memory functionally has no limit and how to maximize what you can place inside your mind.

* The precise meaning of what a “superlearner” is and how to achieve this ability not just in your mind, but in your body too.

* Why you must change how you digest and interact with information in order to improve how you learn and memorize information.

* How to get more done in less time when it comes to learning just about anything.

* Why improving your mind is like putting advanced cabling into a house.

* The bottleneck effect that comes from using Duolingo, Spreeder and other rote repetition programs and how to use your mind to gain an advantage over those who limit themselves to these tools.

* Why the memory tool “chunking” may not be good for learning every single topic and why you need to have multiple tools.

* The relationship between driving manual transmission in your car and using your memory.

* Why adults learn differently and how to make sure that you can fulfill this requirement throughout your life.

* Why Jonathan prefers the term “Memory Temple” rather than “Memory Palace,” “Roman Room,” “House of Memory” or “Method of Loci.”

* Why Jonathan doesn’t use the word “mnemonics” and why it caused all kinds of suffering and even made him resent learning.

* The “kinesiology tape” phenomenon and how it relates to memory competitions and the culture of  memory games discussed in Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking With Einstein.

* The Daniel Tammet issue and how it relates to psychics, mentalists and magicians (and why you should never fraudulently represent your advanced memory abilities once you’ve developed them).

* Jonathan’s amazing story of demonstrating exactly how someone who thought she had a bad memory easily memorized a phone number using memory techniques – without even realizing it!

* The two dominant ways to memorize huge strings of numbers and the kind Jonathan relies upon predominantly – including the reason why the Major Method is not his go-to method.

* How to use association to memorize pronunciation (using a fatty example from Russian).

* How Jonathan used Superlearning to solve his knee pain and restoring himself to health.

*  SMART goals and why using them will help you become a Superlearner and maximize your time.

Resources Mentioned On The Podcast:

Becoming  a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury and Optimizing Athletic Performance.

The Tyranny of Experts.

The Adult Learning Theory – Andragogy – of Malcolm Knowles.

About Jonathan Levi:

Jonathan Levi is an experienced entrepreneur and angel investor from Silicon Valley. After successfully selling his Inc 5,000 rated startup in April of 2011, Levi packed up for Israel, to gain experience at Rhodium, a Venture Capital Firm specializing in New Media and Mobile. While in Israel, Levi enlisted the help of speed-reading expert and university professor Anna Goldentouch, who tutored him in speed-reading, advanced memorization, and more. Levi saw incredible results while earning his MBA from INSEAD, and was overwhelmed with the amount of interest his classmates expressed in acquiring the same skill set. Since acquiring this superlearning skill, he has become a proficient lifehacker, optimizing and “hacking” such processes as travel, sleep, language learning, and fitness.