A manuscript written in the 80s BC called Rhetorica ad Herennium first introduced a now popular idea that to commit things to memory, we can link them with vivid scenes or objects. This is the origin of “memory palaces.” To memorize information using a memory palace, you associate each item you hope to recall with scenes or places you know well. For instance, you might use your house (your “palace”) to commit a list to memory by imagining a walk through it and festooning each room you encounter with vivid imagery evoking items on your list.
