In this post, we look at when and how you can reuse a memory palace or a peg list such as the number rhymes to memorize multiple sets of information. We will go through an example where using the same locations multiple times works like a charm and look at other situations where you should rather use a different room or peg list.
In the following, I will mostly talk about locations along a journey or in a room in a memory palace. However, the same applies also to peg lists like the number rhymes and the number shapes. I have written a post on the memory palace technique, also known as the method of loci, in case you are not yet familiar with it. At times, I will also refer to locations as loci. These two terms mean exactly the same: Loci is the plural of locus, the Latin origin of the word location.
The question of re-using a memory palace can refer to two very different cases. We will cover both of them.
- You have already used the locations in a room or along a journey to memorize a set of information for long-term use. Now you are wondering whether you can add a second set to the same loci or should rather use a different room or memory palace.
- You have used the locations for short-term memorization and hope to overwrite the information in these locations with new information.
Yesterday, I was lying in my bed, ready to go to sleep, but my mind wasn’t yet. A few ideas for upcoming blog posts popped up, and I surely wasn’t going to let them go. Not wanting to get up again, I quite literally stored them in my brain – in a small mnemonic filing system.
Chances are, you have heard this somewhat mystical word before. But, what are mnemonics? Simply put, they are techniques and strategies that aid memory. These amazing techniques allow mere humans like you and me to vastly improve our memory power, and reliably memorize a large number of facts or other information fast- The word mnemonic is derived from Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of memory who also happened to be the mother of the nine muses. (The father was Zeus)