From the Greco-Roman art of memory, whose founding story of Simonides of Ceos (c. 500 BCE) Cicero and Quintilian retold; its modern history is Frances A. Yates's The Art of Memory (1966).
Places the items to remember at fixed spots along a familiar route, then recalls them by walking the route in the mind.
When to reach for it
When a talk, sequence, or set of facts must be recalled without notes and reliable recall matters more than time spent memorizing.
How it runs
- Choose a place known well, such as home or a commute.
- Fix ten to thirty distinct spots along it, in order.
- Rehearse the route until every spot comes without effort.
- Place a vivid image of each item at its spot.
- Recall by walking the route and reading each image.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
- Any step: Tools that serve every step: habits of thought and checks on the thinking itself.
Go to the source
- The Art of Memory, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966