There are really only a few ways to memorize scripture quickly and make it stick for the long-term.

You can use either:

On this page, I’ll walk you through each of these options.

You’ll learn how to create effective associations to use within your Memory Palaces if that’s the option you choose.

And you’ll get my best secrets for all of the other methods, including the bad memory habits you must avoid.

Are you ready?

Great �� let’s get started!

Before you start memorizing scripture, please consider following my P.E.A.C.H. formula ().

is possible. But you have to set aside the time to do it. And it’s very important not to let yourself get interrupted.

For best results, explore each of the methods on this page in a well-thought out study place and a time when you won’t be disturbed.

Many people are aware of the and related like the and the .

It works simply. You take a familiar location, like your home or a neighborhood. Then, you assign a path, strategically following a journey where you will place that help you remember verses and their numbers.

For that reason, it helps to have a numbered Memory Palace, like this:

For best results, I suggest you sketch your Memory Palaces and keep these in a Memory Journal.

Then, as you’re learning to use the technique, you have a self-created visual reference to work with as you place mnemonic associations in the Memory Palace.

For some people, it will be easy to memorize multiple words at the same time. For others, it will be necessary to encode the verses with an image for every word.

When it comes to memorizing the verse numbers specifically, you’ll want a number memory technique like the or the . I’ll give a detailed example further down showing you how all this works.

Some people do not want to use Memory Palaces. They wonder if they can simply create associations to scripture and have them float “in the void of their mind.��

On of my students just did that. In fact, on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. But as we discovered in our conversation, he still used a certain level of spatial memory. You can contract his experience with those of , who joined me to discuss how he memorized and delivered an entire Psalm to his congregation.

The reason most of us prefer to use a Memory Palace is that it helps reduce��the cognitive load. Using a familiar location to place images is like having a canvas to paint on. It helps you look back at a reference point and reconstruct the target verses you want to recall.

Of course, it’s worth noting that you’re perfectly welcome to simply repeat the verses until they stick. This approach is traditionally called .

It doesn’t work very well for many of us. In fact, it can be downright destructive because it’s often frustratingly boring.

That said, it’s worth experimenting with in order to see how it compares to using other mnemonic techniques. Often people are pleasantly surprised and come to realize the benefits of the mnemonics provide compared to rote.

I just mentioned “active recall.”�� One of its most important principles is that you need to personalize the associations you make when memorizing scripture.

Obviously, this is not possible with rote learning. That approach involves literally repeating the same thing over and over again.

But let’s say you want to memorize the by name. This is a great way to use .

For example, I drew this to help me remember the name Zephaniah:

I know. I’m not a great artist.

But the zipper helps me remember that the word starts with ‘Z.�� And Shaniah Twain helps me remember the sound of Zephaniah.

The trick here is that the exact name of the Bible is nowhere on the card. I have to use the way I’ve personalized the mnemonics as a clue that triggers the target information. This is what active recall is all about.

Notice something else: The card is itself a kind of Memory Palace. Even without looking at any individual card, you can simply and ask, “What was happening on that card?��

By thinking of your drawing on the card, you’ll improve your rate or recall substantially.

People often ask me about apps for memorizing the Bible.

Personally, I don’t recommend them.

That said, is an app that follows the scientific principles needed for proper .

What’s spaced repetition?

It’s tactically (not randomly) revisiting the verses you’ve worked on committing to memory over time. If you prefer not using software programs, you can combine spaced repetition with flashcards by using the .

Some softwares for Bible memorization help you by restricting certain parts of the Bible verses you’re committing to memory. Like this:

I ____ the ____ I have for you,�� ________ the Lord, “plans to ______ you and not to ____ you, plans to ____ you ____ and a ______. �� ________ 29:11

This kind of memory strategy is called a .

Again, you don’t need a software to do it. You can write out scripture and leave out some of the key words and phrases. Then, when reading back the scripture, mentally fill in the blanks or us a pen and paper.

This approach isn’t for everyone, but it’s well worth experimenting with as you commit scripture to memory.

You’ve learned that active recall works best when personalization is involved. Another aspect of active recall is getting in lots of variety. This principle ties together with , which shows that we learn faster when we combine multiple approaches.

For this reason, I recommend you that you don’t get stuck in a rut with just one of the strategies I’ve discussed above. Try them all and rotate through them on a regular basis.

It might seem a bit much at first, but as you continue to weave the activities together, you’ll likely find yourself remember scripture with greater ease.

Now let me give you an example of . Let’s focus on one of my favorites:

Proverbs 18:13 (NIV): “To answer before listening �� that is folly and shame.��

First, I suggest that you sort out the keywords. That’s because your mind will typically fill in a lot of smaller words. The keywords I chose when memorizing our example verse were:

Next, I asked myself��

Who do I know who relates most closely to either the form of the verse or its meaning?

My friend’s sister Andi comes to mind. She served as an mental association.

Then, using a Memory Palace based on Andi’s brother’s home, I imagined her typing out an email while a bee floated around. Something like what you see in this illustration:

To help with memorizing the full verse, I didn’t have Andi memorize just any kind of email?

Rather, I imagined her writing an email in response to an episode of Faulty Towers she’s just seen on television. She does this before she even heard the end of the sentence that offended her, and as a result, Andi feels ashamed.

Why Faulty Towers?

Because it has a sound similar to “folly�� in it. Note that��I thought of and chose Andi as my “Bridging Figure�� for this verse because I was focusing on the first word “answer.��

The “an�� in Andi and the “an�� in answer “magnetically�� attract each other. Weave these associations together in a Memory Palace and one will “trigger�� the other.

By looking for natural parallels that��are already in your memory and imagination, you can often come across just the right set of images. This happens much more quickly than if you try to create abstract associations.

Abstractions in your associations must be avoided as much as possible.

They’re difficult to recall, create weak associations and cause more frustration than they’re worth.

Now, you might be thinking that you’re still a beginner. What about “to,�� “before,�� and “is��?

Before you spend time memorizing them, stop and think it through.

Do you really need to memorize them? Or can you allow your mind to fill in the blanks?

In my experience, most people do fine with letting their mind fill in the blanks, provided they follow the rest of the steps I’m sharing now. As you’ve learned, Cloze tests actually involve getting yourself to fill in missing words from scripture that you want to memorize, so it’s actually a good thing not to have an image for each and every word.

But if you need to come up with associations for all these little words, I suggest you consider creating a “stockpile.��

If you use a tutu for “to,�� always use that same association.

If you use a bee driving a forklift for “before,�� always use that every time you need this word.

Don’t worry. It’s unlikely that your mind will mind the repetition. The Memory Palace will provide more than enough differentiation.

The important point is that you’re drawing upon information, ideas, people and objects��already in your memory.

That’s where the real memory magic happens. And sadly, this is a point that is too often missed by many memory experts who otherwise mean well.

I mentioned above that you can use either the Major System or a PAO System to memorize verse numbers.

Let me give you an example of this technique. Once you’re set up with these number systems, you’ll find it simple to create little associations to precede the associations you use for the verses themselves. If you feel like you need more help after going through this example, ��feel free to go through my tutorial on the .

For now, have a look at this:

For Proverbs 18:13, for example, I see a large TV set that��I actually��owned vacuuming J Edgar Hoover using a Hoover vacuum.

Weird and memorizable, right? It is!

But why these images?

Because 18 for me is always represented by a few things, one of which is a TV set.

Not just any TV set, but a particular TV set that has meaning for me.

And when you know the Major Method, you’ll know that��there’s a very good reason that��it’s a TV and not some other object.

Likewise��with J Edgar Hoover with a Hoover vacuum.

It represents 13 because I’m following this simple chart based on the Major:

Sometimes for 13, I see Hoover vacuuming on the Hoover Dam. There’s actually a way to make that dam a Virtual Memory Palace that I’ll talk about in the future. For now, here are you can learn about to enhance .

In any case, having multiple images to draw upon is the Magnetic Memory Method Principle of Compounding. It’s part of the joyful science of creating and using a “Magnetic 00-99 P.A.O.�� Learn more in the MMM course on .

I know that this process might sound complex.

It really isn’t once you get into it. After all, as Jeannie Koh explains in her , using these techniques helped her reach her goals immensely:

And it’s a skill worth having for more than just memorizing verse numbers. It makes committing all numbers fast, easy, effective and fun.

What matters most is that you associate everything with information that already exists in your mind and that is meaningful to you.

Now comes the fun part.

What you want to do is mentally walk through your Memory Palaces one at a time.

Do this as many times as it takes to . Be sure to recall them both verbally and in written form. There are a few more tips on this practice below.

How many times exactly is a question no one can answer. At least 5 times the first day and then 1 time per day for a few weeks is a good rule of thumb derived from .

As you develop your skills, you’ll find that different verses enter your memory at different rates and each presents its own form of brain exercise.

The varying levels of challenge is a good thing. It keeps you on your toes, keeps things interesting, and in fact, you don’t want it to be easy. If using memory techniques suddenly became easy, they’d be��boring and you would stop using them.

It’s very important to set a time aside for practicing recall to ensure that you do it.

I suggest using a Memory Journal to gather all your Memory Palaces and record your recall.

There’s no perfect journal, but one I recommend is��called . It has just enough space for an effective Memory Palace drawing and lets you create 10-day “sprints�� over the course of 100 days.

As you go, “trigger�� off the associations you made and let them bring back the information.

For example, I would start with the specific Memory Palace and the specific station.

How does one remember that?

If you’ve correctly planned and organized your memorization activities, then the answer will be known to you without any stress or strain.

Remember:

You create the Memory Palace Network to serve the outcome you want. This process alone will help you remember what is memorized where.

If you’re properly numbered each Magnetic Station as taught in the free course, then you’ll have even more “autopilot familiarity�� with your Memory Palaces.

And if you are memorizing verse numbers and memorizing the scriptures in verse order, order itself acts as a clue. It will tell you where in your Memory Palace the information is located.

Next, I would recall Andi and simply��ask myself: “What was she associated with?��

Asking questions during recall is important because you’re encouraging your memory to do a bit of��work.

Sometimes the entire line will blast back at you, almost like magic. Especially if you complete these powerful .

Other times, you’ll have to piece it together, word for word.

In all cases, if you have a pen or pencil in hand, recall the verse first, then write it down. Say the line out loud��as well.

At more advanced levels, you can certainly��remove the writing part, but I don’t recommend it. Even when I’m , I almost always write them out in my Memory Journal.

This simple, 1-2 minute practice ensure that I receive the full benefits for my memory and successful recall.

In full, these are:

Visualized, the for memory looks like this:

I’ve just mentioned writing out what you’ve memorized and speaking it out loud.

Writing automatically leads to reading, and you’ve already ready read the verses before, during and after memorizing them.

However, it’s good to also read��interpretations by multiple thinkers where possible.

Plus, there are often more comprehensive commentaries available that you can read on various scriptures that will give your mind more context to help create deeper connections in both your imagination and the physical structures of your brain.

It’s also important to also hear the verses spoken by others, so try to find recordings that��you can listen to and recite along with them.

You can also record yourself and listen back to your own voice.

I also suggest making memorization a family or at least a community occasion.

Reciting with others and hearing others share what certain passages mean for them is very��useful for creating long term memory impact.

In brief, you’ve got to commit to creating the time for memorizing scripture.

Logical, isn’t it? If you really want to get something done, you’ll make the time.

How much time do you need?

No one can honestly say just how long it will take for you to reach your goals. But you can start by gathering your and then assessing how much time you’ll need for each. After that, schedule the time.

Once you’ve started, chances are the question of how long it will take to commit various passages to memory will no longer be very interesting to you.

You’ll be enjoying the process itself too much and become completely satisfied that each new verse gets you closer to the goal. The journey will become so much more important than the destination.

And when those destinations are reached, you’ll be excited and want to create new ones. The benefits for the will be very��clear to you.

Does The Length Matter?

Yes and no.

I recommend starting with short verses in the beginning. The sooner you develop the skills needed to quickly and accurately memorize short verses, the sooner you’ll be able to tackle longer verses.

The trick is in seeing that longer verses are usually just shorter verses fit together. In such cases, it can be very helpful to spend more time ensuring that you understand the gist of a long verse before committing it to memory.

Should you use flash cards and sticky notes?

No, I don’t recommend this because it doesn’t create the needed skills of memorization that a Memory Palace and association develops.

These forms don’t create brain exercise either. The only exception to the rule is if you are memorizing individual words or terms and don’t have the answer on the back of the card.

Instead, feature the Magnetic Imagery you created on the opposite side of the flash card or sticky note. In this way, you’ll ask your brain to do a bit of��memory work and jog itself into action. The benefits of doing this will be incredibly��rewarding.

And as soon as you can, leave the index cards and sticky notes behind.

Many��people want to memorize from online sources such as the Scripture Typer app and Bible Memory Kids.

To be honest, these Bible apps look great on the surface. They’re clean, well-organized and perhaps even fun to use.

But they’re also creating .

If you must source your scripture from a screen, at least write it out in your handwriting and memorize from that. This practice will deepen the importance��of the verse to your mind and is a win-win from the get-go.

At the risk of being repetitive, knowing why you want to memorize scripture does matter.

For myself, I like to memorize the odd line from the Bible. But overall I prefer scripture from the non-dual tradition, Advaita Vedanta.

In this memory demonstration, you’ll see me recite 32 verses from a text called the��Ribhu Gita:��

Although I didn’t memorize a verse every single day, I rarely spent more than 5 minutes on any single verse. It just isn’t necessary when you have these skills.

Also, if you’re concerned about age or various conditions with your brain, keep hope. As mentioned above, my student Matt Barclay completed the course and gave a 12-minute recitation from the Psalms in front of his congregation after spending hardly any time memorizing it. You can see the demonstration and our discussion about how he memorized the Psalm here:

Ultimately, what really matters is that you learn the skills and ground the project on a solid reason why you want to commit the scripture to memory.

And remember:

Long-term memorization is a marathon, not a sprint. You just need to .

Plan, show up consistently, and enjoy the multiple benefits as they increase, one verse at a time.

Thanks so much for reading and if you’d like more help with the memory techniques discussed, please register for my free memory improvement course:

I think you’ll find it just as helpful as who have experienced much joy and fulfilment as a result of bringing themselves closer to God through verse memorization.

And I compliment you on wanting to become one yourself.

Polymathy is the epitome of intellectual versatility.

Not for showing off.

But for the sheer pleasure of enjoying mental dexterity across multiple disciplines.

Who am I to tell you about becoming a polymath?

I run this website, for one thing, which involves multiple skill sets.

I’ve got a PhD and two MAs to top off my BA. Multiple certificates in different skills. Languages under my belt.

And from my perspective, there are some serious misconceptions about how to define polymathy.

When your definition is wrong, it’s impossible to reach the goal.

So let’s define what a polymath is, look at some examples and make sure you can quickly craft the perfect path to being an autodidact polymath yourself.

Many people focus on the Renaissance when looking for examples of well-rounded learners. Typically you hear about figures like and as having set the stage for polymathy in our age.

Even in the memory improvement world, we tend to focus on Renaissance figures like Giordano Bruno and .

Matteo Ricci was a Renaissance era mnemonist and polymath

However, ancient India, ancient China and other parts of the world show us many people who used to master multiple topics, expand their and rapidly learn new .

So whether it’s Ramon Llull with his in the 13th century or an “ultra learner�� like , the you’re looking for aren’t about a historical moment. They’re about how people behave.

And there are many people making themselves polymaths by following simple steps. Not willy-nilly, but consistently.

These are the key behaviours to look for and model yourself:

Some people say that curiosity has to be naturally present. I disagree.

Obviously, it helps when you’re inclined toward exploring different topics, but when you understand and , you can boost your interest in even the most .

This ability is very important because no skill or interest area is exciting from top to bottom. For example, in language learning, you have to content with all kinds of unexciting words to be able to speak. You need the days of the week, colors, numbers and many pronouns that just aren’t that exciting.

But when you can stimulate your own intellectual curiosity, it’s possible to get excited even by the most quotidian information.

Although there’s always a place for playing for relaxation and fun, polymaths tend to limit the amount of time they spend on such pastimes.

Make learning integral to your daily life and you’ll enjoy greater topic mastery.

A subset of the learning lifestyle is time management. I do this myself primarily through . I also design reading semesters for myself, modeling how the school year works.

In other words, I spend three-six months taking “deep dives�� into particular topics. Sometimes I’ll go longer, but the point is that it helps structure to reach certain learning goals.

There are several you need to practice in order to be a polymath.

When you structure your learning time in the ways I’ve just suggested, you can get through the I recommend quite quickly.

Once you’re familiar with what critical thinking is, from there you just have to practice this form of thinking and occasionally complete a few to keep sharp.

Thanks to , it’s possible to learn quickly and retain more.

But there are other reasons that becoming a modern polymath has never been easier.

When I was a university student, people were terrified to because the law library at York University was filled with damaged books. People would tear pages out of legal textbooks to prevent their “competition�� from beating them at exams.

These days, so many of those books can be found for free online. That, and many books are available digitally �� a format that makes it difficult to damage the information.

But always remember that “free�� doesn’t mean you can get away with . You still have to engage with the information substantively no matter how much it costs or what format it comes in.

Back when I was an undergrad and in grad school, we went out of our way to organize study groups. We always had to show up at a particular time and place. If we couldn’t be there, the best we had was the memory or notes of other students, many of who did not have very effective .

But now?

These days you can interact with other people on a variety of topics through forums. You can join live tutorials via Zoom. And if you can’t be there live, you can watch the replays.

Even better, many people hosting the live sessions will take questions in advance and cover them during the sessions. That, or they will answer your questions after the fact.

Remember how I said above that a learning lifestyle puts the games aside and focuses on learning?

There’s one exception to this rule, something I do for a few hours a week:

I listen to podcasts while playing some simple games I use for light . This allows me to place the priority on my while still enjoying a bit of downtime.

And let’s face it: Even though I rarely , it’s sometimes nice to let my ears do the reading for a change.

talks about “learning in public.�� This is an activity I’ve been doing since starting the back in 2014.

Sure, there’s a small amount of technical learning and work involved �� but this is precisely the kind of knowledge a true polymath will want to include in their skillset.

From there, you invite on as many guests as you want to learn from and enjoy the flow of information wealth that comes into your life, one interview at a time. It’s basically exchanging coaching and mentorship in exchange for a bit of publicity you give to your guests.

Now that you understand how easy it is to become a polymath, let’s look at some specific strategies that will help you remember the information you’re mining.

Always remember: cruising forums and interviewing experts is one thing. But remembering what they say and turning it into is another.

Here are the steps I recommend:

The key memory techniques are:

You can spend a weekend and get the bird’s eye view on all of these techniques. From there, it’s just practice to keep your skills with each mnemonic device sharp.

Do you want to know the biggest reason people fail to ever pass a polymath test or experience the answer to the question, what is a polymath?

It’s practice, specifically .

For example, I’ve studied philosophy for years. But I couldn’t just absorb and remember their details. I also had to practice asking in a philosophical way.

In other words, it can’t be random or just���������philosophical. It has to literally involve the hallmarks of what philosophy is and how the best philosophers practice it �� deliberately.

Whatever skills and topic areas you include your in your polymath journey, you’ll want to make sure that you’re practicing things optimally, not just casually.

As they say in Japanese: Genchi Genbutsu. Go to the real place and do the real thing.

A true polymath is not a jack-of-all-trades. You can’t be a surface-level “expert.��

In order to become and then remain a credible authority, I suggest you set goals that involve some kind of testing measure.

For example, my first MA is in English Literature. Completing the degree is a testing measure, as is my second MA in Media & Communications.

So when I share my views on the Internet, you can rest assured that they’re not just coming from my experiences as someone with a popular blog. They’re also informed by years of study into the nature of what information is and how it functions in different societies and different historical periods.

Likewise in language learning. I don’t just speculate on . I complete specific goals, such as when I earned a certificate in . Although in that case I didn’t carry on to a higher level, I still take steps to maintain the level I achieved, which is what balancing depth and breadth is all about.

You’ll need to work out ways to do that too as you develop as a polymath.

We use the term “autodidact,�� and there’s truth to it. You can teach yourself many things as a solo student.

But it’s also a misnomer because when we learn, we use materials created by others. Learning is always interpersonal and at the same time.

The more you understand this, the more you’ll seek out conversations and collaborations with other experts in each of your fields.

And by constantly expanding your network, you’ll be able to tap into and leverage the resources of other people. Build a polymathic community around yourself and you will constantly enjoy the spark of new ideas and opportunities to exercise your knowledge by helping others. You’ll also be able to observe how people use reasoning in a variety of topic areas and improve your own by asking them question and modeling them.

One sticking point for would be polymaths is that they remain stuck on consumption-mode.

But you need to implement on ideas�����Ի���embark on journeys into the unknown.

An experiment can start with something as simple as a “what if�� question. From there, you formulate a theory of how you would answer the question and provide a hypothetical answer. The more you on this basis, the better your experiments will be.

But let’s call a spade a spade: The more you experiment, the more you will fail.

Just don’t ever accept the standard definition of “failure.�� When you’re a true polymath, each mistake and every less-than-satisfactory outcome is in fact a gift. Downfalls provide opportunities for .

And this is a very special kind of analytical thinking because it’s produced��out of��your personally designed learning experiments.

For example, I wrote a novel as an experiment. As part of launching the book, I designed, tested and released a live-action memory game.

There were many mistakes along the way. But each and every time, I used the unexpected results as an opportunity to analyze and think rationally about what to do next. I learned a lot about games, even more about novels and exercised an area of my “marketing brain�� I’d never even knew existed.

But no experiment? No new learning. And no new area of expertise to add to my polymath profile, so to speak.

I’m confident that you can be a polymath incredibly quickle.

It starts by setting some goals, organizing your time and making sure you build a community that helps encourage and guide your deliberate practice.

Although it can never be just about learning and memorizing facts from a variety of subject areas, memory is a massive lever.

So if you’d like to add memory skills, there’s a lot to explore and I invite you to get started with my FREE Memory Improvement Kit:

It will not only give you new skills, but it will also introduce you to an entire area filled with topics you’re going to love. You’ll explore history, critical thinking, the biography of a variety of and more.

In sum, let me revisit one of the points above: by becoming a polymath, you can literally make your own university.

And this reminds me of a personal story.

Back when I was in grad school, my supervisor gave me “the talk�� near the end of my degree. I was excited that I’d finished writing my dissertation and only had the final defense to go.

We were walking down Bay Street in Toronto and he told me all about how bad the job market had become over the years. He said that even if I published a dozen academic books, I’d still struggle to get a job on the tenure track at a university.

By that time, I’d already so many different topics, I turned to him with a clear and focused confidence in my voice.

I said, “if it comes down to it, I’ll build my own university to teach at.��

Long story short: That’s exactly what wound up happening. But it was only possible thanks to thinking and acting like a polymath.

I know you can do it too, so put the strategies we’ve discussed today into action and do whatever it takes to become the architect of your creams. Polymathy is the path.

Others dislike this approach to learning with a vengeance.

They even get dramatic, calling rote repetition��

“Drill and kill.��

What gives?��

And how specifically is learning by this deadly form of repetition defined?��

We’ll get into everything on this page so that you can make an informed decision about how to learn based on science, not opinion.

Plus, I’ll share with you an alternative approach to learning that never feels boring.

Sound good?

Let’s get started!

Rote learning is exposing yourself to information repetitively until it enters your long term memory.

It definitely works, especially if you have a lot of time on your hands.

Typically, people use rote learning because it’s the main learning technique they’ve been taught. It has applications in music, for example. Rote memorization can also happen on autopilot in a certain way. For example, when you learn to ride a bike, your procedural memory uses the repetition to form deep neural pathways that ensure you’ll remember the skill for life.

Examples of rote learning include:

I also repeated my TEDx Talk several times for . This is a great example of when a small amoutn of rote repetition makes sense.��

For thousands of years, many people have sought out as an alternative to rote learning for a few reasons:

If rote memorization is truly this terrible, why do so many people use it instead of mnemonics?

According to Carla Hannaford in Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head, part of the success of the drug ritalin is easily explained. It helps students put up with the tedious nature of repeating information without any kind of multi-sensory engagement.

In other words, societies have preferred drugging children instead of tackling the real problem of making learning fun.

But is repetition itself bad?��

Absolutely not.

Again, let’s take the music example. It’s really important to repeat songs if you want to . Repetition is also a huge part of ear training, and general instrumentation a form of rehearsal musicians sometimes call ��.��

Rote repetition can be good for ear training.

However, even in music, even practice forms of repetition can be quite brutal in how they create boredom, I.C. McManus and Peter Richards call any memory gains they create ��.��

In each case, there are alternatives. For one thing, you can use to spice things up, which basically involves switching between topics or skills that you’re studying.

There are many other disadvantages to rote learning, most of which are easily avoided.��

First, rote learning usually does not ask you to think about what you’re learning. It’s focused entirely on repetition itself.��

This focus on repetition-for-the-sake-of-repetition not only makes the learning process boring. You also lose out on the you could receive by engaging with the information in a deeper way.

Rote learning also treats the brain as if it were a “linear library.�� As a result, you miss the benefits of what I often call the “rhizomatic effect�� you experience when using a to produce new knowledge based on information you’ve engaged with deeply.

Your mind is not a library. Avoid treating your memory in a linear fashion.

You also lose tons of time that could have been spent enjoying using your mind and imagination.

Finally, rote repetition prevents you from experiencing the benefits of having with others.

I suggest you start using mnemonics to help you commit information faster.

One place to begin your journey with memory techniques is the . To use this mnemonic approach, you simply assign a dynamic shape or figure to each letter of the alphabet. For example, every time you think of the letter C, you also think of a favorite cat.

Having a simple set of associations like this makes learning spelling much more fun and interesting. And it follows the rules of active recall I mentioned above because you have personalized each letter of the alphabet.

You can develop a similar set of personalized images for numbers as well. For this, I suggest you learn the and combine it with or and the to make learning the entire set engaging and immersive.

Is there proof that it works?

Tons.

In language learning, Dr. Richard Atkinson has shown just how poorly rote learning works in comparison to the shared on this blog. Many of my students have shared their and my has hosted over a dozen of the best memory athletes as quests.

Rote repetition is normally a source of frustration. It doesn’t work well because the lack of multi-sensory engagement with personalized points of reference fails to stimulate enough of the brain.

Here’s something interesting: In that have been successfully repeated by scientists around the world, Atkinson demonstrated that rote learners were successfully able to recall vocabulary from lists at a rate of 28%.

By contrast, those who used techniques like the Memory Palace showed a retention rate of 88% or better. and Tyson Yunkaporta recently showed even better results by incorporating some into a follow-up experiment.

Lynne Kelly, one of Australia’s leading memory experts and author of recently become a member of the Order of Australia based on her research in memory. That’s a big deal.

So now that you’ve seen some of the evidence, what would you prefer?

Sticking with rote learning and recalling only around 28% of what you learned correctly?

Or do you prefer what more meaningful learning and comprehension techniques offer? If you’d like more resources, get this free course now:

So far, everything we’ve said makes rote learning look pretty bad.��

However, we’ve already seen that rote practice is a must in areas of learning like music, giving speeches and spiritual goals.

When used in the correct context, rote can help learners achieve incredible goals. Playing a musical instrument is one such example.

Although rote learning reduces critical thinking when required of children, there may be some contexts where it can be helpful for certain types of adults.��

For example, has suggested that adults who grew up as rote learners might still benefit from it.

Other research has shown that that has not benefited students in places like Sweden.

At the end of the day, each individual has to decide what is right for them and cultivate radical honesty. Sometimes engaging in rote learning gives you the benefit that you’re engaged in some kind of activity.��

But if the activity of what some people call “over-learning�� doesn’t actually lead to accomplishment, then the benefit of doing something for the sake of doing something is an illusion.��

You might be wondering why the scientific success rates I mentioned above matter so much. After all, it sounds like it really only comes down to time spent.��

Looking only through the lens of time, you might conclude that if you only get 28% correct, all you have to do is go back and spend more time on the material.

Not so.

You’re also losing out on critical thinking benefits by doubling-down on rote memorization.��

As Linda Jakobson has shown in her book, , societies that grow up with rote recall tend to have poor critical thinking skills.

Although it’s common for children to learn Chinese characters by rote, this learning practice has been shown to stunt critical thinking abilities.

This is tragic because problem solving requires the ability to “mentally rotate�� information through multiple angles.��

The absence of rote repetition in other cultures may be one reason why places like parts of Europe and the United States thrive and promote individualism and freedom.��

Historically, a learning technique called was much more prevalent. This approach promoted a form of learning sometimes called “inner writing,�� a means of “creative repetition�� that relied upon deep and meaningful engagement for the learner.

Meaningful learning might include tactics like:

Is rote learning effective?

To a certain extent, yes.��

And in some areas, rote rehearsal is absolutely necessary, including when you’re using memory techniques.

However, repetition should always be “creative repetition.”��

A simple way to reduce the amount of repetition needed and always ensure that you deeply immerse yourself in what you’re learning is to use KAVE COGS or what we call the Magnetic Modes in the .

To take a simple example of how I learned something very quickly with a minimum of repetition, let me refer to my Sanskrit meditation project.��

In learning a word pronounced like which means “unto them�� or “for those,�� I didn’t repeat it over and over again.

No.

Instead I looked at the “tes�� part of the word and imagined Nikola Tesla driving a Tesla over a Christmas ham. He did it for those who are always devoted to reality itself, which is the main meaning of the entire line I was learning.��

A simple, but engaging mnemonic image like a Tesla driving over ham makes memorizing a word fast, easy and less likely to need rote repetition.

Then, I went through KAVE COGS to drive home the sound and meaning:

By engaging deeply with the word in this way, I learned it immediately and never forgot it after one pass.��

I’ve memorized more Sanskrit than I ever thought possible doing this, the same technique I learned to use when memorizing the names of all my students within minutes when I was a professor.��

In sum, rote learning is boring. By contrast, memory techniques are scientifically proven and indescribably fun. All you have to do is get started.

So what do you say?

Are you ready to rev the engine of your mind and get some real learning done for a change?��

But there are other reasons you might want a full arsenal of memorization tricks at your side.

In addition to making bank, being at the ready with lots of interesting tidbits can be:

Plus, being fascinated with trivia does not make the information “trivial.��

Far from it.

In fact, as you’re about to discover, even if (heaven forbid) a fact you commit to memory does prove trivial, you can still use that datapoint as an asset. I’ll show you how I just did earlier today near the end.

So if you want to learn how to get better at trivia, this page has all the details that will take you from amateur to pro.

Ready?

Let’s dive in!

When memory athlete won a major television trivia competition in 2023, a ton of people asked me my opinion as a memory expert.

“Did he use to win?��

Of course. But that’s not the only strategy von Essen and other successful trivia players use.

If you want to truly know how to study for trivia, it’s a combination of multiple methods. These learning techniques include:

This final point is key.

See, if von Essen had one edge above all, it’s that he was well-practiced at competition. He won the World Memory Championship twice, after all.

That means more than it . He was a pro at performing well under pressure, something most of us can only do when we have some in similar settings under our belts.

Now that you’ve got the broad overview and understand how being skilled with trivia can fulfill a variety of , let’s get into the granular details.

Every step of the way, knowing is going to be key.

So let’s start with that.

Broadly speaking, a mnemonic is anything that helps you remember something, including .

The problem with rote is that it takes too long. That’s why people use like , , and for simple tasks.

More advanced strategies like the and are also helpful, especially for memorizing numbers.

All of these approaches have and the in common. People serious about getting better at trivia will want to get deeply familiar with each of these approaches.

Once you’ve got your memory skills boosted, you’ll want to get good at extracting information from a variety of sources.

One of my go-to strategies has always been . It’s a vast improvement to most speed reading programs because it avoids that cause you to miss the important details.

Basically, you use this technique with physical index cards. Some people call them , but the strategy is the same. You extract the information onto cards and then use Memory Palaces to memorize it.

The writing step is really important. Memory expert calls handwriting

Sure, you can use or some other software, but you’re quite possibly diminishing the amount you can remember when you do.

You don’t always have to use the index card method, however.

For example, I was reading a book about Latin and Greek word origins earlier today. I learned that “sitos�� is Greek for “sitting and eating, usually at the side of another.�� It’s part of the word parasitos. We get our word for “parasite�� from this origin.

To remember this, I didn’t need to do anything other than chunk it together with a quick mental image of Superman sitting beside a guy I know named Perry at a Safeway grocery store.

Superman is a I use a lot for words that start with ‘s.�� And I have many others.

The point is that I’m able to “chunk�� the core information quickly together and add it to a Memory Palace. In this case, the Memory Palace starts with ‘s�� as well.

A lot of facts involve numbers related to historical dates, how much things weigh, how old things are, distances, etc. I suggest you use the number techniques I’ve already mentioned, or try the .

You may even have to perform calculations. To get really fast at that, you can:

Not only will these skills help you solve any math-related puzzles that may come up, they also contain interesting tidbits that might come up on a trivia quiz.

I once competed at a memory competition against Dave Farrow.

Fortunately, I didn’t fall flat on my face. But because I had never competed before, I had no developed.

As memory expert and multi-time USA Memory Champ Nelson Dellis coached us when he hosted the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, .

Here are a few ways you can do that in low stress environments before taking it to the big time:

This final suggestion comes from .

Balancing the challenge-frustration curve means that you should watch out for when things get too easy. It can feel good for your ego that you’re doing really well, but it risks not growing your skills.

On the flip side of the coin, if you take on too many challenges, you wind up frustrating yourself. So always be willing to scale back so that you don’t wind up quitting.

As you continue on, you’ll find that that tactic helps you improve with greater consistency and avoid the temptation to pause or quit.

We’ve talked about the role of handwriting as a kind of encryption tool.

You can take it a step further by over time. Memory athlete has used journaling a great deal as a memory athlete.

And as someone who loves facts large and small, I journal what I memorize frequently.

I’m not particularly tidy about it. I just summarize what I memorized throughout the day to get in a bit of extra practice.

One thing I love about memorizing trivia is that it makes playing trivia games with others a lot of fun.

Not just because winning is deeply fulfilling. It also provides two special opportunities:

In this way, you never lose when you play trivia. Each and every question gives you fantastic whether you score points or not.

Plus, becoming a personal of greater knowledge is an ongoing benefit.

There’s always so much more to know.

And the great thing about learning more about Latin and Greek as I was just doing today is that I can chunk on more and more facts. That’s because once you establish one thing in memory, it’s easy to add on more.

For example, it’s not at all trivial to know about the etymology of “sitos�� when I can use the same image of Superman to add on����.��

The word means “haughty and arrogant�� now, but it literally comes from the words for eyebrow (super means “above�� and “cilium�� is eyelid). What better eyelid to use than Superman’s?

If you’d like like these working for you, please consider getting my free memory improvement course by clicking the image below and signing up:

In it, you’ll learn more about how to create a vast web of associations in your mind.

That way, you’ll win on trivia night and enjoy knowledge that stand the test of time.

��

For example, what if I need to make changes to my Memory Palace?

It’s a good question with several dimensions.

For one thing, we need to look at what the need to change involves. Is part of the Memory Palace making its use inefficient?

Or do we feel the need to expand the Memory Palace, if not connect it to other Memory Palaces?

Certainly, you can do all of these things if absolutely necessary.

And on this page, I’ll give you some suggestions that will help make the process smooth.

But there are also ways to ever have to avoid renovating any Memory Palace once you’ve set it up.

And when things do change, you’ll be ready to handle the need for transformations in a flash.

Ready to get into the nitty-gritty?

Let’d dive in!

Pause.

That’s right.

Before you do anything, pause and ask a simple question:

Is this really necessary? Why do I think the Memory Palace needs to be changed?

Could I start a new Memory Palace as an alternative?

The answer is that yes, you can start new Memory Palaces. But some people don’t have enough of them.

No problem. Here’s .

Often, you don’t need to change the Memory Palace, just how you’re using it.

For example, when using the , I usually focus on first.

Then, using the principle of compounding, I add entire phrases to the words I’ve memorized.

This technique moves from strength to strength because they only thing it changes is the , not any of the Memory Palaces themselves.

Frankly, reusing a Memory Palace is usually only worth exploring after you’ve mastered the main .

I’ve talked about this several times.

��

Here’s a follow-up video with more detail:

The key drawback is that reusing a Memory Palace often leads to ghosting or confusion. Ghosting is often referred to in memory science as .

After exhausting all other options, the first step is to clean the Memory Palace you want to renovate.

According to 3x World Memory Champion the key is not to “clean�� the Memory Palace. That would involve going through it with an imaginary mop.

Instead, Mullen suggests that you leave the Memory Palace fallow for a certain amount of time. Not using the Memory Palace will fade out anything in it and give you the most solid foundation for changing it if you want to revise the journey.

This point is important because if you make changes too soon, you could lead to the ghosting issues created by reusing Memory Palaces.

I totally agree with Mullen, but alternative views exist. You would do well to also get .

One of the simplest ways to renovate or expand a Memory Palace is by creating and adding 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 who already have some experience using Virtual Memory Palace elements in combination with the .

Personally, I stopped doing this many years ago. Starting a new Memory Palace has proven faster, more direct and ultimately more effective.

At intermediate and advanced levels, every mnemonic image can serve as a Memory Palace.

In fact, this is one of the points of combining the with the and the .

Let me give you a case study:

I was working with a coaching client yesterday. She was asking for help with memorizing an aspect of the law. For a term like “Supreme court jurisdiction,�� I showed her how Superman connects with the word Supreme.

And it connects via the letter S to my friend Stacey’s home. It also connects to the number 1 using the Major. And the number 1 has a top, middle and a bottom.

These observations mean that you can expand any Memory Palace conceptually. You don’t have to change it. You just notice features of the target information and start to elaborate it with spatial information in mind.

This is just one of the features of the that are quite different from how memory athletes memorize.

If you need more help, make sure to complete these .

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. You’ll also simply by engaging in the experimentation and exploration process.

Your mind loves this kind of exercise and the experimentation involved. It certainly gives your a workout, amongst . 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.

Ultimately, in my experience with teaching memory techniques over the last decade, I feel strongly that your personal experimentation is the key to success.

Studies in demonstrate the importance of your personal involvement. And one of the only mysteries that remains is why some people jump in and others hesitate.

I hope this post has helped you take action and I invite you to learn more by getting my FREE Memory Improvement Course:

It will help save you time by teaching you how to create Memory Palaces properly from the get-go. That way, you won’t have to worry about renovating them because everything I teach you is based on .

But if you still want to, now you can. And there’ll be no “what ifs�� about it. Because now you know that you need to experiment �� and if you run into trouble, you now have powerful alternative approaches to renovating Memory Palaces.

As always, please let me know if you have any . And if you want more detailed training, everything you need to learn and memorize anything you want awaits you in the full .

But few novels serve as meditations on the nature of memory itself.

Enter Brad Kelly’s��House of Sleep.

The novel is literary, but not at the expense of having a driving plot.

And the writing is exquisite in how it brings out both the plot and the novel’s central themes.

To discuss the theme of memory in��House of Sleep��and much more, Brad Kelly joins me on this episode of the .

In addition to writing, Kelly is also a pro Tarot reader. As a bonus on this episode, he demonstrates his divination skills on this podcast itself.

Cool, or what?

is a widely published author and former Michener Fellow who focuses on the darkness lurking within creativity.

He is also the co-host of . The discussions revolve around a variety of artists, musicians and writers who transformed their issues in life by channeling it into their cultural productions.

for notifications of new episodes and more.

As someone obsessed with r, I knew I had to read .

That’s because Kelly’s novel revolves around a number of characters, most specifically:

Lynne seeks out a program offered by the Diving Man that uses a drug to help people use dreams to resolve issues. Only, she doesn’t realize that the Diving Man not only has ties to the CIA, but perhaps a number of troubling motives beyond offering therapy.

Readers of this blog and fans of the MMM Podcast will likely enjoy the scenes that involve Daniel . These passages will stimulate you to on the nature of and meaning.

Although is not always the most direct way to memorize, this novel features a few locations you could use for .

The homes of Lynne and Daniel, albeit featured only briefly, could be useful to your practice. And the Diving Man’s mansion provides several sub-locations to explore.

The book cover itself could also be useful as a mini-Memory Palace for those of you willing to explore smaller .

Exploring the Tarot with Kelly is one of my favorite aspects of this interview.

I am asked fairly frequently about how to memorize the cards and have started thinking more about it in recent years, especially in the context of Sacred Geometry.

As memory loaded up with , some of us tend to dismiss practices like the Tarot. Although I have been as guilty of brushing off things like the Tarot and the , I’m glad to have opened to them a bit more.

As Kelly reveals, there’s a practical way to use the tools with an open mind �� but a mind not so open that your brain falls out. That is a very good thing indeed.

I’m grateful for Kelly’s reading of the MMM project overall because it did exactly as promised. It provided food for thought that both affirms and negates some of my deeply held .

The experience also reminding me of another author with the surname Kelly, and my wish to revisit . There is surely much more to explore when it comes to the mnemonic aspects built into the Tarot. Mnemosyne willing, I sure that we shall dive deeper as this project carries on.

������

Should you read House of Sleep?

I certainly think so and encourage you to check out Brad Kelly’s other projects, both current and forthcoming.

Enjoy, and for more on how to combine fiction with mnemonics, check out next.

Turns out you can.

As a form of mnemonic linking, the specifics of the story method for learning faster are detailed for you on this page.

Don’t worry:

It’s not really about creativity or spending hours coming up with a detailed narrative.

By the same token, if you’d like to become more creative and connect in a deeper way with your imagination, this method is the ticket.

You just need to understand what the technique is and how to get it working effectively.

That way, you’ll be able to use it efficiently.

Ready to dive in?

Let’s go!

For many people, a story is easier to remember than a list of facts. , our brain is literally wired to pay attention to stories, specifically through oxytocin. In his co-authored study, Paul Zak found that people who say public service ads featuring stories, were more likely to respond to the messages in the desired way.

In order for the participants to respond, they have to remember what the messages were about.

When using memory techniques, people have seized upon using stories to either improve memory or have ideas remembered for a very long time.

For example, we know a lot of about memory techniques because stories about that teach the technique are themselves highly memorable. In the most famous story about his legendary memory skills, we learn about how Simonides at a banquet hall.

However, shortly after the dinner ended, an earthquake destroyed the building, ending the lives of everyone inside. Simonides, had already left, however. When the authorities asked him to help identify the dead, he used the to name where each person was sitting.

The drama of the story makes it memorable, and helps you learn the core processes involved in the .

The story method is good for specific learning outcomes, typically lists of names, items, certain kinds of events and simple concepts.

At a more granular level, you can add story elements to other , such as a or the . Usually, I think of adding narrative elements as a kind of mnemonic vignette rather than a full story.

Beyond that, I find the story method quite limited compared to other .

But if you need to memorize lists, it’s a solid option because stories can help you forge strong connections quickly.

Let’s have a look at how to use this method, followed by some examples and alternative approaches.

There’s no right or wrong, as such. Each person needs to experiment with the options and work out what I call a “mnemonic style.��

The more tools you have in your toolbox, the better.

This step sounds kind of obvious, but it’s worth looking at some nuances.

For example, if you’ve got the gathered from a textbook, is it better to memorize them in the order you found them? Or should you order them in a hierarchy of importance?

I suggest taking a moment to reflect on your options.

The only time I don’t take time to organize information is when I’m memorizing names at an event. Or, in the case of memorizing a or , the information is already organized.

Anthony Metivier memorizing and recalling names at a memory demonstration in Brisbane

Let’s use the example of memorizing names at an event.

A few years ago, I memorized 32 names at a presentation I gave in Brisbane. The first two names were Haley and Allan.

My basic were Halley’s comet and an allen key. The story I added involved Halley’s comet crashing into a giant allen key.

To make the story even stranger, and therefore more memorable, I had Allen Funt hold the allen key.

The next person was named Sharon, so I had Allen use his allen key to adjust Sharon’s next. The story built from there and I was able to recall each and every name with 100% accuracy 15 minutes later during my demonstration.

Now, I mentioned that little or no creativity is involved, but that using the technique can make you more creative. Notice in my example that I didn’t invent Halley’s comet or allen keys. I just drew a relationship between the sounds of the names as they were mentioned to me and made a story out of these elements.

But even the idea that I “made�� a story is a bit much. Rather, it’s better to say that I used natural possibilities to quickly forge a connection. Comets falls from the sky, for example. Although we don’t use allen keys to adjust the human neck, it is within the realm of possibility for those ideas to draw a connection.

It can take a bit of practice to get used to letting story elements connect to the target information, but you’ll be able to do it. I even did it live for Guru Viking by memorizing Shakespeare on the spot on his podcast if you’d like to see .

The problem with the story method is that it takes work to come up with long and logical narratives for any kind of list with a substantial amount of information in it.

That’s why using a Memory Palace and the mnemonic vignette approach is so powerful. It essentially involves lots of mini-stories laid out along a .

Here’s the Memory Palace I used for my TEDx Talk. It’s based on a neighborhood I used to live in called Kelvin Grove:

Each station or locus in this Memory Palace is numbered.

The opening line of the speech is:

How would you like to completely silence your mind?

The story I used involved Howie Mandel using wood to hit the “thumbs up�� button on a YouTube video. Here’s the breakdown of how the parts of this story helped me memorize the line:

Little words like “to�� did not take an image. But if I needed one, I would probably involved someone like Desmond Tutu in the story. For the “completely silence your mind�� part of the sentence, I didn’t involve a story. That’s because this was the theme of the whole talk and not in need of memorization.

For the rest of the talk, I carried on through the Memory Palace. Each station took as many mini-stories as was needed for me to memorize the entire speech.

As an additional memory aid, I scripted the talk itself to contain a story.

This leads us to an alternative story method options that you may want to consider using: Using a story itself as source for a Memory Palace.

To use this version of the story method, pick a movie or novel and make an inventory of locations you can remember. Ideally, you will not base the Memory Palace on every little last detail �� instead, I suggest you work with just a few story locations that come naturally to mind.

For example, in The Matrix, I readily remember these locations:

While I was writing the list, I remembered even more, such as the street with the woman in the red dress, the dojo, and more. Just going through one movie makes for incredible memory exercise!

To use this version of the story method, mentally arrange these locations to suit your learning project. Using the chronological order as you experience them while watching the movie makes the most sense, but you could also arrange them alphabetically or in whatever way feels right for you.

Next, start to “link�� your information inside the story. Now, unlike your home, this kind of Memory Palace comes “pre-loaded�� with all kinds of imagery to work with.

For example, let’s say you want to memorize a phrase like meliora sequimur. This is the Latin motto for Brisbane, which means, “We aim for better things.��

You can take the mess hall on Morpheus�� ship and have Mouse complain about the “meal’s aura�� “meliora�� and have a giant second-hand from a clock ticking over his head. From there, you have many choices, such as using locations from The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings.

As you can probably already tell, I don’t find that story memory technique is the greatest method for speed, efficiency, or even effectiveness.

I haven’t talked to every memory expert under the sun, but so far I don’t know anyone who works this way. That said, mentioned something like a virtual story method when speaking about a memory competitor he knows. Unfortunately, his explanation is second hand and therefore a bit vague.

That said, a close parallel is the use of video games. I’ve used Donkey Kong and have heard of people using the Legend of Zelda, Skyrim, and all kinds of fantasy locations to help them learn faster and remember more.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to learn and practice the techniques. I hope exploring the core technique and some variations has helped you out.

Need more help? Grab my FREE Memory Improvement Course here:

It will help you master these concepts further so you can get out there and remember just about anything.

Enjoy and please let me know how you find using this technique for your learning goals!

But it can be confusing because people use the term in several different ways.

Seriously, the sheer number of definitions is enough to make your mind melt.

Well, never fear. On this page, I’m going to do my best to reduce the confusion.

Because the reality is this:

Linking really can help you learn faster and remember more.

You just need to apply this in the right way and in the situations where it’s useful.

So if you want to master linking for faster and more thorough learning, let’s get started!

A link is literally part of a chain. If you have a gold necklace, for example, each loop links to the next one until the circle is completed by a clasp.

When it comes to memory techniques, a link is the element we use to help us create an association that “triggers�� information we want to remember.

In many memory courses and books, linking is described in terms of a chain. Everyone from to presents it this way.

For example, in some memory trainings, the memory expert will give you a list of words like:

Hero
Drill
Spacecraft
Music

They will suggest that you:

For example, you would imagine that the hero uses a drill on a spacecraft that is blasting out music.

This way of using linking sounds a bit like a story, doesn’t it?

If so, then it is the story that is doing the linking.

And no doubt, having a narrative to think back to is helpful in recalling the list. It also has a weakness though. If you can’t remember how the story started, or a link in your chain goes “missing,�� then your hopes of remembering the list quickly falls apart.

Do you want the truth?

I really don’t know. It’s up for you to practice it and use it in different situations.

What I can tell you is that I rarely if ever use it this way. I don’t memorize random words for no reason, and I personally think it’s a shame memory books use such examples.

Really, the only time you need to memorize random words is when it’s actually not that random. I’m talking about when you go shopping and need to get tomatoes, carrots, celery, and bread. In such a case, it does make sense to see a tomato stabbing celery and bread with a carrot.

But why waste time on memorizing such a list when you could just write it down? If you’re going to memorize your shopping list, at least get a bang for your buck by memorizing it in a foreign language.

That extra step will so you can memorize complex terms, like medical definitions, more foreign language vocabulary, and names for new people you meet or important people you learn about.

The Memory Palace technique �� sometimes called the Method of Loci or the �� is the ultimate link for a few reasons.

First, let’s think about that necklace again.

Rather than using a memory system where your links must provide both the connection and the trigger for the target information, the Memory Palace lets you divide the two things.

So imagine a necklace with eight links. That’s like a Memory Palace with two rooms. In each room, you simply use the four corners in each.

(Of course, you can make much bigger Memory Palaces with many more Magnetic Stations, but let’s just keep it simple for the sake of explanation.)

Now what you’ve done is created a no-brainer, easy-to-follow journey with rooms as the linking structure. Then, you can place your hero on or near corner one of your Memory Palace. That hero is linked to the space itself and you don’t need to “link�� it to the drill on the next corner.

NOTE: I call these corners “Magnetic Stations.�� I use this term for two reasons:

First, it’s like each place in the Memory Palace has a fridge and my associations are like a fridge magnet. I can then use the imagery to stick information I want to memorize in place, just like I would store concert tickets in real life.

Second, magnets have the ability to repel certain things. For example, when I use this kind of linking, my mind pushes away all the distractions. I’m focused just on the information on hand.

Now, this doesn’t mean I can’t have the hero and the drill interact. If it’s useful to do so, the hero can move from the first corner to the second. But I’d rather have some kind of image that is working to help me memorize the word “hero�� first before moving on to the next word.

My “link�� for that word would drill into the word itself, leading to the use of something like a favorite superhero eating a Hershey chocolate bar in a weird way before blowing a smoke ring. I explain more here:

Now, there is a story element going on here, but it is not the as such. Rather, it’s more like having a vignette on each and every station of the Memory Palace.

The real benefit of the Memory Palace as a base or meta-linking structure is how this technique . You don’t have to think back to how the story started. You can simply think back to where you placed the first link, which gives you two chances to kickstart your list of associations.

There are potentially millions of examples one could give.

The problem is this:

In 90 BCE, the unknown author of warned against weakening students by giving too many examples. It counsels the teacher of memory to give only a few so that students quickly learn to create their own. It’s like the old saying goes: Teach people to fish so they can feed themselves.

I actually think we need to take it further:

Teach people to fish, hunt, and farm so they can eat whatever they want. Eating fish every day is boring!

Jokes aside, here are some of the best blog posts on my site that are packed with mnemonic examples:

In addition to the best coming from your own efforts, great mnemonic examples are the ones that:

Why is the alphabet so crucial?

The answer is simple:

It’s the ultimate necklace! Think about it: A-Z is a pre-memorized set of “locations��.

So if you want to always have “links�� ready to go, get out a piece of paper and write out associations for each letter of the alphabet. Like this:

Z = Zorro
Y = Yankovich (Weird Al)
X = Xylophone
W = Weathervane
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Go for a mixture of objects and people.

Ideally, all of your objects will connect with people or places in some way. For example, I don’t just think of a weathervane in an . I’m thinking specifically about the weathervane used as a weapon in the movie Warlock.

Likewise, with Zorro. I think specifically of Antonio Banderas�� performance of this character. That was particularly important when I was , a language packed with Z words.

For example, “zerbrechlich�� means “fragile.�� I simply saw Banderas as Zorro at a Berlin movie theatre with a few other images to help me memorize the sound and meaning of this word.

The next steps are to make sure the “links�� are multi-sensory and then add some more German words. 5-10 at a time in a single Memory Palace is a decent sweet spot, though some people can memorize many more.

It’s just a matter of:

Phew �� that was quite a deep dive into linking!

In sum, if you need to memorize a list of items, having the words themselves interact with each other based on can work.

However, if you need to memorize information that is a bit more ambitious, you’ll probably want more robust techniques.

The good news is that neuroscientists like David Eagleman think the brain has space for a zettabyte of information. And like a computer’s hard drive, everything you memorize requires space.

My suggestion is that before you start practicing any of the memory techniques available to you now, think about your goals first.

Then pick the technique that is most likely to help you accomplish your mission.

So what do you say? Are you ready to give either of these a try? Or if you want more simple and fun tools to choose from, .

I mean, how is splitting large pieces of information into smaller pieces supposed to help you remember more?

Isn’t that just more work?

Your intuition is correct to ask.

Because if the chunk method is poorly executed, it not only leads to wasted time and energy.

It doesn’t provide the desired results either.

So to fix that, let’s go beyond the standard chunking definition.

And I promise that after you’re read each and every example I have to share on this page, you’ll always get great results whenever you’re chunking information.

Ready?

Let’s dive in!

David Sousa gives a very simple way to understand chunking in .

Look at the word “chunking.��

Do your eyes and your brain see eight individual letters?

Technically, yes. But your mind “chunks�� c-h-u-n-k-i-n-g into a single word.

We also tend to chunk numbers, such as the ones we use to call one another by phone. Whereas , as the systems grew in popularity, they needed to be longer.

The term “chunking�� comes from Dr. George Miller. In a 1956 paper titled , he famously pointed out how grouping numbers into shorter chunks made them much easier to remember.��

Many memory athletes and memory experts have used like the to completely sidestep the limitations Miller identified and chunk in highly efficient ways. One of my students even memorized and can recite them all in about a minute!

Experts provide another example. Instead of trying to understand vast swaths of disconnected information, they think categorically. They find and refer to patterns. And when necessary, experts create new terms or paradigms that help us understand the connections between aspects of the world.

Finally, some students treat “cramming�� as a form of chunking. Although this practice can provide some results, one of my favorite is called “The Cram Smasher.�� It helps you group blocks of time in a sophisticated way that reduces forgetting and maximizes your free time.

Chunking is not necessarily a natural behavior. It tends to be a skill we learn. For example, when we are young, we are shown how ten dimes make a dollar.��

There are many patterns like this that we learn: ten, ten dollar bills make one hundred, etc.

But to turn this into a memory strategy, we want to add a few additional elements. We can look for patterns and then group information deliberately.

You can learn many things faster using chunking.

Some of the classics include:

Let’s look a bit closer at numbers by using an example like 9289.

In this number, you might notice that your grandfather is 92 and in 1989 he took you to the zoo. By comparing or mentally linking those similarities, you are chunking them together. Instead of looking at 9289 as a random digit, you have chunked it down and encoded smaller parts of the larger digit with personal meaning.

You can also use the PAO System I mentioned above or the . These are the mnemonic systems used by memory competitors to win prizes and break records each and every year going back for over three decades.

The Major System

The Major works by translating each digit from 0-9 into a consonant. You then use those consonants to make words. 9289, for example, could become Peter Pan vaping �� a chunk that works because P = 9, N =2 and V = 8. Using these facts about the Major System, you assign words that you find striking and recall numbers a lot easier.

Another way to chunk items together involves applying . For example, let’s say you need to memorize the following list of words:

To remember these items, you could chunk them together using a story. For example, you can imagine a kitten in a field playing football. After the game, the kitten grabs some beers, puts on a hunting cap and goes to the ocean.

Yes, the story is weird, but it chunks the items in the list together, making them much easier to recall. that this approach words by specifically expanding your working memory.

But the tactics we’ve covered so far aren’t the only ways to chunk. Let’s have a look at a few more.

As you go through this list, pick at least one and apply it to something you’re learning.

As always, you’ll want to ask before getting started with any particular chunking technique if it’s really appropriate to the . Sometimes there are more appropriate strategies available, though we never know until we experiment. So above all, have fun.

I’ve given a lot of speeches in my career. But sometimes I don’t feel like memorizing them word for word.

So I craft an acronym instead. Often, an entire talk comes from one keyword, a strategy I outline in detail in .

YOLO for “You only live once�� chunks the the concept both into a single sentence and then further into a single, unique word.

You can also use acronyms to memorize definitions or phrases. The catch is that it can take a bit of time to think up a good one. It’s still powerful when you hit upon something good, and we use chunking like this all the time for news networks (CNN) and government institutions (FBI, CIA).

A recent popular example is YOLO for “you only live once.�� This acronym chunks the concept into a unique word, but the phrase itself is itself chunking because it expresses a much longer sentiment in just a few words.

Even better, that using acronyms can help you get focused again on certain tasks after an interruption. Acronyms have this effect because they provide your a more robust structure to refer back to after an interruption.

doesn’t have to involve chunking, but it certainly can.

Here are a few ways I’ve chunked related ideas to remember and recall .

Basically, ever image on a mind map chunks together and image with a concept or keyword you want to remember. Have a look at this example from one my students in the :

Keko used my concept of the “Seashell Mind Map�� to place various steps in the memory improvement process in order. Using big words, she can see larger concepts and understand what they are at a glance. In many ways, what Keko has created is a .

Here’s an example of one of my own mind maps:

The central keyword is “retention�� and I use tributaries in different colors to isolate different concepts. I’m using as few words as possible so that they are all chunked down to their key ideas on the mind map.

In one case, I included a drawing, which is a great way to include imagistic chunking as a . In this final mind map example, I use all images and no words to remind me of the most important activities in my professional life as a memory teacher and researcher:

Each image chunks down an entire world of ideas. For example, in the 3 o’clock position, you see a clock and some letters on a typewriter. These images chunk down the idea that I will spend an hour a day writing. The medical symbol at the 7 o’clock position reminds me of my goal to work on my medical mnemonics podcast, especially on topics related to neuroscience and mental health (hence the unhappy and the happy faces).

In each of these mind map examples, chunking is used slightly differently. But the point remains the same: highly compressed mental connections are laid out on the space of the mind map. They are understood at a glance even though there are very few words on them, and in some cases no words at all.

One of the ways I remember so much as I read comes down to thinking comparatively.

For example, when I come across a in a book, I often ask, “What else is like this? What contrasts or opposes this?��

To give a simple example, I recently read Christopher Kemp’s Dark and Magical Places. It’s about how the brain navigates space. When I asked about the opposite of navigation, I thought about certain meditation practices where you sit very still.

When your questioning produces answers, even if they are very simple, you effectively chunk the ideas together. The chunking effect makes all of the involved information easier to remember in the future.

Asking questions also makes it possible to because of how it develops your pattern recognition abilities.

We often just consume entertainment. But if we take some time to pay attention to the form a story takes, we can remember more about it.

I shared some of the narratological structures I used to use as a Film Studies professor in .

You can also use certain observations to help .

For example, if you’re at the dentist and you learn that the secretary’s name is Martina, you could imagine your dentist drinking a toothpaste flavored martini with her at the service counter. You’ve literally chunked a dentistry related flavor to her name and put your dentist into the picture so you’ll remember that she’s his secretary.

Speaking of names, yet another way to understand chunking is to consider your last name. It’s one of many ways your identity is chunked to your family. The use of family trees to track lineage is another.

Did you know that there are over to choose from?

These include rhyming, the and some of the number systems we discussed above.

In many ways, the Memory Palace is the ultimate chunking technique because you group the information you want to remember into individual rooms.

If you’d like to learn more about how it works, get my FREE Memory Improvement course for some free lessons and exercises:

So far, we’ve seen that chunking is all about grouping or organizing information in particular ways.

But another way to approach grouping information involves how you organize it in time.

For example, I love to use a reading technique called . Basically, it involves reading 3-5 books at the same time and switching between them.

Instead of chunking the topics or information in them, it’s about chunking the time down into manageable bits. Then, during the brakes, diffuse thinking helps form more memory connections. You literally learn and remember information about the first topic while paying attention to the second.

A lot of people like to use or standard .

Although both are great and you can certainly chunk information onto cards categorically, it’s also possible to insert questions and connections into them to help you .

In the example above, I used a question to contrast a point. Although this line of questioning might not make sense to you, it instantly reminds me that many spiritual traditions have very different goals than Marxism.

You can use questions like this to also help you compare, contrast and ultimately remember more.

As you can see, chunking is powerful.

How and when humans started gathering things together is not entirely clear. But as Dr. Miller pointed out, there’s only so much information the brain can easily contain.

But that’s where the techniques you’ve learned today provide some very good news.

By using the chunk method in its many forms strategically, it’s possible to learn faster and remember more.

So what do you say? Are you ready to get out there and master more information quickly?

Chunk it up!

It’s actually a lot more powerful than that.��

The problem is��

A lot of people don’t know enough about it to understand its raw power.��

They also don’t know the different ways you can modify the Person Action Object pattern, or even have multiple versions for different purposes.

And that means they’re missing out on something truly special.

But not you.��

You found this page and we’re taking a deep dive into all things PAO.

Are you excited?

Let’s get started!

PAO memory systems go back a very long time.

It is a simple way to break down into individual units that can interact in memorable ways.��

Take these numbers, for example:

21 36 90

They’re not that difficult to memorize, but someone using a traditional PAO system would divide the numbers into a set of images specifically ordered according to the PAO pattern. They would imagine something like Jack Nicholson throwing burning matches at a bus.����

People derive the exact images they use in different ways, and we’ll talk about how to do that in a moment.��

��

Briefly, 21 is Jack Nicholson in my PAO System because I’ve built each image based on the Major System:

From these rules, I assigned the word “nut.�� Since Jack Nicholson often plays characters who are completely insane (or “nuts��) he strikes me as perfect for that number.

But you might be wondering…��

How the heck did people come up with such an interesting way to approach memory?

The notion of combining or linking information you want to remember to a Person Action Object complex begins much more simply.��

The first reference I can find is the . The oldest available evidence is 683 C.E., but it is almost certainly older than that.

In this alphanumeric system, we see what is probably the first detailed basis for transforming numbers into words.��

What kinds of words?

Later, you see this arrangement built out with great sophistication in the works of , especially On the Shadows of the Ideas.

I’m not entirely sure, but I think Bruno chose to include Hebrew letters in his memory system because of the . In this system, each Hebrew letter is classified so that it also represents a number.

And since almost every Hebrew letter represents an animal, you pretty much have either a person or object in each letter along with the number. This approach is likely also the origin of what used to be called a “bestiary,�� and on that is really the expert.

The question is��

How does all this work?��

Well, changing numbers into associations that do things allows the person using memory techniques to compress much more information into far fewer images.

However, not everyone goes for fewer images. Many people assign three associations for each 2-digit pair. For example:

01 = Peter Sutton suds soap

In this case, 0 =2 and 1 = T, leading me to choose an anthropologist for the person, creating suds as the action and soap as the object.

I’ll show you how to simplify all of this later so you need only one image, but let’s look a bit deeper at some history and technical matters based on the general principles we’ve discussed so far.

Two other systems to know about are the and the .

n came up with his variation to compete in memory competitions.

Technically speaking there is no such thing as a Dominic System PAO �� at least not to my knowledge. This is because the Dominic System reduces a PAO down to a PA system. It’s been refined down to Persons and Actions.��

The Major, much like the katapayadi, lets you create any number of words from numbers. So you can have:

It’s much more flexible and I strongly recommend using the Major so that you can come up with many more words for your PAO list.��

There are other systems you can explore, such as the Ben System and the Shadow.��

(For more on the Shadow, check out my conversations with .)

The Shadow is a very powerful and much more robust version of a PAO system, especially for playing cards.

There are many ways to use a PAO system. You can use it to:

One way that people use the PAO system for numbers is very formal. They will always approach numbers in 3 sets of 2 pairs and then use their person action object in order.��

That means that if you have a sequence of numbers like 89 43 21:

Using my system, the images here would be:

A viper (Cobra Commander) rams a nun (or Jack Nicholson).��

Then, when memorizing the next set of digits, I can have the final object interact with the next set.

In other words, if the sequence is 89 43 21 55, the object that represents 21 can be doing something to the image for 55.

In this way, you can either have short vignettes or much longer narrative sequences.

The first step is to choose how you’re going to approach PAO memory systems so that success is guaranteed.

Again, for most people, I suggest learning the Major System. It helps reduce the arbitrariness of the associations in a way that other systems do not.��

But you’re also free to simply assign people, objects and actions to numbers without any special reason. If you have , you might have some deeply intuitive choices that come to mind based on that aspect of how your mind words.

Assuming you’re like most of us and you go with the Major, realize that the limited number of words you can choose from is actually a good thing.��

A lot of memory systems work so well because limits are productive, not restrictive. They just don’t always seem that way at first glance.��

It might also be helpful to realize that a PAO list is really just a variation on the . I’ve shared the basis for my entire list there if you want to take a look.��

Or you can look up various number dictionaries for ideas. created a really interesting one.

But should you really look the words up?

For ideas, sure.

But the results will really start to flow when you personalize each and every assignment you make for a full 00-99 PAO.��

For many years I got along just fine with just the Major System.��

But then I competed with and realized how slow I was using the Major to memorize cards.��

Later, made me realize that you can actually “compress�� each assignment in a way that lets make each one a Person that is both an action and an object.

For example, my 84 used to be “fire.��

But after speaking with him, I upgraded it to a character in a movie who uses a blowtorch. Fire because a person who uses an object to burn things.

To repeat: The person is the object that takes an action.

This made everything so much faster!

Another example:��

36 used to be a box of matches for me, based on the Major System.

It’s still “match,�� but now it’s Mike Tyson in a boxing match. Tyson is the person, boxing is the action and his gloves are the object.��

In this way, when I want to memorize a number like 8436, I just have to imagine the blowtorch character from Missing in Action 2 setting Mike Tyson on fire.��

This works the same way when memorizing playing cards that have been assigned numbers or or verse numbers in scripture.��

And the best part?

If you take a moment to number your stations in a Memory Palace, you instantly have an image to interact with in each and every you use.��

I don’t use that approach particularly often, but it has come in handy many times as an organizational tool.��

Here’s an exercise from the :��

Once you have all your figures worked out, get some index cards. Starting with 00-99, fill them all out.

Then, shuffle them up.��

If you come across a 42, name out the figure you chose.

Once you’re able to name the associations relatively quickly, you can then start practicing memorizing them in order.��

I would suggest starting small, such as with three, two-digit pairs. As you go, place the associations in a so you have a point of reference.

At the end of the day, developing your own PAO System is a highly personal journey.

Although it will undoubtedly share similarities with others, it will still work best when it’s unique to you.

For example, both and I share William Shatner as an image. But the exact way we use the association differs.

It’s the Major System that causes us to land at the same choice, but after that, you can refer to any particular Star Trek episode or movie, and even several of them, depending on what you’re memorizing.

Again, a rigid PAO approach strikes me as unlimited. I like it to be flexible and give me more options.��

When I’ve struggled to come up with associations when learning a language, I always stop. I ask myself what the numbers would be for the word I’m struggling with.��

For example, there’s a word in German: faseln. It means to “spout off.”��

When I looked at the F and S, I thought of 80. That is an image of�� you guessed it:

William Shatner as James T. Kirk with his phaser set to stun. “Eln�� would be 52, which is a lion in my PAO system.

I use a “lion�� for 52. But instead of relying on the generic concept, I push it further to a specific lion: The MGM lion. For your 00-99 PAO, it might be the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz or one of the characters from The Lion King.

But not just any lion. It’s the MGM lion so that the image is vibrant and familiar, not generic.��

And imagining Captain Kirk using a phaser on the MGM lion because the lion was “spouting off�� a bunch of drivel made it fast, fun and easy to memorize the sound and meaning of that word.��

It’s the personalization that makes it work, and the science of shows us the how and why.

So what do you say?

Are you ready to develop one of the most powerful memory systems available to you?��

Make it happen!