rzymski

7/30/2019 rzymski

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/rzymski 1/11

Rozdział 8.

Rzymski pokój, czyli zakładki mieszkanioweStarożytni Rzymianie, chociaż nie wzbogacili wiedzy teoretycznej na temat pamięci, byli jednak wielkimi praktykami mnemotechniki. Ich najbardziej znana metoda to system zakładek mieszkaniowych,znany również pod nazwą: “rzymski pokój”. Bardzo łatwo opracować go samemu, równie łatwostosować w praktyce. A więc co robili Rzymianie? Jak posługiwali się pamięcią? Wyobrażali sobiewymyślony, wymarzony dom i począwszy od przedpokoju wszystkie kolejne pomieszczenia wypełnialimeblami, rzeczami, ozdobami - według upodobań i w maksymalnej ilości. Starali się przy tym unikaćmyślowego bałaganu, wszystko musiało być na swoim miejscu, porządnie ustawione i w określonejkolejności (logika lewej półkuli gra istotną rolę w tym systemie).Rzymianin mógł na przykład ozdobić wejście do swego wyimaginowanego domu dwiemakolumnami, po jednej i po drugiej stronie drzwi, w których zamiast klamki widniała np. głowa lwa. W

przedsionku po lewej stał posąg grecki, a obok wygodna sofa przykryta skórą upolowanego przezgospodarza zwierza. Za sofą kwitła jakaś egzotyczna roślina, a siadałeś przy dużym, marmurowym stole,na którym stały kielichy, amfora z winem, patera z owocami itd.Powiedzmy, że nasz Rzymianin chciał teraz zapamiętać, że ma kupić w mieście sandały, potemnaostrzyć miecz, kupić nowego niewolnika, obejrzeć swoją winnicę, wyczyścić hełm, wreszcie kupić

prezent synowi. W wyobraźni obwieszał więc jedną kolumnę u drzwi swego wyimaginowanego domutysiącami sandałów, widział jak skórzane paski lśnią w słońcu, czuł w nozdrzach zapach skóry. Z kolei odrugą kolumnę ostrzył miecz, słyszał zgrzyt metalu o marmur, czuł dotyk ostrza pod palcem, niewolnika

natomiast sadzał na grzbiet ryczącego lwa. O winnicy pamiętał widząc w wyobraźni grecki posągcałkowicie oplątany winną latoroślą, uginającą się pod kiściami dorodnych winogron, tak, że aż ślinkaciekła na sam ich widok. I dalej: kwitnącą roślinę przesadzał do swojego hełmu, a na sofie siadał i bawiłsię ze swoim synem, któremu miał kupić prezent (patrz rysunek …).67Wymyślone przez Rzymian zakładki “mieszkaniowe” pozwalają znakomicie wykorzystaćmożliwości lewej i prawej półkuli mózgu, zwłaszcza jak chodzi o tworzenie “żywych” obrazów, gdyżmamy tu i kolejność, i porządek, i pracę wyobraźni z przywoływaniem bogactwa wrażeń zmysłowych.Swoista radość z posługiwania się tym systemem polega na tym, że ten “rzymski pokój” może byćcałkowicie wymyślony, że możesz tam wstawić dowolny mebel, rzecz, zawiesić każdą najwspanialszą ozdobę, obraz, postawić owoce, kwiaty, słowem wszystko co ci się po prostu zamarzy, co zaspokoi twoje

poczucie estetyki i piękna. Co więcej, bawiąc się w ten sposób z umysłem i wyobraźnią sprawisz, żetwoja pamięć i kreatywna inteligencja zaczną współpracować ze sobą na poziomie podświadomym w

sposób, który może doprowadzić do urzeczywistnienia tego marzenia, że po prostu kiedyś będziesz miałten pokój i te meble, obrazy, wszystkie przedmioty. Wszak nasze myśli mają tendencję dourzeczywistniania się…System zakładek rzymskich znosi wszelkie granice dla twojej wyobraźni i pozwala zapamiętywaćdowolną ilość informacji. Na pustej stronie obok (…) możesz teraz zapisać pierwsze pomysły, jak miałbywyglądać twój wymarzony pokój, co chciałabyś tam mieć itp. A później na kolejnej na kolejnej stronienarysuj ten pokój jak potrafisz, może to być rysunek artystyczny lub rzut architektoniczny, jeśli meble iinne przedmioty zaznaczasz schematycznie, podpisz je.

Najpierw wybierz 10 konkretnych miejsc dla wybranych zakładek mieszkaniowych, rozszerz później tę listę do 20, 30, 50 i więcej, dodając kolejne pokoje, pomieszczenia, zbuduj cały zamek, wieś,miasto, zabuduj cały kraj, galaktykę, Wszechświat…Dla wielu ludzi to ulubiony system pamięciowy, z dosłownie tysiącami zakładek w jednymgigantycznym pokoju, które zapisują najpierw na niezliczonych kartkach papieru. Jeśli możesz to zrobić -

zrób to. Bardzo do tego namawiam.A potem pochodź kilkakrotnie w wyobraźni po tym “swoim” pokoju i zapamiętaj dokładniekolejność, miejsce i liczbę wszystkiego, co tam widzisz, co wcześniej stworzyłeś w myślach. Włącz dotego zadania możliwie wszystkie zmysły, a więc oglądaj kolory, słuchaj, dotykaj, smakuj, wykorzystuj

pełny zakres możliwości obu półkul myślowych.68Tak jak w poprzednich technikach, ćwicz posługiwanie się zakładkami rzymskimi tak często, jak tylko możesz, sam lub z przyjaciółmi, aż zapamiętasz je dokładnie i zaczniesz stosować z pełną swobodą.Pierwszy mistrz świata w zapamiętywaniu, Dominik O’Brien posługiwał się właśnie takimi“mapami pamięciowymi” - bo tak też można nazwać te wybrane przez niego swoiste trasy pamięciowe,

7/30/2019 rzymski


prowadzące do setek pokoi między tysiącami zakładek mieszkaniowych.

PLACES

The Greeks discovered that the best way to remember things was to imposeorder on them. They did this by choosing a series of real places or loci whichthey could visualise in their mind. Images of what they wanted to recall wouldthen be placed on the various loci. Writing in De Oratore, Cicero says, 'Theorder of the places will preserve the order of the things to be remembered.'

The Greeks recommended using spacious and architecturally varied buildings.Ouintillian suggests using buildings with numerous rooms, forecourts,balconies, arches and statues. 'It is an assistance to the memory,' he writes, 'if places are stamped on the mind, which anyone can believe from experiment.For when we return to a place after a considerable absence, we not merelyrecognize the place itself, but remember things that we did there, and recall thepersons whom we met and even the unuttered thoughts that passed through ourminds when we were there before.'A lot of people might have come across this 'Roman room' method, as it iscalled; I had heard of positioning literal images around rooms, but alwaysthought it sounded too cramped and confusing. Significantly, Quintillian goeson to say that loci don't have to be mapped out around the house: 'What I havespoken of as being done in a house can also be done in public buildings, or ona long journey [my italics], or in going through a city.'

This is the only extant text that recommends using journeys. Still, my habitof wandering aimlessly around Guildford, mapping out a mental route, isclearly not so daft after all! Frances Yates even suggests that it would havebeen common in Greek and Roman times to see lonely students of rhetoric (orpoets) meandering around deserted buildings and streets plotting their loci.

This discovery has serious implications for me: the end of men-in-white-coat jokes. The next time someone stops me in the street and asks with someconcern what I am doing, I will look them in the eye and tell them!RULES FOR PLACES

Loci are compared in Ad Herrenium to wax tablets. They can be used againand again, even though the images inscribed on them are regularly wiped off.

As befits someone from the twentieth century, I have always described my journeys as blank video tapes, which can be similarly wiped clean and usedagain.

The Greeks had a number of interesting rules for loci. The following aretaken from Ad Herrenium:Loci should be deserted or solitary places. Crowds of people tend to weakenimpressions and distract from the key image. (Guildford is always a ghost townwhen I use it as a route.)

The students are urged to give each 5th locus a distinguishing mark: theyshould include a gold hand (five fingers) in the scene, for example. On the 10thlocus, they should imagine a personal acquaintance called Decimus. (I havealways made the 6th, or 11th, or half-way stage stand out in my mind.)Loci should not be too similar: too many intercolumnar spaces are not recommended,

as they might lead to confusion. (I always make sure that mystages are different from each other.)

The intervals between loci should be a particular length: 30 feet. The loci should be not too large, or too small, too brightly lit, or too dark.Imaginary places can be used as well as real. It is also good to mix bothtogether: give your house an extra floor, etc.IMAGES

The Greeks had two types of images; one for memorizing things, arguments ornotions; and one for remembering single words. Each image would be placed

7/30/2019 rzymski


at a different locus. As he was reciting his poetry, Simonides would havemoved around his mental journey, recalling each image as he went. Lawyerswould remind themselves of the details of a case in this way; orators wouldknow their next subject or topic. (Interestingly, the English word 'topic' comesfrom the Greek topoi, which means place or locus.)

The second type of imagery, for individual words, seems a little extreme.Most Latin sources are in agreement that the idea of referring to a new locusfor each word of a speech was preposterous. The author of Ad Herrenium suggeststhat it was, at best, a good mental exercise.

REVIEWING THE JOURNEYOnce you have created the ten images of your own at ten stages around yourhouse (try not to use my images or stages), you are ready to remember the listby walking around the journey, starting with your bedroom. Review eachimage. Don't try to recall the object word immediately. You will only get into apanic and confirm your worst suspicions about your memory. There is no rush.Put down this book and move calmly and logically from room to room in yourmind.What is happening in your bedroom? You can hear a clicking sound...thefishing rod...something slimy: a fish. You go to the bathroom, where you showerevery morning...the shower...something yellow oozing out of the head: margarine.And so on.

TROUBLE SHOOTINGI am confident that you will remember all ten items. If, however, your mindwent a complete blank at any stage, it means that the image you created wasnot sufficiently stimulating. In which case, return to the list and change thescene. Instead of the ladder falling at stage 7, for example, imagine climbingup a very tall ladder and looking down at the tiny front door. It is windy upthere; you are swaying around a lot and feeling giddy. The simple rule of thumb is that your brain, much like a computer (only better), can only 'output'what you've 'input'.Don't forget, you are exercising your imagination in a new way. Like anyunderused muscle, it is bound to feel a bit stiff for the first few times. With

practice, you will find yourself making images and associations at speed andwith little effort.SUCCESSUsing a combination of bizarre images and the familiar routine of a wellknown

journey, you have stimulated your brain to remember ten random items. You have done more than that, though. Inadvertently, you have repeated themin exact order. Not really necessary for a shopping list, but very useful when itcomes to remembering a sequence, something we will come to later.For now, content yourself with the knowledge that you can start at any stageon the list and recall the items before and after it. Take the clock in the garden,for instance, you know the ladder by the door must come before it, and the tapemeasure in the street after it. The familiar journey has done all the work foryou. It has kept everything in its own logical order.

Don't be alarmed or put off by the seemingly elaborate or long-windednature of the method. With practice, your brain responds more quickly to creatingimages on request. It can visualize objects in an instant (images thatmight take a paragraph to describe); you just have to learn how to train andcontrol it. Before long, you will find yourself 'running' around the route, recallingthe objects as you go.

There is also no danger that your head will become too cluttered with allthese strange images. The next time you want to remember another list, thenew images will erase the old ones. It is just like recording on a video tape.

7/30/2019 rzymski


The journey, of course, always remains the same.It is comforting to know that you are merely developing the way in whichthe brain already works, rather than teaching it a new method. It is generallyaccepted that we remember things by association. If you are walking down thestreet and see a car covered in flowers and ribbons, for example, an image of your own wedding might flash across your brain. This, in turn, reminds you of your husband or wife, and you recall, with horror, that it is your anniversarytomorrow and you haven't done anything about it.I will now show you an easy way to reinforce these associative images. Iknow this all seems strange to begin with, but remember: your memory is limitedonly by your imagination.A NOTE ON 'LINKING'

I have shown you how to remember ten items on a shopping list by placingthem along a familiar journey. Using image, colour, smell, feeling, emotion,taste, and movement, you were able to recall the wilder fruits of your imaginationand, in turn, the relevant, mundane item.

This method is adequate for remembering a simple list; sometimes, however,further reinforcement of the images is required, which is where the 'linkmethod' can be used. At each stage on the journey, try giving yourself a taste of what is to follow.For example, on our original shopping list, the first item was fish; the second,margarine. I remembered the fish by imagining one flapping around at myfeet, hooked onto the end of my line. This time, I imagine the fish basted inmargarine because I am about to cook it. Or perhaps it flaps its way over to thebedroom door, where a thick yellow liquid is seeping through by the floor.

The linked image should merely serve as a reminder of the next item on thelist. Be careful not to confuse the two items. The focal point remains the fishand the bedroom.At stage 2 of the journey, the bathroom, I imagine margarine dripping fromthe showerhead. This time, using the link method, I see the vague image of chess pieces moving around through the steamed-up glass door. And so on.

Try to make similar links for the rest of the list. The clock hands could be acouple of rulers; the tape measure might be a dog lead. As it begins to recoil, a

large dog comes bounding up the road.Once you feel confident about linking ten simple items, you will be able toextend your journeys and the number of things you can memorize. When Iremember a pack of cards, for example, I use a journey with fifty-two stagesrather than ten. Sounds daunting? As long as you choose a journey you arefamiliar with, nothing could be easier.

ak świetnie się bawić podczas zapamiętywania listy, czyli pokój rzymski.

Jak świetnie się bawić podczas zapamiętywania listy, czyli pokój rzymski.

Jedną ze skutecznych i zarazem popularnych technik pamięciowych jest metoda rzymskiego pokoju. Nazywana jestrównież metodą haków. Jest bardzo łatwa w zastosowaniu i nie wymaga wcześniejszego przygotowania, no może poza przypomnieniem sobie swojego własnego pokoju.

Tak naprawdę zamiast pokoju może być inne pomieszczenie, dom, droga do pracy czy szkoły. Doskonale sprawdzasię gdy chcemy zapamiętać do ok. 20 rzeczy chociaż nic nie stoi na przeszkodzie żebyśmy wybrali więcej haków imogli dzięki temu zwiększyć listę do zapamiętywania.

7/30/2019 rzymski


Polega ona na tym że przypominamy sobie np. 20 charakterystycznych elementów/przedmiotów które znajdują się wnaszym pokoju. I po kolei najlepiej od drzwi wejściowych od lewej strony z każdym elementem kojarzymy kolejne

przedmioty które musimy zapamiętać. Kojarzymy tylko nasz hak i przedmiot do zapamiętania ze sobą.

Wyobrażone obrazy muszą być niezwykłe, nierealne i oddziaływać na wszystkie zmysły. Obrazy muszą mieć przesadne rozmiary, jaskrawe kolory, historie muszą być śmieszne. Ważne żeby w wyobrażeniach pojawił się ruch,

żeby obrazy były dynamiczne. Usłysz to, zobacz, poczuj jakie jest w dotyku, jak pachnie i jak smakuje. Pamiętaj żeskojarzenia nie mogą być naturalne i logiczne, bo wtedy łatwo zostaną zapomniane.

Przykład:Pierwsze 3 elementy w pokoju:1. Zegar 2. Kalendarz3. Półka

A teraz pierwsze 3 elementy z listy do zapamiętania:1. komputer 2. rzeka3. czajnik

Możesz zacząć od tego żeby dobrze skojarzyć zegar z komputerem. Np. możesz wyobrazić sobie że widzisz wielkizegar z ludzkimi rękami i nogami, dwa razy większy od człowieka która siedzi przy komputerze i z ledwością naciska przyciski od myszki próbując grać w Twoją ulubioną grę. Kolejnym skojarzeniem może być wielkikalendarz w którym na zdjęciu widać płynącą rzekę, ona naprawdę może płynąć, a co lepsze może wypływać zkalendarza. Kolejnym elementem jest półka i czajnik, możesz wyobrazić sobie wielką półkę, rozgrzaną doczerwoności, na które stoi czajnik z kipiącą wodą. Usłysz ten charakterystyczny dźwięk gotującej się wody wczajniku. Zobacz jak czajnik podskakuje, może nawet mieć poparzone stopy na których w końcu decyduje się uciec.

Wszystko zależy na ile w danym momencie jesteś sobie w stanie wyobrazić jakieś historyjki które skuteczniezapadną w Twojej pamięci. Ćwicz swój umysł, a zobaczysz jak wielkie możliwości kryją się w Twojej głowie.

MEMORY SYSTEM 4THE CLASSICAL ROOM SYSTEMBefore moving on to two of the more major Peg systems, youshall have a light and easy day's work with a simple little Roomsystem.In the section dealing with the history of memory, I mentionedthat the Romans accepted without question the theoreticalideas of memory introduced by the Greeks. I added thatone of their major contributions was the introduction anddevelopment of memory systems.One of their most popular systems made use of objects in aroom. Such a system is easily constructed. Try to imagine anenormous room with a door. Now fill this room with as manyitems of furniture and other objects as you wish—each item of

furniture will serve as a link word. Don't make a mentalrubbish-dump of it, though! Your objects should be very

precisely ordered.For example, you may decide to start on the immediate rightof the door as you enter the room, placing there a finely carvedcoffee-table, on which you might put anything from a statue toan attractive lamp. Next to this you could have an antiquesofa, and so on.You can see that the possibilities are almost limitless—butmake sure that your objects are memorisable and that you can

7/30/2019 rzymski


keep them mentally placed in the right order.How is such a system used? When you are given a list of objects you wish to remember in order (it being not necessaryto remember reverse, random, or numerical order), you simplyassociate the items to be remembered with the objects in your room. Suppose, for instance, that your first three items were'oil', 'insect', and 'girl'. Using the examples given, the oil could

be imagined flowing all over the coffee table, the insect could be enlarged and perched on top of the statue or could beflying around the lamp, and the girl could be draped seductivelyon the sofa!The advantage of this system is that it is entirely your own,that the room may be as large as you wish, may have as manywalls as you care to imagine, and may contain a great number of memory-peg objects.On the blank page provided here you should now constructyour own room, selecting the shape you feel is best, and thenfinally printing in the objects with which you are going tofurnish it.When you have completed this task, take a number of

mental walks around the room until you are completelyfamiliar with the order and arrangement of things. As with the

previous memory systems, practise alone and with friends,until your system is firmly established.In the next chapter I shall be introducing the Alphabetsystem, which will enable you to remember more than 20items.

SIMPLIFICATION AND SYMBOLIZATION

WHEN memorizing lists of things of any kind it is often an advantage to simplify very complex ideas and tosymbolize abstract ideas.

A good example of symbolization is related with reference to the Greek poet Simonides, who was one of the

earliest known exponents of aids to memory. He invented, among other things, a simple device for committing tomemory ideas which do not represent objects of sense, and are therefore difficult to remember. For example, in

preparing a discourse concerning government, financial matters, naval affairs, and the necessity for wisdom in the policy of the times, he would not try to memorize those topics or paragraphs of his discourse in these general terms, but would represent each by a symbol—a crown or sceptre, a current coin, the image of a ship, and the figure of Minerva respectively.

When preparing such images or symbols we should always take account of their qualities, as already explained, tomake them as natural and lively as possible. I take an extract on this point from a work written by John Willis, B.D.,of Magdalen College, Oxford, which was published in 1618 in Latin and translated into English in 1661.

"Ideas are to be vested with their proper circumstances, according as their natures require; for as writings the fairer they are, are more facilely read; so ideas, the more aptly they are conceived, according to the exigency of their natures, are more speedily recalled to mind; and also consequently the things by them signified.

"Motion is to be attributed to ideas of movable things; quiet to ideas of quiet things and good and evil savours to65

MIND AND MEMORY TRAININGideas representing things so qualified. Examples of movable ideas are: artificers at work in their shops, womendancing, trees shaken by the wind, water running from taps, and such like. Ideas of quiet things are: hens laying intheir nests, thieves lurking under bushes, etc.

7/30/2019 rzymski


"Ideas to which sound is ascribed are: a lion roaring, a bell ringing, whistling, the rustling of trees, a chorister singing, etc. If incense burning be used for an idea, a sweet and pleasant odour must be attributed thereto; but, on thecontrary, to vaults underground, a dank unwholesome smell is to be assigned. So also, ideas of merry men requirecheerfulness of countenance, of sick men paleness and sadness.

"After this manner ideas of edifices, machines, and all artificial things whatsoever, ought to be signalized; proportion of form and splendour of colour must be attributed to pictures, grace and liveliness of letters to writing,

glory and excellence of workmanship to engravings. Finally, every idea must have such illustration as may render itmost notable and conspicuous and seem principally coherent to its nature."

The quantity and position of ideas should also be observed. In imagining small things, such as an ant, a grain of rice or of sand, or a drop of water, it is well to picture an army of ants, a bagful of rice, a sandy shore, or a flowingriver, respectively. On the other hand, to represent highly complex pictures, such as a battle, or a large block of

buildings, it is well to reduce them in quantity or in size, and represent a battle by a few men fighting, a block of buildings by some small erections, a church or a mountain as diminutive, as though seen through the wrong end of atelescope.

As to position, things which are usually hung upon walls, such as pictures and looking-glasses, should beimagined as hanging there; books upon shelves; crockery in cupboards; clothes in wardrobes, in drawers or on the

person; tables, chairs, chests and the like standing on the ground; and 67 SIMPLIFICATION AND

SYMBOLIZATION

graves, wells, wine-cellars, mines and other such things, under the ground."The mind of man doth naturally and immediately present direct ideas of all visible things," wrote Mr. Willis, "so

that it is vain to excogitate any, but rather use those that offer themselves. If a man hears the account of a naval battle, doth he not presently seem to behold the sea, ships, smoke of great ordnance, and other things obvious in suchmatters ? If speech be made of mustering an army, doth not the hearer form in his mind the effigies of a field,replenished with soldiers marching in military postures? "

To this standard of direct imagination we may easily reduce complex or abstract ideas. The landing of JuliusCaesar may be represented by a few ships approaching the shore, their owners being repulsed by rough Britons.Athletics may be represented by a ball; education by a blackboard ; art by a statue or a picture; music by a violin; thetheatre by a mask; horse-racing by a jockey's cap. Cold may be represented by a piece of ice; heat by a fire; light by alamp; love by a heart; pride by a peacock; gluttony by an ostrich; melancholy by a sad man; the spring time by greenmeadows and flowering trees; winter by a picture of houses, trees, and the earth white with snow and rigid with frost.We are all familiar with the figure of Justice, the veiled virgin with her sword and balance, and old man Time withhis scythe and forelock, and his merciless wings.

To conclude these remarks let me give some complex examples to show how ideas relating to incidents or storiesshould be made in concrete form, not in mere words. This point should be especially important to students of history

— "Milo of Croton, a famous wrestler, first crowned in the Olympic games, when through age he had left off his

youthful exercise and was travelling through some woodlands of Italy, espied an oak near the way rifted in themiddle. Willing to try whether any of his ancient vigour remained.

68

MIND AND MEMORY TRAINING

he thrust his hands into the cleft of the tree, to rend down the middle part. But as soon as his violence ceased, the

oak, thus forcibly writhed, returned to its pristine estate and, closing fast upon his hands, detained him a prey for wild beasts.

"Fancy a cleft oak, full of green leaves and acorns, in the cleft of which a strong great-limbed man, crowned withlaurel, is fast held by the hands. Bending back his head and body he cries out so loudly that you really seem not onlyto see his wretched body and the beasts preying about him, but also to hear his outcries and lamentations."

"I n the year 1530, in the time of Charles V, Emperor, the German Princes exhibited their Confession of Faith atAugsburgh, with a solemn protestation because of that perilous time—whence afterwards they, and all such asembraced the same Confession were called Protestants.

7/30/2019 rzymski


"Suppose an Imperial throne, adorned with badges of the Empire, glittering with gold and gems, upon which sitsthe Emperor, crowned with a golden diadem, while to him his nobles, bare-headed, present their Confession fairlyengrossed on paper."

M. Gregor von Feinaigle—a memory expert, whose New Art of Memory was published in London in 1812— carried the process of symbolization to a new point when he recommended students to make outline-and-symbolsketches instead of writing notes, in many cases. The diagram on page 69 is an example.

The explanation of this was as follows— "A convention was entered into in Egypt, between General Kleber, on the part of the French, and the Grand

Vizier, on the part of the Sublime Porte, which was approved by the Cabinet of London. The straight line with thecrescent on its top denotes the Grand Vizier, by its superior height to the perpendicular line which is to representGeneral Kleber; the line drawn through the centre of this line, forming acute angles, is intended for the General'ssword. To denote the convention two lines are drawn, which meet together in the centre, and represent the shaking of hands, or a meeting.

The convention was formed in Egypt, which is signified by a pyramid. The Cabinet of London is typified by theoutline of a cabinet on the right of the diagram; the head of a ship placed in the oblong denotes London, as it isfrequented more than any other port by ships."

PLACING THE MEMORY

IN a previous chapter I have mentioned that the Greek poet Simonides had the idea of symbolizing complex or abstract ideas so as to remember them easily. The examples I took were from a hypothetical discourse in whichgovernment, financial matters and naval affairs and the necessity for wisdom in the policy of the time, would berepresented respectively by a crown or sceptre, a current coin, the image of a ship, and the figure of Minerva.

We are also indebted to him for the idea of using places or positions in which to put ideas for safe-keeping in themind, much as we put papers in pigeon-holes or files.

Suppose that we provide our places in a house which is quite familiar to us. Then, if we enter our house at thefront door and number all the objects we see in turn—the doormat I, the brass step 2, a picture 3, a hatrack 4, anumbrella stand 5, and so on—we have at once a basis for remembering a large number of things in order.

In the discourse above mentioned we might place the crown on the doormat, the coin on the brass step, the ship inthe picture, a statue of Minerva on the hatrack, and so on. Thus the speaker could avoid missing any of them in thecourse of his speech or debate.

The incident which led Simonides to this mnemonic device of places is related as follows by Cicero. I have takenit from Dr. Pick's History of Mnemonics (1866).

"A man named Skopas, at Kranon, in Thessalia, once gave a grand dinner in honour of a victorious gladiator.Among the guests was the poet Simonides, who, during the repast, recited some verses he had composed in honour of the hero of the feast. After his recitation, he was called outside, and

12 0

121

PLACING THE MEMORY

had scarcely left the room, when the ceiling fell in, crushing Skopas and all his guests. When the relatives of thekilled came to bury the remains, they found them so smashed and disfigured, that they could not distinguish one

body from another. It happened, however, that Simonides had observed the place which each person had occupied;and on looking at the several places, he was able to identify all the bodies. This led him to believe that nothing could

better assist the memory than to retain in the mind certain fixed places, and therein to deposit, with the assistance of the imagination, whatever we intend to keep in our memory."

The following extract from Quintilian shows how the idea was used among the ancients— "You choose a very spacious and diversely arranged place —a large house, for instance, divided into several

apartments. You impress on the mind with care whatever is remarkable in it; so that the mind may run through all the parts without hesitation or delay; for the essential is not to hesitate before the objects, as remembrances destined tohelp other remembrances should be more than sure. Moreover, for recalling to mind what you have written or simply

7/30/2019 rzymski


meditated, you help yourself with any sign borrowed from the matter you have to treat of—if the object should beone of war, navigation, or the like; or with some word, for a word suffices to refresh the memory, as soon as it beginsto fail. If the object is navigation, the sign will be an anchor; if it is war, it will be a weapon.

"Then you proceed as follows: you place the first idea in the hall, the second in the parlour, and so on with therest, going over the windows, the chambers, to the statues and similar objects. This done, if the object is to apply that

proceeding to the memory, you look over every apartment, beginning with the first, and recalling at every picture the

idea which was confided to it; so that, howsoever numerous the things may be which are to be kept in mind, they are

12 2 MIND AND MEMORY TRAINING

put in a row, and form a sort of chain, which prevents the confusion to which you are exposed when bound to learn by heart. You can create for yourself imaginary places."

In another place Quintilian said that in place of a house, which might not contain enough things to act as pegs or places (quite possible in his day, I suppose, though hardly likely now), we may assume a public building, the walls of a city, or a well-known road, to divisions of which we may refer our symbols.

Metrodorus assumed the circle of the zodiac, divided into 360 compartments of a degree each—but that in myopinion would not provide a background of sufficiently vivid quality. The common things of daily life, or theincidents of mythology or history are far more vivid and facile for any but an extraordinary mind.

The process of locating ideas (by means of symbols and otherwise) in familiar objects underwent numerouschanges in the course of the centuries that followed. I need not detail these but will content myself with a brief description of the adaptation made by Gregor von Feinaigle.

In this later development an imaginary house is taken as having a number of rooms, and each room as having fifty places, arranged in the following manner: the floor is divided into nine equal squares, and each wall is dividedsimilarly into nine, with, however, a tenth in the centre above it upon the ceiling, while another square in the centreof the ceiling makes the fiftieth square in the room.

You enter at one side, and find before you nine squares on the floor; then, on your left hand is a wall with thetenth square on the ceiling above, and squares 11 to 19 on the wall ; in front of you a similar set from 20 to 29; onthe right another, from 30 to 39; beside you another, from 40 to 49; while number 50 lies above you in the middle of the ceiling.

Having fixed your walls, it is better to take a walk round

123 PLACING THE MEMORYthe room in imagination, rather than merely to stand at the side and survey it in the manner described,It now remains to people the apartment, and this may be done in a variety of ways.Von Feinaigle used the method of similarity of form, that is, he made pictures somewhat resembling the numbers

assigned to the squares or places. On the floor of the first room he had—

The Tower of Babel

A Swan

AMountain,or Parnassus

A Looking-Glass

AThrone

The Hornof Plenty

AGlassblower

MidasA Flower,or

Narcissus

In the case of number 4, the form was really symbolical, the looking-glass having four corners, but the other pictures were so drawn that they very closely resembled the numbers.

I will supply a set of the first nine squares which I think give an improvement upon von Feinaigle's selection—for 1 a tower, 2 a swan, 3 a sea-horse, 4 a sailing boat, 5 a snake, 6 a monkey, 7 a trumpeter, 8 an ant, and 9 a flower.The pictures on page 124 illustrate the idea.

7/30/2019 rzymski


It would be equally practical, at least for the smaller numbers, to use the homophones, or similar-sound words, of Gouraud, which I have mentioned in my previous chapter. Then the first square would be occupied by a wand, thesecond by a tooth, the third by a tree, the fourth by a fort and so on.

A better method, in my opinion, is to form pictures according to number-words representing the numbers. In thatcase we might have in the first square a head, in the second a hen, in the third a home, in the fourth an oar, in the fiftha hill, and so on. The advantage of this method is

124MIND AND MEMORY TRAINING

that it gives us a very wide choice of familiar objects from which to make at least two rooms—that is up to ahundred. If the student wants at short notice a set of, say, ten

squares or places, I suggest that he may select number-words relating to some chosen category of things, such as:Towns; I Tokio, 2 New York, 3 Manchester, 4 Rio de

Janeiro, 5 London, etc. For number 10 a town beginningwith s or z—Stuttgart. Here I use the first consonant only.

Animals; 1 dog, 2 hen, 3 monkey, 4 rabbit, 5 lion, etc. Materials; 1 wood, 2 enamel, 3 marble, 4 iron, 5 leather,

etc.

Races; 1 Tibetan, 2 Indian, 3 American, 4 Russian, 5 Liberian, etc.

PLACING THE MEMORY 12 5

Locomotion; i tram-car, 2 underground railway, 3 motor car, 4 aeroplane, 5 lorry, etc.Shops; 1 Thacker's, 2 Wanamaker's, 3 Marshall Field's, 4 Orr's, 5 Liberty's, etc. (I have given the names of

shops well known to me; the student will easily provide substitutes of his own.)Clothing; 1 turban, 2 necktie, 3 umbrella, 4 riding suit, 5 lace, etc.

Foods; 1 toffee, 2 nuts, 3 milk, 4 rice, 5 olive oil, etc. People; 1 Hitler, 2 Napoleon, 3 Emerson, 4 Rembrandt,

5 Lenin, etc. (I have given historical names, but per-sonally-known people are even better, as having more

mnemonic detail.)I now ask the student to notice that I have given, in "Towns," "Animals," "Materials," etc., number-words for 1, 2,

3, etc. He is thereby provided with 90 squares, which will serve him well for a long series, since he can use Townsfor places 11 to 20, Animals for places 21 to 30, and so on. To complete a full" house " of a hundred squares he canmake an extra series of 1 to 10, composed of, say, Sounds: 1 thunder, 2 neighing, 3 music, 4 rattle, 5 laughter etc.

I consider this last method of mine about the best of all —easiest to commit to memory, and allowing for aselection of very familiar objects. Let the student make up his own ten sets of varied familiar objects on these lines,and he will be well equipped to perform what most people will regard as wonderful feats of memory.

Whatever he decides upon he will do well to make a set of little drawings for himself; however rough or crudethey may be they will aid his imagination greatly.

It is necessary to commit the chosen set of places thoroughly to memory, but the task is an easy one, because theobjects either resemble the numbers they represent or are number-words.

Another plan for making a set of 25 squares on the spur

7/30/2019 rzymski


12 6 MIND AND MEMORY TRAINING

of the moment is to follow the letters of the alphabet (omitting x) with reference to some category such as animals, or countries or occupations. Thus we might form the series: Architect, Butler, Carpenter, Doctor, Elephant-trainer,Farmer, Goldsmith, Harbour-master, Ink-maker, Journalist, Kitchen-maid . . . Veterinary surgeon, Watchman,Yachtsman, Zoologist.

The advantage of the picture-system over that of merely linking together a long string of things is that you can atonce pick out any one of the things you want from it without disarranging the series, and without having to repeat thewhole series from the beginning. Its disadvantage is that more ideas are imposed upon the mind than are necessary for

understanding the things to be remembered. Yet that disadvantage is small, and the system does enable one to do somethings that would be impossible by the link method. With its aid some astonishing memory feats can be performed.

Some such system as this was almost universally employed by those who from time to time appeared in Middle AgeEurope performing memory feats consisting of repeating vast numbers of words and numbers once read out to them.One of the most striking examples of this use of the art was a certain Lambert Schenckel, who travelled over the chief countries in Europe in the sixteenth century, and won honour and praise everywhere, though in his earlier years he, likemany others, was persecuted for supposed traffic with the devil. A pupil of his, Sommer, writes in a Latin treatise—

"A lawyer, who has a hundred or more causes to conduct, by the assistance of my mnemonics may stamp them sostrongly on his memory that he will know in what manner to answer each client, in any order and at any hour, with asmuch precision as if he had but just perused his brief. And in pleading, he will not only have the evidence andreasonings of his own party at his finger's ends, but all the grounds

PLACING THE MEMORY I2 7

and refutations of his antagonist also. Let a man go into a library, and read one book after another, yet he shall beable to write down all that he has read, many days after, at home."

The student will understand, from my previous chapters, how to associate the objects to be remembered with the places to which they are assigned. Suppose that in the 17th place we want to remember an ostrich. Let my 17th place be a town beginning with k, g, or ng, say Kiel. I do not like the old idea of making a picture of an ostrich crossing theKiel canal. If I make a rational association and concentrate on it for a moment, I can drop it out of mind with fullconfidence that it will come to light again as soon as I think of Kiel. Such a connexion might be: ostrich—sand—water

—canal—Kiel.

Documents

rzymski