Page 146 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

Walk through your memory palace and deposit your memorable images. It’s a helpful way to
remember lists such as the five elements of a story or the seven steps of the scientific method.

The first time you do this, it will be slow. It takes a bit to conjure up a solid
mental image. But the more you do it, the quicker it becomes. One study showed
that a person using the memory palace technique could remember more than 95

percent of a forty-to-fifty-item list after only one or two practice mental “walks”
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where the items were placed on the grounds of the local university. In using the
mind this way, memorization can become an outstanding exercise in creativity
that simultaneously builds neural hooks for even more creativity. What’s not to
like? (Well, maybe there’s one thing not to like: Because this method hooks into

your visuospatial system, you do not want to use the memory palace technique
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when you are doing other spatial tasks, such as driving. The distraction could
prove dangerous.)

NOW YOU TRY!