Explore the method of loci. Learn about the origins of loci, the strategy and technique to using it, and how it can aid memory. Practice with engaging loci examples.
Updated: 02/14/2022
How to Use the Method of Loci
What is the Method of Loci?
The method of loci is a mnemonic device, a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval. Loci means locations in Latin. The method of loci uses imagined physical locations to aid memory. This works because human beings are very good at remembering places, but not so good at remembering words, numbers and lists. The technique co-opts our visual and spatial hardware to store and retrieve more abstract information.
A user of this technique will create an imaginary physical space in their mind, and then place objects throughout the space which symbolize the information which must be recalled. As the user walks through the space in their mind's eye, they encounter the information which must be recalled as if it were a memory of something physical.
"Memory Athletes" who display feats of memory as a sport often use this technique. These astounding individuals can recite pi to hundreds of thousands of places, or remember the exact order of cards in two playing decks. This method was also popular among the rhetoricians of ancient Greece and Rome, who used it to memorize their speeches. One of the greatest of those orators, the Roman statesman Cicero (106-43 BCE), recounted that the method originated with the poet Simonides, who discovered the technique in tragic circumstances. At a party, Simonides stepped outside, and while he was gone the roof caved in. Everyone was killed. Simonides was able to identify all the corpses because he could remember the physical location of where everyone was sitting, and this helped trigger his memory to recall their names. According to Cicero, Simonides then generalized this technique, which used memory of physical places to aid memory of semantic information. Recently in popular culture, the method of loci has been used by the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in the BBC show Sherlock. The method of Loci is sometimes called the memory palace, because it involves the creation of a massive building in the mind in which to store information.
Definition of the Method of Loci
Imagine you must give an important speech in front of your college communications class for your final exam. No matter how many times you rehearse the speech, you know you will not be able to memorize every part of it. You don't want to accidentally leave out any necessary details, but you want to impress your audience by not relying on note cards for help. What can you do?
Ancient Greek and Roman orators are often attributed for using the Method of Loci to memorize speeches. The Method of Loci is an effective mnemonic device, or a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval. The effectiveness of the Method of Loci relies on visualizing mental images to associate with the material that needs to be remembered. The more vivid the visual, the more effective the method.
You must cCreate an account to continue watching
Register to view this lesson
Are you a student or a teacher?
Create Your Account To Continue Watching
As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.
Get unlimited access to over 84,000 lessons.
Try it now
It only takes a few minutes to setup and you can cancel any time.
Already registered? Log in here for access
Back
Your next lesson will play in
10 seconds
 |
Method of Loci Examples
This technique could be useful in daily life, such as memorizing a grocery list. Here's a simple example:
- Pears
- Bananas
- Artichokes
- Bacon
- Cheddar Cheese
- Eggs
- Ice cream
- Cereal
- Almond milk
- Bread
- Cinnamon
- Tofu
- Orange Juice
One way to use the method of loci on this list would be to simply use the places suggested by the nature of the list. If someone knew the grocery store very well, the method of loci could be used simply by spending some time visualizing how the trip would go. The shopper would first group items which are located in the same parts of the store together, for example moving Tofu to be near the fruit and vegetables because the plant based proteins are found in the produce section. Then, the shopper would carefully imagine the course they were going to take in the store, a section at a time, perhaps imagining each item to be purchased as lighting up with a colored halo. Finally, actually walking through the store would trigger memories of what needed to be purchased at each physical location in the store. A similar natural technique would be to imagine precisely where all the groceries would go in the refrigerator and cabinets after the shopping trip, and then fill in the refrigerator and cabinets in one's mind while shopping, completing the mental picture while gathering physical goods.
A more classical technique would be to imagine a physical place, perhaps the shopper's living room. As the shopper looks around their own living room, they would mentally place the items to be purchased throughout the room. Perhaps the bananas become perched on the television, and the orange juice reclines upon the couch. Then, at the store, the shopper simply visualizes their living room, and mentally imagines themselves walking through it and seeing the items in order to recall the list.
A third way to remember information with the method of loci incorporates a bit of narrative. The user imagines a vibrant location with lots of unforgettable objects which serve as hints or triggers to recall the items in a list, creating a slightly absurd mental space with a narrative feel. A story unfolds in the mind as the user imagines moving through the space. This is particularly useful for more scholastic and abstract topics, such as memorizing a string of numbers. This is also an excellent technique for memorizing something like the periodic table or medication lists.
The first 15 digits of pi are 3.14159265358979.
If someone is trying to recall the digits of pi they might imagine a home, with a number 314 as the house number. On the door might be a wreath which belonged to the person's grandfather, who died at age 59. Upon imagining opening the door, there might be a two welcome mats (since the next number is two). Hanging next to the matt is a picture of a fishing boat, since this person looks forward to turning 65 and being able to retire to fish full time. There are also three pegs for hanging coats, and someone has dropped a five cent nickel on the ground under the pegs. The user imagines bending over to pick up the nickel, and notices crumbs from a snack the cat carried over and ate (ate = eight). Speaking of the cat, she is lying near the doorway, enjoying her nine lives. She purrs, sounding like she is in heaven (heaven rhymes with seven). The person engaging in this technique then imagines that they hear their son running to welcome them home. He is nine.
The problem with all these methods is that each location in the mental image is light on information. There's really only one piece of information at each spot. The way to remedy the problem is with the fourth way of using the method of loci, which is to use a technique that allows for information dense chunks to occupy each node of the memory palace. For numbers, one could use the counting method, whereby the number of letters in a word equals the number which the word is meant to stand for. So 'I like apple juice' is equal to the number 1455. To combine with the method of loci, one would place a glass of orange juice in their imaginary space and associate this phrase with the juice.
One could also use a visualized grouping mechanism to group semantic information together in an imagined physical space. Mentally placing items to be purchased in a grocery store in their correct department is a method of loci example from real life. The key is to create compartments within the memory palace in which whole new sets of nodes can be lodged. These could be doors leading to other rooms, or small fairy houses, or even imagined books. For example, if someone was memorizing the periodic table, they might have one memory palace where each element is laid out in the correct order with objects to represent them. But then each object would be able to be opened to reveal a new memory palace filled with specific information such as atomic mass, electron configuration, symbol and common uses in industry. Perhaps the user imagines a large kitchen with many cabinets, each with a carved wooden item on the front which symbolizes an element. The cabinets would be arranged among separate walls and as part of separate islands in order to denote period and group. When the cabinet is opened, there are a variety of objects inside arranged to convey information about the element.
For example, the cabinet for potassium would have a banana on the front, and would contain something which brings to mind a counting method phrase to symbolize 39.0983 Da (the atomic mass of potassium). To denote the decimal place, we have two items slightly separated. The first is a framed funny picture of two bananas being married. 'The newlyweds' stands for 39. Then a tabloid magazine next to the picture features a cover story with two celebrities in wedding outfits crying on the ground. The phrase to go with this cover is 'buzzworthy newlyweds collapse sad' (10 stands for zero in this system). By memorizing the bizarre contents of this imagined shelf, an individual can memorize complicated numbers like atomic mass relatively easily.
Loci Strategy and Technique
Anyone can use the method of loci, from competitive Guinness world-record holders to everyday shoppers. To use the method, keep these tips in mind:
- Use places that are well known from one's physical experience when possible, to tie the semantic to the concrete in the mind's eye. One's own body can work as well- one memory athlete used parts of his own body to memorize a dictionary.
- Alternately, get to know a space that hasn't been encountered in person. U.S. memory champion Scott Hagwood memorizes the floor plans and details of luxury homes.
- Sometimes, like in the periodic table example above, a completely imaginary place will do just fine. Add lots of sensory details- smells, textures, narrative elements, shades of color and detailed decorations.
- When placing content, use absurdity. The more ridiculous an image seems to you the easier it will be to remember.
- Add emotional salience. If an item can remind you of a loved one, a personal tragedy or an experience of joy then this item will be easier to remember.
- Walk through the space in your mind's eye. Sit down in a quiet place and practice exploring your memory palace.
- Connect different memory palaces as much as possible, with imagined physical connections. Perhaps a bridge leads from a kitchen containing knowledge of the periodic table to a childhood home containing chemistry formulas. The more connections, the better for memory.
 |
Loci Method and Memory
The method of loci can be demonstrated to help improve academic performance. For example, in one trial, medical students at Rawal Medical College in Islamabad, Pakistan were given instruction in the method of loci, and others were not. The students who had been trained in the method obtained significant improvement in their retention of endocrinology information over the students who did not learn the technique.
There are not many controlled trials on this technique, and those that do exist are suspected to be of low quality and tainted by bias. Still, a meta analysis of the thirteen existing trials in 2021 found that there does seem to be some significant improvement in academic performance associated with learning this technique. One does not need to be of above average intelligence to benefit academically from this technique.
Some memory competitors think there may be general mental health benefits to practicing this method. Perhaps the brain can benefit from exercise just like the body, and the method of loci is like weight lifting for a human brain? Researchers at Stanford have found that training in this method both increases the ability to perform memory tasks, but also improves the health of the brain on some objective measures. Study participants practiced the method, and then were scanned with fMRI machines. Practice with the method was found to have increased connections in areas relating to attention and memory. This suggests that through use of the loci method memory can be improved.
There may, however, be limits to how effective this technique can be in helping brain function. At this point, evidence does not support using the method as a clinical intervention for brain disorders. In order to use the method, someone must already have good episodic memory and the ability to sustain intense attention. Therefore a feasibility study has found that the method is not promising for conditions like schizophrenia which damage these basic prerequisites.
Lesson Summary
The method of loci is a mnemonic device, a trick used to help store and retrieve information. To use the technique, someone imagines a physical location, then places objects in that mental space which correspond to the things which must be remembered. Since a mental building is often used, the technique is sometimes referred to as building a memory palace. The technique can be enhanced to hold more information at each imagined location in the memory palace using techniques such as the counting method, where each word in a phrase stands for a number based on the length of the word.
Visualization
To use the Method of Loci, you simply need to visualize a location through which you can take an imaginary walk. If you are memorizing a speech, it is helpful for the location to have a beginning, middle, and an end, perhaps similar to a route you have memorized on your way to work. You will 'store' parts of what you need to memorize throughout each space of the location you have chosen.
If you are using your work route as an example for a walk-through, you might mentally store the introduction of your speech in the mailbox near your front door, symbolizing the beginning of your speech. Continue throughout your imaginary walk, and in each new location, mentally store another element from your speech until you have completed your mental walk and reached the end of your speech.
The Method of Loci can help with memorizing lists, scripts, and important speeches. It is important to stress that mental imagery leads to the effectiveness of the Method of Loci. Creating a vivid mental picture helps the mnemonic become clear and solid in your mind. Rehearsing the association between the location and the material that needs to be memorized also adds to the mnemonic's effectiveness.
Memory Experts Use the Method of Loci
Memory experts sometimes refer to the Method of Loci as the 'Memory Palace.' Instead of taking a mental walk through a specific route, they visualize items to be memorized in different imaginary rooms in their palace. World record holders in memory competitions often indicate that an intellectually average person can learn and use these techniques. Individuals with ordinary memories are capable of winning world records just by learning and applying mnemonic devices such as the Method of Loci.
Are you ready to attempt the Method of Loci and become a memorization expert? Imagine you need to memorize a grocery list, and you decide to use the Method of Loci. Here is your list:
- Eggs
- Bread
- Milk
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Yogurt
- Carrots
- Limes
- Taco shells
Use a mental image of walking through your home to help you memorize the list. Be sure to make the imagery vivid. In fact, the more bizarre the image, the more likely you are to remember the association. Take the time to fully see the image in your mind. Here's an example:
You step in your front door and are bombarded with eggs. Eggs are flying at you from all directions. You move into your den only to find you have to push yourself through a giant loaf of bread that takes up the entire room. You have to cut your way through the loaf to make it to the kitchen of your house. Once in the kitchen, you see milk is pouring out of the sink without stopping.
You quickly move into the living room and you find the couch has been covered in shredded cheddar cheese. The cheese is piled up in heaps across the couch. You walk to the bathroom and find the tub is overflowing with yogurt. Moving into the spare bedroom, you notice a giant carrot tucked into the bed. In the master bedroom, you open your dresser drawer and limes spill everywhere. Finally, you make it to the master bedroom and step all over crunchy taco shells on the floor.
Once you have visualized each item on the list in the specific location in your house, you should be able to recall each item by simply walking through the space mentally. Test yourself. Do you remember all ten items on the list by visualizing a walk through your home? If you do, you are on the right track to becoming a memory expert using the Method of Loci.
Lesson Summary
Ancient Greek and Roman orators are often attributed for using the Method of Loci to memorize speeches. The Method of Loci is an effective mnemonic device, or a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval. The effectiveness of the Method of Loci relies on visualizing mental images to associate with the material that needs to be remembered. The more vivid the visual, the more effective the method. World record holders in memory competitions often indicate that an intellectually average person can learn and use these techniques. Individuals with ordinary memories are capable of winning world records just by learning and applying mnemonic devices such as the Method of Loci.
The Two Main Terms
 |
- Mnemonic device: a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval
- Method of Loci: relies on visualizing mental images to associate with the material that needs to be remembered
Learning Outcomes
Memorization of all of this material will assist you in accomplishing the following goals:
- Display your understanding of the Method of Loci
- Indicate the meaning of a mnemonic device
- Discuss the role of visualization in the Method of Loci
- Complete a memorization exercise
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Video Transcript
Definition of the Method of Loci
Imagine you must give an important speech in front of your college communications class for your final exam. No matter how many times you rehearse the speech, you know you will not be able to memorize every part of it. You don't want to accidentally leave out any necessary details, but you want to impress your audience by not relying on note cards for help. What can you do?
Ancient Greek and Roman orators are often attributed for using the Method of Loci to memorize speeches. The Method of Loci is an effective mnemonic device, or a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval. The effectiveness of the Method of Loci relies on visualizing mental images to associate with the material that needs to be remembered. The more vivid the visual, the more effective the method.
Visualization
To use the Method of Loci, you simply need to visualize a location through which you can take an imaginary walk. If you are memorizing a speech, it is helpful for the location to have a beginning, middle, and an end, perhaps similar to a route you have memorized on your way to work. You will 'store' parts of what you need to memorize throughout each space of the location you have chosen.
If you are using your work route as an example for a walk-through, you might mentally store the introduction of your speech in the mailbox near your front door, symbolizing the beginning of your speech. Continue throughout your imaginary walk, and in each new location, mentally store another element from your speech until you have completed your mental walk and reached the end of your speech.
The Method of Loci can help with memorizing lists, scripts, and important speeches. It is important to stress that mental imagery leads to the effectiveness of the Method of Loci. Creating a vivid mental picture helps the mnemonic become clear and solid in your mind. Rehearsing the association between the location and the material that needs to be memorized also adds to the mnemonic's effectiveness.
Memory Experts Use the Method of Loci
Memory experts sometimes refer to the Method of Loci as the 'Memory Palace.' Instead of taking a mental walk through a specific route, they visualize items to be memorized in different imaginary rooms in their palace. World record holders in memory competitions often indicate that an intellectually average person can learn and use these techniques. Individuals with ordinary memories are capable of winning world records just by learning and applying mnemonic devices such as the Method of Loci.
Are you ready to attempt the Method of Loci and become a memorization expert? Imagine you need to memorize a grocery list, and you decide to use the Method of Loci. Here is your list:
- Eggs
- Bread
- Milk
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Yogurt
- Carrots
- Limes
- Taco shells
Use a mental image of walking through your home to help you memorize the list. Be sure to make the imagery vivid. In fact, the more bizarre the image, the more likely you are to remember the association. Take the time to fully see the image in your mind. Here's an example:
You step in your front door and are bombarded with eggs. Eggs are flying at you from all directions. You move into your den only to find you have to push yourself through a giant loaf of bread that takes up the entire room. You have to cut your way through the loaf to make it to the kitchen of your house. Once in the kitchen, you see milk is pouring out of the sink without stopping.
You quickly move into the living room and you find the couch has been covered in shredded cheddar cheese. The cheese is piled up in heaps across the couch. You walk to the bathroom and find the tub is overflowing with yogurt. Moving into the spare bedroom, you notice a giant carrot tucked into the bed. In the master bedroom, you open your dresser drawer and limes spill everywhere. Finally, you make it to the master bedroom and step all over crunchy taco shells on the floor.
Once you have visualized each item on the list in the specific location in your house, you should be able to recall each item by simply walking through the space mentally. Test yourself. Do you remember all ten items on the list by visualizing a walk through your home? If you do, you are on the right track to becoming a memory expert using the Method of Loci.
Lesson Summary
Ancient Greek and Roman orators are often attributed for using the Method of Loci to memorize speeches. The Method of Loci is an effective mnemonic device, or a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval. The effectiveness of the Method of Loci relies on visualizing mental images to associate with the material that needs to be remembered. The more vivid the visual, the more effective the method. World record holders in memory competitions often indicate that an intellectually average person can learn and use these techniques. Individuals with ordinary memories are capable of winning world records just by learning and applying mnemonic devices such as the Method of Loci.
The Two Main Terms
|
- Mnemonic device: a trick to aid in memory storage and retrieval
- Method of Loci: relies on visualizing mental images to associate with the material that needs to be remembered
Learning Outcomes
Memorization of all of this material will assist you in accomplishing the following goals:
- Display your understanding of the Method of Loci
- Indicate the meaning of a mnemonic device
- Discuss the role of visualization in the Method of Loci
- Complete a memorization exercise
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the method of loci example?
An example of the method of loci would be memorizing a series of words and mentally associating each one with one part of the body. If a word was 'apple,' someone using this technique might envision an apple in their hand. Another word might be 'giraffe' and the user would imagine a giraffe sitting on their foot. Then, by simply going through each of their body parts in order the user would be able to retrieve all of the words.
Who made the method of loci?
Cicero attributed the method to Simonides the ancient Greek poet. A story was told about Simonides that he attended a banquet where the roof caved in, killing everyone. Simonides was able to remember the names of all the guests and identify the bodies because he had associated the names with their seats at the dinner party.
Is the method of loci A mnemonic?
The method of loci is a mnemonic device. A mnemonic device is a trick used to memorize information and recall stored information.
How do you use loci method?
To use the method of loci, imagine a place which can be envisioned in detail, such as a primary residence or childhood home. Then, mentally place objects throughout the location which remind you of the things to be remembered. By walking through the location in the mind's eye the items can then be recalled.
Register to view this lesson
Are you a student or a teacher?
Unlock Your Education
See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com
Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a MemberAlready a member? Log In
BackMethod of Loci Strategy & Examples | What is the Method of Loci?
Related Study Materials
Explore our library of over 84,000 lessons
Browse by subject