Master of Memory: Accelerated learning, education, memorization - MMem 0377: Using a “persona” to embody mnemonics

Episode Date: August 18, 2015

Jensen asks about using a “persona”, such as an imagined historical character, to store information and “teach” you in your imagination. Is this a recommended mnemonic technique? What do you want to learn? Leave your question at http://MasterOfMemory.com/. Music credit: Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet, 2nd movement, performed by the US Army Band.

Master of Memory 377. Welcome to Master of Memory. I'm Timothy, and I'm here to answer your accelerated learning questions every day and to inspire and empower you to learn anything you want to learn faster than ever. Jensen submitted a written question at masterofmemory.com slash question. Jensen says, my question is about personas, or rather combining information that you would find in a memory palace and embodying it in a single person. For example, if you're learning about Rome and its many conquerors, you might place some of the information in the form of Hannibal himself and ask him pointed questions about what you're trying to remember.

Or even just having someone like a famous artist, or simply one you admire, show you the drawing technique you're trying to remember. Or even just having someone, like a famous artist, or simply one you admire, show you the drawing technique you're trying to learn. I haven't been using this technique for very long, but it seems to be working well for me, especially since I'm a very visual learner and I learn a lot better from seeing something done. What's your opinion on this technique? Have you heard of it being used before?

And if so, do you have any advice for me? So Jensen, I haven't really heard this technique being used specifically the way that you're talking about, nor have I actually used it myself. Although it is similar to something I've heard about with people, for example, asking historical characters in their imagination for business advice and for life advice and so on. They just do it as sort of an exercise. But in specifically what you're describing, I see two advantages to this. The first one is shared with the one that I've seen before where people are asking for just life advice and for business advice

and things like that, like going up to, let's say, Elon Musk or somebody like that and asking him for business advice or asking him for life advice. I would ask him for business advice, not life advice, actually. And what you're doing is you're training yourself and imagining yourself in a certain way. You're imagining the learning topic or the thing that you're talking about as separate from your own head. You're putting it into somebody else.

And that way you can be less frustrated with yourself. So you're not trying to bounce ideas around in your own head. It's like putting them in a different place. This is similar to some meditation techniques where you're removing your mind and emotions from a piece of information. You're displaying it so you can actually look at it as if it's separate from your own head. Because if it's all in yourself, again, that can be stressful.

Imagine it as separate from yourself, and you can look at it more objectively and logically. The second advantage I see to this is that you're embodying a skill and a whole set of information, whatever it is that you're learning, in a personality so that you can remember that person and then remember what he's told you. If you ever have to think about that drawing technique, you've created a mnemonic. You've created something that you can think of that will help you to remember how it's done. The one danger in this, I think, is the same danger that presents itself in all mnemonics,

and that is if you misteach yourself, you've tied something wrong up into a personality, and it might be hard to correct it, because when you think of the topic and the personality, like if you think of Hannibal about those historical facts, you'll remember the information wrong, and you'll remember very strongly him saying something different. So you want to make sure that everything that you tie to this is correct, because it seems really authoritative for Hannibal to tell you something, and then what it ends up being wrong, it'll be a little bit frustrating. You'll have to correct that. But all in all, Jensen, this is an interesting topic. Again, I haven't tried it myself, but I'd love to hear more about how it's going for you. So just shoot me an email at timothyatmasterofmemory.com and keep me updated. For everyone listening,

what do you want to learn? The world's knowledge can be yours. Leave your learning request at masterofmemory.com slash question, and I'll talk to you again soon.