Does Sherlock's mind palace actually work?

Answer 1

In short, yes!

In more detail: A 'mind' or 'memory' palace is a mnemonic aid that can be used by anyone. The basic idea is to take a place - your town, a cathedral, your house or even a place you've created - that you know very well and is very vivid. In order to remember things better (like random data such as abstract facts or phone numbers etc.) you put the things in a certain place, often somehow exaggerating them or making them pictorial. For example:

Mind palaces can be used to aid you in remembering long phrases or sentences. This is helpful in exams, revision classes, remembering lots of information, or simply memorising quotes. If you wished to remember a quote like "It is noted that the hippocampus underpins our ability to navigate, to form, and to recollect memories", you can follow the steps below: (This applies to all quotes and information)

1. Start in a place or room in your mind palace. It may be relevant or not. Example, you might start in a large old-fashioned study room or at your desk where lots of notes are being written. Exaggerate this so you'll remember it; maybe a large quill pen is scrawling the word 'notes' over and over again on a large piece of parchment.

2. Next, maybe you go into the bathroom, and see a large hippo. Maybe the word 'hippocampus' is painted on it, or maybe there is a small camp to the side of the bath. Abstract images are often very easy to recall, so be as inventive as you like.

3. You get the idea. In different rooms or areas you see images or words (or both) relating to what you are trying to memorise. When you get the hang of this you should be able to go back and walk around, remembering where you have left things. Through this you will be able to link other facts and phrases, or whatever you choose to leave in your mind palace.

Some people have several mind palaces for different things; some long-term, some short term. If you're referring to the new BBC Sherlock, you will know he 'deletes' information that is irrelevant. Some people have mind palaces specifically for this information; things that are not needed for long, like maybe shopping lists or mental to-do lists. Once they have finished with the information they mentally discard of it, or replace it with something else. This means that unhelpful information is disposed of.

The mind really is a fascinating complex system and once you get some practice you might find that mind palaces are run and very helpful in aiding your memory. There are millions of neural pathways in the brain, but they break very easily. Having a mnemonic aid (like a mind palace) will help you get to where you need to go and remember things more easily. It's like having a back-up. Can't remember where you left your keys? To the mind palace!

I hope this helps. Good luck!

(You may wish to find the 'Method of Loci' page on Wikipedia, which delves into this and where the quote above can be found under 'Spatial mnemonics and the hippocampus.')

One addendum, the concept of a mind palace as a memory device dates back to Socrates, and is not Mr. Moffit's original idea.