Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History

Written by Lynne Kelly. Published by Pegasus Books in 2019. 306 pages. Rating: 3.5/5.

Have you ever been introduced to somebody only to forget their name minutes later?  Have you ever walked into a room and asked: “Why the hell did I come in here?”  It’s odd what our minds chooses to keep or throw out. I’m like the proverbial goldfish, I have a terrible memory.

Early March I was browsing the new book section at the library and came across Memory Craft: Improve your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History by Lynne Kelly.  I finished it within a week!  Kelly is a science writer and researcher based in Australia.  Her research focuses on memory methods used by cultures who rely primarily on the oral tradition and mnemonic devices to record vast amounts of information.  Memory Craft was an informative read about how our memories work and the importance of having a keen mind.  Although I found the book to be slow at some points, there are many useful techniques within the book that make it a worthwhile read.

What It’s About?

Kelly starts the book off by explaining the rich history of memory and how it was a pillar of liberal education.  Memory techniques were taught in Roman schools by Cicero. Medieval European thinkers, such as St. Augustine, believed good memories were virtuous.  What happened to the importance of memory?

Memory Craft’s central argument is that we are worse off for neglecting our memories.  Through our phones we have an endless stream of information at our fingertips. But what good is that information if it isn’t in our head? Not much, Kelly would say. Memory allows us to make connections between seemingly unrelated topics more easily. We become more creative when we have actual knowledge within our heads.

Like muscles, our brains grow the more you exercise them.  Kelly provides over thirty memory techniques, ranging in practicality and purpose.  I found the method of loci, or memory palace, to be the best technique described.  It’s a method Cicero taught his students, but it’s not a technique unique to him; Kelly’s research found that people around the world have developed this technique on their own. 

I won’t get into the memory palaces much here, but Kelly defines them as, “A visualization of a trail of physical locations that are easy to remember in order” (Kelly 32).  You then use your imagination to walk through these locations to recall information.  It’s important that every fifth location be marked in some unique way, such as with a doorway or window (Kelly 33). 

I’ve created my own memory palace of my childhood home. I begin the trail in the front hall with markers such as a radiator, mirror, and coat rack. Then I snake through the first and second floors, going room to room until I end in the attic. In theory, I can store up to a hundred items in my memory palace. It’s a small feat when compared to professional memorizers Kelly describes; some memory athletes can recall thousands of items with their memory palaces!

There weren’t many things that I didn’t like with Memory Craft, those I found were matters of taste.  Some of the methods seemed impractical to me, such as the lukasa boards.  These boards act like physical memory palaces that you can create like an arts and craft project.  While I have no doubt they work, I just wonder why I would choose that over a mental memory palace?  Or write down the information instead of decorate a plank of wood?  However, even though I wouldn’t create a lukasa, I appreciate its inclusion in the book.  She does a wonderful job of describing each method and the history behind them.

Conclusion

Overall, Memory Craft was a good book and I recommend this book if you’d like to better your memory.  Kelly gets into the history, psychology, and science behind our memories and does so in a fairly entertaining way. There are plenty of methods to choose from that you could use in your everyday life. If you’re looking to improve something about yourself, why not your memory?