Reddit reviews The Art of Memory

I've been working my way through the works of Frances Yates recently, since I'm especially interested in her unique approach towards the occult traditions and their effect on prominent Renaissance figures and their ideas.

I'm currently reading The Art of Memory and one of the main themes that accompany the book is the notion of a forgotten body of knowledge/ability that was lost to humanity throughout the ages.

Do any of you have any similar examples of some kind of knowledge or ability humanity has lost from the past?, or maybe some of you have any thoughts on her works in general and can direct me to current researchers that expand her work in some way.

Hello! I majored in psychology in college (and loved it!), and here's what I've gleaned from my schooling as well as my own personal research:

• Cognitive science, more specifically cognitive psychology is a good field for understanding how that thing between your ears works. Pay special attention to the [Atkinson-Shiffrin model] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkinson%E2%80%93Shiffrin_memory_model#Summary), but understand that it's not completely accurate. It is, however, a useful place to start when learning the basics.
  
  
• You may benefit from learning the tricks associated with mnemonics, which have a rich and fascinating history. I recommend "The Art of Memory" by Francis A. Yates.
  
  
• Just for fun, check out memory sports! If you like what you see, check out this awesome book, Moonwalking with Einstein, which covers Josh Foer's journey from being a complete novice to the realm of memory sports to a champion.
  
  I hope that this helped!

You're right on. I'm starting by talking about memory palaces (also called "the method of the loci"), which are apparently first referenced in Rhetorica Ad Herenium a book attributed to Cicero. If you're interested in the Medieval revival of the memory palace arts, check out Frances Yates, especially her book The Art of Memory.

Matteo Ricci used the method of the loci to help Chinese students study for their imperial examinations. If you're interested in learning more about him, read Jonathan Spence's The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. Also, for something more contemporary, Jonathan Foer's book Moonwalking with Einstein discusses how memory palace techniques are still used to win memory competitions.

I've actually done a fair bit of research into this subject. If you want to read more about it, check out The Art of Memory, Yates 2001

1q2w3e94 has explained the process of constructing a memory house pretty well. In a world before printed words (forget the internet), people really needed to remember everything they knew. It really wasn't feasible to just look stuff up all the time.

The art of memory was largely used in the realm of public speaking, as a way for you to memorize long speeches with a series of bullet points or key ideas to keep you on track as you recited. 1q2w3e94's example might be useful if you needed to make a big speech on the attractions that should be included in this year's Spring Carnival or something.

Perhaps books like The Art of Memory, The Logic Of Failure, Prometheus Rising, Finite and Infinite Games could offer some new perspectives.

Edward De Bono's work on lateral thinking might also be of interest.