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A
Think of the mental maps you use to find your way around the places
you live and work. Which way up do you picture towns and cities you know
well? Which details are highlighted, which ones blurred? Just as the map of
London used by passengers on the Underground is different from the one used
by drivers above ground, so your mental framework differs from that of
other people. We also use frameworks to organise more abstract information.
Many people say that they can visualise the position of key passages in
books or documents. Mention a point made by the author, and they can recall
and respond to it by picturing it in relation to other key points within
the larger framework they see in their mind’s eye. On a chaotic-looking
desk, it is often possible to see a mental picture of where the key pieces
of paper are and find a particular document in seconds.
B
We all have our own natural strategies for structuring information,
for altering and re-arranging it in our mind’s eye. You can take control of
your thinking by increasing your control of the mental frameworks you create.
Since Ancient Roman times, a specific framing technique has been used to
improve memory and boost clarity of thought. The concept is simple: you
design an empty framework, based on the shape of a building you know well,
and get used to moving around its rooms and hallways in your mind. Whenever
you have information to remember, you place it in this ‘virtual
storehouse’. Whatever it is you are learning – words, numbers, names, jobs,
ideas – you invent pictorial clues to represent each one. The mind prefers
images to abstract ideas, and can retain vast numbers of visual clues. Just
as advertisers bring concepts to life with key images, you highlight the
important points in a batch of information and assign each of them an
illustration.
C
Memory and place are closely linked. Have you ever walked upstairs, forgotten
what you went for, but remembered when you returned to where you were standing
when you first had the thought? When you are trying to learn new information,
it makes sense to use the mind’s natural tendencies. In your mind, you
return to the imaginary rooms in your ‘virtual storehouse’, and rediscover
the images you left there. Cicero, perhaps the greatest orator in history,
is reputed to have used this technique to recall complex legal arguments,
addressing the Roman Senate from memory for days on end. You can use it to
remember all the employees in your new workplace, the jobs you have to do
in a day, month or year, subject headings for a complex piece of work, or
the facts you need to have at your fingertips under pressurised
circumstances.
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D
The system of
combining images and ideas works so well because it involves ‘global
thinking’, bringing together the two ‘sides’ of your brain. The left side
governs logic, words, numbers, patterns and structured thought – the frameworks
you build – and the right side works on random thoughts, pictures,
daydreams – the memorable imagery you fill them with. The fearless,
imaginative creativity of the child combines with the patterning, prioritising,
structured thinking of the adult. The memory is activated with colours and
feelings, as you create weird, funny, exciting, surreal scenes; and the information
is kept under control by the organised frameworks you design. Imagination
is the key. You enter a new dimension, dealing with information in a form
that suits the way the mind works. In this accessible form, huge amounts of
data can be carried around with you. You never again have to search around
for an address book, diary or telephone number on a scrap of paper. Your
memory becomes a key part of your success, rather than the thing you curse
as the cause of your failure.
E
Bringing
information into the field of your imagination helps you to explore it in
greater depth and from different angles. Storing it in the frameworks of your
mind allows you to pick out key details but also to see the big picture.
You can use your trained memory to organise your life: to see the
day-to-day facts and figures, names, times and dates, but also to keep in
touch with your long-term goals. By understanding the way your mind works,
you can make yourself memorable to others. Give your thoughts a shape and
structure that can be grasped and others will remember what you have to
say. You can take your imaginative grasp of the world to a new level and,
by making the most of mental frames, you can put the information you need
at your disposal more readily.
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