Here you will learn How to develop, train and use your memory
Page 15 of
22.
CHAPTER XIII.
HOW TO REMEMBER PLACES.
There is a great difference in the various degrees of development of "the sense
of locality" in different persons. But these differences may be traced directly
to the degree of memory of that particular phase or faculty of the mind, which
in turn depends upon the degree of attention, interest, and use which has been
bestowed upon the faculty in question. The authorities on phrenology define the
faculty of "locality as follows: "Cognizance of place; recollection of the looks
of places, roads, scenery, and the location of objects ; where on a page ideas
are to be found, and position generally; the geographical faculty; the desire to
see places, and have the ability to find them." Persons in whom this faculty is
developed to the highest degree seem to have an almost intuitive idea of
direction, place and position. They never get lost or "mixed up" regarding
direction or place. They remember the places they visit and their relation in
space to each other. Their minds are like maps upon which are engraved the
various roads, streets and objects of sight in every direction. When these
people think of China, Labrador, Terra del Fuego, Norway, Cape of Good Hope,
Thibet, or any other place, they seem to think of it in "this direction or that
direction" rather than as a vague place situated in a vague direction. Their
minds think "north, south, east or west" as the case may be when they consider a
given place. Shading down by degrees we find people at the other pole of the
faculty who seem to find it impossible to remember any direction, or locality or
relation in space. Such people are constantly losing themselves in their own
towns, and fear to trust themselves in a strange place. They have no sense of
direction, or place, and fail to recognize a street or scene which they have
visited recently, not to speak of those which they traveled over in time past.
Between these two poles or degrees there is a vast difference, and it is
difficult to realize that it is all a matter of use, interest and attention.
That it is but this may be proven by anyone who will take the trouble and pains
to develop the faculty and memory of locality within his mind. Many have done
this, and anyone else may do likewise if the proper methods be employed.
The secret of the development of the faculty and memory of place and locality is
akin to that mentioned in the preceding chapter, in connection with the
development of the memory for names. The first thing necessary is to develop an
interest in the subject. One should begin to "take notice" of the direction of
the streets or roads over which he travels; the landmarks; the turns of the
road; the natural objects along the way. He should study maps, until he awakens
a new interest in them, just as did the man who used the directory in order to
take an interest in names. He should procure a small geography and study
direction, distances, location, shape and form of countries, etc., not as a mere
mechanical thing but as a live subject of interest. If there were a large sum
of money awaiting your coming in certain sections of the globe, you would
manifest a decided interest in the direction, locality and position of those
places, and the best way to reach them. Before long you would be a veritable
reference book regarding those special places. Or, if your sweetheart were
waiting for you in some such place, you would do likewise. The whole thing lies
in the degree of '' want to'' regarding the matter. Desire awakens interest;
interest employs attention; and attention brings use, development and memory.
Therefore you must first want to develop the faculty of Localityand want to "
hard enough.'' The rest is a mere matter of detail. One of the first things to
do, after arousing an interest, is to carefully note the landmarks and relative
positions of the streets or roads over which you travel. So many people travel
along a new street or road in an absent-minded manner, taking no notice of the
lay of the land as they proceed. This is fatal to place-memory. You must take
notice of the thoroughfares and the things along the way. Pause at the cross
roads, or the street-corners and note the landmarks, and the general directions
and relative positions, until they are firmly imprinted on your mind. Begin to
see how many things you can remember regarding even a little exercise walk. And
when you have returned home, go over the trip in your mind, and see how much of
the direction and how many of the landmarks you are able to remember. Take out
your pencil, and endeavor to make a map of your route, giving the general
directions, and noting the street names, and principal objects of interest. Fix
the idea of "North" in your mind when starting, and keep your bearings by it
during your whole trip, and in your map making. You will be surprised how much
interest you will soon develop in this map-making. It will get to be quite a
game, and you will experience pleasure in your increasing proficiency in it.
When you go out for a walk, go in a round-about way, taking as many turns and
twists as possible, in order to exercise your faculty of locality and
directionbut always note carefully direction and general course, so that you may
reproduce it correctly on your map when you return. If you have a city map,
compare it with your own little map, and also re-trace your route, in
imagination, on the map. With a city map, or road-map, you may get lots of
amusement by re-traveling the route of your little journeys.
Always note the names of the various streets over which you travel, as well as
those which you cross during your walk. Note them down upon your map, and you
will find that you will develop a rapidly improving memory in this
directionbecause you have awakened interest and bestowed attention. Take a pride
in your map making. If you have a companion, endeavor to beat each other at
this gameboth traveling over the same route together, and then seeing which one
can remember the greatest number of details of the journey.
Akin to this, and supplementary to it, is the plan of selecting a route to be
traveled, on your city map, endeavoring to fix in your mind the general
directions, names of streets, turns, return journey, etc., before you start.
Begin by mapping out a short trip in this way, and then increase it every day.
After mapping out a trip, lay aside your map and travel it in person. If you
like, take along the map and puzzle out variations, from time to time. Get the
map habit in every possible variation and form, but do not depend upon the map
exclusively; but instead, endeavor to correlate the printed map with the mental
map that you are building in your brain.
If you are about to take a journey to a strange place, study your maps carefully
before you go, and exercise your memory in reproducing them with a pencil. Then
as you travel along, compare places with your map, and you will find that you
will take an entirely new interest in the tripit will begin by meaning something
to you. If about to visit a strange city, procure a map of it before starting,
and begin by noting the cardinal points of the compass, study the mapthe
directions of the principal streets and the relative positions of the principal
points of interest, buildings, etc. In this way you not only develop your memory
of places, and render yourself proof against being lost, but you also provide a
source of new and great interest in your visit.
The above suggestions are capable of the greatest expansion and variation on the
part of anyone who practices them. The whole thing depends upon the "taking
notice" and using the attention, and those things in turn depend upon the taking
of interest in the subject. If anyone will "wake up and take interest" in the
subject of locality and direction he may develop himself along the lines of
place-memory to an almost incredible degree, in a comparatively short time at
that. There is no other phase of memory that so quickly responds to use and
exercise as this one. We have in mind a lady who was notoriously deficient in
the memory of place, and was sure to lose herself a few blocks from her stopping
place, wherever she might be. She seemed absolutely devoid of the sense of
direction or locality and often lost herself in the hotel corridors,
notwithstanding the fact that she traveled all over the world, with her husband,
for years. The trouble undoubtedly arose from the fact that she depended
altogether upon her husband as a pilot, the couple being inseparable. Well, the
husband died, and the lady lost her pilot. Instead of giving up in despair, she
began to rise to the occasion-having no pilot, she had to pilot herself. And
she was forced to "wake up and take notice." She was compelled to travel for a
couple of years, in order to close up certain business matters of her
husband'sfor she was a good business woman in spite of her lack of development
along this one lineand in order to get around safely, she was forced to take an
interest in where she was going. Before the two years' travels were over, she
was as good a traveler as her husband had ever been, and was frequently called
upon as a guide by others in whose company she chanced to be. She explained it
by saying "Why, I don't know just how I did itI just had to, that's allI just
did it." Another example of a woman's'' because,'' you see. What this good lady
"just did," was accomplished by an instinctive following of the plan which we
have suggested to you. She "just had to" use maps and to "take notice." That is
the whole story.
So true are the principles underlying this method of developing the
place-memory, that one deficient in it, providing he will arouse intense
interest and will stick to it, may develop the faculty to such an extent that he
may almost rival the cat which "always came back," or the dog which "you
couldn't lose." The Indians, Arabs, Gypsies and other people of the plain,
forest, desert, and mountains, have this faculty so highly developed that it
seems almost like an extra sense. It is all this matter of "taking notice"
sharpened by continuous need, use and exercise, to a high degree. The mind will
respond to the need if the person like the lady, "just has to." The laws of
Attention and Association will work wonders when actively called into play by
Interest or need, followed by exercise and use. There is no magic in the
processjust " want to" and "keep at it," that's all. Do you want to hard
enoughhave you the determination to keep at it?
Our
featured links related to How to develop, train and use your memory
