10/2/2016

My 25 memory experiments Lynne Kelly

Lynne Kelly
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My 25 memory experiments
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My 25 memory experiments
TheNavajomemoriseover700insectstothreelevelsofclassification,alongwithalltheircharacteristics.Andthatsjustinsects!

Allnonliterateculturesmemoriseahugeamountofinformationbeyondthespiritualandhistoricusuallytheonlytopicsreferredto
whentalkingaboutoraltradition.Myinterestisinthevaststoreofpracticalinformation:animalandplantclassifications,uses,
propertiesthousandsofthem.Navigationacrossvastareaswithoutcharts,complexgenealogies,astronomy,timekeeping,
geology,landmanagement,resourcelocationsandrights,animalhusbandry,farmingpractices,laws,ethicsitgoesonandon.
Howonearthdotheyremembersomuchstuff?Theirverysurvivaldependsonit.
Theyusesong,dance,stories,mythologyandcombineallthemethodsintoanintricateknowledgesystem.Andtheyuseavastarray
ofphysicalmemoryaids.
Inordertobetterunderstandthememorymethodsusedbynonliteratecultures,Ihaveinstigated25experimentsusingdevices
whichmimicthetopologiesIhavefoundinindigenousmemorysystems.Iamastoundedhoweffectivetheseare.Itisalsogivingme
insightintothedifferentwaymymemoryworkswhenIusethesemethods.Theyintegrate,mishandmashtogetherandfeedeach
other.Mythinkingbecomesmoredependentonimagesandemotionsandlessonwords.Itisweirdandwonderfulandcloseto
impossibletodescribeinwriting.
Iamalsotryingtomimicthegenresofknowledgevaluedbyindigenouscultures,buttranslatethemintomycontemporaryworld.It
isessentialIstoreinformationwhichIvalue.Itisthevalueplacedontheknowledgestoredwhichjustifiedthehugeexpenditureof
effortrequiredtocreateandusethememorypalacesoforalculturesaroundtheworld,includingtheprehistoricmemorylocations,
suchasthestoneandtimbercirclesoftheBritishNeolithicandtheancientmoundmonumentsalongtheMississippi.
Afterafewyearsofworknow,thebankofexperimentsisgettinghugeandcomplicated.BeforeIdidthis,Ireallyhadntgrasped
thecomplexityandintegratednatureofthemnemonictechnologiesofindigenouscultures.Theyallusedarangeoftechnologies
constantly.Iamnowdoingthataswell.Icannevermatchknowledgesystemsbasedonhundreds,ifnotthousands,ofyearsof
refinement,butIcangraspthetotallydifferentwaysofthinkingandknowingthesedevicesofferme.AndIamhavingsuchfunwith
it!
Iusethetermjourneybecausethatisthetermusedbyeighttimeworldmemorychampion,DominicOBrien,anditbestdescribes
exactlywhatitfeelslike.

Largememory spaces
Theartofmemoryormethodoflociisthemosteffectivememorymethodeverdevised,whichiswhyitcanbefoundinoneform
oranotherineverynonliterateandpreliterateculture.Themassivememoryspacesusedbyindigenousandpreliteratecultures

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arethelandscape,streetscapes,buildingsandtheskies.
Ihavesetup4journeysthatismemorypathswhereIwalkthroughaphysicalspaceinwhicheachlocationhasbeenencoded
withsomepieceofknowledge.Bywalkingthejourneyinmymind,Icanlistalllocationsandthenrecalltheinformation,starting
anywhere,thenmovingbackwardsorforwards.
1.Countriesoftheworldjourneyinpopulationorderin242locations.
ThelocationsstartwithChina.BythetimeIreachPitcairnIslands,Ihavewalkedaroundmygardenandhouse(120countries)and
thendowntothelocalshopsandhome,aboutakilometre.Withthecountriesinpopulationorder,Icanestimatethepopulationof
anycountryintheworld.Iamaddingcapitals,politics,wars,people,geographyandanythingonthenews.Thethemeisinfinitely
expandable.
Relatedpost:
Memorisingtheperiodictable
2.Prehistoryjourneyfrom4,500millionyearsagountil3000yearsago.
Walkingfromthefrontgatearoundtheblock,Iwalkthroughtime,pastthefirstplants,thefirstmicrofauna,nodhellotothe
dinosaurs,earlyhominids,modernhumans,andseethemspreadacrosstheworld.Usinggeologicalandarchaeologicaleras,the
cretaceousandholocene,oligocene,upperpaleolithicareinallplace.
3.Historyjourneyfrom3000yearsago,thatis1000BCuntil1900.
Walkingadifferentandratherlargeblock,neatlydividedinto25yearsegments,IcanseethatGreatZimbabwewasflourishing
whenKingJohnwasinEngland,nodtoAugustineandAlexandertheGreatasIpass,seetheRomanEmpiresplitandwatchtwo
parallelpathsIaddtothisjourneyalmostdaily.BythetimeIgethome,VictoriaisontheBritishthrone,Keynesisoffandrunning
andIamreadyforthe20thCentury.Icouldspeakforhoursonhistorywithoutanynotesnoranypreparation.Ihaveover500
eventsandpeopleinplace.Iaddmorelocationsandgreaterdepthtoeachitemconstantly.
Relatedpost:
Memorisingandunderstandinghistory
4.20thCenturyjourney1900untilthisyear.
Thisjourneyisaroundthegardenandhouse,overlappingwiththecountries.Eachlocationisoneyear.Theoverlapdoesntmatter.
Thestoriesgetallmixeduplocation5hasEinsteinstheoryofrelativityallmixedupwithBrazil,butanyinformationIwantto
withdrawcomesoutfine.
5.Kalimnasonglinenaturalhistoryandaterrestrialcalendar
IhavecreatedasonglineascloseasIcantomyunderstandingofindigenoussingingtracks.ThroughthisIamtryingtounderstand
moreaboutthewayknowledgeworksintherealityoftheAustralianbush.IamusingawalkingtrackinKalimnaParknearhome.I
walkthetrackandhaveaseriesoflocationsalongthetrackasmysacredsites.Iamincorporatingsongsandstoriesfromsomeof
theknowledgesystemsabove,especiallybirds,mammalsandtrees.Iamusingshortsongsforotheranimals,geologyandother
plantgroups.
Critically,Iamusingaweeklywalkofmysonglinetocreateanannualcalendar.Iwanttogetclosertotheinteractionofallthe
elementsofthenaturalworld.Iamusingtheseasonalfloweringoftheplants,arrivalofmigratorybirdsandasmanyotherfeatures
asIcantocreateacalendarlinkedentirelytoterrestrialevents,asmanymobileculturesdo.
IammodellingmythinkingofthesonglinesonquotesofAustralianAboriginalsandtheirsonglines.Forexample,fromthe
RrumburriyiTigerSharkskujikaoftheYanyuwapeople:
WesingthisspringwatersthereinthenorthandwecomeashoreatYulbarra.WecomeashoreandwesingthepeopleatYulbarra.

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Wesingthepaperbarksswampandthenonwardsandnorthwardswesingthemessmatetreesandthenweclimbupontothestone
ridgecountryandwesingthecabbagepalms,andthenwecometothatplacecalledRruwaliyarraandwearesingingtheblue
tonguedlizardsandthenthespottednightjar,thequollandthedeathadder,andwesingthatoneremainsalonetherockwallaby
wearesingingher,andthenwesingthemessmatetrees.
Source:Singingsaltwatercountry:journeytothesonglinesofCarpentaria,JohnBradley,Allen&Unwin,2010,pp.812.
Ascanbeseen,eachofthesejourneyscanneverbecompletedthereisaninfiniteamountofknowledgewhichcouldbeencoded
intothem.Thejourneysjustgetricherandricher.Oncethedatabasestructurethesetofinitiallocationsisinplace,datacanbe
addedwithease.Ijustaddtothestoriesandbizarreimagesinmyheadandmoreinformationisstored.Ihavewelloverathousand
locationsinplacenow.
UntilIhadtriedthismethod,Iwouldneverhavethoughtthiswaspossible.NowfamilyandfriendsassumethatIcanputanymajor
eventintime,oranycountryinplace,andthetwointerweavebeautifully.
6.Skyscapeshistoryofphysics
Indigenousculturesuniversallyusethestars,constellationsandmovements,alongwiththeplanetsandsunasskyscapestotell
storieswhichencodeknowledge.Literateculturesdoaswellcreatingcharactersoutofimaginedshapeswhengroupsofstarsare
linkedbyimaginarynames.Iamusingtheconstellationstoencodethestoryofphysics.Alongwaytogoonthisone.
7.Stonerowinfluentialbooks
Iusedasequenceof35largeedgingstonesinmygarden,linkingthemtobooksthathavehadamajorinfluenceonmythinkingand
mypersonalphilosophy.OnestonerepresentsCharlesDarwinandevolution,anotherisaboutchaostheoryandtheimpactJames
GleickswordshadonmewhenfirstIreadhisfamousbookonthesubject.Afewstonesrepresentgreatnovelists.Lookingbackas
anelder,IrealisedthatIcouldtalkabouttheimpactbuthadforgottenmostofthecontentoftheseinfluentialwritings.Usingthe
naturalstonesasmemoryspaces,Isoonfoundthatthehugevarietyofindentationsandcrevices,bumpsandlichenonthesurface
formedpatterns,andworkedwonderfullyasmemoryspaces.
8.Postsandpolesmammals
Giventheprevalenceofcarvedanddecoratepostsandpolesinnonliteratecultures,IfiguredIhadbetterincludeone.Iamusing
thepostonthecornerofmystudioverandah.IambasingitontotempoleswhichtoldofRavenortheLooninNorthWestCoast
NativeAmericanandCanadianFirstNationspeople.Ihaveencodedthe139speciesofVictorianmammalsinfamiliesandwith
scientificnamesintaxonomicorder.Theyaresequenceddownthepolebyfamily.Ofcourse,nowthatthestructureisinplaceIcan
addidentification,distributionandbehaviour.Thesexlivesofantechinusareparticularlywild.

Portablememory spaces
Portablememorydevicesarejusttinyversionsoftheconceptofmemoryspacesembeddedinthelandscapeorskies.Examples
includetheAustralianchuringa/tjuringa,theAfricanlukasa,theNativeAmericansongboards,theOjibwaybirchbarkscrolls,winter
counts,somehighlydecoratedpagesofmedievalmanuscriptsandsomanymore.Anobjectcoveredinapparentlyenigmaticmotifs
canbeapowerfulmemorydevice.Hardtobelieve?Impossibleuntilyoutryit.Iuseavarietyportablememorydevices,all
designedtoimitateindigenousmethods.
Amazingly,onceyouhaveusedthedeviceforawhile,youdontneeditphysicallypresenttobeabletorecallalltheinformation.But
thephysicalformremainsveryprecious.
9.WintercountTwentiethCenturyHistory

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Iuseaninscribedleatherscroll,basedontheformoftheNativeAmericanwintercountscreatedonhide.Thishasasingleimagefor
eachyear,startingat1900.Thisoverlapswiththe20thCenturyjourney.Ihavebuiltinredundancy,asdooraltraditions.Itisweird
thewaymybrainoscillatesbetweenthetwo,usingwhicheverseemstosuitbestatagivenmoment.
10.Standardcarddeck52Ancestors

Theworldmemorychampionsmemoriseshuffledcarddecksbygivingacharactertoeachoneandcreatingstories.Myancestorsare
inchronologicalorder.IstartwithHomerandgotoOliverCromwell,tobefollowedbytheTarotAncestorsbelow.Iconsiderthe
methodtobeingakintothestoriestoldbyindigenousculturesofthepantheonofmythologicalcharacters.Iuseanolddeckofcards
becauseIalsousethemformymagicroutinesitsuitsmyperformancestyle.Somuchfuntobehadinthisworld!
Havinggivenhistoricalcharacterstoeachcardinmydeck,Iamusingthemtomemorisetheirroles,expandingtothehistorical
events,contemporariesandthecontextoftheirlives.Theyarememoryhooksforfarmorethanjusttheirlives.Thishasgonevery
wellandIamnowextremelyinterestedinthesepeople.Havingahookenablesmetoremembermoreaboutthemthanbefore.It
nowoverlapswithHistoryJourneyandCountries.Butitisnotconfusing,justeachmnemonicdeviceaidingtheother.
SeealsoMy130Ancestorsblog
11.Tarotdeckanother78Ancestors

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The78cardsofatarotdeckareheavilyillustrated,lendingthemselvestothecreationofstories.Ihaveencodedanother78
historicalcharacters,fromBlaisePascaltoLinusTorvalds.Imnowaddingmorelayersofdatatothestructure.Thisdeckblendswith
mystandardcarddeckformymagicroutines.(Idontusemytarotdeckfortarot,exceptwhenIdecidetodoreadingsusingcold
reading.ButthatsanotherwholestoryseeTheSkepticsGuidetotheParanormal.)
SeealsoMy130Ancestorsblog
12.TarotDeckArchaeology
Iamalsousingmygorgeousmedievaltarotdecktomemoriseabasiccourseinprehistoricarchaeologywithdetailsof78Neolithic
andArchaicsitesaroundtheworld,withsomereferencetotheerasbeforeandafterthetransitiontofarming.Thesitesareencoded
tothecardsinchronologicalordersoalsofitwithPrehistorywalk.Playingwiththedetailsofthesitesinthisway,hasreallymade
meseethesimilaritiesIamlookingforandthedifferenceswhichmakeeachsiteunique.
Twodifferentgenresofinformationontheonedeviceancestorsandarchaeologyonthetarotcards?Thefirstcrossreferencesto
HistoryWalk,thelattertoPrehistoryandHistory,andbothtoCountries.Noproblem.Itisneverconfusing.Butitisalmost
impossibletodescribewhatishappeninginmyheadastheinformationpoursinfromdifferentmemoryspaces.Itissuchadifferent,
vivid,livelyandreliablewayofknowing.
13.MemoryboardbasedontheAfricanLubalukasaVictorianbirds
Mylukasaisapieceofwoodwithbeadsandshellsgluedon.Ihaveencodedthe82birdfamiliesofVictoria,andintothemthe408
birdsintaxonomicorder.Iamclosetobeingawalkingfieldguide.MypreciousmemoryboardissofamiliarthatIcanlistofthe
familiesandalltheirbirdsinorderwithoutactuallyhavingtheboardinmyhand.Withitthere,itsabreeze.Iamaddinglayerupon
layerofinformationidentification,behaviour,distribution,personalstoriesIamonlyconfidentofcallingabirdwhenIhavean
exhaustivelisttocheckagainstanditsallinmyhead.Andthecharactersmorphinmyimaginationfromthehumansinthestories
tothebirdstheyrepresent.TheymaybemorehumanifIamthinkingaboutthestory,manyofwhichhaveethicalthemeswithout
meplanningitthatway.ThebirdsaremorebirdlikewhenIaminthefield.Boththesetraitsethicalthemesandhuman/animal
morphsarewidespreadinindigenousstories,anditisjusthappeningnaturallyasIaddinformation.

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Relatedpost:
Memorisingbirds
14.KnottedstringsIncakhipuHistoryofArt

Mykhipuisacrossthebackofasofa.IhavestructuredtheknowledgeIwanttoencode,butmanyofthestringsarentyet
knotted.IamsureIncakhipuwereknottedaccordingtotheinformationtheyweretoencode.AlthoughthisisbasedontheInca
khipu/quipu,otherculturesalsousedknottedstringsinvariousforms.IexpectedmykhiputogetterriblytangledwheneverItriedto
useit,butitdoesnt.IamamazedhowmuchIlearnedjuststructuringthestoryofartandtherepresentationalartists.ThisoneI
amstartingfromaknowledgebaseclosetozero.Howembarrassing!
Thisisthemostadaptableoftheportabledevices.IthelpedtheIncaruleahugeEmpire.NowIunderstandwhy.
15.Memoryboardshortsongs,variousthemes

Ialsowanttoincludeshortsongsaboutthingswhichdontfitinthebigcategoriesabove.Iamtryingtoimitatesomeaspectsof
indigenousknowledgewhereasinglesongstandsalone.Theonlyreference,theonlywayitissequenced,willbethesongboard
itself.
16.MemoryboardVictorianTrees
Plantsareamajorknowledgegenreinallcultures,soIcantleavethemout.Iamencodingthenativetreesofmystate,Victoria,
howtoidentifythemthenanythingIcanfindoutabouttheirusebyIndigenousAustralians.Inparticular,theeucalypts(gums,
boxes,peppermints,ashesandmallees),teatrees,paperbarks,wattles,banksias,shearsandcypresspines.IlladdmoreplantsifI
livelongenough!
17.Songboardmyceremonialcycle
ThefinalsongboardistoensureIsingallthesongsregularlyoneoftherolesoftheceremonialcycleofindigenouscultures.
Withinmanyofthelargercategoriesabove,Ihaveaddedsongstogivefurtherinformation.Forexample,fortheCountriesJourney,I
walkthroughthecountriesinpopulationorder.Iamalsosingingthecontinentsandregions.IhaveanAfricansongwhichgoes
aroundthecontinentandislandsclockwise.Itincludesthecapitals.IamaddingfurthersongsfortheBalkans,Caribbeanandsoon.

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Isingthefamilynamesofthebirdsonthelukasa.Iwanttousetheceremonialsongboardtoguidemetosingeachofthesongsin
turntoensureIlosenoneofthem.
18.Medicinebag
WestAfricanMendehealingspecialistscarryabagofstones,eachrepresentingaparticularillness,andwhicharemanipulatedasthe
elderasksthepatientquestionstoleadtothediagnosisandtreatment.Ihaveexperimentedwithamedicinebagandaddtoitan
objectrepresentingeachdiseaseasIlearnaboutit,astoneforkidneystones,atinydollforissuesofpregnancyandconception.I
amgroupingtheobjectsaccordingtosymptomswhichisenablingmetoseelinksbetweendifferentgenresofillness.Ihavefoundit
ahighlyeffectivemethod,butstillhavealongwaytogo.

19.GenealogystavesEuropeanRoyalfamilygenealogy,Chinesedynasties
GenealogystavesareusedinthePacificwidely,andinAfricaforlineardescentlines.AustralianAboriginalculturesdogenealogies
quitedifferently.ItallgetsverycomplexveryfastandIreallydontunderstandhowourAboriginalculturesmanagetomemoriseall
therelationshipssowellwithoutcharts.Iamplayingaroundwiththisonebutnotgotfaratall.Yet.
IhavechosentodotheEuropeanRoyalfamiliesinitially(withnoideaquitehowtodoalltherelationshipsbetweenthem.Ihave
chosenthisexperimentratherthanmyownfamilybecausedoingmyownfamilyoffersnothingtoreadersofthisblogormyother
writings,becausetheycantrelatetoit.Secondly,myownfamilyhistoryisrathershortongenerationsandinformationduetothe
treatmentofEuropeanJewsduringWWII.Tobehonest,Ireallydontwanttogothere.
UsingEuropeanroyalfamiliesalsoleadstolotsofcrosslinkswiththeCountryJourneyandHistoryJourney,andsomimics
indigenoussystems.IwillverysoonaddinChinesedynasties,Japaneserulersthewholeworld.IfonlyIhadafewlifetimesleft!
20.Palmastronomy

Iamconvincedthatpalmreadingaroseinthedimdistantnonliteratepastfromthemorepragmaticuseofpalmsasmobile
mnemonicdevices.Itwilltakealotmoreresearchtoarguemycase,though.Meanwhile,Iamencodingthescienceandhistoryof

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astronomytomypalmsandthebackofmyhands(whichIdidntknowverywellatall).Itisgoingwellandworksrathernicelywith
myskyscapes,historyjourney,countriesandancestordecks.Itreallyisntconfusing.Ipromiseyou.Andthemnemonicdeviceis
alwaysreadilyavailable.
21.PPOsPovertyPointObjectsGreekandRomangods
IaimtoencodethepantheonofGreekandRomangodstosixdistinctobjectsalongthelinesofmyinterpretationoftheuseof
PovertyPointObjectsintheLouisianamoundbuildingsiteIcoverinthebooks.Allcultureshavesupernaturalbeingsofsomekind,
soIvechosentheGreekandRomanversiontomemorise.Iimaginetheobjectsbeingarrangedindifferentcombinations,suchasis
knowntohavebeendonebytheYorubawiththe16cowriesorpinenuts,asintheexperimentbelow.Seedswereusedinvarious
combinationsasamnemonicdevicebytheIncatimekeepersaswell,soitistheuseofobjectsincombinationswhichisthebasisof
thisexperiment.WithsixPPOs,Icancreatefiftysimplecombinationsforthevariousgodsandtheirrelationships.Icanaddvarious
arrangementsifIneedmore.ThisisoneIshallplaywithtogetabetterunderstandingofusingarrangementsofobjectstoencode
thestoriesofsupernaturalbeings.
22.Sixteencowrieshellsdomesticates

Thisisanotherexperimentwitharrangementsofsmallobjects.Itwillimitatethe16cowriesmnemonicmethodoftheAfrican
Yoruba.Themythologicalbeingbroughtintoplaydependsonthenumberofcowriesfacingupinatossofthecowries.Onegenreof
informationretainedbythefarmingculturesisthemanagementofdomesticates,soIshalldothesame.Illcovermydomesticates
theplantsinthegarden,decorativeandvegetable.TheYorubamethodinvolves16mythologicalbeingsinhierarchicalorderthe
mythologicalbeingsinmycaserepresentingeachofthe16plantgroupsfromthegarden.Thesecondtossenableseachofthose
beingstobematchedwith16furtheroptionsgiving256combinations.[plustheoptionofallfacedownitgetscomplicated].I
havegiven16attributestoeachcategoryIwishtomemorise.Thesewillincludethehistoryofthespecies,plantingtime,flowering/
harvestingtime,propagation,cultivationneeds,pests,diseasesandallthevarieties.
23.Medievalbestiarynamesofpeople
Theincrediblemedievalilluminatedmanuscripts,andmuchoftheartwork,weredesignedtobememorised,notjustread.Allsorts
ofdeviceswereusedtocreatememoryspaces,includingalphabets,pagelayoutsandbooksaboutanimalsthebestiaries.Copying
thetechniquesfromtheMiddleAges,IammakingabestiarydesignedtohelpmeremembernamesofpeopleImeetsomethingI
amnotoriouslybadatdoing.Aninterestingexperiment,butalsoonewhichisenablingmetotryandbeartistic.Imlovingitbutthis
oneIwilltakeveryslowly.IhavejoinedtheCalligraphySocietyofVictoria.PictureswillappearherewhenIfinallyproduce
somethingIampleasedwith.Nobreathholding,please.
24.StringgamesAesopsfables
ManyculturesacrossthePacific,andtheInuit,usestringgamestotellstories.IwanttousethemtotellAesopsfables.Iamjust
startingthisone.Alongwaytogobutwonderfulfun.

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25Andfinallyephemeralmethods

Ihavegainedagreaterunderstandingofwhyindigenouspeoplemakeartworksonlytodiscardthemaftertheritual.Theactual
productionisaveryeffectivewayofencodingtheinformationinmemory.Iamdrawingmanyoftheitemsabovetohelp
memorise.AndthenIthrowawaymydrawings.Iuseephemeralmethodsformanyofthetopicsabove.
Seealso:Uluruasasetofmemorylocations

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