How Big Can A Single Memory Palace Be?

Joshua Foer, the author of the book Moonwalking with Einstein, once said, “When information goes ‘in one ear and out the other,’ it’s often because it doesn’t have anything to stick to.” As researchers learn more about the brain and how it stores information, the more frequently you’ll hear it referred to as a muscle. That’s because the brain creates neural networks or pathways to create memories to “stick.” Think about all the things you remember or that are on your list to remember. It’s a lot! This is especially so if you are a student trying to get through school and use those lessons learned to land the job you’ve always wanted.

The Method of Loci, or memory palace, is a common mnemonic technique that students and professionals learn to help retain information from school and remember new information needed to excel in their industry. As you need to store more information, the question becomes how you manage your memory palace. Is there a one size fits all to the Method of Loci? Keep reading to find out! 

How big can a single memory palace be?

Endless. A memory palace is something you build in your mind and therefore has no limits or restrictions on how big it can be. When you ask Google, Quora, Reddit, or wherever you search for answers on the web, you’ll find that the average size of a memory palace constant between 30 to 50 loci. If you need to go about remember more information, the choice is yours to go beyond that number.

How to create a large memory palace

In a previous article, How To Create a Memory Palace To Remember Information, we took you step-by-step on how to create a memory palace using the example of remembering the order of published authors. Our palace was relatively small because we only needed to remember eight authors. Imagine if you needed to remember all the countries in the world. There are 195 countries, which means you would need to create 195 locis. 

You can go about this two ways. One is to expand your palace to multiple locations that you are familiar with. After you go about assigning countries to areas in your home, travel your route you take to the grocery store. Start with where you typically park, which door you enter, the grocery cart you grab, and the aisle you go down first.

The other way you can build a large memory palace is by getting detailed with the space you are in. We once had a law student who was studying for the BAR exam and wanted tips on how she could remember all the information needed to pass the test. She created a memory palace using her home and made it very detailed. She went so far as the label on the milk carton in her fridge to use as a loci. We later received a thank you note from her, celebrating that she passed the exam with flying colors.

As you work on building your memory palace, work on other skills to help strengthen your memory. Our Mind Mapping Course is another way to put your memory to work and increase productivity. Mind-mapping expert and Iris Reading instructor Joseph Rodrigues gives you an in-depth look at how you can creatively use mind mapping for any objective you have. Click the link to learn more and register today.