Create Limited Set Memory Palaces

Based On The Textbooks

You Want To Memorize
I always chart out between 4-10 stations within each room of that Memory
Palace. In the past, I usually made more (like 50 or so, often with
between 30-50 stations within a single room). These days, Im more
focused on small sets of information because I find that leads to more
meaningful quantity over time with my current Mandarin Chinese learning
project.

Create The Right Mindset

This is important:
Decide to work with the correct mental attitude. For example, when sitting
with a textbook or journal article, I need to have the attitude that I will walk
away with the most essential information firmly magnetized into my mind.
You should do this too.

Then Chillax
Seriously.
Take a moment to relax.

I recommend that you adopt a traditional meditation pose on the floor, or

lay down for awhile and do some progressive relaxation. Either way, I
spend time practicing a bit of pendulum breathing and maybe even
the Human Charger.
With those operating procedures covered regarding how to memorize
textbooks, lets get into further detail.

1. Look At The Book And Read The

Conclusion First
When approaching a new book, carefully examine the front cover and the
back cover.
Next, read:

the colophon page

the table of contents

the introduction

the conclusion

Finally, scan through the index (if available).

The scholar Gerrard Genette calls these parts of a book the paratext,
(the text beside the text). This step takes about five minutes and
effectively trains your brain to understand the scope and dimension of the
book with respect to its topic.
Why read the conclusion first? Part of the reason is to judge whether or
not the authors conclusion about his or her own subject was profound
enough to warrant reading all of the steps needed to arrive at it. The

introduction and conclusion also give clues regarding which chapters of

the book might be the most important to focus on.

2. Manage Index Card Mania

Its important to decide how much information you want to take away from
a textbook in advance. That way, you dont overwhelm yourself.
And you can start in a structure manner. Like this:
Take out an index card and write down the name of the author, the title of
the book and all of the bibliographic information.
Number this card 1 in the top left corner. Before starting with a book, I
tend to decide in advance exactly how many pieces of information I want
to retain from it. This is the principle of predetermination that I discuss
throughout the Magnetic Memory Method training. Often, I default to three
facts or details per chapter, but always keep enough index cards on hand
in case I want more.
The reason for deciding these matters in advance is because
a) failing to plan is generally planning to fail (especially when it comes to
structured reading), and
b) predetermination prevents overwhelm.
Remember:
Less is more. When you use the Magnetic Memory Method for something
like foreign language learning or studying, youll find that by focusing on
just a few key points, a lot of the surrounding information will
automatically stick to the memorized material.

Try it. It just happens.

3. Get Started
The beauty of having operating principles is that you never sit around
wondering how to get started. You just dive in.
So after reading the introduction and conclusion, you should now have in
mind which chapters you want to read first. Just get started with one of
them.
If youre having decision anxiety, just go in the order they appear in the
book from beginning to end. Dont let thinking get in the way of forward
progress.

4.Think In Threes
Heres the deal:
At this point, you know that there are three pieces of information
youre going to walk with away from each chapter. Youve got your index
cards ready to go and can start gathering the information.
It doesnt have to be a limit of three. You might want to go for five or ten.
The important point is to pick a structured operating principle and go with
it.

5. The Ownership Mindset

Since youve already adopted the attitude that youre going to succeed
and literally own the key information in the book, its time to play a game
totally unlike other brain games I teach. This game works especially well if
the book is boring or completely outside your interest.
Pretend that youre the talk show host of a program and later that evening
and youve got to interview the author. Millions of people will be watching,
so you really need to the book. And you need to read it fast.
What this mindset allows is for you to ask questions while youre reading.
Youll get really curious, and instead of reading passively, youll actively
engage with the writing.
Also, ask else questions. This means that instead of stopping after a
round of:

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

How?

You add else to each one:

Who else?

What else?

Where else?

When else?

Why else?

How else?

This technique will help you create new knowledge as you learn.
Try it. Youll love it.

6. Categorize Every Gem

(Studying Is A Numbers Game)
When y0u come across a gem of a detail, write it down on the index card.
Write down the page number where you found the information on the
bottom right corner.
Do this regardless of whether or not youve jotted down a quote. Should
you ever need to find that information again, youll know where to go. If
you have any secondary ideas, use the back of the index card to capture
them.
At this point, dont do any kind of memorization. Youre familiarizing
yourself, learning, connecting the details with information you already
know and gathering new facts and details. Thats it.
So lets assume now that youve read a book that has ten chapters and
youve got three index cards for each.
Each card is numbered, meaning that you now have 30 index cards. All
you need now is to be prepared with 30 station in 1-3 Memory Palaces
that youve hopefully already assigned to the book.

7. Start Memorizing (Magnetically)

Your next step is to simply start with card #1. You want to remember the
title of the book and the name of its author. That information is memorized
at station #1.
If you happen to know the title of the book already by heart, then you
dont need to use the first station in this way, but it can still be useful to do
so, and heres why:

8. Use The Author As A Visual Element

You can use the author as a lexical bridge or Bridging Figure to move
from station to station as you learn how to memorize textbooks.
See if you can find a picture of the author online. Lets say that you are
reading the book Paratexts, by Gerrard Genette.
Ive Googled him up and Genette looks like this. Gerrard Genette reminds
me of Gillette razor blades, and so I see him shaving in that first room. To
remember that its Genette and not Gillette, I see him shaving away a
beard of Ns growing crazily out of his face. For Paratexts, I could ease
either a pear bouncing up and down on a textbook, or a can of Para Paint
splashing over a book there are always options.
Heres another option you can try for finding memorable characters to use
as you learn how to memorize textbooks:

9. Exaggerate Everything

Now lets say that card #2 says: A text does not exist outside of the text
itself.
That sounds pretty obvious, doesnt it?
Maybe, but we dont often think about the fact that until someone comes
along and reads a book, the book essentially doesnt do anything. There
are billions of books standing unread on shelves around the world that
only exist when someone is reading them or talking about them. This is
what Genette means when he says that a text does n0t exist outside of
the text itself. Our minds are a kind of text, so when we are reading, two
texts are intermingling.
To remember all of this, my second station will feature the
book Paratextsitself. I imagine it as an object in the Memory Palace Im
using.
On that specific station in that specific Memory Palace, words are trying
to escape from the book, and theres poor Genette trying to beat them
back in because, according to him, there is no text outside of the text
itself. He needs to get all of that text back in!
As always, the images are big, bright, colorful and filled with exaggerated
action.
To get some of the other concepts in Genettes thinking that Ive just
described, I might see Genette giving up the battle, and then opening up
a lid in his head, which is also filled with words, and allowing the words
from Paratexts to mingle with the words in his mind.
From there, on to the next index card.
Now that you know how to memorize textbooks, you can model this
process to remember any point, historical date, or formula in a book!

10. Test Yourself Before The Teacher

Does
The final step when learning how to memorize textbooks is to test
your memorization of the details, facts and concepts you have memorized
from the textbook.
I recommend writing a summary from your mind and then checking it
against the index cards. One of my supervisors required me to submit
summaries to prove that I was reading the books on my list, so I got into
that habit and have always been grateful for it.
If youre a student, I highly recommend that you take this step now that
you know how to memorize textbooks. It will not only deeply immerse you
in your topic area, but it will provide you with material that youve already
written when it comes to composing essays, pieces for publication and
even your dissertation further on down the road if you decide to complete
a PhD.
Also, be sure to revisit the information in your mind following a procedure
like the Rule of 5 or the more rigorous Recall Rehearsal procedures of the
Magnetic Memory Method. Its by rehearsing the information into long
term memory that you really make it your own.
The best part is that the more you read, the more connections you
naturally make, reinforcing what youve already learned. Now that you
know how to memorize textbooks, youre going to be a Magnetic
powerhouse of information!

Learning How To Memorize Textbooks

Is Fun!

What happened during my doctoral examinations? Instead of being

stressful as they are for nearly everyone else
They were fun!
I had been in a relaxed state while reading and memorizing the material,
and complimented this by spending a bit of time relaxing before attending
the exams. I literally threw myself into a state of self-hypnosis in the
corridor outside of the examination rooms.
When I was asked a question, my mind zoomed to where the material
was stored in one of my Memory Palaces. Once I found the information, I
was able to talk at length about, whether it was Gerrard Genettes idea
about paratexts or Aristotles philosophy of friendship in The
Nichomeachean Ethics.
In case youre wondering what I did with all those index cards:
I used to wrap them with an elastic band, one per book, and then store
them in a shoe box. Somehow, index cards and shoes boxes were made
for one another. But all those index cards are gone now and so I enjoy
having nothing to do but go through the Memory Palaces in my mind. And
thanks to the memory techniques and ongoing memory improvement
work I do, that step is often unnecessary.
But its fun. And Im confident it will be just as much fun for you.
Further Resources
Check out this infographic from How to Memorize A Textbook, a similar
episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.