Misplacing memories? An enactive approach to the virtual memory palace.
Anco Peeters, Miguel Segundo-ortin
Consciousness and cognition November 1, 2019 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102834 via PubMed
Summary
The memory palace technique is a powerful but poorly understood method for remembering. Cognitive science struggles to explain why it works, and users face practical difficulties. Virtual reality has been proposed as a solution but has not yet delivered. This paper argues that an embodied, enactive approach to memory offers a better explanation of the technique's effectiveness than traditional information-processing accounts. It also provides design recommendations for a virtual memory palace, aiming to solve both the theoretical and practical challenges.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | An embodied, enactive approach to memory better explains the effectiveness of the memory palace technique than an information-processing account, and design recommendations for a virtual memory palace can address practical challenges. |
Abstract
In this paper, we evaluate the pragmatic turn towards embodied, enactive thinking in cognitive science, in the context of recent empirical research on the memory palace technique. The memory palace is a powerful method for remembering yet it faces two problems. First, cognitive scientists are currently unable to clarify its efficacy. Second, the technique faces significant practical challenges to its users. Virtual reality devices are sometimes presented as a way to solve these practical challenges, but currently fall short of delivering on that promise. We address both issues in this paper. First, we argue that an embodied, enactive approach to memory can better help us understand the effectiveness of the memory palace. Second, we present design recommendations for a virtual memory palace. Our theoretical proposal and design recommendations contribute to solving both problems and provide reasons for preferring an embodied, enactive account over an information-processing treatment of the memory palace.