Misplacing memories? An enactive approach to the virtual memory palace.

The memory palace technique is powerful for remembering but poorly understood and difficult to use. Virtual reality devices have been proposed as a solution but have not yet delivered. An embodied, enactive approach to memory better explains why the technique works than traditional information-processing accounts. The authors offer design recommendations for a virtual memory palace, addressing both the theoretical gap and practical challenges.

Study at a glance

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.