Mnemonics: Unlocking the Potential of Your Memory Mnemonics are truly the key to making the most of the time you would spend studying a subject or learning new information. Mnemonic techniques are a great tool for learning and have existed since the Greeks cultivated much of it, including the Memory Palace which was first invented by Simonides approximately 2500 years ago (Foer, 2011). What mnemonics does for a person is that it allows someone to take knowledge that essentially has no meaning to them and turn it into something more memorable. By transforming meaningless information into something more memorable, you will then be able to remember this information with a much better success rate than you would have been able to if you had not used these methods. Many people simply use rote memory techniques (repetition) to memorize what they need and your brain is not made for that type of memorization, it is built for sights, sounds, smells, sense of touch and emotions associated with those things. It is by using these senses through mnemonic methods that you can make the unmemorable much more memorable. There are many different mnemonic techniques available, but I would like to cover three of the most commonly used. The first of which is the Method of Loci. The Method of Loci, also known as the Memory Palace, is known for feats of incredible memory. According to LiteMind, Develop Perfect Memory with the Memory Palace Technique, excerpted from Litemind, "Eight-time world memory champion Dominic O'Brien, for example, was able to memorize 54 decks of cards in sequence (that's 2808 cards) , viewing each card only once.” The way a memory palace is used is to first find a location you can use. .... are a great tool for any student or person looking to improve their ability to remember the vast amount of information they are handed every day and should not be ignored. Works Cited Bakken, J., (2011) Mnemonic Strategies: Success for the Young-Adult Learner. The Journal of Human Resources and Adult Learning. Volume 7(2), pp. 79-85. “Advantages of Mnemonics.” Web. 03 March 2014. "Develop a perfect memory with the Memory Palace technique - Litemind." Np, ndWeb. April 23, 2014Foer, J. Moonwalking with Einstein: the art and science of remembering everything. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print."Limits of mnemonics." SkillsToolbox.com. Np, nd Web. April 6, 2014. “The Memory Institute – The Peg System (or Hook System).” The Memory Institute – The Peg System (or Hook System). Np, nd Web. April 27. 2014.