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20 reviews for:
The Memory Code: Unlocking the Secrets of the Lives of the Ancients and the Power of the Human Mind
Lynne Kelly
3.94 AVERAGE
20 reviews for:
The Memory Code: Unlocking the Secrets of the Lives of the Ancients and the Power of the Human Mind
Lynne Kelly
3.94 AVERAGE
I wish this had gone more into how to actually use the memory code methods.
I'd never heard of memory spaces but Lynne Kelly has set me straight. The Memory Code is chock full of her research on non-literate cultures and their ability to memorise the vast amounts of practical information they needed to survive. Initially, I was attracted to Kelly's work on using traditional Aboriginal Australian songlines. But the book takes us across continents and cultures into many other memory techniques used by indigenous people around the world.
Kelly suggests we can use this ancient technique to train our memories today. She explains how she's made a simple walk around the block a lesson in history.
Fascinating.
Kelly suggests we can use this ancient technique to train our memories today. She explains how she's made a simple walk around the block a lesson in history.
Fascinating.
Excellent book! I thought this might be a bit dry but it was really interesting. I first heard of Lynne Kelly on one of Anthony Metivier's podcasts and knew that I had to read her books. She has toured the world looking at all the ancient monuments which are normally associated with religious ceremonies and rewritten the history to put forward a compelling argument that they are memory spaces.
Coupled with brief insights into confirmed memory tools that people have told her about, and she has constructed her own, make this an extremely interesting read. My only gripe is that I would have liked to have heard more about how she made her equipment and methods and how they work. However, I think this may have been a common point with this book as I'm just downloading "memory craft" now which apparently does just that!
Excellent book, well worth a read.
Coupled with brief insights into confirmed memory tools that people have told her about, and she has constructed her own, make this an extremely interesting read. My only gripe is that I would have liked to have heard more about how she made her equipment and methods and how they work. However, I think this may have been a common point with this book as I'm just downloading "memory craft" now which apparently does just that!
Excellent book, well worth a read.
Fascinating! Extensive cross cultural research to back up these insightful conjectures. So much has been lost. Tedious in places but quite a revelation. Includes photos and drawings
Brilliant
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=memory+code+Lynne+Kelly
Sunday 3 July 2016 Radio National interview
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/indigenous-memory-code/7553976#transcript
http://www.lynnekelly.com.au/tag/the-memory-code/
http://www.lynnekelly.com.au/bibliography-the-memory-code/
Using a memory palace of sorts to explain pre-literary cultures using rituals and stone structures or images as universities and learning spaces. If you wonder about neolithic societies and Stonehenge this is a must read. Or want to improve your memory and recall 1000 times.
Naomi wrote a good review and I've copied this link, another ABC Radio talk, this one on Wednesday 22 June 2016. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2016/06/22/4486659.htm
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1686546260?book_show_action=true
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/100635-naomi
Peter McLoughlin wrote a 5 star review and added a YouTube clip (72mins).
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1931196562
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOkZJ19FSiA
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=memory+code+Lynne+Kelly
Sunday 3 July 2016 Radio National interview
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/indigenous-memory-code/7553976#transcript
http://www.lynnekelly.com.au/tag/the-memory-code/
http://www.lynnekelly.com.au/bibliography-the-memory-code/
Using a memory palace of sorts to explain pre-literary cultures using rituals and stone structures or images as universities and learning spaces. If you wonder about neolithic societies and Stonehenge this is a must read. Or want to improve your memory and recall 1000 times.
Naomi wrote a good review and I've copied this link, another ABC Radio talk, this one on Wednesday 22 June 2016. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2016/06/22/4486659.htm
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1686546260?book_show_action=true
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/100635-naomi
Peter McLoughlin wrote a 5 star review and added a YouTube clip (72mins).
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1931196562
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOkZJ19FSiA
I was initially wary due to the schlock "Holy Blood Holy Grail"/"Hidden Secrets of X" style title, but after hearing an extended interview with Dr. Kelly It seemed she was onto something. The first half on the "system of loci" mnemonic techniques and how it's used by pre-literate cultures to encode huge amounts of information was fascinating, especially how this is key to understanding Australian Aboriginal songlines, dreamings and art.
The book does lose something when this is applied to other prehistoric sites like Stonehenge, largely because the connection between the memory systems and the archaeology becomes more speculative and sometimes a bit tenuous. This means the last half of the book becomes a little repetitive. Overall it's worth it for the insight that "prehistoric" and "preliterate" do no mean "stupid".
An appendix detailing how the "system of loci" works and how it can be used to remember large amounts of information would have been good as well. I've found Sjur Midtunn's "How to Build a Mnemonics Memory Palace" provides a good introductory how-to on the techniques Kelly refers to.
The book does lose something when this is applied to other prehistoric sites like Stonehenge, largely because the connection between the memory systems and the archaeology becomes more speculative and sometimes a bit tenuous. This means the last half of the book becomes a little repetitive. Overall it's worth it for the insight that "prehistoric" and "preliterate" do no mean "stupid".
An appendix detailing how the "system of loci" works and how it can be used to remember large amounts of information would have been good as well. I've found Sjur Midtunn's "How to Build a Mnemonics Memory Palace" provides a good introductory how-to on the techniques Kelly refers to.
Kelly's thesis is that monuments like Stonehenge were constructed as memorization aids for oral cultures during the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to settled farming communities. She asserts that non-literate societies used the method of loci to memorize huge volumes of information: knowledge of animals and plants; laws and treaties; geography; and everything else that a society needed to maintain within its collective memory. In a nomadic culture, these are anchored to actual places in the landscape that the tribe would visit throughout the year. In a settled culture, artificial replacements would need to be created, and Kelly believes that Stonehenge is one of these.
Kelly supports her thesis with data from still-existing oral cultures and monuments from all around the world.
I found it fascinating and informative.
Kelly supports her thesis with data from still-existing oral cultures and monuments from all around the world.
I found it fascinating and informative.
Have you ever stopped to wonder how ancient societies managed to remember so much, yet didn’t write it down? Have you ever Googled Stonehenge theories or wondered about the meaning of the statues on Easter Island? Ever wanted to try to remember more without relying on your smartphone and copious sticky notes? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions (or forgotten them by now), The Memory Code is a book you should take the time to read.
Lynne Kelly has put all this together, and more, in a very readable book. It combines science and anthropology together in a way that the reader can easily understand the theories and evidence about how ancient societies retained so much information and passed it down the generations. It’s a fascinating read with in depth research (and contains a bibliography at the end, should the reader be interested in exploring any of the topics further). I am very impressed at how Dr Kelly explains her theories – it’s so easily accessible even though I have no formal training of anthropology or archaeology beyond high school social studies!
What I found most rewarding about the book was the practical application of memory spaces and songlines. Dr Kelly explains how she remembers the history of the world by recalling it as objects on her daily walk with the dog. Houses represent the time periods and she may link something as mundane as a letterbox with a crucial fact. What’s even cooler, is linking facts with silly songs, rhymes or puns. It seemed like a great way to remember things, without rote studying. Unfortunately, being the middle of winter, I can’t see the houses to practice this! So, to test her theory and see if it worked for me, I decided to do this on my daily drive for a big presentation I had to give. I didn’t want to take any notes and I had to remember a number of facts and statistics, so I practiced while driving to and from work. I used landmarks, signs and turning off points to remember the facts. Did it work? Yes, it did! By replaying the trip in my head in the background while I was talking, I could recall each key point with the correct numbers. It was surprisingly easy and quite fun! I plan to do this for an even bigger and longer presentation I need to give in the future with some complex mechanisms to describe.
If you’re not into that kind of recall, how about a memory board? (Pinterest doesn’t count). The Australian Aboriginals used a coolamon, which had carvings which acted as a memory aid. The Luba people in Zaire used a lukasa with beads and shells, each one acting as a trigger. But the biggest of all was Stonehenge. Dr Kelly offers the theory that Stonehenge was used as a memory tool as cultures transitioned from a nomadic life to a settled, farming life. Her ideas are detailed and supported with evidence of what we know about people of the time. It was all so interesting! My only problem with the book was that it’s not one to read while you’re too tired to concentrate – you need to give it the attention it deserves to fully appreciate the complexity and spark your own ideas. But naturally that just meant I had to sneak the book out more times during the day…
The Memory Code is an absorbing read, give it a go and be amazed.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Lynne Kelly has put all this together, and more, in a very readable book. It combines science and anthropology together in a way that the reader can easily understand the theories and evidence about how ancient societies retained so much information and passed it down the generations. It’s a fascinating read with in depth research (and contains a bibliography at the end, should the reader be interested in exploring any of the topics further). I am very impressed at how Dr Kelly explains her theories – it’s so easily accessible even though I have no formal training of anthropology or archaeology beyond high school social studies!
What I found most rewarding about the book was the practical application of memory spaces and songlines. Dr Kelly explains how she remembers the history of the world by recalling it as objects on her daily walk with the dog. Houses represent the time periods and she may link something as mundane as a letterbox with a crucial fact. What’s even cooler, is linking facts with silly songs, rhymes or puns. It seemed like a great way to remember things, without rote studying. Unfortunately, being the middle of winter, I can’t see the houses to practice this! So, to test her theory and see if it worked for me, I decided to do this on my daily drive for a big presentation I had to give. I didn’t want to take any notes and I had to remember a number of facts and statistics, so I practiced while driving to and from work. I used landmarks, signs and turning off points to remember the facts. Did it work? Yes, it did! By replaying the trip in my head in the background while I was talking, I could recall each key point with the correct numbers. It was surprisingly easy and quite fun! I plan to do this for an even bigger and longer presentation I need to give in the future with some complex mechanisms to describe.
If you’re not into that kind of recall, how about a memory board? (Pinterest doesn’t count). The Australian Aboriginals used a coolamon, which had carvings which acted as a memory aid. The Luba people in Zaire used a lukasa with beads and shells, each one acting as a trigger. But the biggest of all was Stonehenge. Dr Kelly offers the theory that Stonehenge was used as a memory tool as cultures transitioned from a nomadic life to a settled, farming life. Her ideas are detailed and supported with evidence of what we know about people of the time. It was all so interesting! My only problem with the book was that it’s not one to read while you’re too tired to concentrate – you need to give it the attention it deserves to fully appreciate the complexity and spark your own ideas. But naturally that just meant I had to sneak the book out more times during the day…
The Memory Code is an absorbing read, give it a go and be amazed.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
The title does a disservice to the contents of this fascinating read. Investigations of multiple cultures across continents and the timeline of humanity (neolithic to present) how knowledge is kept in non-literate communities.
Absolutely incredible! This is a must read.
Kelly opens with a fascinating look at indigenous knowledge and how they could remember so much. She explores the methods that can be used such as memory spaces and song lines, and how they can be used in the modern world. (On a side note I will definitely look into her other book 'Memory Craft' to put them into practice myself!) I found how mythology can play into it really interesting, and offered me a different way to view it.
She goes on to explore her completely original thesis, that Neolithic monumental sites around the world were a memory system that allowed non-literate peoples to memorise huge amounts of knowledge. She covers Stonehenge, Avebury, Orkney, Newgrange, Carnac, Chaco Canyon, Nasca lines, Easter Island, and multiple American sites in detail.
Having been to Stonehenge recently I am keen to go back (and to the other sites) with her thesis in mind.
She makes a very convincing argument for which I would need to see significant proof against to disagree with her.
Kelly opens with a fascinating look at indigenous knowledge and how they could remember so much. She explores the methods that can be used such as memory spaces and song lines, and how they can be used in the modern world. (On a side note I will definitely look into her other book 'Memory Craft' to put them into practice myself!) I found how mythology can play into it really interesting, and offered me a different way to view it.
She goes on to explore her completely original thesis, that Neolithic monumental sites around the world were a memory system that allowed non-literate peoples to memorise huge amounts of knowledge. She covers Stonehenge, Avebury, Orkney, Newgrange, Carnac, Chaco Canyon, Nasca lines, Easter Island, and multiple American sites in detail.
Having been to Stonehenge recently I am keen to go back (and to the other sites) with her thesis in mind.
She makes a very convincing argument for which I would need to see significant proof against to disagree with her.