The Sphinx and the Five Noble Truths of Memory
By: Heather Kretschmer
Last October, I had the good fortune to attend a conference on playfulness in higher education in Uppsala, Sweden. One of the best workshops there was led by Zara Ali and Vasileios Archangelidis, who introduced us to some useful memory techniques. When we asked if they used these techniques themselves, they said yes without hesitation. As medical students, they had to memorize a lot of information, and these techniques helped them learn what they needed to know and retrieve that information when they needed it, long after originally memorizing it.
Months after the conference, I can still recall exactly what I had committed to memory using one of the techniques, the AI-generated image technique. In this technique, you first decide what information you want to memorize. Then, you think of what kind of image would help you learn the information and generate that image using AI. Next, you connect the information to specific aspects of the image. The image is basically an anchor that hooks onto the information you want to remember later. Reconstructing the image in your mind helps you retrieve the associated information.
What’s nice about this memory technique is that you don’t actually need AI. Instead, you can draw a quick sketch yourself, find an image on the Internet, or simply picture it in your mind. If you do use AI, it helps to begin your prompt with the subject and then add descriptive details. As the medical students advised us in their workshop: be creative – the weirder, the better.
Although this memory technique was fun and actually worked for me, I didn’t use it again until I was deep in the weeds of this Think Tank issue on memory and learning. At that time, I was trying to remember some information Michelle Miller, a cognitive psychologist, presents in our More video. Specifically, I had set my sights on remembering her five Noble Truths of Memory. But for the life of me, I could not remember them, even though I watched the video several times.
This failure prompted me to recall the AI-generated image memory technique, and I decided to see if using it would allow me to remember all five truths. So, I proceeded as follows:
Step 1: I quickly brainstormed a list of things I connect with the adjective “noble” and settled on the sphinx, a noble guardian of temples and tombs in ancient Greece and Egypt. I decided that the sphinx, with the body of a lion and the head of a human, can guard my memories and help me recall them. Although the sphinx is often depicted as sitting on the ground staring straight ahead, my sphinx is always on the move, stalking ahead, razor focused on her goals. She’s curious about her environment, committing details to her memory and pulling them out of her memory as needed.
Step 2: To remember Michelle Miller’s five Noble Truths of Memory, I connected each noble truth to a different body part of a sphinx image I found on the Internet:
- Memory is an active process of the mind. Our memory is very selective, and we only remember information that is relevant to our needs and goals. My sphinx is a creature of action, stretching out her front right paw as she prowls towards her target.
- Remembering requires effort, engagement, and attention. To remember something, we need to make the effort to focus our attention on it. My sphinx gathers her strength to push her front left paw off the ground.
- Use retrieval practice to remember information. Retrieval practice is an evidence-based learning strategy in which you deliberately call to mind the information you want to remember. My sphinx does her own version of retrieval practice as she extends the claws on her back left paw to grab and pull out what she needs from the sand.
- Spaced practice supports memory. Spaced practice, also known as distributed practice, goes hand in hand with retrieval practice. It involves retrieving the information from your memory in multiple study sessions that take place days and/or weeks after you’ve initially learned that information. To remember information long term, my sphinx taps her back right paw on the ground from time to time.
- Memory is distributed across the brain, and everyone can improve their memory. Memory takes place in different parts of the mind and brain. Since memory isn’t one mechanism, anyone can learn memory techniques to get better at remembering information. Prior to learning memory techniques, my sphinx lashed her tail jerkily, but with the right techniques and more practice, she swishes her tail precisely in fluid, graceful moves.
Step 3: I needed to check whether I could remember all of the noble truths. To do so, I pictured my sphinx and focused on what she was doing with each body part, one after another, which helped me recall all five noble truths. I was able to do this the next day, the day after, and every subsequent time I tried. This memory technique is simply a creative way of doing retrieval practice and spaced practice. I think it’s worth giving our students the opportunity to try it out for themselves, allowing them to come up with their own images to learn information that’s relevant to them.
How might we scaffold this process for our students?
As language instructors, we frequently use images to help students learn vocabulary words for concrete objects. For abstract vocabulary, we tend to abandon the visuals, relying instead on translations or verbal explanations. However, we can still encourage students to use images to learn abstract vocabulary items. An example can be found in Memory Activities for Language Learning (2011) by Nick Bilbrough, in which he outlines a practical classroom activity that pairs language with visual cues.
In his “Pictorial links” activity (p. 56), learners first write a list of new language items from a text they’ve read or listened to. Then, the teacher hands out double-sided copies with the same picture on both sides. The example illustration shows a detailed countryside scene with many objects and activities. The teacher chooses one target language item, for example, “concentrate,” and asks the class to think of ways they might link the word to something portrayed in the picture. Learners then individually connect each item on their list to something in the picture and write it on that part of the picture. Next, students compare their ideas in pairs, explaining their connections to each other.
Later in that lesson, or in a subsequent one, the teacher asks students to turn over their copy to the clean image and challenges them to call to mind the language items–first with the picture, then without. As a follow-up, students find and bring to class their own images to connect to other target language items.
This activity mirrors the same core principles of retrieval practice and personal image construction discussed above, but adapts them to a classroom setting.
So, maybe you’re fired up to try out this memory technique yourself now . . .
What do you want to remember? As you read through this Think Tank issue, take brief notes on ideas and information you don’t want to forget. Then, think of an image that you could anchor that information to. Let your creative juices flow! Go through the information, connecting it to your image in ways that make sense to you. This requires you to make an effort. Set your image aside for a day. What information do you remember the next day when you call your image to mind? If you’ve forgotten anything, focus on that. Then, try again the next day. Can you recall more information? Distribute your practice. Can you remember the image and connected information a week later? A month later? In a different place? When you’re chatting with colleagues? When you’re supporting students in their learning? Keep reading and give this memory technique a go!
Acknowledgements
I’m grateful to Zara Ali and Vasileios Archangelidis along with their professor, Michal Miko, from Comenius University Bratislava for sharing playful memory techniques in their workshop Beyond Memorisation: Practical Tools and Creative Approaches to Mastering Memory.
Recommended Reading
Bilbrough, N. (2011). Memory activities for language learning. Cambridge University Press.
Miller, M. D. (2022). Remembering and forgetting in the age of technology: Teaching, learning, and the science of memory in a wired world. West Virginia University Press.
Heather Kretschmer teaches Intermediate English and Business English at the University of Göttingen in Germany.