Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mind Palace Incorporated is a memory training company dedicated to increasing efficiency and long term retention of information and data. The company was founded by Jim Walker, a lead programmer who has over ten years of expertise in designing and implementing online training programs. The "Mind Palace 1.0"system of memory training and long time retention was created and designed by him as an efficient and cost effective interactive teaching tool.
While the "theme" sounds too much like work, Mind Palace 1.0 is an easy-to-use learning interactive software program designed to significantly improve memory skills in a time-effective, fun and long-term fashion. Based on a proven spatial memory technique first used by ancient Greek and Roman orators over 2,500 years ago, and now enhanced through Web technology, Mind Palace is suited for all ages, 7 and up.
Now you break down all the formalities and "mumbo jumbo" and what you have is an educational PC game geared toward helping users to strengthen their memory skills for multiple purposes or uses or even just for the fun of it.
Be it simple everyday learning tasks or more complex operations, there’s no limit to what can be remembered using this clever memory program. And the real kicker: "It actually IS kinda fun."
Here’s how it works. Mind Palace uses architectural metaphors to create long lasting "memory hooks." In simpler terms Mind Palace 1.0 allows you take digital pictures of rooms in your own personal home or access a database of pre-existing mind palaces and then use the "floor plan and room tools" software of the program to assign memory hooks to your own personalized environments.
A memory hook is an object in a room that is assigned a numerical value. For example in your house the following items could be assigned as such: A welcome matt = 1, a door bell = 2, a porch light = 3, a front door = 4, a door knob = 5 and so on and so forth. Once you step into your house, you can continue the process through each room until you have enough hooks to match the number of items you need to remember.
Once you have your memory hooks assigned throughout your mind palace, you can create a list of items, A.K.A, a "prepare list" that you want to remember. The ball is in your court. You can choose anything you want to recall from simple everyday lists, phone numbers, and directions to school tests, college exams, names and faces and more.
Whatever information you choose to use with M.P 1.0, the key to remembering the items you choose is creating a small description or thought that comes to mind when you think of that particular item. Preferably, you should choose a description that peeks your interest or seems familiar. Once you have created your personalized list of items and their respective descriptions then you can link the items of your list to the memory hooks in each room of your home.
For example, let’s say you wanted to remember one of the five presidents like George Washington. Well the first thing that might come to mind when you think of President Washington is the old children’s tale about him "chopping down the cherry tree." Ok so now you’ve created an item and description for your "prepare list". In this case it would be "George Washington – chopped down the cherry tree."
Now we link that item from your prepare list to a memory hook located in your customized mind palace. Let’s say in this case we link the "welcome mat" memory hook together with George Washington who we chose from the prepared list earlier. Now we can create a more long-lasting memory by linking both parts of the puzzle together to form a more vivid reference for remembering George Washington. In this case we might say, "George Washington ruins your brand-new welcome mat by dropping a gigantic slice of cherry pie on it." Through the power of association you can learn each item from your prepared list in an unforgettable fashion.
You can continue this same procedure throughout your mind palace and fill your home with as many hooks as you might need to learn all the items in your prepared list. With Mind Palace 1.0 you can easily create lasting impressions for hundreds of things you want to remember, and then systematically review them over time in a fun, game-like format. And that’s the gist of things in a nutshell.
Of course, there are other colorful options and bonuses to help spice things up a bit. By purchasing a $14.99 "Mind Palace Pro Membership" (knew there was a catch huh?), you’ll gain access to hundreds of customized "study fields" besides the rooms of your own home or the pre-existing mind palaces. You can even choose from a series of "landscape" environments or perhaps even build your own palace from scratch. With the Pro Membership you can create an unlimited supply of mind palaces, search or download other mind palaces through "Mind Palace Exchange", or even opt to sell your mind palace online. You can also strengthen your memory skills by using the "Advanced Quizzing Options", and then post and compare your scores with other Palace Pro Members around the globe via a "Memory Points Tracking System."
The bottom line? Often times, as gaming consumers, we turn our noses up at educational gaming software, but here’s an educational program that’s nearly fully customizable and can made as fun and fulfilling as we make choose it to be. Spend a little quality time with this program and you’ll find yourself learning faster, retaining important information longer, and enjoying M.P 1.0 in a most unique and fun way- Your Way!
I’m giving this one an educational "thumbs up" with a solid 3 + Gin gems.