HOW TO REMEMBER PLACES.
There is a great difference in the various degrees of development of
"the sense of locality" in different persons. But these differences may
be traced directly to the degree of memory of that particular phase or
faculty of the mind, which in turn depends upon the degree of attention,
interest, and use which has been bestowed upon the faculty in question.
The authorities on phrenology define the faculty of "locality" as
follows: "Cognizance of place; recollection of the looks of places,
roads, scenery, and the location of objects; where on a page ideas are
to be found, and position generally; the geographical faculty; the
desire to see places, and have the ability to find them." Persons in
whom this faculty is developed to the highest degree seem to have an
almost intuitive idea of direction, place and position. They never get
lost or "mixed up" regarding direction or place. They remember the
places they visit and their relation in space to each other. Their minds
are like maps upon which are engraved the various roads, streets and
objects of sight in every direction. When these people think of China,
Labrador, Terra del Fuego, Norway, Cape of Good Hope, Thibet, or any
other place, they seem to think of it in "_this_ direction or _that_
direction" rather than as a vague place situated in a vague direction.
Their minds think "north, south, east or west" as the case may be when
they consider a given place. Shading down by degrees we find people at
the other pole of the faculty who seem to find it impossible to remember
any direction, or locality or relation in space. Such people are
constantly losing themselves in their own towns, and fear to trust
themselves in a strange place. They have no sense of direction, or
place, and fail to recognize a street or scene which they have visited
recently, not to speak of those which they traveled over in time past.
Between these two poles or degrees there is a vast difference, and it is
difficult to realize that it is all a matter of use, interest and
attention. That it is but this may be proven by anyone who will take
the trouble and pains to develop the faculty and memory of locality
within his mind. Many have done this, and anyone else may do likewise if
the proper methods be employed.
The secret of the development of the faculty and memory of place and
locality is akin to that mentioned in the preceding chapter, in
connection with the development of the memory for names. The first thing
necessary is to develop an _interest_ in the subject. One should begin
to "take notice" of the direction of the streets or roads over which he
travels; the landmarks; the turns of the road; the natural objects along
the way. He should study maps, until he awakens a new interest in them,
just as did the man who used the directory in order to take an interest
in names. He should procure a small geography and study direction,
distances, location, shape and form of countries, etc., not as a mere
mechanical thing but as a live subject of interest. If there were a
large sum of money awaiting your coming in certain sections of the
globe, you would manifest a decided interest in the direction, locality
and position of those places, and the best way to reach them. Before
long you would be a veritable reference book regarding those special
places. Or, if your sweetheart were waiting for you in some such place,
you would do likewise. The whole thing lies in the degree of "want to"
regarding the matter. Desire awakens interest; interest employs
attention; and attention brings use, development and memory. Therefore
you must first _want to_ develop the faculty of Locality--and want to
"hard enough." The rest is a mere matter of detail.
One of the first things to do, after arousing an interest, is to
carefully note the landmarks and relative positions of the streets or
roads over which you travel. So many people travel along a new street or
road in an absent-minded manner, taking no notice of the lay of the land
as they proceed. This is fatal to place-memory. You must take notice of
the thoroughfares and the things along the way. Pause at the cross
roads, or the street-corners and note the landmarks, and the general
directions and relative positions, until they are firmly imprinted on
your mind. Begin to see how many things you can remember regarding even
a little exercise walk. And when you have returned home, go over the
trip in your mind, and see how much of the direction and how many of the
landmarks you are able to remember. Take out your pencil, and endeavor
to _make a map_ of your route, giving the general directions, and noting
the street names, and principal objects of interest. Fix the idea of
"North" in your mind when starting, and keep your bearings by it during
your whole trip, and in your map making. You will be surprised how much
interest you will soon develop in this map-making. It will get to be
quite a game, and you will experience pleasure in your increasing
proficiency in it. When you go out for a walk, go in a round-about way,
taking as many turns and twists as possible, in order to exercise your
faculty of locality and direction--but always note carefully direction
and general course, so that you may reproduce it correctly on your map
when you return. If you have a city map, compare it with your own little
map, and also re-trace your route, in imagination, on the map. With a
city map, or road-map, you may get lots of amusement by re-traveling
the route of your little journeys.
Always note the names of the various streets over which you travel, as
well as those which you cross during your walk. Note them down upon your
map, and you will find that you will develop a rapidly improving memory
in this direction--because you have awakened interest and bestowed
attention. Take a pride in your map making. If you have a companion,
endeavor to beat each other at this game--both traveling over the same
route together, and then seeing which one can remember the greatest
number of details of the journey.
Akin to this, and supplementary to it, is the plan of selecting a route
to be traveled, on your city map, endeavoring to fix in your mind the
general directions, names of streets, turns, return journey, etc.,
before you start. Begin by mapping out a short trip in this way, and
then increase it every day. After mapping out a trip, lay aside your map
and travel it in person. If you like, take along the map and puzzle out
variations, from time to time. Get the map habit in every possible
variation and form, but do not depend upon the map exclusively; but
instead, endeavor to correlate the printed map with the mental map that
you are building in your brain.
If you are about to take a journey to a strange place, study your maps
carefully before you go, and exercise your memory in reproducing them
with a pencil. Then as you travel along, compare places with your map,
and you will find that you will take an entirely new interest in the
trip--it will begin by meaning something to you. If about to visit a
strange city, procure a map of it before starting, and begin by noting
the cardinal points of the compass, study the map--the directions of the
principal streets and the relative positions of the principal points of
interest, buildings, etc. In this way you not only develop your memory
of places, and render yourself proof against being lost, but you also
provide a source of new and great interest in your visit.
The above suggestions are capable of the greatest expansion and
variation on the part of anyone who practices them. The whole thing
depends upon the "taking notice" and using the attention, and those
things in turn depend upon the taking of interest in the subject. If
anyone will "wake up and take interest" in the subject of locality and
direction he may develop himself along the lines of place-memory to an
almost incredible degree, in a comparatively short time at that. There
is no other phase of memory that so quickly responds to use and exercise
as this one. We have in mind a lady who was notoriously deficient in the
memory of place, and was sure to lose herself a few blocks from her
stopping place, wherever she might be. She seemed absolutely devoid of
the sense of direction or locality and often lost herself in the hotel
corridors, notwithstanding the fact that she traveled all over the
world, with her husband, for years. The trouble undoubtedly arose from
the fact that she depended altogether upon her husband as a pilot, the
couple being inseparable. Well, the husband died, and the lady lost her
pilot. Instead of giving up in despair, she began to rise to the
occasion--having no pilot, she had to pilot herself. And she was forced
to "wake up and take notice." She was compelled to travel for a couple
of years, in order to close up certain business matters of her
husband's--for she was a good business woman in spite of her lack of
development along this one line--and in order to get around safely, she
was forced to take an interest in where she was going. Before the two
years' travels were over, she was as good a traveler as her husband had
ever been, and was frequently called upon as a guide by others in whose
company she chanced to be. She explained it by saying "Why, I don't know
just how I did it--I just _had to_, that's all--I just _did_ it."
Another example of a woman's "because," you see. What this good lady
"just did," was accomplished by an instinctive following of the plan
which we have suggested to you. She "just _had_ to" use maps and to
"take notice." That is the whole story.
So true are the principles underlying this method of developing the
place-memory, that one deficient in it, providing he will arouse intense
interest and will stick to it, may develop the faculty to such an extent
that he may almost rival the cat which "always came back," or the dog
which "you couldn't lose." The Indians, Arabs, Gypsies and other people
of the plain, forest, desert, and mountains, have this faculty so highly
developed that it seems almost like an extra sense. It is all this
matter of "taking notice" sharpened by continuous need, use and
exercise, to a high degree. The mind will respond to the need if the
person like the lady, "just _has to_." The laws of Attention and
Association will work wonders when actively called into play by Interest
or need, followed by exercise and use. There is no magic in the
process--just "want to" and "keep at it," that's all. Do you want to
hard enough--have you the determination to keep at it?