I memorized the preamble to the Constitution in 20 minutes. Here's exactly how.
I've been experimenting with a technique called the Major System for a while now, and I made somewhat of a tweak to it, so that it's possible to memorize books concept by concept, even word for word and you don't even need a "memory palace" or the Method of Loci to do it. Yes, it still involves the phonetic Major System and making absurd associations and mental images but trust me, this method is much more viable (and easier to deal with) than any memory palace constructions ever were.
Quick background: what's the Major System?
It's a 300-year-old phonetic code that converts numbers into consonant sounds. Those sounds form "picture words," and you chain those picture words into absurd little stories your brain actually wants to hold on to. The weirder the mental image, the stickier the memory.
Unlike memory palaces, you don't need to mentally build rooms and fill them with furniture. There's no spatial structure to maintain, and you never "run out of space." You just keep chaining, which with the tweak, makes it all the more viable, like I mentioned, and even enjoyable because you know once you make the connection (and yes, that is fun too) it cycles in a way that you know you will never forget it (depending on the quality of the association you bring to it, of course.)
How I applied it to the preamble
I broke the preamble into chunks and converted the key anchor words into picture words using the phonetic code. Then I linked each of those words or concepts into a particular matrix that constitutes this "tweak." That's it.. This special matrix, if you know how to use it, is all you need to link whatever words or concepts that you are using or that you want to learn.
I did it with the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of merica and in 20 minutes, I was done.
Honest tradeoffs
I want to be upfront: this method is a bit slower to set up than a memory palace and, of course, building the associations takes some creative effort but there's a workaround even to that with my method. But the payoff is simplicity. With a palace, you run out of rooms fast when you're trying to memorize an entire book, and finding which room holds which piece of info gets messy. With this System, retrieval is straightforward.
It works best for non-technical text: history, law, literature, philosophy, psychology. If you're trying to memorize dense medical jargon full of specialized terminology, this probably isn't your best bet. But for memorizing readings, quotes, timelines, or case law word-for-word, for example, it's been a game changer for me.
If you want to try it
Happy to answer questions if anyone's curious about the method.