Lanier Verbatim Memory System

╔════════════════════════════════════╗
║LANIER VERBATIM MEMORY SYSTEM v. 0.2║
╚════════════════════════════════════╝
This complex mnemonic system will allow you to memorize texts verbatim. It was designed by composer, worship leader, and “Art Of Memory” forum member Gary Lanier (garylanier.com). Mr. Lanier uses it to memorize Bible verses but, with minor modifications, it can be used to memorize any type of text. Further modification is necessary to memorize special punctuation, line breaks, and capitalization. This system presumes knowledge of the Major system, substitute words, linking, loci, and the journey method.

The Lanier Verbatim Memory System may be the only mnemonic machine invented in modern times. It effectively reuses a limited number of loci to store vast amounts of detailed information, making it superior to peg system variations like PAO.

┌═════════════════┐
│TABLE OF CONTENTS│
└═════════════════┘

PART I: INTRODUCTION
   An introduction of the basic techniques that will be used in
   this system, how they might differ from standard usage, and
   a basic description of the system's function.

1-1. BASIC ELEMENTS
   The significant implementation of the primary mnemonic devices
   used in this method.
   A. Journey Method
   B. Substitute Words
   C. “Clock Face” Journey
1-2. FUNCTION
   A short description of the Lanier system including a simple
   sketch of the entire process.

PART II: DEFINITION OF TERMS AND METHODS
   A definition of terms and detailed description of how the
   system functions.

2-1. MEMORY ENVIRONMENT (LOCATION)
   This refers to the environment and all its associated loci
2-2. S-S-S SYSTEM
   Used to construct your Memory Environment. The STREET contains
   title information for the text in question; the SIDEWALK
   contains sentence, paragraph, or verse number information as
   well as a special TITLE index; the STRUCTURE uses Alpha
   Characters generated by the TITLE to store sentence words.
   A. STREET
   B. SIDEWALK
   C. STRUCTURE
2-3. SENTENCE TITLE
   An index based on the first sentence of the paragraph from
   which Alpha Characters are generated
2-4. ALPHA CHARACTERS
   A detailed description of Alpha Characters and how to use and
   generate their three forms
2-5. FACE HELPER
   A system to strengthen weak loci or add four additional loci to
   store additional or nested information
   A. Feature
   B. Abode
   C. Career
   E. Event
   D. Example: strengthening a weak position
   F. Example: adding depth to your structure
2-6. CONTENT: SUBSTITUTION OR SYMBOL
   All non tangible noun words must be translated into tangible
   substitutes.
2-7. REVIEW
   Or, how to use your fingers to review
2-8. PREPARATION
   Planning, or an outline of the steps to take prior to beginning
   A. Planning
   B. Memory Environment Construction
C. Alpha Character Placement

PART III: Examples
   One simple and one more complex text

3-1. PSALMS 118:17
3-2. Complex Titles And Text Division

PART IV: Extensions And Modifications
   Several suggestions on how the system can be modified or used
   for other types of memorization.

4-1. TITLE variations
4-2. Clock Face Journey card memorization
4-3. Clock Face Journey Mini Palaces
4-4. A Few Suggestions From Mr. Lanier
   A. On Mixing Real And Unreal Environments
   B. Using The Clock Face Journey For Shopping Lists
   C. Using The Clock Face To Remember Historical Facts
   D. A Few Final Words

┌═══════════════┐
│I: INTRODUCTION│
└═══════════════┘

┌───┬──────────────┐
│1-1│BASIC ELEMENTS│
└───┴──────────────┘
The Lanier Verbatim Memory System uses three primary mnemonic devices to create its memory machines: 1. Journey Method 2. Substitute Words 3. “Clock Face” Journeys

A. Journey Method: The Journey Method is used to create the structural framework of the Memory Environment;

B. Substitute Words: Substitute Words become powerful in the Lanier system by becoming mini-journeys to store additional information by using spatial positions. For example, a single word “and” is transformed into the image “hand.” This concrete image can then have additional information stored spatially above, beside, in front, and behind the image.

C. “Clock Face” Journey: This simple method defines the number of elements and direction of the journey. It places four objects around a substitute word image and leads you through them clockwise.

┌───┬────────┐
│1-2│FUNCTION│
└───┴────────┘
This system helps you create a logical mental journey to memorize text verbatim. It uses an imaginary street to indicate book title and chapter number; the sidewalk marks paragraph, sentence, or verse numbers. A house next to the sidewalk provides one area where multiple persons each act out four words from the sentence using the “Clock Face” Journey. The person names are based on the letters of the sentence's first word.

sidewalks introducing sentence

   |   |   |
   V   V   V

===+===+===+===  <- road containing meta narrative
   |   |   |
   |   |   |
   S   S   S  <- structures containing complete sentences
  (|) (|) (|)    “Clock Face” Journeys take place here
  (|) (|) (|)
   F   F   F  <- optional strengthening/depth through added detail
                 secondary “Clock Face” Journeys can be used here

Greater data density can be achieved, or positions reinforced, by adding specific details from persons used in the structure locus. The additional details can act as secondary “Clock Face” Journeys to encode more information into the image.

┌═══════════════════════════════════┐
│II: DEFINITION OF TERMS AND METHODS│
└═══════════════════════════════════┘

┌───┬─────────────────────────────┐
│2-1│MEMORY ENVIRONMENT (LOCATION)│
└───┴─────────────────────────────┘
The location where the text is acted out. The size and scope depend on the content, and locations can be reused. The memory environment is built using the S-S-S Principle.

┌───┬───────────────┐
│2-2│S-S-S PRINCIPLE│
└───┴───────────────┘
Used to break text into visual chunks, from the general to the specific.

A. STREET:

The locus that holds the book and chapter number. In books with complex or nested titles, use it to add necessary details. Here, little action takes place: the street sets the general scene for your memory environment, and changes only when moving to another book or chapter.

B. SIDEWALK:

The locus that holds the sentence, paragraph, or verse number and the sentence TITLE. It provides a visual break than leads from the street to a specific STRUCTURE.

C. STRUCTURE:

A detailed locus used to store words from the sentence. The location should have four positions such as Top, Right, Bottom, Left, or Roof, Side, Front, Back where actions take place. ALPHA CHARACTERS, discussed later, are the actors in this locus.


         Pos 1

          ___I_
         /\-_--\
        /  \_-__\
Pos 4   |[]| [] |   Pos 2

         Pos 3

The STREET is the narrative thread for your journey; the SIDEWALK holds the SENTENCE TITLE that will define your ALPHA CHARACTERS; the STRUCTURE is a location where actions representing or involving the words are carried out by ALPHA CHARACERS.

┌───┬──────────────┐
│2-3│SENTENCE TITLE│
└───┴──────────────┘
Usually the first word or two of the sentence. In “See Spot run,” “See” is the sentence title. The letters in the sentence title are used to create ALPHA CHARACTERS.

┌───┬────────────────┐
│2-4│ALPHA CHARACTERS│
└───┴────────────────┘
Persons based on the letters of the SENTENCE TITLE. If “See” is the sentence title, possible alpha characters are Susan, Emily, Emily. Each character is used to act-out up to four words from the sentence.

It is effective to choose three Alpha Characters for every letter of the alphabet: one male set, one female set, and one “object” set. Mr. Lanier uses women Alpha Characters for odd sentences and male Characters for even sentences. This avoids repetition and image confusion.

If the sentence title is short and there are too few characters to link with sentence words, you may lengthen it or repeat the title using different persons. For example: “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord.” There are 13 words in the sentence. Since “I” is used as the TITLE, 12 words remain. “I” gives us one Alpha Character that is used to act-out four sentence words. Since eight words remain, you must either use two words for your TITLE, or repeat the TITLE by switching to your second (male) or third (object) set.

Alpha Characters take turns acting on the STRUCTURE. Since a STRUCTURE has four numbered positions (eg. Top, Right, Bottom, Left), “start at the top and read like a clock.” Have your first Alpha Character act first on the roof (Top), then continue the story at the side of the house, etc.

┌───┬──────────────┐
│2-5│F-A-C-E HELPER│
└───┴──────────────┘
If you are having difficulty remembering a person-word-position association, you can strengthen it by using Mr. Lanier's F-A-C-E helper to add detail. The helper adds a unique Alpha Character detail to each Structure position:

A. Feature – physical feature that stands out – Position 1
B. Abode - Where they live – Position 2
C. Career - What they do (Doctor, Wife, Student) – Position 3
D. Event - Some memorable event in their life – Position 4

                 Pos 1 + AC Feature

                     ___I_
                    /\-_--\
                   /  \_-__\
Pos 4 + AC Event   |[]| [] |   Pos 2 + AC Abode

                 Pos 3 + AC Career

E. Example: strengthening a weak position

For example, if our Alpha Character is Ivanhoe, and the word in position two is “and” visualized as a hand, you could strengthen the association by adding an “abode” detail to position 2. In Ivanhoe's case, this could be a tent getting crushed by a hand:

         Pos 1

          ___I_      Pos 2
         /\-_--\     ____
        /  \_-__\   /|\  \
Pos 4   |[]| [] |  / | \  \

         Pos 3

F. Example: adding depth to your structure

F-A-C-E can also be used to add details (sub words, numbers, binary numbers, etc) or depth to the locus. In the simple system without FACE to add depth, each Alpha Character represents four words; using FACE, you can store four words in each FACE element, for a total of sixteen words per Alpha Character. As always, “start at the top and read like a clock:

                            Pos 1-1
                               |
                               |
                   Pos 1-4--FEATURE--Pos 1-2
                               |
                               |
                            Pos 1-3
                               |
                            Pos 1

      Pos 4-1                ___I_                 Pos 2-1
         |                  /\-_--\                   |
         |                 /  \_-__\                  |
Pos 4-4-EVNT-Pos 4-2-Pos 4 |[]| [] | Pos 2-Pos 2-4--ABODE--Pos 2-2
         |                                            |
         |                  Pos 3                     |
      Pos 4-3                  |                   Pos 2-3
                            Pos 3-1
                               |
                               |
                   Pos 3-4--CAREER--Pos 3-2
                               |
                               |
                            Pos 3-3

┌───┬───────────────────────────────┐
│2-6│CONTENT: SUBSTITUTION OR SYMBOL│
└───┴───────────────────────────────┘
Every word in each sentence has a SUBSTITUTE or SYMBOL to allow visualization.

SUGGESTED IMAGES FOR SHORT WORDS (possibly to be expanded):
A = Hay
The = Tea
Come = Comb
Or = Oar
And = Hand

┌───┬──────┐
│2-7│REVIEW│
└───┴──────┘
Use your thumb and four fingers to guide recollection. The THUMB cues the TITLE and appropriate ALPHA CHARACTERS, and each finger represents a position on the structure.

┌───┬───────────┐
│2-8│BASIC STEPS│
└───┴───────────┘
The efficient use of the Lanier Verbatim Memory System uses these steps:

A. Preparation

Consider the text you wish to memorize and begin to break it up into its parts. How is the text divided? Will you use these natural divisions, or will you create your own? It's possible to prepare without paper and pencil but many will find it useful.
Once you've decided on text division, begin to write out or split things into S-S-S categories. A detailed plan will include what visualizations you will use for each.

Identify your sentence TITLEs and identify how many Alpha Characters are needed for each sentence. Consider whether you will use FACE for added depth.

Identify problem words in each sentence that don't have easy substitutions. If the text is digital, you can use the find and replace feature to change words into their tangible forms; alternatively, translation software like Trados can be taught to automatically “translate” texts into its substitute form. If  you're not using FACE for added depth, consider what positions might need strengthening in advance.

Identify the STRUCTURE you plan to use. Will it be a generic structure, or one somehow related to the topic? Will it change according to the division of the text, or will the same structure be used throughout?

B. Memory Environment Construction

Once the preparation is complete, begin to visualize your Memory Environment. How many details will go in the STREET locus? Does your street continue on to other environments, or will you reuse the same location? Do you prefer a SIDEWALK running parallel to the street, or a path running directly to the house?

C. Alpha Character Placement

Place your Alpha Characters onto or around your STRUCTURE. Will you use individual instances of each character in each position, or will they journey through positions one-to-four? How will they change when another Alpha Character enters the scene? Have you remembered to alternate the gender of the Alpha Characters depending on whether the sentence is even or odd?

┌═════════════┐
│III: EXAMPLES│
└═════════════┘

┌───┬─────────────────────────┐
│3-1│EXAMPLE 1 - PSALMS 118:17│
└───┴─────────────────────────┘
“I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord”

Begin by using S-S-S to create your memory environment.

STREET - PSALMS 118 - This locus contains the book name and chapter number. Substitute “palm” for the book title “psalm” and place it in your street. Use the Major system to transform 118 = t/d t/d f/v, TDF, TeeD oFF. Imagine a golfer that has just teed off next to the palm tree in the street.

SIDEWALK – 17, “I” - This locus contains the verse, paragraph, or sentence number and TITLE. In the example verse 17 = TK, TaCK, so you can imagine tacks on the sidewalk. The TITLE is the first word of the verse, “I,” so you imagine an eyeball skewered by tacks.

ALPHA CHARACTERS - “I” is our TITLE, with 12 sentence words remaining. Since each Alpha Character can only have 4 words, we know that we will need 3 Alpha characters (3 AC's x 4 = 12 words). However, our title is one letter, so we will need to use either 3 AC's based on the letter “I,” or we need to add another word to the title to extend our range of characters. For this example we will use 3 characters based on the letter “I.”

Since the verse is an odd number, 17, ladies go first, and the TITLE begins with “I,” we will use “Irene.” Our second AC will be “Ivanhoe,” and our third AC will be “Igloo.”

STRUCTURE: - The structure should be familiar and must have four locations, for example: Top, Right, Bottom, Left or Roof, Side, Front, and Back. Remember “Start from the top, read like a clock.” Each Alpha Character will make a four-stop journey through these points, interacting with one sentence word at each stop. Once the first character completes their journey, the second Character begins at position 1, and so on.

         Pos 1

          ___I_
         /\-_--\
        /  \_-__\
Pos 4   |[]| [] |   Pos 2

         Pos 3


It can be helpful to carry out this process on paper to keep track of your ideas:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│PSALMS 118:17                                                   │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│STREET:                                                         │
│   Book: Psalms = Palms                                         │
│   Chapter: 118 = TTF = TeeD Off                                │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│SIDEWALK:                                                       │
│   Verse: 17 = TD = Tack                                        │
│   Title: “I”                                                   │
│   # of words minus TITLE = 12, # of needed Alpha Character = 3 │
│   (number or words just a reminder for next part)              │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│STRUCTURE:                                                      │
│   TITLE: “I” = Irene, Ivanhoe, Igloo                           │
├──────┬─────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬─────────────┤
│      │     POS1    │     POS 2    │     POS 3    │     POS 4   │
├──────┼─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┤
│IRENE │shall = shell│ not = knot   │ die = dye    │ but = butt  │
├──────┼─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┤

Complete the table for the rest of the Alpha Characters

IRENE – Shall = shell - pos 1 - throwing shells off the roof
IRENE – not = knot – pos 2 - knots in vines in the garden
IRENE – die = dye - pos 3 - dying her hair on the front
IRENE – but = butt - pos 4 - hit riffle butt on the ground

IVANHOE – live = leaf – pos 1 – fanning himself with a leaf
IVANHOE – and = hands – pos 2 - horse with hands
IVANHOE – declare = decals – pos 3 – with decals all over armor
IVANHOE – the = tea – pos 4 – tail swishing tea

IGLOO – works = workers – pos 1 - workers working on igloo on roof
IGLOO – of = off (bug spray) – post 2 spraying bugs in garden
IGLOO – the = tea – pos 3 - melting down into cup of tea
IGLOO – lord = lord – pos 4 - lord walking into igloo

Once you have your words written out, you can begin to place the images into position and to create your narrative:

“You walk down the street and see a big palm tree (psalms) with a golfer standing next to it that just teed-off (ch. 118). Tacks (verse 17) are scattered all over the sidewalk next to the road, and an eye (Title “I,” first sentence word) bounces on the tacks and rolls towards a recognizable house. You hear the sound of something hitting the walk leading up to the house, and see Irene throwing shells (shall) off the roof. She begins to climb down into the garden at the side of the house using a vine that gets tangled into a huge knot (not). Irene keeps walk to the front of the house where there's a hair-salon chair. She gets in and begins to dye (die) her hair. When she's finished, Irene goes to the back of the house where she finds a rifle that she takes, hitting the butt (but) into the ground and making a loud noise. Something jumps on the roof, and you see Ivanhoe leaning against the chimney and fanning himself with a leaf...”

When you're done the first verse, walk back to the sidewalk where you might see “A dove (18) sipping tea (Title “The”). Looking back to the house (you can either go back to the same house or create a new one for each verse), you see Tom Cruise's face being carved out of the chimney (here we use the FACE system to make a better image, where F is Feature) by the Lord (no substitute word)...and so on.

To move on to another chapter, simply walk to the street. In the distance, you'll see another palm tree (Psalms), but instead of a golfer that's TeeD oFF (118), you might see DaTa with a Bee (119).

┌───┬────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│3-2│EXAMPLE 2 – Complex Titles And Text Division│
└───┴────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Complex titles and nested lists can be encoded either in the STREET or SIDEWALK locus in your Memory Environment. Consider the following text:

SECTION I: RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
ARTICLE 2: Right to life

1. Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one
shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in
contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:

(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape
of a person lawfully detained;
(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot
or insurrection.

Begin to break this text down following the S-S-S Principle.

STREET:
   SECTION I = S (section), I = t, d (major system) = SoDa
   RIGHTS = Rice, AND = Hand, FREEDOMS = Free Drums

The first part of the image will be a large soda glass in the middle of your street.

Now use a Clock Face Journey to add the second part of the text title to the first by placing the substitute words in positions 1 to 3:

At the top (pos 1) of the SODA, you see RICE (maybe Rice Krispies) being poured into it. At the right (pos 2), you see a giant HAND slapping the SODA. At the bottom (pos 3), you see FREE DRUMS beating at the bottom of the SODA glass. The word FREE may be painted on the DRUMS (plural).

	ARTICLE 2 = AwNing. A presents “Article” and 2 = N
	RIGHT = Write, TO = Toe, LIFE = Leaf

Beyond the SoDa, you now see AwNing in the middle of the street, facing the sidewalk.

On top (pos 1) of the AWNING there's a TYPEWRITER clacking away; to the left (pos 2) there's a large TOE holding the awning up; underneath the awning (pos 3) there's a big pile of LEAVES.
Alternatively, if you know you won't forget the proper order, you can make one image: a typewriter under the awning being typed by toes, that are part of a foot being tickled by a leaf.

SIDEWALK (1st & 2nd Part Titles)
   1 = Tie (major system)
   TITLE = Everyone's = AVIARY WANDS

You now stand under the AWNING, looking at the familiar SIDEWALK that runs in front of the familiar STRUCTURE (building).

On the SIDEWALK, there is a very long TIE rapped around an AVIARY with WANDS sticking out all over. This image is located left-center of the building. The TIE is the substitute for the number, “1.” The AVIARY with the WANDS is the SUBSTITUTE for the word, EVERYONE'S.

ALPHA CHARACTERS

Select the Alpha Characters, beginning with the Ladies since the sentence is an odd one, according to the letters, E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E-S. If I need more Alpha Characters, which you will in this case, simply continue where the Ladies ended but with Male Alpha Characters

├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│STRUCTURE:                                                      │
│   TITLE: “AVIARY WANDS” = Elizabeth, Vickie, Evelyn....        │
├──────┬─────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬─────────────┤
│      │     POS1    │     POS 2    │     POS 3    │     POS 4   │
├──────┼─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┤
│Eliz. │right = write│ to = toe     │ life = leaf  │shall = shell│
├──────┼─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┤
...
├──────┼─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┤
│Earl  │penalty = pen│is = hiss     │provide = pro │by = bye     │
│      │         tree│    (ice)     │         hide │    (wave)   │
├──────┼─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────────┤

For Part 2 of ARTICLE 2, place Noah (Major System) on the SIDEWALK at the right center-side of the building. Then, place Deborah (Kerr) on the ark having a VACATION. Deborah linked to Vacation gives you a substitute for DEPRIVATION. The whole substitute image reads, “2. DEPRIVATION.”

After this apply the ALPHA CHARACTERS technique for the TITLE, and start the substitution linking process again.

This system really works well for non-verbatim use also. I just stick a key word in here and there, just enough to trigger the thought.

┌════════════════════════════════┐
│IV: Extensions And Modifications│
└════════════════════════════════┘

┌───┬────────────────┐
│4-1│TITLE variations│
└───┴────────────────┘

The merit of the Lanier sentence TITLE index is that it is also a functioning part of the sentence. It effectively avoids the problem of forgetting the first step in a journey. However, some may prefer to use a title based on a sentence's main idea instead, thereby creating a meaningful index of topics instead of just sentence triggers. The problem of forgetting the first word of the sentence can be avoided by adding it back into the SIDEWALK locus. Instead of number and sentence title, you might use number, topic title, first word imagery.

┌───┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│4-2│Clock Face Journey card memorization│
└───┴────────────────────────────────────┘

Mr. Lanier uses the first 13 words of John 3:16 to memorize a deck of cards. He does this by using each substitute word to hold 4 cards, one in each Clock Face Journey position. Mr. Lanier's substitute words are:

For (fur) - God (cot)- So (sewing machine) - Loved (heart shaped box of candy) - The (tea) - World (globe) - That (dad) – He (heater) - Gave (cave) - His (hissing snake) - Only (on a leaf) - Begotten (peacock) - Son (son)

┌───┬───────────────────────────────┐
│4-3│Clock Face Journey Mini Palaces│
└───┴───────────────────────────────┘

Almost any sentence you have memorized can be coded into substitute words. Then, that sentence has the potential of becoming another powerful Memory Journey.

Nursery rhymes, song lyrics, and slogans can all be appropriated. Just convert the words into tangible nouns and place the images you need to remember

┌───┬────────────────────────────────┐
│4-4│A Few Suggestions For Mr. Lanier│
└───┴────────────────────────────────┘

A. On Mixing Real And Unreal Environments

“For most of my scripture memorizing I use real Streets and real Structures and even reuse them for unrelated things like grocery lists and cards. However, I have placed an imaginary Structure on a real Street in an open lot. Very effective.”

B. Using The Clock Face Journey For Shopping Lists

“Shopping lists in different stores: When I go to WalMart, Wanda, Anna and Leah help me remember my list. At the bank, Bob, Andrea, and Neil are there to help.”

C. Using The Clock Face To Remember Historical Facts

“If I want to remember the presidents, I get a little help from Paul, Robert, Earl, Steve, Ivan, and David. Between them and the Lady ACs, all is well. You may have noticed, I stopped after the letter "d." The next letter would have been "e" which is a repeat. So, rather than loading up on Earl or using another AC with an "e," I just invited the Lady ACs to join in.”

D. A Few Final Words

“A lot of the times the Memory Environment is automatically created. WalMart is its own clock. When I think of presidents, I see the White House and there it is, staring in my face. Just start at the top and read like a clock.”