Becoming Godlike

     I have enjoyed the benefits from learning how to use a memory palace as described in Moonwalking With Einstein. However, while reading Yates, it seems at times people took memory systems to levels I cannot imagine dealing with. Some of these are so complex it would take a memory system just to remember the prescribed memory system. Good grief! How did they keep it all straight? It seems that keeping the method simple and making the images complex makes more sense for me. It is very interesting to read about the systems people have used and the history behind this.

    Another interesting aspect of Yates' book is the descriptions of why people wanted to master the process of memorization. Of course in an oral culture you could only know what you remembered. Without any written history you would need to move only forward. Oral cultures seem to live on a one way journey through life. They can only keep what they can carry and the more they can remember the more lessons they can bring along. Of course the more they bring, the more they know, and they can make more progress.

    This does bring a problem when religion steps in. Some were using memory to bring their religious stories closer to their hearts, others were looking for lost knowledge of past religions, and some just wanted to be more like gods. Faster than you can say, "Hey, what are you planning to do with that stake?" they all seemed to clash. They probably would have had issues one way or the other anyway since their beliefs were so far apart, but the memory systems they used increased the problem. Note for future reference; if you are living surrounded by Christians, you may want to base your memory system on something other than the Occult.

    The most interesting aspect of these three in my opinion is the group that feels they can be more like god by using memory. I think maybe they can. Don't flip to someone else's blog yet, please give me a chance to explain. Think of a creator god-any one of them will do. What this god do best? They created order from chaos, made man, and generally set up the rules from then on. How can you do that? It's simple really; call upon the great mother of muses (memory), pick up a pen and use what you know to create a universe. Write a story! If you don't like the laws of physics, change them in your universe. Would you want to create a utopia  then kick people out of it and have them spiral downward, as Frye would describe it, to the layer of being we experience now? Great-go for it. What does memory have to do with all this? A lot!!! You must remember that to make a great story you have to have certain elements that people respond to. By writing, you are not only manipulating the characters in the text, but also the reader. Make them laugh, cry, journey, trap them in a whale; do as you please with them. You, if you know what people respond to, can manipulate your readers in a godlike fashion. So, by all means, call upon the muses and take your proper place with the creator gods.