This Aboriginal Australians’ memory technique beats Sherlock Holmes’ method, say researchers

People across cultures have developed different ways to remember and pass on information — some methods focus on location, some on repetition, and some on structured narrative. While modern education often separates knowledge from its context, one study suggested that linking memory to place and story might not only be older, but also better. In 2021, researchers at Monash University and Deakin University in Australia tested two very different memory methods on first-year medical students: the well-known "memory palace" approach, famously used by the character Sherlock Holmes, and an Aboriginal memorization method rooted in oral history and narrative.

The study, led by Dr. David Reser and Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta, and published in PLOS One, randomly assigned 76 students into three groups: one trained in the 'memory palace' method, one in the Aboriginal technique, and a third control group received no memory training. The 'memory palace' technique involves mentally placing facts inside an imagined space, often based on a familiar building. The Aboriginal technique also uses physical space but incorporates a narrative that links the information to features of the space. To remove medical bias, students were asked to memorize a list of 20 common butterfly names.

After seeing the list once, all students performed an initial recall. They then received 30 minutes of training, depending on their group. The memory palace group practiced mental placement, placing each name within a mental layout of their childhood home. The Aboriginal group learnt a narrative-based memory technique taught by an Aboriginal educator, where they walked through a garden and linked each butterfly name to a visible feature, creating a story they could mentally revisit. The control group watched an unrelated video without any training and was simply asked to recall the names, as reported by Live Science. The students were tested three times with short breaks in between, and while all students improved between tests, the Aboriginal memory group showed the highest increase in full recall.

They were nearly three times more likely to recall the full list compared to their performance before training. Those who were taught the 'memory palace' method were twice as likely to achieve a full recall, while the control group, which received no training, showed only a 1.5-fold improvement. Beyond memorization, researchers noted that students using the Aboriginal method were also more likely to recall the butterfly names in order, even though the test did not require it. That detail, researchers said, likely stemmed from the use of narrative, which naturally follows a sequence. "You can envision, certainly, in the medical field, things where order is important. If you're remembering, say, a biochemical pathway or a surgical technique," said Reser. The researchers chose the Aboriginal method because of its deep cultural use in oral knowledge transmission, which passed on information for over 50,000 years without written records.

Their system relies on location, story, and repeated use of the familiar territories to embed knowledge and have been used to teach navigation, relationships, resources, and governance. Importantly, the approach was also more enjoyable for students. According to feedback gathered by co-author Margaret Simmons, students responded positively to learning the technique, and some continued using it in their studies. Dr. Reser hopes to eventually integrate the method into medical training more formally. "We want students to have exposure to Aboriginal culture and to be aware of just how rich and how deep into history this goes," he said. He also emphasized that bringing in an Aboriginal instructor to teach the method would be essential, given the cultural and historical weight of the practice.