Art of Memory

abstract: the Traditional Art of Memory was
the Hermetic (magical, Achemical) preparation of
the current unfolding Artificial Memory, Artificial Intelligence.

Simonides - contemporary with Socrates/Plato, at the end of the Antique Athens - divulged the former secret knowledge of the Athenian social system, regarding memory (as Plato divulged likewise Politics, Sophocles History etc... it was the opening process, at the end of Athens' Cycle).
This was later transmitted in Roma and divulged again by Cicero.

It was then carried on during the European civilization until the Renaissance - when it was divulged by G.Bruno - the last Hermetician Representative before is execution at stake by the Inquisition.

Recently it re-emerge - at first as an intuition - under Freud's Psychoanalysis in the 20th century; - as the Lacanian revelation of Freudism shows. At the same time, the historian Frances Yates presented it again to the public, while she showed the Bruno's Hermetic projet was the forthcoming Artificial Intelligence (cybernetics).

Click to display the animatedpicture of the Art of Memory

HERE FOLLOWS A COMPARISON OF THE LEGEND (left) OF
THE ART OF MEMORY AS TRANSMITTED AND WRITTEN BY CICERO/YATES
with
THE MODERN VERSION (right) OF THE "ART" AS IT IS ENACTED BY PLURAL ANALYSIS

Cicero's report presented by F.Yates	Modern version: PLural ANalysis
At a banquet given by a nobleman of Thessaly named Scopas, the poet Simonides of Ceos chanted a lyric poem in honour of his host but including a passage in praise of Castor and Pollux.	Attending a meeting,  whose agenda concerned new issues, the citizen Simonides of Ceos lectured a report which described the enforcement of traditional measures, but also the implement of new concepts including cyberlogic.
Scopas meanly told the poet that he would only pay him half the sum agreed upon for the panegyric and that he must obtain the balance from the twin gods to whom he had devoted half the poem.	The Moderator told the Investigator that he will only mark him half of the grade and that he must obtain the balance from the split Artificial Intelligence to which he had devoted half of his report.
A little later, a message was brought in to Simonides that two young men were waiting outside who wished to see him. [these were of course the two divine athletes]. He rose from the banquet and went out but could find no-one.	A little later, Simonides was informed on his pager that two modern logicians were waiting outside who wanted to see him [it was of course the two cyber A.I. functions]. He rose from the group and went out but could find no-one.
During his absence the roof of the banqueting hall fell in, crushing Scopas and all the guests to death beneath the ruins; the corpses were so mangled that the relatives who came to take them away for burial were unable to identify them. But Simonides remembered the places at which they had been sitting at the table and was therefore able to indicate to the relatives which were their dead.	During his absence the cybertechnologies (genetics, bio feed back etc...) pervaded the meeting, confusing the Moderator and all the participants' identity into Virtuality; the sujectivities were so mangled that the assignments which came to take them away for their social activities were unable to identify them. But Simonides remembered the places at which they had been sitting at the table and was therefore able to indicate to the activities which were their representants.
The invisible callers, Castor and Pollux, had handsomely paid for their share in the panegyric by drawing Simonides away from the banquet just before the crash. [Indeed, they both saved his life and saved the souls at the banquet from oblivion]. And this experience suggested to the poet the principles of the art of memory of which he is said to have been the inventor. Noting that it was through his memory of the place at which the guests had been sitting that he had been able to identify the bodies, he realised that orderly arrangement is essential for good memory.	The invisible callers, Analysand and Analyst, had handsomely paid for their share in the report by drawing Simonides away from the meeting just beside the High Tech Implementation. [Indeed, they both saved his life and saved the souls at the meeting from confusion]. And this experience suggested to the linguist the principles of the Plural Analysis of which he is said to have been the inventor. Noting that it was through his memory of the place at which the members had been sitting that he had been able to identify the subjects, he realised that orderly Group Dynamic is essential for good memory

© CYBEK of New York, 1999.