The Macunx: an Explanation

Memory training was already falling into disfavor when I went to elementary school ... long ago, in a galaxy, well, you know the rest.  We were told to memorize things ... but never taught how to memorize things.  

There is a science, an art, to remembering ... both of which were exposed and mastered in times past.  And forgotten in the modern age ... until now.

MemWars is based on a memory structure called the Macunx.  The word Macunx is short for Magical Quincunx, and is a 2D design developed by Dr Aaron Ralby of Linguisticator.

This geometric pattern uses the quincunx (the shape of the 5 side of dice) to create a memory structure that allows you to learn 100 pieces of information in sequence and by number.

The inspiration for the structure came from a 12th century treatise by Hugh of St. Victor on how to memorize all 150 Psalms by number and line number.

As a 2D structure, the Macunx can be hung on a wall in your memory palace like a painting. This multiplies the amount of information you can store at each location by a factor of 100!

MemWars has gameified this memory structure so that learning to use it is an enjoyable collaborative or solitaire activity.  So, the player learns two things:

• first, the subject matter at hand - the particular memory deck (memdeck) that covers the body of knowledge of interest;

• second, the process of memorizing using the Macunx structure

Of the two, the latter is the more significant - it is a skill that will serve the player the rest of his or her life.