A/N – I know! Two chapter updates in one day? As Sherlock would say: "I'm on fire!"
Method of Loci
"What's Freak doing?" Donovan demanded as Sherlock stood staring vacantly with his fingers steepled beneath his nose.
"He's gone into his mind Palace." Lestrade whispered.
"You're kidding."
"It's an ancient Greek memory technique. Information is stored in visually familiar places, such as the rooms of your house. Then you can retrieve that information anytime by revisiting those places."
"Say you have some favorite recipes." Lestrade clarified. "Using the image of your bedroom, you could place all the versions of omelets and soufflés on the bed. Then you just walk through the room any time you need the information. The more graphic the memory, the easier it is to remember, so instead of plain recipe cards, you might have a trap door open out of the bed and Julia Child pop up holding the recipies."
The thought of the famous chef in Sherlock's bed was hilarious. Donavan grinned. "So, the French Chef is in his bed, and oh let's say the Queen is sitting in the chair in the corner, sipping tea while holding all the secrets to the making of a good cuppa?"
"More likely, she's holding the kinds of poisons that can be dissolved in liquids." Lestrade said dryly.
"And he calls it his Mind Palace?"
"As long as it works." Lestrade said firmly, "he is welcome to call it Balmoral."