Mnemonic anchor

Mnemonic anchor is a piece of knowledge that makes it easier to remember another piece of knowledge.

There is a difference between a mnemonic and a mnemonic anchor. While a mnemonic may be any assistance in remembering, a mnemonic anchor is a specific place in the semantic network of knowledge that forms a coherent association with the learned piece.

An example of an effective mnemonic is the following acronym for memorizing the symptoms of nicotine poisoning:

SLUDGE = Salivation, Lacrimation, Urination, Defecation, Gastrointestinal upset, Emesis

A mnemonic anchor may be a realization that smoking a cigarette increases salivation.

While mnemonics make it easy to remember sets and lists, a mnemonic anchor may be more durable, and more applicable. As such, we should rather build knowledge on mnemonic anchors of high abstractness that allow of the universal deployment of knowledge. Knowledge rich in mnemonic anchors is knowledge of best coherence. It underlies human intelligence.

This glossary entry is used to explain texts in SuperMemo Guru series on memory, learning, creativity, and problem solving

Figure: Episodic memories are based on a small sets of associated concepts. The way the concepts are inter-linked in the concept network will determine the temporal arrangements of individual concepts. In a linear arrangement, all concepts need to be recalled, and they can provide a timeline of events. In a network arrangement, individual concepts can, but do not have to be activated. They will be perceived as coincidental (i.e. occurring at the same time). In a network arrangement, incomplete recall may result in forgetting and gradual generalization of the episode. Crucially, all episodic memories need a semantic anchor to be retrieved. For that reason, episodic memories do not survive past the windows of childhood amnesia