The word mnemonic comes from the ancient Greek word mnemonikos. It is also related to Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory in Greek mythology. The Greek lyric poet Simonides, born in 556 B.C., is credited with inventing mnemonics. He used mental images together with the method of loci, in which someone imagines a house or familiar place to populate with mental images.
The method of loci was also used by lawyers in ancient Rome to help them remember their arguments in a lawsuit. Law speakers in medieval Iceland used mnemonics to commit their entire law to memory.
The method of loci was first described by a first century Roman rhetorician named Quitilian. The benefit of using mnemonics was first documented by Francis Yates in the book "The Art of Memory" in 1966. Yates said that it was man's attempt to organize knowledge and understand a chaotic world that began a quest for improved memory through mnemonics.
The printing press was invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1440, and it was this invention that caused memory techniques, such as mnemonics, to lose their prominence. People were now able to record law codes, stories, genealogies and history without committing them to memory or hand write them.
Because of advancements in modern technology, society no longer has a need to memorize entire texts of large information. Mnemonics often are used today to help remember sequences of information for test situations, phone numbers and PIN numbers.
Many students learn the mnemonic Roy G. Biv as child to help remember the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Managers often use the mnemonic SMART to remember how to set effective and achievable goals. It stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bond.
AIDA is commonly used in the advertising industry. It stands for attention, interest, desire and action and reminds advertisers to keep viewers attention and take desirable action on the displayed product.