Find yourself forgetting the name of someone you just met? Or where you last saw your cellphone? How about where you parked your car? If you (like most us) find yourself saying yes to these questions, then check out this week’s staff pick Moonwalking with Einstein: the Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer. Foer spends a year training and improving his memory to compete in the United States Memory Championship and here he shares some tips for more effectively using your memory. A non-traditional self help book to exercise your mind!
“Moonwalking with Einstein follows Joshua Foer’s compelling journey as a participant in the U.S. Memory Championship. As a science journalist covering the competition, Foer became captivated by the secrets of the competitors, like how the current world memory champion, Ben Pridmore, could memorize the exact order of 1,528 digits in an hour. He met with individuals whose memories are truly unique—from one man whose memory only extends back to his most recent thought, to another who can memorize complex mathematical formulas without knowing any math. Brains remember visual imagery but have a harder time with other information, like lists, and so with the help of experts, Foer learned how to transform the kinds of memories he forgot into the kind his brain remembered naturally. The techniques he mastered made it easier to remember information, and Foer’s story demonstrates that the tricks of the masters are accessible to anyone.” –Miriam Landis, Amazon
Don’t forget to sign up for summer reading: Summer @FTPL.
