Joshua Foer: "Moonwalking with Einstein"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-03-15/joshua-foer-moonwalking-einstein
Joshua Foer
Emil Salman Haaretz
Most people can remember an average of seven things at one time. But for a small group of mental athletes who compete in memory championships, the figure is much higher. They can remember hundreds of random words or the order of a deck of playing cards. Some even remember tens of thousands of digits of pi. In his new book, "Moonwalking with Einstein," journalist and author Joshua Foer investigates how memory works and how it can be improved. Along the way, he goes from being a slightly forgetful journalist to becoming a national memory champ. And he learns why the disappearing art of remembering is such a worthy skill.
Guests
Joshua Foer
Writer for "National Geographic," "Esquire," "The New York Times," "The Washington Post" and "Slate."
Author Extra: Joshua Foer Answers Audience Questions
Q: Can your guest please comment on the memory requirements for London cab drivers? How do they successfully pass what I understand is the most challenging memory test for employment out there? - From Parvinder in Arlington
A: In order to be certified as a London cabbie, you have to pass a daunting test called "the Knowledge," which involves memorizing the locations and traffic patterns of all 25,000 streets in London, which is an incredibly confusing city. For cabbies-in-training the training is a matter of sheer repetition. They will spend two to four years driving all over the streets of London memorizing street names and landmarks. In 2000, a neuroscientist at University College London named Eleanor Maguire wanted to find out what effect, if any, all that driving around the labyrinthine streets of London might have on the cabbies’ brains. When she brought sixteen taxi drivers into her lab and examined their brains in an MRI scanner, she found one surprising and important difference. The right posterior hippocampus, a part of the brain known to be involved in spatial navigation, was 7 percent larger than normal in the cabbies—a small but very significant difference. Maguire concluded that all of that way-finding around London had physically altered the gross structure of their brains. The more years a cabbie had been on the road, the more pronounced the effect.
Q: What is one or some of the historical pieces of architecture that is considered a "good" memory palace? - From Sarah in Orlando
A: Medieval memory treatises go into some depth on this subject. One type of building they advise makes for a terrible memory palace is churches. All those naves and rows of pews are repetitive and unmemorable. And most churches look alike. The best buildings to turn into memory palaces are those that are architecturally distinct, and have lots of nooks to nip that you can dip into in your mind's eye and deposit images.
Q: My almost two-year old son has an amazing memory for his age. He has memorized nursery rhymes, songs, and parts of stories. He asks me to repeat things over and over and (although I sometimes feel like a juke box) and I'm happy to oblige. He will also talk about something that happened on a visit to a friend's house, or a child he met a playground, days and even weeks after it happened. I thought that our brains weren't capable of remembering things before the age of 3. How early does memory start? Will my child remember "Gus run with Kyla in park. Park muddy." or "Gus sit Stacey's lap at Jack's house" years from now? - From Kathy in Arlington
A: Infantile amneisa is a fascinating phenomenon that I write about in Moonwalking with Einstein. Most of us don't remember anything before the age of about three or four. And yet, as you point out, it's not as if a three-year-old doesn't remember anything. In fact, he may remember a lot. But those memories are likely to be forgotten as an adult. Freud thought that infantile amnesia was a result of the grown-up mind repressing the hyper-sexualized fantasies of toddlerhood. I'm not sure you'd find anyone who agrees with that hypothesis these days. In fact, it seems to be the case that regions of the brain crucial to memory are not fully formed until about the fourth year.
Comments
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This book is published by Penguin, a major publisher. Today is National Hiring Day. Diane, instead of promoting one publisher, why not ask if Penguin and the other major publishers are hiring during National Hiring Day? Do you refuse because it calls for a little bit of corporate patriotism and responsibility from these corporations? Seems like the media is becoming part of the economic problem, not a neutral reporter about it.
as someone with a dissociative disorder, where there is lots of disconnection in my mind, would these techniques be helpful to me?
Regina in Baltimore, MD
Perhaps the fireman, who posed the recent question, could "reverse" the memory technique, and apply a name or word to each room in the layout to help him remember the arrangement of the rooms.
Another fascinating topic.
thanks,
Greg
Harpers Ferry, WV
I know those techniques work but I am wondering why they are not taught systematically in schools...that would help the students tremendously...and they do not take much time to teach.
So, if someone has trouble remembering faces, that will make your memorization processes for names not work?
What about retrieving past memories? Why is it that I can remember being in a certain place or situation but can't remember things that happened?
Consistent with Joshua's comment on loss of memory and happiness, Henry Molaison was a fairly content and pleasant person after his lobectomy as well.
Read more about H.M. here:
http://brainmindinst.blogspot.com/2009/02/theory-of-mind-ii-hms-memory.html
Great subject! It helps dispel the stigma that creative people are not scientific or mathematical and bridge the disconnect. Also, I find it fascinating how food smells conjure such vivid memories. Have you come across any research on this?
Thanks,
Bryan Bolduc
Raleigh, NC
I was wondering of there was any study done about the human memory in relation to the brains electro-magnetic field and that of the earths? The reason I ask is that as a now retired Postman years ago it was my task to rearrange half of my carriers mail cases in the station. Mind you, all we did was move the cases around, we didn't touch the case labels at all. The result; each and every letter carrier was an hour or more late getting to the street. The only hypothesis I could come up with was the the physical position also played a role in the memories of these carriers some of whom had twenty plus years at these cases. They all had difficulty casing mail that morning.
I loved the fact that to remember the name Rehm that two people in the news and writing business thought of paper, where as I immediately thought of the manufacturer or heating and cooling equipment. I guess it goes to show how differently it works for different people. Although I don't think subconsciously I was thinking in terms of hot and cold it was very cool to come up with that connection.
Tom Hendricks, why would you ask Diane Rehm a question, answer it as if she refused to do what you suggested, then provide your own rash comment on why she “refused” (as if she ever had the opportunity to consider your request)?
It is a comment like yours that most of her listeners have to "filter" through before we can get to postings that seriously discuss "the topic on hand."
If you had truly wanted Diane Rehm and/or NPR to discuss this topic, you would have offered them that suggestion some time back, when it could have been scheduled for discussion with panelists that would have something to offer, instead of simply providing late comments that merely show how much your lack of tact.
Is it possible that you “forgot” to store this point into one of your “Memory Palaces” when you first heard of this special hiring day? Or, did you wait until now to make sure that you could insert your claim that they refused your belated suggestion? Now here I am, answering my own question for you. And I even provided a “reason” for your reply to my question. I can see how much fun this is.
Now, in keeping WITH our current topic, I will easily scrub this memory from whatever “Memory Palace” I unknowingly utilized to store the comment until I had the opportunity to provide this reply.
That said, now what was it I came here for . . . oh, yes . . . more information on the book and the memory techniques! Hope I can find them without needing to “filter” through much more of these comments.
I found this topic fascinating.
Having to close my business over the economic slump, I decided to return to school to begin a life-changing new direction in my career.
Doing this in my 60s, rather than as a youthful explorer on my original foray through higher education during the 60s, I an often dealing with the issues of remembering what I just studied or heard in a lecture. It is much more of a struggle than I had anticipated. I will try just about anything, including adding to my extensive reading by pouring through your guest's book.
If it works, I will endeavor to remember to return here and post my success.
Diane, thank you for your programming. It is always enjoyable and very often enlightening.
I wish I'd gotten to call in during the show. One of the things I have always felt was a great memory device is MUSIC. I *still* remember all 50 states in alphabetical order from singing "Fifty Nifty" in fifth grade (that was 30+ years ago) and I still refer to the multiplication songs we sang in third grade to memorize our multiplication tables. Wondered whether there had been any studies done on music and memory.
30 years ago Dr. Don Blackerby modeled excellent students and found that they used visual strategies for learning and recalling information. I found it very interesting that all the memory techniques talked about on today’s program were visual.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each student were taught to use learning strategies that work, early in life?
Ron
www.dobeliefsmatter.com