I’m going to ignore the fact that this post is two days late and hope you will too- promise I finished the book on time! Also Kim wanted a shout out for suggesting the book soooo…here you go!
I have a really good memory…or so I thought. I’m fantastic at remembering names, faces and details (especially identifying celebrities and their work); I’ve mentioned before that I have an uncanny ability to tie any real life situation to a quotable TV show or movie; I used to freak out former colleagues by remembering exact GMAT/GRE scores with just an applicant’s name as a prompt. But often, my impressive memory is eclipsed by what I don’t remember: terms for an exam, items on my to-do list, a toothbrush on travel. It’s hard to understand why the brain keeps some things and discards others.
This week’s book, Moonwalking with Einstein, tells the story of the author’s quest to learn the science (or art, depending on your opinion) of memory. I won’t ruin too much- it’s kind of cool how it unfolds, with theories presented and then backed up by evidence in the form of studies. I definitely thought I’d pick up some more tips or something that was useful for me- perhaps it’s just too early to know if any of the tricks are ones I’ll make use of in the future, but as of the moment, it was just a really interesting book.
One compelling moment was when Foer commented that he tried to think of where he was at various points throughout his life to determine how clearly he could remember things. I tend to have strong visual affiliations with various places, so this resonated strongly. The timing of this book was interesting, as I spent the past two weeks near my hometown on a work trip, mainly in places I didn’t know very well. I would drive in a particular direction and immediately remember not only exactly how to get where I was trying to go, but would access a memory- mundane as it may have been at the time- of the last time I was there, even if it was just a memory of sitting and reading in the parking lot of a place I’d visited once or twice in the past. It’s incredible when it catches you off guard too, like a feeling of recognition upon stumbling across a random street in Manhattan that you’ve walked down once. Most notably (probably because I’d just finished the book), when I walked through JFK Airport over the weekend and came across the gate where I sat before leaving for last summer’s trip to Israel, I was immediately brought back to exactly what I was wearing, remembering meeting people and our exact conversations and even felt that anticipatory about-to-do-something-new feeling I had at the time…even though I was back exactly where I’d been before going from my hometown to my current city. If I’ve learned anything from this project so far, I’d say it’s how cool the brain is- that’s been abundantly clear throughout the books I’ve read. Looking forward to what else I’ll find out throughout the rest of the year.
You’ll like this if: you’re fascinated by how amazing brains can be and are looking for some memory tricks (hoping this is more successful for someone else!).
Happy reading!
carlyreads 