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Memory: How We Can Use it, Lose it and Can Improve it
Memory is as essential to everyday life as seeing and hearing, smelling and touching. In Memory David Samuel draws on a lifetime of scientific research to produce an informative, refreshing and wide-ranging view of the what is known about memory; how it was - and is - studied, including the most sophisticated and expensive methods for studying brain function and memory; long- and short-term memory; what to remember? and is there a limit to what one can remember?; Alzheimer's disease; experiments on octopuses, rats; monkeys and students; normal loss of memory, and the effect of alcohol, drugs and anxiety; deliberate and unintentional fraud in `tricks of memory'; how to improve memory - why do diplomats, actors and doormen have such good memories?
128 pages, Hardcover
Published May 13, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 17, 2008
I've already forgotten most of this book. I was hoping that the "Improve It" section would be a little less 'sober realist' and a little more 'chirpy cheerleader', but it is nice to know that a so-called bad memory is often just a matter of differing attention in the first place. Some people pay attention to faces, others names, others the colour of people's shoes (in which case you better be in foot fashion or you need re-training).
There's a clear and concise explanation of brain regions, the senses (the sixth sense is equilibrium apparently, so if you're a psychic you might want to re-think your marketing material), and discussion of new drugs and scanning technologies.
The edition I picked up is already out of date on the research front, so I'm sure there's a better book out there, but have a peek if you want to read about sniffer dogs.
There's a clear and concise explanation of brain regions, the senses (the sixth sense is equilibrium apparently, so if you're a psychic you might want to re-think your marketing material), and discussion of new drugs and scanning technologies.
The edition I picked up is already out of date on the research front, so I'm sure there's a better book out there, but have a peek if you want to read about sniffer dogs.
June 10, 2015
I will try to keep this review concise.
Overall a good insite for someone who is generally interested in memory or brain function.
In my opinion the book can be broken into 4 sections:
WHAT MEMORY IS: The book explores problems with memory and memory as a contested definition.
SENSORY INPUTS: of which 70% appears to be visual stimulus, and the other senses are broken up into how they interact with the brain.
MEMORY ITSELF: How it works, how we loose it over time, how it can be improved (essentially through happiness and exercise).
PAST AND PRESENT METHODS OF RESEARCH: How we went from liquidising brains in blenders as an attempt to evaluate their genetic make-up...to using advanced harmless gas tracers and non-invasive methods of study on the brain.
Overall a good insite for someone who is generally interested in memory or brain function.
In my opinion the book can be broken into 4 sections:
WHAT MEMORY IS: The book explores problems with memory and memory as a contested definition.
SENSORY INPUTS: of which 70% appears to be visual stimulus, and the other senses are broken up into how they interact with the brain.
MEMORY ITSELF: How it works, how we loose it over time, how it can be improved (essentially through happiness and exercise).
PAST AND PRESENT METHODS OF RESEARCH: How we went from liquidising brains in blenders as an attempt to evaluate their genetic make-up...to using advanced harmless gas tracers and non-invasive methods of study on the brain.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews