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For February 2014 we will be reading Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything.

You may use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews at any time.

I couldn't wait for February to read this book :D .. It's really great I love it , I'm done with first four chapters , and I'm really enjoying it .

so , anyone has any idea how to use memory palace for learning science like medical science ! genetics , neuroscience ?? is it really effective ??? and how would it be like ?? cause i really want to never forget things i learned specially i have the tendency to try learning everything i come across ??

Shaaban wrote: "so , anyone has any idea how to use memory palace for learning science like medical science ! genetics , neuroscience ?? is it really effective ??? and how would it be like ?? cause i really want ..."

What a good question. I read the book earlier and am still thinking about how to implement it. Look forward to answers.

its easy to use memory palace for stuff like groceries lists and so . but thats not what i care to remember in my life !

before reading the book (I'm not yet done with it ) i was thinking i really lost most of the knowledge i know and learned specially science . and i was trying to find out a way to keep all this in my brain implement them all and come with ideas or be able to write . i started to think why not to sum up the texts i read and sum up all what i know or learn and re-learn them again but keep my own version of notes about all what i know and keep reviewing them in well organized schedule . repeating them in a scheduled manner . but now when i started reading the book i thought why not use the palace thing , i still really not convinced that it could be used in science specially medicine !! may be some anatomy or so but to me some stuff in medicine just need practice and thats it . no need for the whole palace thing .

one important point to be mentioned here, people in certain profession for example doctors when they stay a good time in their own career memorizing is much easier than those that are new in the field tarts because they develop some sortta matrix that they can really their memories to be long term directly . so i think its Experience is the real thing that make us memorize efficiently in a certain aspect or profession . but yet the book talked about being able to do this with no experience what so ever in any field .

My first participation in this groups monthly book. I loved this!

RE using a memory palace for scientific facts: to me the scientific fact you want to learn are complicated multi-part things, right? Like DNA replication, you've got names of enzymes, structure of the sugar, chemistry of the catalytic reaction, and the many steps. But perhaps for each of these multi-part big concepts you mould make a special palace. My guess is that by the time you break down all the parts to set in a locus, you would have it.

but that would really consume time , hell of time and a lot of palaces , if i would talk about biochemistry since u gave example including it , this will take a lot and a lot of palaces . i usually when i study internal medicine i imagine the patient and patients i examined before i don't forget this cause i hav ether in the form of images but actually i don't store hem in any place . i still can't find it easy to do it . trying to figure it out though .

I really enjoyed this book. I think in a specific profession, that experience helps cement the memory of something. I know in medicine that I picture certain people with the condition when I think of a diagnosis.

I know that a lot of list type things used mnemonics when I was in medical school.

This discussion brings up a question for me. The book deals mostly with short-term memory. Are the techniques it describes useful for long-term memory as well?

I believe long-term memory requires repetition over time, and really interacting with the material.

Leslie wrote: "I believe long-term memory requires repetition over time, and really interacting with the material."

Yeah, like the Bobby Fisher example. Sure he can remember hundreds/thousands of different chess board situations, but it took him nine years of intensive practice to reach the grand master level. No free lunch?

Steve wrote: "Bobby Fisher example. Sure he can remember hundreds/thousands of different chess board situations, but it took him nine years of intensive practice to reach the grand master level."

Interesting. But is that really even a lot of chess board situations when you consider how many are possible when masters play?

I was really struck by how all the experts believe that memory is visual. I know for me that is true. However, American schools teach kids that there are four types of learners and visual is just one of the options. I see undergraduates convinced they are "listening" learners for some reason and they are usually not the good students. Do you think we should instead teach kids that learning and memory are visual and how to harness it?

Nah, IMO, teach them to read their homework out loud. Then they force themselves to convert visual into verbal. Problem solved. Also, stay awake in class to listen to the teacher speak.

This book actually became a topic of conversation between me and one of my classmates... not in a spectacular way. The first couple of chapters are good, the last chapter was great, however the stuff in the middle was just blah. It felt, for the most part, like filler, this book could've easily been a 150 page book rather than the 300+ page book it ended up being.

What really struck me about the book, is that Joshua Foer started out just as a journalist, researching the topic of super memory. He took up the challenge, and excelled. It's not often that a journalist author gets personally caught up in a field in such a competitive way.

i believe the reasons these guys know the cards or the lists , because they trained their minds for the lists and cards . same for doctors , when they are trained , its very easy to grab the new info and new diseases they learn .. etc , the same for professional soccer player they grab things on the ground much faster and better than the others . its like the developed the matrix for this and the neural circuit for this to be able to fire impulses that would activate the long term memory . i heard that once in a lecture on youtube by a Stanford university professor . here is the link if you are interested >>>>

Tricia wrote: "This book actually became a topic of conversation between me and one of my classmates... not in a spectacular way. The first couple of chapters are good, the last chapter was great, however the stu..."

yeah , most of popular science books are like this . thats why i kept wondering why don't they make text books that are focusing on the matter but in the same time somehow short so that people who are interested in science they get to understand whole concepts in easy and short books . an example of such book is >> "how the immune system works " was great easy and small book on the matter and was purely scientific .

any one has any idea about similar books ??so i can check 'em?

I haven't quite finished yet, but I enjoyed the way he wove the history, and the wax and wane, of memory skills with his own personal story and those of his quirky sidekicks. Having read a few of the reviews it occurred to me that sometimes bad reviews result from a book not being what the reader expected. I know I have given a few subpar reviews for this reason. In this case, having read the reviews, I knew what to expect and was not disappointed. I knew that if I wanted to read a practical, self-help memory improvement book, I would likely need to read something else.

David wrote: "This discussion brings up a question for me. The book deals mostly with short-term memory. Are the techniques it describes useful for long-term memory as well?"

Just finished it, David. I was surprised that at the end he did not give some recommendations for further reading on the memory improvement techniques he used. However, a Google search quickly turned up his recommendations in a Facebook interview. Here's the one he recommends for learning the techniques:

Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It by Kenneth Higbee. Foer says:
"If you want to try training your memory like I did, this is the first book I'd send you to for some practical advice. Written by a BYU psychology professor, Your Memory is not only filled with useful tricks, but also explains how and why they work."

It addresses your question about long-term memory and I think the answer is "yes". I bought it and am about a third of the way into it.

Here's my review of Foer's book:

/review/show...

Thanks for the recommendation, Steve!

Since I joined this group I have read the monthly selection and appreciate each book chosen. This month’s selection hasn’t disappointed and is delightful.

In last month’s discussion of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, I mentioned The Book of Margery Kempe and with Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything I’m again reminded again of Margery’s book.

This book written in the early 15th century, her autobiography, is packed with bible passages as confirmed by editor’s notes. She writes about how she relays these biblical stories to her compatriots, fellow travelers, clerics and prosecutors who charge her with heresy. And, she also includes this biblical information for the benefit of her readers.

What is interesting is that she was illiterate and was obliged to dictate this autobiography. All the information she quotes was originally read to her by various members of clergy throughout her life. She had converted it all to memory.

I feel bad for this book. It's an interesting story of how he trained his mind, which is good. However, the title sells it as "The Art and Science of Remembering Everything". So I went into the book expecting something pedagogical and instead got a biography. I'm reasonably sure the subtitle wasn't the author's choice, but rather something forced on there to ensure sales.

Steve, thanks for the recommendation. Looks interesting!

DavidO wrote: "Steve, thanks for the recommendation

Your welcome. I just finished Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It by Kenneth Higbee. The first half covers the science and principles involved. The second half describes about eight different techniques and how they work. I liked it but if all you want is the techniques and not the science, one of the popular memory aid books might be more to your liking. Here's my review:

/review/show...

Steve wrote: "DavidO wrote: "Steve, thanks for the recommendation

Your welcome. I just finished Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It by Kenneth Higbee. The first half covers the scienc..."

i will read the book m thanks for try recommendation , but did u reach a way to use it effectively in science ? the memory techniques . or we should just do review the science topics frequently so we can commit it to memory , long term memory ?

Shaaban wrote: but did u reach a way to use it effectively in science ?

Yes, Higbee gives examples where, for instance, medical students used the Story System to memorize all of the cranial nerves.

Steve wrote: "Shaaban wrote: but did u reach a way to use it effectively in science ?

Yes, Higbee gives examples where, for instance, medical students used the Story System to memorize all of the cranial nerves."

great then its my next book , thanks :)