Joshua
Foer began to ask these questions when he covered the 2005 U.S. Memory
Championship for Slate. Within a few
minutes, the mental athletes at this event could memorize a poem, a deck of
cards or a thousand random numbers. A year later, he returned to that event as
a competitor, and he won. Walking with
Einstein is Foer’s recounting of his year of training in memory techniques
and his exploration of the meaning of memory.
This book is not a manual on memory techniques, though Foer briefly
describes them. You can find them described in more detail elsewhere. Many of
the techniques are ancient, or elaborations on ancient techniques. The
discovery of the primary technique is attributed to Simonides, a Greek poet who
lived about 500 years before Christ. After the
collapse of a banquet hall, which he narrowly escaped because he stepped out to
greet a messenger, he discovered he could picture in his mind where every guest
had been seated, and was able to identify the location of the bodies. Later
authors built upon this idea of a “memory palace,” and it was widely used
before the invention of printing.
The basic idea is simple. We have amazing capacities to remember
locations and images, so just tie things we want to remember to an image and
place. First, pay attention to what you want to remember (it may only take a
second). Next, form a memorable image that will remind you of the thing you
want to remember. The more outrageous the image is the better it will work.
Serious mnemonists develop systems of images. Finally, “place” those images in
a memory palace, preferably some real place you know very well. It turns out
that the main thing may be the attentiveness all of this technique requires and
the multiple paths to remembering you create.
Like Foer, I was disappointed that feats mental athletes perform are
not things I want to do. I’d like to be better at remembering names, but all I
may need to do to improve is pay attention. I’d like to be able to remember
passages of text, but this is very difficult even using mnemonics.
The more interesting thing in the book turns out to be Foer’s
exploration of the place of memory in our history
and culture.
In an age before books, and especially before indexed books, it was very
difficult to store information anywhere outside of memory. Even if you read
something on a scroll, it would not be easy to find it again. If you wanted
quick access to something, you needed to memorize it. People would intensely
study the few texts they had and got to know them very well, possibly
memorizing them entirely.
Books made accessing information much easier and therefore remembering
less important. The Internet has
made tons of information accessible in an instant. We have shifted away from
valuing intensive study to valuing extensive study, or being widely read. We
don’t know as deeply, but we know how to access information for a variety of
places.
Memory is not a valueless art in our age. Memorizing techniques engage
the imagination
to create memorable images. In reverse, our memories are the feedstock of our
imaginations. Our creativity, innovation,
and invention
draws upon the things we remember and the many connections we form between
memories. For a creative mind to invent, it needs to be stocked with useful
memories.
Similarly, memory has value in defining ourselves. Who we are as an
individual is largely defined by our habits and
memories. In a sense, the more we remember, the fuller are our lives. Shared
memories are part of how we relate
to others, and shared knowledge is important to culture.
I started reading this book with an interest in improving memory. My
takeaway ends up being that I want to be more attentive to life. I want to form
the most vivid memories I can of the people and events that are important to
me.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
If you want to improve you memory, you may also be interested in a fish
oil supplement.
Foer, Joshua. Moonwalking with
Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. New York: Penguin, 2011.
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