The title refers to a memory device I used in the US memory championship–specifically it’s a mnemonic that helped me memorize a deck of playing cards.Cognitive learning psychology moonwalking with einstein works as a mnemonic because it’s such a goofy image. Things that are weird or colorful are the most memorable. If you try to picture albert einstein sliding backwards across a dance floor wearing penny loafers and a diamond glove, that’s pretty much unforgettable.Cognitive learning psychology what are the U.S. Memory championships? How did you become involved?

The U.S. Memory championship is a rather bizarre contest held each spring in new york city, in which people get together to see who can remember the most names of strangers, the most lines of poetry, the most random digits.Cognitive learning psychology I went to the event as a science journalist, to cover what I assumed would be the super bowl of savants. But when I talked to the competitors, they told me something really interesting.Cognitive learning psychology they weren’t savants. And they didn’t have photographic memories. Rather, they’d trained their memories using ancient techniques. They said anyone could do it.Cognitive learning psychology I was skeptical. Frankly, I didn’t believe them. I said, well, if anyone can do it, could you teach me? A guy named ed cooke, who has one of the best trained memories in the world, took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew about memory techniques.Cognitive learning psychology A year later I came back to the contest, this time to try and compete, as a sort of exercise in participatory journalism. I was curious simply to see how well I’d do, but I ended up winning the contest.Cognitive learning psychology that really wasn’t supposed to happen. Can you explain the "OK plateau"?

The OK plateau is that place we all get to where we just stop getting better at something.Cognitive learning psychology take typing, for example. You might type and type and type all day long, but once you reach a certain level, you just never get appreciably faster at it.Cognitive learning psychology that’s because it’s become automatic. You’ve moved it to the back of your mind’s filing cabinet. If you want to become a faster typer, it’s possible, of course.Cognitive learning psychology but you’ve got to bring the task back under your conscious control. You’ve got to push yourself past where you’re comfortable. You have to watch yourself fail and learn from your mistakes.Cognitive learning psychology that’s the way to get better at anything. And it’s how I improved my memory. What do you mean by saying there an "art" to memory?

Cognitive learning psychology

The “art of memory” refers to a set of techniques that were invented in ancient greece. These are the same techniques that cicero used to memorize his speeches, and that medieval scholars used to memorize entire books.Cognitive learning psychology the “art” is in creating imagery in your mind that is so unusual, so colorful, so unlike anything you’ve ever seen before that it’s unlikely to be forgotten.Cognitive learning psychology that’s why mnemonists like to say that their skills are as much about creativity as memory. How do you think technology has affected how and what we remember?Cognitive learning psychology

Once upon a time people invested in their memories, they cultivated them. They studiously furnished their minds. They remembered. Today, of course, we’ve got books, and computers and smart phones to hold our memories for us.Cognitive learning psychology we’ve outsourced our memories to external devices. The result is that we no longer trust our memories. We see every small forgotten thing as evidence that they’re failing us altogether.Cognitive learning psychology we’ve forgotten how to remember. What is the connection between memory and our sense of time?

As we get older, life seems to fly by faster and faster.Cognitive learning psychology that’s because we structure our experience of time around memories. We remember events in relation to other events. But as we get older, and our experiences become less unique, our memories can blend together.Cognitive learning psychology if yesterday’s lunch is indistinguishable from the one you ate the day before, it’ll end up being forgotten. That’s why it’s so hard to remember meals.Cognitive learning psychology in the same way, if you’re not doing things that are unique and different and memorable, this year can come to resemble the last, and end up being just as forgettable as yesterday’s lunch.Cognitive learning psychology that’s why it’s so important to pack your life with interesting experiences that make your life memorable, and provide a texture to the passage of time.Cognitive learning psychology how is your memory now?

Ironically, not much better than when I started this whole journey. The techniques I learned, and used in the memory contest, are great for remembering structured information like shopping lists or phone numbers, but they don’t improve any sort of underlying, generalizable memory ability.Cognitive learning psychology unfortunately, I still misplace my car keys. I'm interested in trying my hand at this whole memory training thing. Where should I go next?

“on the day of his campus visit, joshua delivered a smart and funny lecture to a packed hall of 840 people.Cognitive learning psychology incredibly, we had to turn 200 additional people away from the venue because we could not accommodate them. The UCSB library—as the lead organizer of the program—could not have been happier with the visibility this gained us across campus and in the community…

cognitive learning psychology

In the end, we had seven courses reading the book with a total enrollment of 475 students… the book’s subject is truly interdisciplinary, appealing to faculty and students in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences… everyone has a connection to and an opinion about the subject of memory.Cognitive learning psychology it is a truly unifying subject… joshua foer is inspiring to college-aged students, as a young successful author whose success has been a product of discipline and commitment… moonwalking with einstein is a great fit for a college or university campus and I highly recommend it as the selection for a common reading program.Cognitive learning psychology joshua foer is a skilled speaker and a gracious and engaging guest. I would not hesitate in inviting him back to UCSB when the chance arises.”

cognitive learning psychology

“lively, deft, and funny, josh foer was interviewed on stage in front of the whole school by a panel of students. He was the ideal closing keynote—knew how to engage and connect with bright and challenging young minds.Cognitive learning psychology the audience, even though it was the end of a day of seminars and workshops, was focused and with him every step. Faculty reaction was even more enthusiastic: my stock among colleagues went up measurably for having brought him in.Cognitive learning psychology we’d have him back in a heartbeat.”

When best-selling author joshua foer ( moonwalking with einstein) began to build his first sukkah, a small hut that jews build and dwell in every fall for the holiday of sukkot, he wanted to move beyond the generic plywood boxes and canvas tents that have become the unimaginative status quo.Cognitive learning psychology he discovered that while the bible outlines the basic parameters for what a sukkah should look like and how it should function, it leaves plenty of room for variation and interpretation.Cognitive learning psychology foer thought, what if contemporary architects and designers were challenged to design and construct twelve radical sukkahs? What would they come up with?Cognitive learning psychology and so was born the design competition and exhibition known as “sukkah city.”

In the vein of the maysles’s films with christo & jean claude, the film tracks the competition from jury day, as an all-star cast of architects, academics and critics (thom mayne, paul goldberger, ron arad) debate the merits of the 600 submissions; to the construction, installation and exhibition of the twelve winning structures in union square in the heart of new york city; and the critical and popular response of some of the 200,000 new yorkers who attended the two-day exhibition.Cognitive learning psychology