Unlocking the Power of Memory
A new understanding of memory is emerging from the latest scientific research. In Why We Remember, pioneering neuroscientist and psychologist Charan Ranganath radically reframes the way we think about the everyday act of remembering. Combining accessible language with cutting-edge research, he reveals the surprising ways our brains record the past and how we use that information to understand who we are in the present, and to imagine and plan for the future.
Memory, Dr. Ranganath shows, is a highly transformative force that shapes how we experience the world in often invisible and sometimes destructive ways. Knowing this can help us with daily remembering tasks, like finding our keys, and with the challenge of memory loss as we age. What\u2019s more, when we work with the brain\u2019s ability to learn and reinterpret past events, we can heal trauma, shed our biases, learn faster, and grow in self-awareness.
Including fascinating studies and examples from pop culture, and drawing on Ranganath\u2019s life as a scientist, father, and child of immigrants, Why We Remember is a captivating read that unveils the hidden role memory plays throughout our lives. When we understand its power\u2014and its quirks\u2014we can cut through the clutter and remember the things we want to remember. We can make freer choices and plan a happier future.
Charan Ranganath is a Professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis. For over 25 years, Dr. Ranganath has studied the mechanisms in the brain that allow us to remember past events, using brain imaging techniques, computational modeling and studies of patients with memory disorders. He has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship. He lives in Davis, California. Outside of neuroscience, Dr. Ranganath is also a songwriter and guitarist with a number of recording credits, including a song on a feature film soundtrack.
Shermer and Ranganath discuss: how memories are stored by neurons \u2022 forgetting \u2014 memory in there somewhere or lost forever? \u2022 episodic, semantic, working, flashbulb, long-term, and short-term memory \u2022 recovered memories vs. false memories + confabulation, conflation \u2022 Alzheimer\u2019s, dementia, senility \u2022 PTSD and bad memories \u2022 d\xe9j\xe1 vu \u2022 memory triggers \u2022 learning as a form of memory \u2022 social memories (extended self) \u2022 MEMself vs. POVself \u2022 uploading memories into the cloud \u2022 improving memory: what works, what doesn\u2019t.