Imagine trying to memorize two shuffled decks of cards or 500 random digits in five minutes. How about 100 names and faces in 15? Or even 100 words?
All of these are actual events that take place at the annual USA Memory Championship, and believe it or not, all of these are feats that the average person, with the right practice, can achieve.
The author behind New York Times best-seller “Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything,” Joshua Foer, will speak at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, Monday, March 4. Copies of the book can be purchased, and Foer will be available for signing.
When he first attended the competition as a science journalist in 2005, Foer expected to be covering an event he described as a “super bowl of savants.” But his interest was sparked and he spent the course of the next year studying ancient techniques and discovered that anyone can master the art of memory.
Foer, shares some of these techniques along with his tale of becoming the 2006 National Memory Champion in “Moonwalking with Einstein.”
“The capacity of our minds is actually much greater than we give them credit for,” said Foer in a video he uploaded about his book. “Today we have cell phones, and computers that hold our memories so that we don’t have to. It’s almost as if we’ve forgotten how to remember.”
As a part of the “one book, one city” movement, City College, UCSB, Westmont College and the Santa Barbara Public Library have been promoting “Moonwalking with Einstein.” This movement, also known as Santa Barbara Reads, encourages an entire community to focus on one book in order to inspire reading, critical thinking, and a large-scale exchange of ideas.
The Luria Library handed out free copies of “Moonwalking with Einstein” to interested students earlier this month. Elizabeth Bowman, Reference, Outreach, and Collection Development Librarian, is enthusiastic about hosting Brain Awareness week from March 11to the 17 to compliment the ideas brought up in the book.
The Psychology Club will kick off the week with a memory contest on March 11. Susan Beers, advisor of the Psychology Club, recently raised the cash prize from $50 to $100 in attempts to bring in more participants.
On March 13, a panel of City College staff including a nurse, a counselor, and a biology teacher, will be in the library to discuss the different aspects of memory.
The Neuroscience Club will be giving sit-in demonstrations on some of the scientific ideas behind the issues discussed in the book. Christian Hissom, head of the Psychology Club, said that students will be able to benefit greatly from this, finding many applications to the techniques discussed.
Those who have read “Moonwalking with Einstein” have only good things to say.
Aside from being well written and easy to read, “This book makes you realize that the more memories you have the more of yourself you have,” Beers said. “They are our identities.”
“I know it will enrich students’ lives to read the book. I know it enriched mine.”
