Why We Remember

Ben Waber reviewed Why We Remember by Charan Ranganath

A High-Level Examination of Memory and Cognition

3 stars

This book gives a good overview of many aspects of memory, focusing mainly on neuroscience but also dabbling in sociology. Ranganath examines the research on this topic at a high level, making this more accessible to the general public but with the trade off that those who want to dig into the science more will be left wanting. The book is at its best when it's connecting different neuroscience studies together, but when it unfortunately ventures into topics like AI or other peripheral fields it gets shaky.

Phil in SF reviewed Why We Remember by Charan Ranganath

semantic memories

4 stars

As I've gotten older, I have found it increasingly harder to remember nouns, particularly names. Names of companies in my industry. names of software packages and services I use frequently. My sibling's names. My girlfriend's names.

I didn't read this book with the idea that i would learn how to cure my memory difficulties. Rather, I wanted to understand in a basic way how memory works and if research backs up any method for slowing my decline.

The book solidly walked me through things. It includes descriptions of two kinds of memory: episodic and semantic. Things I experienced and might recall vs. facts I've committed to my store of knowledge. Although my memory of things I've experienced is not great, for some reason that's never bothered me. But losing common facts really makes me anxious.

Although a bit florid, i recommend the book for a mostly understandable explanation of about …

As I've gotten older, I have found it increasingly harder to remember nouns, particularly names. Names of companies in my industry. names of software packages and services I use frequently. My sibling's names. My girlfriend's names.

I didn't read this book with the idea that i would learn how to cure my memory difficulties. Rather, I wanted to understand in a basic way how memory works and if research backs up any method for slowing my decline.

The book solidly walked me through things. It includes descriptions of two kinds of memory: episodic and semantic. Things I experienced and might recall vs. facts I've committed to my store of knowledge. Although my memory of things I've experienced is not great, for some reason that's never bothered me. But losing common facts really makes me anxious.

Although a bit florid, i recommend the book for a mostly understandable explanation of about 300 factors that influence memory.

Ben Waber

rated it

January 6

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