Committed to Memory: How We Remember and Why We Forget

by Rebecca Rupp

Committed to How We Remember and Why We Forget, By Rebecca Rupp Softcover book published by Crown Publishers, Inc., copyright 1998, First Edition, 1st priting

Genres: Psychology

331 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Rebecca Rupp is the author of SARAH SIMPSON'S RULES FOR LIVING, JOURNEY TO THE BLUE MOON, THE DRAGON OF LONELY ISLAND and THE RETURN OF THE DRAGON. She lives in Swanton, Vermont.

Reviews

[JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very effective survey of the history, theories, and current status of our knowledge about memory. More than that, it is an interesting read because the author keeps it moving along from one topic to another in many short chapters that are sprinkled with quotes and anecdotes. Per one of the major findings, I'm sure I've already forgotten much of what I read, as the decay in recall is 80% within a month and begins immediately. The ancients and the current non-technical cultures are much better at remembering becaue they do not use the crutch of written text. Memory has been shown to be strengthened through exercise, either in the form of intentional practice or mentally stimulating activities (the Great Books, crosswords, etc). While our elderly are perceived as becoming forgetful, those that stay active have the same recall as younger people, though they are not as quick. Elders who are venerated by their culture do not experience the same memory decay. The mechanics of how memory works is still a mystery, though there is evidence that the brain can regenerate the neurons and that the process involves the whole brain's network of neurons.

[Aria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written in an easy to comprehend style, and chock full of relevant info. The sections are short, making it a work that can easily be consumed in small bites. I was actually surprised at how highly readable the book was. If I come across it again in the future I would have no problem delving back in. I'd have been sure to have read this through to the end if I didn't already have a very large stack of great books waiting on me when I came across it. (So many books.) For now, I will pass it on to someone else.

[Ogreroars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of reading the original text of this book, I flipped through Chinese edidtion, which was translated by Hung-Lan.
As the title, this book introduced readers to the memory mechanism, which is a complex process combining chemistry effects and mind functions .
Since the author mentioned "mind" in the book, some perspects in the book have still remained hyptheses, rather than facts that has been strongly backed up. And that's the only thing readers of this book should be aware of.
On the whole, I think it good enough to guide laymen to the field of memory.