Remember: The Science of Forgetting and the Resilience of Memory

　　來自電影《我想念我自己》原著作者、神經科學家莉莎．潔諾娃！

　　關於記憶，我們還能了解什麼？

 

　　普立茲獎提名作家、哈佛大學心理學教授史蒂芬‧平克盛讚：「作者莉莎‧潔諾娃以其精神科學家的專業及出彩的寫作天分，為我們生動解釋所謂的人類記憶。」

　　

　　明明上週才看這部電影，卻怎麼也想不起來演員的名字；明明才剛走進房間，卻立刻忘記進來房間要幹嘛……這些情境，你是不是也曾發生過？如果你已經超過40歲，恐怕難以一笑置之，甚至會開始擔心這是不是阿茲海默症或失智的早期症狀。

 

　　雖然記憶力是一項很珍貴的天賦，但它並不是完美無缺的。我們的大腦本來就不是設計來記住每一個我們聽到的名字、每一個我們訂下的計畫，或是我們經歷的每分每秒，所以這些偶發性的遺忘狀況其實非常普遍，並不代表大腦出了問題，或是罹患了某種疾病。

 

　　在本書中，作者帶我們走上了解記憶的旅程。究竟記憶是如何組成、又是如何被喚回的呢？我們將會知曉，為什麼有些記憶我們一時半刻就是想不起來，甚至是永久被抹除了；而又為什麼有些像是密碼這類的記憶，我們只能記得一下下，但像是婚禮這樣的回憶，我們又能牢記一輩子。

 

　　透過潔諾娃的解析，我們將了解遺忘與阿茲海默症的差異，以及記憶是如何被事件的意義、當時的情緒、睡眠、壓力及內容所深深影響。本書結合科普與心理勵志，以輕鬆易懂且充滿趣味的方式，解說「記憶」究竟如何運作，帶領我們了解記憶的優缺點、認識記憶與生俱來的脆弱與潛在的超能力，並提供增進記憶力的實用小撇步，讓我們不再因為偶爾的健忘驚慌失措，進而打造更好的生活。(文/博客來編譯)

　　A fascinating exploration of the intricacies of how we remember, why we forget, and what we can do to protect our memories, from the Harvard-trained neuroscientist and bestselling author of Still Alice.

 

　　“Using her expertise as a neuroscientist and her gifts as a storyteller, Lisa Genova explains the nuances of human memory”—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, author of How the Mind Works

 

　　Have you ever felt a crushing wave of panic when you can't for the life of you remember the name of that actor in the movie you saw last week, or you walk into a room only to forget why you went there in the first place? If you're over forty, you're probably not laughing. You might even be worried that these lapses in memory could be an early sign of Alzheimer's or dementia. In reality, for the vast majority of us, these examples of forgetting are completely normal. Why? Because while memory is amazing, it is far from perfect. Our brains aren't designed to remember every name we hear, plan we make, or day we experience. Just because your memory sometimes fails doesn't mean it's broken or succumbing to disease. Forgetting is actually part of being human. 

 

　　In Remember, neuroscientist and acclaimed novelist Lisa Genova delves into how memories are made and how we retrieve them. You'll learn whether forgotten memories are temporarily inaccessible or erased forever and why some memories are built to exist for only a few seconds (like a passcode) while others can last a lifetime (your wedding day). You'll come to appreciate the clear distinction between normal forgetting (where you parked your car) and forgetting due to Alzheimer's (that you own a car). And you'll see how memory is profoundly impacted by meaning, emotion, sleep, stress, and context. Once you understand the language of memory and how it functions, its incredible strengths and maddening weaknesses, its natural vulnerabilities and potential superpowers, you can both vastly improve your ability to remember and feel less rattled when you inevitably forget. You can set educated expectations for your memory, and in doing so, create a better relationship with it. You don't have to fear it anymore. And that can be life-changing.