Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters by Charan Ranganath
Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters
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’s more, when we work with the brain’s 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’s 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–and its quirks–we can cut through the clutter and remember the things we want to remember. We can make freer choices and plan a happier future.
About the Speaker
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.
Ayanna Thomas is Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Professor at Tufts University. In her research, she investigates interactions between memory and metamemory to better understand the role metamemory plays in memory acquisition, distortion, and access. She examines these questions using a balanced approach towards basic and applied designs as they related to education, eyewitness memory, and age-related changes in memory. Her research is supported by the National Institute on Aging, and the National Science Foundation. She regularly contributes to popular podcasts that focus on disseminating research findings to general audiences.