The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity

Re:The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Co... by JoshMnem on Monday June 26, 2017 @08:10PM (#14641504)

> Bards pre-literate-times in Greece purportedly could recite Homer's Odyssey themselves after one hearing. Writing destroyed that all.

They had amazing memories, but they couldn't memorize large works like that after just one hearing. There are techniques that allow one to remember information like that, but it still requires effort.

Here are two great books on that subject:

- The Art of Memory by Frances Yates (covers Greece, Rome, and Europe)

- The Memory Code by Lynne Kelly (goes back further into prehistory)

And two quick articles about memory feats in ancient Greece[1] and Rome[2].

[1] http://blog.artofmemory.com/simonides-of-ceos-81.html

[2] http://blog.artofmemory.com/pliny-the-elder-on-memory-5824.h...

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Re:The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Co... by ninly on Tuesday June 27, 2017 @01:50PM (#14647573)

Haven't read the other one, but the Yates is great. Another indispensable book for historical context about the Classical transition from oral to literate culture (and its implications for memory, education, and Greek thought) is:

- Preface to Plato, by Eric Havelock

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Re:The Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Co... by JoshMnem on Wednesday June 28, 2017 @01:50PM (#14656442)

Thanks, I'll check that one out. The Memory Code is one of the best books I've read. Highly recommended.

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