Waubonsee Community College

Why life speeds up as you get older, how memory shapes our past, Douwe Draaisma ; translated by Arnold and Erica Pomerans

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Why life speeds up as you get older

bibliography

55146411

Douwe Draaisma ; translated by Arnold and Erica Pomerans

"In this book, Douwe Draaisma, author of the internationally acclaimed Metaphors of Memory, explores the nature of autobiographical memory. Applying a unique blend of scholarship, poetic sensibility and keen observation he tackles such extraordinary phenomena as deja vu, near-death experiences, the memory feats of idiots savants and the effects of extreme trauma on memory recall. Raising almost as many questions as it answers, this book will not fail to touch you at the same time as it educates and entertains."--Jacket

how memory shapes our past

'Memory is like a dog that lies down where it pleases' -- Flashes in the dark: first memories -- Smell and memory -- Yesterday's record -- The inner flashbulb -- 'Why do we remember forwards and not backwards?' -- The absolute memories of Funes and Sherashevsky -- The advantages of a defect: the savant syndrome -- The memory of a grandmaster: a conversation with Ton Sijbrands -- Trauma and memory: the Demjanjuk case -- Richard and Anna Wagner: forty-five years of married life -- 'In oval mirrors we drive around': on experiencing a sense of déjà vu -- Reminiscences -- Why life speeds up as you get older -- Forgetting -- 'I saw my life flash before my eyes like a film' -- From memory -- Portrait with Still Life