Brainwave: Nick Flynn on Memory and Memoirs
Here the author recorded a poem for the PBS web-series Weekly Poem.
Tonight, Nick Flynn discusses his memoir, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, with William Hirst on stage at 7 p.m. at the Rubin. Come early for a cocktail in the K2 Lounge!
Brainwave Twitter Party with Marilu Henner
DATE: Thursday, April 26, 2012
TIME: 5PM-6PM EST
LOCATION: Twitter
What is your most potent memory?
Join us for a live Twitter conversation with Marilu Henner, keynote speaker in the Rubin Museum’s BrainWave Series. We will be live tweeting about the magic of memory, a concept that Marilu is exceedingly familiar with as she is someone with Superior Autobiographical Memory – an uncanny ability to recall details of every day of her life – a talent known to be shared by only six other people in the world.
Our conversation is also a celebration of Marilu’s latest book, Total Memory Makeover: Uncover Your Past, Take Charge of Your Future, which depicts her personal insights and experiences as to how having a reliable memory has helped her in countless scenarios. She also gives readers advice in making memory work for them, from having the right attitude about life and developing a healthy mindset about the past, to building a personal history “track” and using it to actually change your life.
This is an exciting opportunity for you to leverage the Twittersphere while you ponder the following questions:
1. Does an infallible memory help you make better decisions?
2. What types of memories are most valuable to you?
3. What does it feels like to recall an old memory.
IMPORTANT HASHTAGS & HANDLES:
#uzfevent
@urban_zen
@TheRealMarilu
@rubinmuseum
Brainwave: Joshua Foer + Daniel Kahneman
US Memory Champion Joshua Foer and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman debate how memory works as a function of time.
Join Us!
Wed, April 11, 7:00 p.m.
$20 // Buy Tickets Now
About Brainwave 2012
Now in its fifth year, Brainwave brings people from diverse walks of life together to engage with neuroscientists in one-on-one conversations in order to better understand the workings of our minds. Starting February 2012 we will focus on how memory is processed in the brain.
Presenting Sponsor
Brainwave 2012 is made possible, in part, by support from the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism.
Rubin Museum on New York Viewpoint
Tim McHenry, Producer of Public Programs here at the Rubin Museum, appeared on ABC’s New York Viewpoint yesterday morning to discuss the Brainwave series. Watch the segment, and be sure to get your tickets for the remaining conversations with Nick Flynn, Marilu Henner, Joshua Foer, Eric Kandel and more!
Study Finds That Memory Works Differently in the Age of Google
Columbia University psychologist Betsy Sparrow published an article in Science over the summer with some surprising findings about the nature of memory as we become more and more dependent on search engines like Google. Watch video to hear an overview of her findings and click below to read the full article.
Don’t Forget…
Brainwave 2012 continues this week with singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke! Ms. Brooke recently lost her mother to dementia after caring for her in her own home for over a year. She discusses the role of music and caregiving with Director of the New York Memory and Healthy Aging Services, Dr. Gayatri Devi.
Friday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. | Buy Tickets
In anticipation of our Brainwave program this Sunday with Scott Shepherd and John Kubie, we offer an excerpt of the conversation Shepherd had with theatre artist Richard Maxwell, printed in BOMB magazine last summer. As background, in the show GATZ, performed and created by Elevator Repair Service, Shepherd reads aloud the entirety of The Great Gatsby over the course of six hours.
On Sunday, Shepherd and the neuroscientist John Kubie will explore the process of memorization and how it affects interpretation and Shepherd’s ability to recall his shopping list. Please join us!
Memorizing the Great American Novel
Sunday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m. | $18 | Buy Tickets Now
Richard Maxwell Where’d you learn to read like that?
Scott Shepherd That is kind of how I learned to read. I memorized a book. One of my first acts of reading was memorizing the first couple of chapters of Winnie the Pooh.
RM So someone was reading it to you and you memorized it?
SS Yeah. I think this must happen a lot. You read a book to a kid over and over again and before long they know it. I knew where the page turns came—my mother would have me pretend to read, as a performance for other parents.
RM With the book in your hand?
SS Yeah.
RM Do you really know the whole Great Gatsby by heart?
SS Yeah. I mean … yes. There was one night in performing GATZ at the Public Theater when part of the book flew out—in chapter four when I leap over the couch.
RM The book failed?
SS The book failed. We had a serious book failure. Because we keep using that same copy of Gatsby, it just slowly, slowly disintegrates. Eventually we had to replace the original book because it stopped looking like a book. It looked like a folder full of loose papers. It was hard to let go of that first book because we really had a superstitious or sentimental attachment to it. It was the book we had used since day one. Since 1999 when we started working on GATZ. But now we had the second book and the pages were getting loose in there, and when I jumped over the couch a whole section of the book just flew out and hit the back wall. Half the book was lying on the floor. Luckily I’d already gone past that section, so for the rest of that show we were okay. But the next day, when I started into chapter one, those pages had been taped back into the book, but in the wrong place. So at some point I turned a page and the wrong text was there.
RM So you found that it helps if the book’s in order.
SS Yeah. I mean, if you’re into that chronological sort of thing.
Scott Shepherd
by Richard Maxwell
BOMB 116/Summer 2011, THEATER
About BOMB
Since 1981, BOMB has been delivering the artist’s voice through carefully developed conversations between artists about the creative process.
Photo Credit: Gary Wilmes, Laurena Allan, and Scott Shepherd in GATZ by Elevator Repair Service, directed by John Collins, 2010. The Public Theater, New York. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Brainwave: Miguel Nicolelis + Randall Wolf
The Robotic Mind
Are brains and machines about to be merged? Imagine living in a world where people use their computers, drive their cars, and communicate with one another simply by thinking. Duke University neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis shares his revolutionary findings with a surgeon who has pioneered robotic surgery.
Join Us!
Sat, March 3, 3:00 p.m. | $20 | Buy Tickets Now
About Brainwave 2012
Now in its fifth year, Brainwave brings people from diverse walks of life together to engage with neuroscientists in one-on-one conversations in order to better understand the workings of our minds. Starting February 2012 we will focus on how memory is processed in the brain.
Presenting Sponsor
Brainwave 2012 is made possible, in part, by support from the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism.
From Ethics to Aesthetics
Memory Erasure (part three): These USB sticks are beautiful and beguiling, and though they seem empty, they can actually hold up to 4GB of memory! Clearing your “memory” will not only be painless but chic to boot!
Empty Memory Collection by Logical Art
Designed and crafted by Yoo-Kyung Shin and Hanhsi Chen
Thanks to theyoho for posting this link.
To continue our discussion of memory erasure, here is a podcast produced by NOVA, that raises some excellent questions about the ethics of memory manipulation. Enjoy!
By David Levin | Posted 01.13.11 | NOVA scienceNOW
Neuroscientists have identified a chemical that can erase the connections between brain cells, essentially wiping out memories. Although it can’t target specific experiences, like a traumatic event, its existence raises a lot of big ethical issues. In this interview, we asked Art Caplan to help us sort them out. He’s the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brainwave: Memory
New Programs Added! Now in its fifth year, Brainwave brings people from diverse walks of life together to engage with neuroscientists in one-on-one conversations in order to better understand the workings of our minds.
For full schedule and tickets, visit: rmanyc.org/brainwave
Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation
The Invention of Forgetting
This week we are looking at memory erasure. Kicking it off with this fascinating article by Jonah Lehrer about the invention of a “forgetting pill” that would “nuke” the bad memories, while leaving the rest of your memory intact.
P.S. - Don’t forget to join us this Friday night for our Cabaret Cinema screening of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Friday at 9:30 p.m., free with $7 bar minimum.
Thanks to curiositycounts for posting this info-graphic from Lehrer’s article.
